Eilif Peterssen - Christian II signing the Death Warrant of Torben Oxe - Google Art Project

Torben Oxe (died 29 November 1517) 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 ...

nobleman and a member of an

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

family. Oxe was the son of Johan Oxe of Tordsø and Inger Torbensdatter Bille. Both his father and grandfather had served as Danish Councillors (''dansk rigsråd''). His nephew

Peder Oxe Peter is a common masculine given name. It is derived directly from Greek , ''Petros'' (an invented, masculine form of Greek ''petra,'' the word for "rock" or "stone"), which itself was a translation of Aramaic ''Kefa'' ("stone, rock"), the new na ...

, would become the future Danish finance minister and Steward of the Realm. Torben Oxe served as a liege man of King

Christian II of Denmark Christian II (1 July 1481 – 25 January 1559) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union who reigned as King of Denmark and Norway, from 1513 until 1523, and Sweden from 1520 until 1521. From 1513 to 1523, he was concurrently Duke ...

, under whom from 1514, he was governor of

Copenhagen Castle Copenhagen Castle ( da, Københavns Slot) was a castle on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built in the late 14th century and was located at the site of the current Christiansborg Palace. History In 1167, Bisho ...

. He also inherited a fief in

Kronborg Kronborg is a castle and stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalized as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was inscribed on the UNES ...

from his father who died in 1490. During the summer of 1517, Torben Oxe was accused of murdering

Dyveke Sigbritsdatter Dyveke Sigbritsdatter or ''Dyveke Willomsdatter'', (1490 – 21 September 1517), in Denmark normally known as "''Dyveke''" (in modern Dutch "''duifje''" means "little dove"), was the mistress to Christian II of Denmark. Dyveke was a commoner, ...

, King Christian II's mistress, with some poisoned cherries. Dyveke's mother

Sigbrit Willoms Sigbrit Villoms (also spelled Villums), (possible date of death 1532), was a Danish-Norwegian politician from Amsterdam, mother to the mistress of King Christian II of Denmark, Dyveke Sigbritsdatter, and advisor and de facto minister of finance f ...

, the widow of a Dutch merchant, acted as an advisor to the king, to the displeasure of much of the Danish nobility. Torben Oxe was first tried and acquitted by the State Council. King Christian II did not accept the judgment and had Oxe indicted by a court consisting of a jury from

Solbjerg Solbjerg is a south-western suburb of Aarhus in Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign ...

outside Copenhagen. Oxe was charged in what amounted to a justice-of-the-peace court with vague offences against his liege lord, Christian II. The verdict as directed by the king was guilty and the death sentence imposed. He was condemned to death, traditionally in the words: ''"Vi dømmer ham ikke, men hans gerninger dømmer ham"'' (We do not condemn him - his deeds condemn him), and was beheaded and buried in the graveyard of St. Gertrude's Hospital (''St Gertruds Kloster'') in Copenhagen.''S. Gertruds Hospital og Kapel'' (Kjøbenhavns Kirker og Klostre i Middelalderen)
/ref> Members of the Royal Council of the State (''Rigsraadet'') disapproved of the

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...

of Oxe, who was a popular figure. The execution further alienated Christian II from the nobles and the people of Copenhagen. Thereafter the king lost no opportunity to suppress the nobility and raise commoners to power. A famous painting by Eilif Peterssen titled ''Christian II Signing the Death Warrant of Torben Oxe'' is present in the

National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

in Oslo, Norway.

References

Other sources

*Lockhart, Paul Douglas ''Denmark, 1513-1660: the rise and decline of a Renaissance monarchy'' (Oxford University Press, 2007) *Bain, Robert Nisbet ''Scandinavia: a political history of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900'' (Cambridge: University Press, 1905) {{DEFAULTSORT:Oxe, Torben 15th-century Danish nobility 16th-century Danish nobility 1517 deaths People executed by Denmark by decapitation People executed by the Kalmar Union Executed Danish people 16th-century Danish people Year of birth unknown 16th-century executions by Denmark Oxe family