Steen Beck (8 December 1603 - 30 September 1648) was a Danish landholder and government official. He served as royal treasurer from 1628 until his death. His holdings included the estates of

Førslevgaard Førslevgaard is a manor house and estate located close to Fuglebjerg, Næstved Municipality, approximately 90 kilometres southwest of Copenhagen, Denmark. It has since 1803 been owned by members of the Neergaard (noble family), de Neergaard famil ...

and

Vibygård Vibygård is a manor house located in the northeastern outskirts of Viby, Roskilde Municipality, some 30 km west of Copenhagen, Denmark. The estate covers 833 hectares of land and comprises the farms Slåenkær, Ørstedgård, Arnakke og Drags- ...

on the Danish island of Zealand.

Early life and education

Steen Beck was born into an influential noble family in Copenhagen to

Sivert Beck Sivert Beck (18 November 1566 – 2 January 1623) was a Danish civil servant and landowner. He served as treasurer (''rentemester'') from 1596 until his death. Early life Beck was born in the Bishop's House in Roskilde, the son of district jud ...

(1566–1623) and Lisbet Bille (1576–1656). Beck's father served as royal treasurer from 1596. His grandfather

Lauge Beck Lauge Beck (c. 1530 - 14 May 1607), or Lave Beck, was a Denmark, Danish landowner, regional judge of Zealand and Rentekammeret, royal treasurer. His holdings included Førslevgaard and Beldringe on Zealand and Havrelykke on Lolland as well as the f ...

and great-grandfather had previously also held this post. Steen Beck was educated abroad. His

grand tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

took him to

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

(1622), Padova (1626) and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(1625-26).

Career

In 1627, Beck was appointed as

hofjunker ''Valet de chambre'' (), or ''varlet de chambre'', was a noble court, court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply ...

or court valet. In 1628, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, he was appointed as royal treasurer. In 1648, he obtained a high number of votes at the nobility's election for the Privy Council but died prior to the king's appointment of the new privy councillors in November.

Property

Beck inherited

and Tågerød on the Danish island of Zealand and Vandås in

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...

.. In 1628, in conjunction with his appointment as royal treasurer, he was granted a

prepositure A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian Churches. Historical development The word ''praepositus'' (Latin: "set over", from ''praeponere'', "to place in front") was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary. I ...

and a prebendary under

Lund Cathedral Lund Cathedral ( sv, Lunds domkyrka) is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Sweden in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the Bishop of Lund and the main church of the Diocese of Lund. It was built as the Catholic cathedral of the archiepi ...

. In , He was fiefholder of Bakke kloster in Norway (1633–41) and fiefholder of Herrevad Kloster in Scania (1641–48).

Personal life

From 29 March 1634, Beck was married to Ide Lindenov (died 1674), daughter of privy councillor Hans Johansen Lindenow til

Gavnø Gavnø is a small island off the west coast of Zealand in Næstved Municipality, Denmark. Located some 6 km south-west of Næstved, it has an area of 5.6 km2, and, as of 1 January 2010, it has a population of 57. Gavnø Castle Gavnø ...

(1573–1642) and Lisbeth Sophie Breidesdatter Rantzau til Hindema and Nislevgård (1587–1652).

References

External links