Olav Nilsson Skanke
Encyclopedia
Amongst the members of the Skanke
family that went on to serve as knights of first the Norwegian and later the Dano-Norwegian
kings was Olav Nilsson Skanke (? - 1455). Olav is first mentioned in written sources in 1424, as a royal official
in the city of Trondheim
. Later on Olav became a wealthy landowner in both Norway and Denmark
and was made knight in 1430, together with his brother Peder. The king who declared the brothers to be knights was Eric of Pomerania
. Some time after 1430 Olav married Elisabeth Eskildsdatter from Skåne, a lady of high nobility who had the right to use in her coat-of-arms the Royal Lion of Denmark. The marriage of Olav and Elisabeth was one of equal partners, this as Elisabeth personally owned large properties in Sweden
and was of strong will and determination. Elisabeth's position in the marriage would be clearly portrayed in the pivotal role she was to play in many of the dramatic events that took place in the latter stages of Olav's life.
Olav was a member of the Norwegian Riksråd
.
King Christopher
wanted to improve his relations with the common people of his realm
, having come to power following rebellions against his predecessor, Eric, who had allowed foreign officials and bishops to exploit the peoples he ruled over. One of the main efforts of king Cristopher to mend these relations was to appoint a commission
to process the complaints of the citizens of Norway. The chairman of this commission was Olav Nilsson Skanke. Olav was also appointed chief official of Bergen, the main trading centre and harbor of Norway at the time.
Perhaps chief amongst the foreign influences that were detested by the Norwegian people at the time was the Hanseatic League
. The League operated outside of Norwegian law and conducted themselves with indecency and violence. The citizens of Bergen complained to Olav, but the knight was not able to get support from either the king or the king's government
. Acting alone, and with harsh means, Olav punished those amongst the Hanseatic who had committed crimes against the city's citizens, thus earning the hatred of the League.
experienced a period of crisis, due to the late king having had no direct heir with Sweden choosing Charles VIII
as king while Denmark supported Christian I. Charles VIII was the first, in November 1449 to proclaim himself king of Norway, as Charles I of Norway, but only a few months later, in early 1450, he was deposed by the Dane
Christian I who took over the Norwegian throne. At this point war within the union seemed certain, and in response the Swedish national council asked king Charles to withdraw his claim to the Norwegian throne.
Charles would however have nothing of the sort and in 1452 sent his knight Ørian Karlson Skanke from Jemtland to conquer Trondheim, the ancient centre of Norway's kings. Control of this vital city would have greatly strengthened Charles' claim to the throne. The answer from the Danish side came quickly with knight Ørian's own relatives, Olav Nilsson Skanke and his brother Peder, marching up from the south and pushing Ørian out of Trondheim. The same thing happened all over again in 1453 with Ørian seizing Trondheim and Olav and Peder driving him out once more. This second battle finally concluded the conflict over succession and ended the battles between knights of the Skanke family.
As previously mentioned Olav Nilsson Skanke came to earn the hatred of the Hanseatic League through his conduct as chief official in Bergen. As early as in 1446 the League issued official complaints against Olav at a Bergen town council meeting, and after numerous complaints king Christian I of Denmark yielded to the pressure and in 1453 dismissed Olav. In Olav's place one Magnus Green was made the royal official of Bergen. This dismissal greatly shook Olav who felt unjustly treated after his long and loyal service to the king of the Kalmar Union and to the people of Norway. The knight refused to take this blow lying down and soon mobilized his personal resources and those of his family to regain his former position.
. Here he began to set the wheels in motion towards his response to the Hansa
's role in his dismissal. Olav soon equipped several pirate ships and started to wage a naval war on the League by attacking and seizing its ships in the North Sea
. Operating from a base on the east coast of Scotland
, Olav captured a large percentage of the Hanseatic vessels heading for Bergen. Both Olav's wife Elisabeth and his two sons were each commanding ships in the piratical fleet
harrying the Hansa vessels.
Elisabeth was especially successful in the family's piracy and rapidly became renowned all over Northern Europe
for her wisdom and bravery.
:sv:Älvsborg in 1455 and garrison it with his own loyal men. This fortress was of vital importance to the Swedes due to its strategic location commanding the shipping route
s between Denmark and Norway. In addition to occupying this favorable blocking position Ãlvsborg was also the major Swedish strongpoint in the small strip of land the Swedes had controlled since the mid-13th century, separating the Danish province of Halland
from the Norwegian Bohuslen. The small coastal area of the province Västergötland
was up until the 1658 Treaty of Roskilde
Sweden's only access to the Skagerrak
and the North Sea. At the time the relationship between Denmark and Sweden was very tense, and it was in this atmosphere that Olav offered to hand over the fortress to the Danes. Olav made it clear that he would only surrender the fortress into Danish hands if he was reinstituted to his former position in Bergen, if these conditions were not met he would hand Älvsborg back to the Swedes. In effect, Olav committed an act of extortion
against the Danish Crown
. As Ãlvsborg was of to great importance in the rivalry between Sweden and Denmark the Danish king Christian I had no choice but to agree to the vigilante
knight's demands.
into restoring him to his former position in Bergen he and his family returned to the city in a triumphant manner. Olav given command of the royal castle in Bergen
.
