Klemen Andersen "Skipper Clement" ( – 9 September 1536) was a Danish merchant, captain,

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

and leader of the peasant rebellion that was part of the civil war known as 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 ...

(''Grevens Fejde'').

Background

Clement was born to a farmer family in Aaby parish (''Aaby Sogn i Kjer Herred'') in the district of

Vendsyssel Vendsyssel () is the northernmost traditional district of Denmark and of Jutland. Being divided from mainland Jutland by the Limfjord, it is technically a part of the North Jutlandic Island, but the name often used informally for the entire island. ...

in North Jutland. He became a merchant in

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...

and later captain and vice admiral in the navy of King Christian II of Denmark. In 1523, Christian II was sent into exile and his uncle,

Frederick I of Denmark Frederick I (Danish and ; ; ; 7 October 1471 – 10 April 1533) was King of Denmark and Norway. He was the last Roman Catholic monarch to reign over Denmark and Norway, when subsequent monarchs embraced Lutheranism after the Protestant Re ...

had taken over the throne. In 1525, Clement mutinied and became a privateer.

Count's Feud

Clement later allied himself to

Christopher of Oldenburg Christopher, Count of Oldenburg (German: ''Christoph, Graf von Oldenburg'') (c. 1504 – 4 August 1566) was German count and regent in eastern Denmark between 1534–36 during the Count's War, Count's Feud (Danish: ''Grevens Fejde'') which was ...

. At Count Christoffer's instruction, he instigated the peasants of Vendsyssel and North Jutland to rise up against the nobles. On 16 October 1534 the peasant army of Clement, re-enforced with professional soldiers from Count Christoffer, met the army of the Jutland nobility, that had been sent to crush the revolt. The Battle of Svenstrup (''Slaget ved Svenstrup'') resulted in the defeat of the nobility army. For a couple of months the revolting peasants controlled a major part of northern Jutland. They expelled the noblemen and burned down many of their manor houses. However, in the long run the peasant army was too poorly armed and too undisciplined. King Christian III of Denmark made a

separate peace A separate peace is a nation's agreement to cease military hostilities with another even though the former country had previously entered into a military alliance with other states that remain at war with the latter country. For example, at the ...

with Count Christoffer and his general

Johan Rantzau Johan (also Johann) Rantzau (12 November 1492 – 12 December 1565) was a German- Danish general and statesman known for his role in the Count's Feud. His military leadership ensured the succession of Christian III to the throne, which bro ...

was freed to fight the peasant revolt. In December 1534, the army of Johan Rantzau defeated the peasant army which had retreated to Aalborg and strengthened the defenses of the city. After a hard battle, Rantzau's army overcame the defenses, sacked the city and killed as many as 2,000 people. Clement managed to escape, but was betrayed and captured by his enemies. He was kept in prison until the end of the civil war and was then executed by

breaking on the wheel The breaking wheel or execution wheel, also known as the Wheel of Catherine or simply the Wheel, was a torture method used for public execution primarily in Europe from antiquity through the Middle Ages into the early modern period by breakin ...

Viborg, Denmark Viborg (), a city in central Jutland, Denmark, is the capital of both Viborg municipality and Region Midtjylland. Viborg is also the seat of the Western High Court, the High Court for the Jutland peninsula. Viborg Municipality is the second-lar ...

Evaluation

Later historians and fiction writers have admired Clement as a revolutionary figure and a champion for the rights of the common man. Also as a local North Jutland hero he is admired and a statue was erected there in 1931. The depth of his social or ideological engagement is unprovable but as the last active, and perhaps most influential, peasant rebel in Danish history he might be viewed a Danish parallel of

Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (c. 1320/4 January 1341 – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to London to oppose the institution of a poll tax and to demand economic and social reforms. Wh ...

in England,

Thomas Müntzer Thomas Müntzer ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer w ...

in Germany and

Yemelyan Pugachev Yemelyan Ivanovich Pugachev (russian: Емельян Иванович Пугачёв; c. 1742) was an ataman of the Yaik Cossacks who led a great popular insurrection during the reign of Catherine the Great. Pugachev claimed to be Catherine's ...

in Russia.''Bondeoprøret i 1534'' (Introduktion til Clement)
/ref>

References

Other sources

*''Dansk Biografisk leksikon'', vol.3, (Copenhagen: 1979) *''Politikens Danmarkshistorie'', vol 6, by Svend Cedergreen Bech, (Copenhagen: 1963)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Skipper 1536 deaths 16th-century Danish businesspeople Privateers Danish rebels History of Lübeck Executed Danish people History of Aalborg People from Aalborg Year of birth uncertain 16th-century executions by Denmark People executed by breaking wheel People of the Count's Feud 1484 births