Steen Ottesen Brahe (21 December 1547 – 11 April 1620) was a Danish privy counsellor and landowner.

Early life and education

Brahe was born on 21 December 1547 at Gladsaxehus in

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

, the son of Otte Thygesen Brahe of Knudstrup (1518–1571) and

Beate Clausdatter Bille Beate Clausdatter Bille (30 April 1526 – 18 October 1605) was a Danish Danish nobility, noblewoman and vassal who was born into the noble Bille (noble family), Bille family and married into the Brahe, Brahe family. As a member of the royal court ...

(1526–1605), He was the younger brother of

Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, ; 14 December 154624 October 1601), generally called Tycho for short, was a Danish astronomer of the Renaissance, known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate astronomical observations. He ...

. He went to school in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

and

Aalborg Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...

and was then trained in court life in Jensen Rosensparr'e household. He then visited count

Günther of Schwarzburg Günther, Guenther, Ginther, Gunther, and the variants Günter, Guenter, Guenther, Ginter, and Gunter, are Germanic names derived from ''Gunthere, Gunthari'', composed of '' *gunþiz'' "battle" (Old Norse ''gunnr'') and ''heri, hari'' "army". Gun ...

and later followed him to Denmark and Hungary.

Marriage of Anne of Denmark and James VI of Scotland

In 1589 he was appointed Master of Household or Chamberlain to

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

, who was betrothed to

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

. Brahe and the queen's servants set sail with the

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Peder Munk Peder Munk of Estvadgård (1534–1623), was a Danish navigator, politician, and ambassador, who was in charge of the fleet carrying Anne of Denmark to Scotland. The events of the voyage led to witch trials and executions in Denmark and Scotland ...

for Scotland. The wind drove them to stay on the coast of Norway. James VI joined them at

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. On 15 December 1589 James VI decided to reward Brahe and

Axel Gyldenstierne Axel Gyldenstierne (born c. 1542, died 13 July 1603 at Sandviken, Gotland) was a Danish-Norwegian official and Governor-general of Norway from 1588 until 1601. Northern Seven Years' War He is first mentioned in the records during the Northern S ...

for their good service in attending Anne of Denmark and organising the reception and lodging of his retinue with a gift of silver plate. Brahe was given a basin, a laver, six cup with covers, and a salt. The cupboard of silver had been a gift from

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

. Brahe returned with

Steen Bille Steen Bille (1565–1629) was a Danish councillor and diplomat. He was the son of Jens Bille and Karen Rønnow, and is sometimes called "Steen Jensen Bille". His father compiled a manuscript of ballads, Jens Billes visebog. As a young man Bille ...

to Copenhagen. Brahe sailed with Anne and James to Scotland and attended her coronation on 17 May 1590. Steen Brahe came to London with Christian IV in June 1606, and King James gave him a gift of silver gilt plate.

Property

Brahe was a major landowner. He inherited half of Knudstrup after his father and bought the other half from his brother in 1594. He acquired Næsbyholm at

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in east Denmark with a population of 8,433 (2025).

and a house in Copenhagen ("Sigbrits Gård") through the marriage with his first wife. He constructed a new main building in 1585 but abandoned the house after she died in labour shortly after its completion. His second wife brought Barritskov and Bradskov into the marriage. He also carried out a comprehensive rebuilding of the main building at Barritskov. In 1581, he purchased Bregentved. He also inherited

Tersløsegaard Tersløsegaard is a manor house located close to Dianalund, Sorø Municipality some 60 kilometres southwest of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was owned by Ludvig Holberg from 1745 to 1756. He left it to Sorø Academy and it has now been converted into a ...

on Zealand (circa 1604), Hvedholm on Funen (1611) and Engelsholm in Jutland (1615).

Personal life

Brahe married three times. His first wife was Birgitte Rosenkrantz (1555–1588), a daughter of Otte Rosenkrantz and Ide Gjøe. They married on 18 September 1575 and had seven children. His second wife was Kirstine Holck (1558–1599), a daughter of Hans Holck and Margrethe Rotfeldt and the widow of Hans Krafse til Egholm (died 1587). They were married on 6 September 1590 and had two children. His children included

Otte Steensen Brahe Otte Steensen Brahe (12 April 1578 – 5 July 1651), also known as Otto Brahe, was a Danish landowner and money lender. He owned Næsbyholm, Bavelse and Tersløsegaard on Zealand. Early life and education Otto Brahe was born on 12 April 1578 a ...

of Næsbyholm (died in 1651), Jørgen Steensen Brahe of Hvedholm (died 1661) and Tyge Brahe. His third wife was Sophie Rostrup Jørgensdatter. They had no children. Brahe died in 1620 at Kalundborg Castle and was buried at

Kågeröd Church Kågeröd Church () is a medieval church in Kågeröd (Svalöv Municipality) in the province of Scania, Sweden. It dates from the end of the 12th or early 13th century, and has been successively enlarged and rebuilt, not least by the local aristocr ...

in Scania.

References

External links

BRAHE, STEN (SSNE 638)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steen Ottesen Brahe (1547-1620) 16th-century Danish landowners Ambassadors of Denmark to Scotland Brahe family 1547 births 1620 deaths People from Simrishamn Municipality