. In the attack which destroyed the abbey Olav was killed, together with the Biship of Bergen and about 60 other Norwegians.
Skanke
Skanke is the name of several Norwegian families.The name was not generally used in Middle Ages, it is a later retrospectively constructed surname for families who had their crest depicting shank, or leg...
family that went on to serve as knights of first the Norwegian and later the Dano-Norwegian
Dano-Norwegian
Dano-Norwegian is a linguistic term for a koiné that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway . It is from this koiné that Riksmål and Bokmål developed...
kings was Olav Nilsson Skanke (? - 1455). Olav is first mentioned in written sources in 1424, as a royal official
Official
An official is someone who holds an office in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority .A government official or functionary is an official who is involved in public...
in the city of Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
. Later on Olav became a wealthy landowner in both Norway and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and was made knight in 1430, together with his brother Peder. The king who declared the brothers to be knights was Eric of Pomerania
Eric of Pomerania
Eric of Pomerania KG was King Eric III of Norway Norwegian Eirik, King Eric VII of Denmark , and as Eric King of Sweden...
. Some time after 1430 Olav married Elisabeth Eskildsdatter from Skåne, a lady of high nobility who had the right to use in her coat-of-arms the Royal Lion of Denmark. The marriage of Olav and Elisabeth was one of equal partners, this as Elisabeth personally owned large properties in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and was of strong will and determination. Elisabeth's position in the marriage would be clearly portrayed in the pivotal role she was to play in many of the dramatic events that took place in the latter stages of Olav's life.
Rigsraadet
Rigsraadet, or Riksrådet, , is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that ruled the countries together with the kings from late Middle Ages to the 17th century...
.
King Christopher
Christopher of Bavaria
Christopher of Bavaria or Christopher the Bavarian; as king named Christopher ; Danish and Norwegian: Christoffer af/av Bayern; Swedish Kristofer av Bayern was union king of Denmark , Sweden and Norway .-Biography:He was probably born at Neumarkt in...
wanted to improve his relations with the common people of his realm
Realm
A realm is a dominion of a monarch or other sovereign ruler.The Old French word reaume, modern French royaume, was the word first adopted in English; the fixed modern spelling does not appear until the beginning of the 17th century...
, having come to power following rebellions against his predecessor, Eric, who had allowed foreign officials and bishops to exploit the peoples he ruled over. One of the main efforts of king Cristopher to mend these relations was to appoint a commission
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
to process the complaints of the citizens of Norway. The chairman of this commission was Olav Nilsson Skanke. Olav was also appointed chief official of Bergen, the main trading centre and harbor of Norway at the time.
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
. The League operated outside of Norwegian law and conducted themselves with indecency and violence. The citizens of Bergen complained to Olav, but the knight was not able to get support from either the king or the king's government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
. Acting alone, and with harsh means, Olav punished those amongst the Hanseatic who had committed crimes against the city's citizens, thus earning the hatred of the League.
Conflict of succession in the Kalmar Union
After the death of king Christopher in 1448 the Kalmar UnionKalmar Union
The Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population...
experienced a period of crisis, due to the late king having had no direct heir with Sweden choosing Charles VIII
Charles VIII of Sweden
Charles VIII of Sweden , Charles I of Norway, also Carl, , was king of Sweden and king of Norway ....
as king while Denmark supported Christian I. Charles VIII was the first, in November 1449 to proclaim himself king of Norway, as Charles I of Norway, but only a few months later, in early 1450, he was deposed by the Dane
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Christian I who took over the Norwegian throne. At this point war within the union seemed certain, and in response the Swedish national council asked king Charles to withdraw his claim to the Norwegian throne.
Charles would however have nothing of the sort and in 1452 sent his knight Ørian Karlson Skanke from Jemtland to conquer Trondheim, the ancient centre of Norway's kings. Control of this vital city would have greatly strengthened Charles' claim to the throne. The answer from the Danish side came quickly with knight Ørian's own relatives, Olav Nilsson Skanke and his brother Peder, marching up from the south and pushing Ørian out of Trondheim. The same thing happened all over again in 1453 with Ørian seizing Trondheim and Olav and Peder driving him out once more. This second battle finally concluded the conflict over succession and ended the battles between knights of the Skanke family.
