Trond Torleivsson Benkestok (c. 1495 – 14 February 1558) was a Norwegian land owner,

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

and

feudal lord An overlord in the Kingdom of England, English Feudalism in England, feudal system was a lord of the manor, lord of a manor who had Subinfeudation, subinfeudated a particular Manorialism, manor, Estate in land, estate or fief, fee, to a Leaseho ...

(''lensherre'') of

Bergenhus Fortress Bergenhus fortress ( no, Bergenhus festning) is a fortress located in Bergen, Norway. Located at the entrance of Bergen harbour, the castle is one of the oldest and best preserved stone fortifications in Norway. History The fortress contains ...

Biography

Benkestok was born around 1495 (or before 1500) in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

to nobleman Torleiv Trondson Benkestok and Adelus Eriksdotter Kruckow. In 1532, he actively supported Johan Kruckow, who wanted Frederick I rather than King Christian II on the

Norwegian throne The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms ...

. In July 1532, Christian II was captured and imprisoned. As Frederick I won the struggle, Benkestok was awarded the title of

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...

(''væpner''). He was probably a supporter of

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

until the last Catholic archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson fled Norway in 1537. Among other places, he owned much land in

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

at Meløy (''Meløy – gård'') which he had as his main farm from no later than 1540. In 1541 he received taxes from Meløy chapel and from

Sunnfjord Sunnfjord ( en, the southern fjord - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland county. It includes the municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, the southernmost parts of Kinn, Sunnfjord, and the souther ...

len. He was awarded

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, en, South- Møre) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities ( no, kommuner) of Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Norddal ...

len, the land of Stigten in 1547, and around the same time he was also promoted to knight. In 1555 he took charge of Bergenhus Fortress and in the years 1555-56 he was commander-in-chief during the absence of commander

Christoffer Huitfeldt Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

(c. 1500–1559).

Claus Bille Claus Bille (ca. 1490 – 4 January 1558 at Lyngsgård, Scania) was a Danish statesman. He was a major estate owner, knight (the highest rank of Danish nobility), fief lord of Båhus Castle and a member of both the Norwegian and the Danish Coun ...

once described Benkestok as the "most respected and wise nobleman North of the mountains". Benkestok was married to Anna Jonsdotter Haar (ca. 1510 - 1567), with whom he had sons Tord and

Jon Trondson Benkestok Jon Trondson Benkestok (1530 - ) was a Norwegian nobleman (''Adelsmann'') and a member of the Benkestok family, one of the original noble families of Norway. Family background Jon Trondson Benkestok was reported to be a direct descendant of Hara ...

and daughters Adelus, Kristin and Brynild. He died in

Vanse, Norway Vanse is a village in Farsund municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located about west of the town of Farsund and about east of the village of Vestbygd. The Farsund Airport, Lista is located just west of Vanse. The village was t ...

, 14 February 1558.

References

Other sources

*Brandt, Wilhelmine (original edition: 1904, facsimile ed: 1997) ''Slægten Benkestok'' (Oslo: Damms Antikvariat AS) 1495 births 1558 deaths 16th-century Norwegian nobility T Norwegian knights Norwegian squires {{europe-noble-stub

Biography

See also

References

Other sources