Peder Skram (died 11 July 1581) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Admiral and naval hero.

Biography

Skram born between 1491 and 1503, on his father's estate at

Urup Urup ( ja, 得撫島, Uruppu-to; russian: Уру́п, Urúp, ain, ウルㇷ゚, Urup) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Kuril Islands chain in the south of the Sea of Okhotsk, northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu la ...

near

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

, Denmark. He participated in military service during the Swedish War of Liberation in the service of King Christian II. He first saw service in the Swedish war at the Battle of Brännkyrka during 1518. In 1521 during the Battle of Uppsala, he prevented the capture of Danish nobleman

Mogens Gyldenstierne Mogens Henrikssen Gyldenstjerne of Restrup og Iversnæs (1485 or 1481 – 9 October 1569 in Copenhagen) was a Danish nobleman and member of the Council of the Realm, who belonged to the illustrious Gyldenstierne family. He led the defense of ...

. For his services in this war he was rewarded with an estate, where he settled for a time with his young consort Elsebe Krabbe, daughter of nobleman Tyge Krabbe (ca. 1474–1541). During the

Count's Feud The Count's Feud ( da, Grevens Fejde), also called the Count's War, was a war of succession that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark. In the international context, it was part of the European wars of relig ...

( da, Grevens fejde), Skram was sent by the Danish government to assist Gustavus Vasa, then in alliance with

Christian III Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...

against the partisans of Christian II, to organize the untried Swedish fleet. Although the point is still obscure, Skram seems to have shared the chief command with Swedish Admiral Mans Some. Skram greatly hampered the movements of the

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...

fleets who fought on the side of Christian II; captured a whole Lübeck squadron off

Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,300 (1 January 2022), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

. But the incurable suspicion of Gustavus Vasa minimized the successes of the allied fleets throughout 1535. Skram's services were richly rewarded by Christian III, who knighted him at his coronation, granted him a seat on the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

and endowed him with ample estates. In 1555 feeling too infirm to go to sea, he resigned his post of admiral; but when the Scandinavian Seven Years' War broke out seven years later; and the new king, Frederick II, offered Skram the chief command, he agreed to go. With a large fleet he put to sea in August 1562 and compelled the Swedish admiral, after a successful engagement off the coast of Gotland, to take refuge behind the Skerries. However, this was his sole achievement and he was superseded at the end of the year by Admiral

Herluf Trolle Herluf Trolle (14 January 1516 – 25 June 1565) was a Danish naval hero, Admiral of the Fleet and co-founder of Herlufsholm School (''Herlufsholm Skole og Gods''), a private boarding school at Næstved on the island of Zealand in Denmark. ...

. Skram now retired from active service to his estate at

Laholm Laholm () is a town and the seat of Laholm Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 6,527 inhabitants in 2015. Laholm is, despite its small population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a ''city''. The town is located at the ...

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömseb ...

, which was twice (1565–1568) unsuccessfully besieged by the Swedes. Skram died at Urup on 11 July 1581. He is buried at

Østbirk Church Østbirk Church (danish: ''Østbirk Kirke'') is a parish church in Horsens Municipality. It is overseen by the Diocese of Aarhus in the Church of Denmark. The Church was constructed around the year 1200 and features romanesque and gothic archite ...

, which was once part of Urup estate in

References

Other sources

* Briand de Crèvecoeur, Emmanuel (1950) ''Peder Skram, Danmarks Vovehals'' (København : Gyldendal)

Biography

References

Other sources

Related reading