Gödik Gustafsson Fincke (c. 1546–1617) was a Finnish-born member of the

Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility (, or , ) has historically been a legally or socially privileged Social class, class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term for nobility, ''fr ...

and military officer who served as the stadtholder of Olavinlinna Castle.

Life

During the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

he served in the Swedish military and was severely wounded 1573 in a battle by the

Koluvere Castle Koluvere Castle (; ), also Koluvere Episcopal Castle, (), is a castle in Koluvere, Lääne County, in western Estonia. History A castle has existed on a strategic location since the 13th century. In 1439, it came into possession of the bishop ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Fincke was then transferred to administrative duties. In 1582, he was named as the stadtholder of the Olavinlinna Castle in Savonia. In 1596–1597 Fincke took part in suppressing the revolting Finnish peasants in the

Cudgel War The Cudgel War (also known as the Club War; ; ) was a 1596–1597 peasant uprising in Finland, which was then part of the Kingdom of Sweden. The name of the uprising derives from the fact that the peasants armed themselves with various blunt wea ...

. In the 1598–1599

War against Sigismund The war against Sigismund () was a war between Duke Charles, later known as King Charles IX of Sweden, and Sigismund III Vasa, Sigismund, who was at the time the king of both Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Co ...

, Olavinlinna became the last stronghold of Sigismund's supporters as his brother

Sten Fincke The STEN (or Sten gun) is a British submachine gun chambered in 9×19mm which was used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and during the Korean War. The Sten paired a simple design with a low production cos ...

fled to the castle. Olavinlinna soon surrendered to the troops of Charles IX without any resistance, Sten was executed in the

Åbo bloodbath The Åbo Bloodbath (; ) of 10 November 1599 was a public execution in the town of Turku (Åbo), Finland, then part of the Kingdom of Sweden, in the context of the war against Sigismund. Sweden was by then in the final phase of a civil war, wit ...

and Gödik expelled of his post. Fincke spent his last years in

Ulvila Ulvila (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is one of the six medieval cities of Finland, as well as the third oldest city in the country. Ulvila was granted charter as a ...

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish, ; historically ''Satacundia'') is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland ...

, where he died in 1617. Fincke and his spouse, Elisabeth Boije are buried to the St. Olaf's Church in Ulvila.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fincke, Godik 1540s births 1617 deaths People from Kanta-Häme Swedish-speaking Finns 16th-century Finnish nobility 16th-century Swedish nobility 17th-century Finnish nobility Swedish military personnel People of the Livonian War People of the War against Sigismund