Bjelke (noble family)
Encyclopedia
Bjelke was a Danish
Danish nobility
Nobility in Denmark was a leading social class until the 19th or 20th century. Danish nobility exists yet and has a recognized status in Denmark, a monarchy, but its real privileges have been abolished....

 and Norwegian noble family
Norwegian nobility
Norwegian nobility are persons and families who in early times belonged to the supreme social, political, and military class and who later were members of the institutionalised nobility in the Kingdom of Norway. It has its historical roots in the group of chieftains and warriors which evolved...

, known since the mid 1400s and extinct in 1868.

History

The family's progenitor was Josef Andersen of Gyllarp in Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...

, living in the middle of the 1400s. His son Tilluf Josefsen to Gyllarp was the father of Jens Tillufsen Bjelke, who by his marriage to Lucie Nielsdatter Gyldenløve
Gyldenløve
Gyldenløve is the name of two important noble families in Danish and Norwegian history. The first Gyldenløve family belonged to the Norwegian high nobility...

 came to possess Austrått
Austrått
thumb|The manor’s entry portal with the coat of arms carved in [[soapstone]].Austrått or Austrått Manor is a manor in Ørland municipality, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. Since the 10th century Austrått has been the residence for many noblemen, noblewomen and officials who played a significant role in...

 Fortress and Estate i Ørland
Ørland
Ørland is a municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Fosen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Brekstad. Other villages include Uthaug, Opphaug, and Ottersbo...

, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. In the 1600s, this family was among the mightiest in the kingdom. The last man of the family was dr.phil. Carl Frederik Bjelke (1837–68).

Coat of arms

The family's arms are a silver shield whereon two blue beam
Beam
Beam may refer to:*Beam , a construction element*Beam , the most extreme width of a nautical vessel, or a point alongside the ship at the mid-point of its length*A narrow, propagating stream of particles or energy:...

s (bjelke).

The coat of arms is found among other in family members' wax seals, in heraldic artworks at Austrått Fortress, and in a portrait of Ove Bjelke.

Connection to other families

The family has no confirmed connection to the Swedish family Bielke.

The other Bjelke family in Norway, living today, descends from the Swedish Bielke family known as Lilliebjelke.

Literature and sources

  • Yearbook of the Danish Nobility
    Danmarks Adels Aarbog
    Danmarks Adels Aarbog is an annual publication that details the genealogies, titles, and coats of arms of Danish and Norwegian noble families. It was first published in 1884, making it one of the oldest such publications...

  • Trætteberg, Hallvard: Norges våbenmerker. Norske by- og adelsvåben
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