Birgitte Gøye (1511 - 26 July 1574) was a Danish county administrator,

lady in waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but ...

, landholder and

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

, co-founder and

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

Herlufsholm School Herlufsholm School () is a private day and boarding school by the River Suså in Næstved, about south of Copenhagen. Herlufsholm was founded in 1565 as a boarding school for "sons of noble and other honest men" on the site of a former Benedict ...

Biography

She was the daughter of Mogens Gøye and Mette Bydelsbak and the sister of Eline Gøye. She was raised in a convent, Ringkloster, and in 1538 became lady in waiting to Queen

Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg (9 July 1511 – 7 October 1571) was queen consort of Denmark and Norway by marriage to King Christian III of Denmark. She was known to having wielded influence upon the affairs of state in Denmark.Jorgensen, Ellen & S ...

. She had been engaged against her will by her family to Jesper Daa in 1525, but in 1540, she was freed from the engagement, which until 1582 was as binding as a marriage. Thanks to her friendship with the queen, the king had professors and bishops investigate the matter and then issued a new law that banned parents from arranging engagements for their minor children. She married courtier

Herluf Trolle Herluf Trolle (14 January 1516 – 25 June 1565) was a Danish naval officer, 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. ...

in 1544. She had no issue, but raised many foster daughters from the nobility in her home and arranged their marriages. In 1565, she founded the

by donating her estate Skovkloster Abbey (''Skovkloster'') to it, and functioned as its principal until 1567. She was the county administrator of

Tølløse Tølløse is a railway town located in the northwestern part of the island of Zealand in Denmark. It has a population of 4,007 (1 January 2025).

until terminated in 1566. in 1571 she lost her two estates, Kappelgården at

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a Danish seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark. In 2025, the ...

and Ringkloster at

Skanderborg Skanderborg is a town in Skanderborg Municipality, Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj S ...

. In 1572 she returned to

Næstved Næstved () is a town in Næstved Municipality, the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five Primary education, elemen ...

and only shortly afterwards the crown gave her a life estate at Ydernæs manor (''Ydernæs ved Næstved''). Her husband Herluf Trolle died during 1565 and Birgitte Gøye died during 1574. Both Herluf Trolle and Birgitte Gøye were buried together at Herlufsholm in a tomb made by the Flemish sculptor

Cornelis Floris de Vriendt Cornelis Floris or Cornelis (II) Floris De Vriendt (c. 1514 – 20 October 1575) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish sculptor, architect, draughtsman, medallist and designer of prints and luxury. He operated a large workshop in Antwerp from wh ...

(1514–1575).

References

Other literature

* Axel Liljefalk: ''Herluf Trolle og Birgitte Gjøe, deres Liv, deres Gerning'', 1910. * G.L. Wad (red.): ''Breve til og fra Herluf Trolle og Birgitte Gjøe'', 1893. * T.A. Becker: ''Herluf Trolle og Birgitte Gøie'', 1885.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goye, Birgitte 1511 births 1574 deaths 16th-century Danish nobility Danish ladies-in-waiting Danish women educators 16th-century Danish women landowners 16th-century Danish landowners Danish headmistresses 16th-century Danish educators Heads of schools in Denmark Gøye family