Knight Olav is dismissed by the king
Knight Olav served King Christian as a privateer during the king's wars against the Hansa. After Christian made peace with the trading alliance, Olav continued to attack Hanseatic ships as a pirate against the wishes of the Dano-Norwegian king.As previously mentioned Olav Nilsson Skanke came to earn the hatred of the Hanseatic League through his conduct as chief official in Bergen. As early as in 1446 the League issued official complaints against Olav at a Bergen town council meeting, and after numerous complaints king Christian I of Denmark yielded to the pressure and in 1453 dismissed Olav. In Olav's place one Magnus Green was made the royal official of Bergen. This dismissal greatly shook Olav who felt unjustly treated after his long and loyal service to the king of the Kalmar Union and to the people of Norway. The knight refused to take this blow lying down and soon mobilized his personal resources and those of his family to regain his former position.
Olav's personal war on the Hanseatic League
After his dismissal Olav left Bergen and went to his manorial home at Talgø Island in RyfylkeRyfylke
Ryfylke is a traditional district in Norway, located northeast of Stavanger and east of Haugesund. In the east it borders Setesdal and Sirdal.Ryfylke comprises the contemporary municipalities of Sauda, Suldal, Finnøy, Hjelmeland, Forsand, Strand, Kvitsøy and Rennesøy...
. Here he began to set the wheels in motion towards his response to the Hansa
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
's role in his dismissal. Olav soon equipped several pirate ships and started to wage a naval war on the League by attacking and seizing its ships in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. Operating from a base on the east coast of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Olav captured a large percentage of the Hanseatic vessels heading for Bergen. Both Olav's wife Elisabeth and his two sons were each commanding ships in the piratical fleet
Naval fleet
A fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....
harrying the Hansa vessels.
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
for her wisdom and bravery.
Olav takes Älvsborg
Soon the campaign against the League became so successful that Olav expanded it to the coast of Sweden, attacking the Swedes at every weak point he could find. In one of his attacks Olav managed to capture the Swedish fortress of ÄlvsborgÄlvsborg Fortress
Älvsborg, also Elfsborg Fortress, is a sea fortress located in today's Gothenburg , Sweden. Situated on the mouth of the Göta Älv river, it served to protect Sweden's access to the Atlantic Ocean and the nearby settlement of today's Gothenburg and its four predecessors. The fortress was relocated...
:sv:Älvsborg in 1455 and garrison it with his own loyal men. This fortress was of vital importance to the Swedes due to its strategic location commanding the shipping route
Shipping route
A shipping route is a trade route used by merchant ships.Early routes usually were coastal in nature as navigators had to rely on the coastal landmarks...
s between Denmark and Norway. In addition to occupying this favorable blocking position Ãlvsborg was also the major Swedish strongpoint in the small strip of land the Swedes had controlled since the mid-13th century, separating the Danish province of Halland
Halland
' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
from the Norwegian Bohuslen. The small coastal area of the province Västergötland
Västergötland
', English exonym: West Gothland, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated in the southwest of Sweden. In older English literature one may also encounter the Latinized version Westrogothia....
was up until the 1658 Treaty of Roskilde
Treaty of Roskilde
The Treaty of Roskilde was concluded on 26 February or 8 March 1658 during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde...
Sweden's only access to the Skagerrak
Skagerrak
The Skagerrak is a strait running between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area, which leads to the Baltic Sea.-Name:...
and the North Sea. At the time the relationship between Denmark and Sweden was very tense, and it was in this atmosphere that Olav offered to hand over the fortress to the Danes. Olav made it clear that he would only surrender the fortress into Danish hands if he was reinstituted to his former position in Bergen, if these conditions were not met he would hand Älvsborg back to the Swedes. In effect, Olav committed an act of extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
against the Danish Crown
Danish Crown
Danish Crown may refer to several things.* Danish krone, currency used in Denmark* The monarchy of Denmark* Danish Crown Regalia, symbols of the Danish monarchy.* Danish Crown AmbA, a large meat processing company....
. As Ãlvsborg was of to great importance in the rivalry between Sweden and Denmark the Danish king Christian I had no choice but to agree to the vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
knight's demands.
Olav returns triumphantly to Bergen
Following Olav's success in forcing the Danish CrownDanish Royal Family
The Danish Royal Family includes the Queen of Denmark and her family. All members except the Queen hold the title of Prince/Princess of Denmark with the style of His/Her Royal Highness or His/Her Highness. The Queen is styled Her Majesty. The Queen and her siblings belong to the House of...
into restoring him to his former position in Bergen he and his family returned to the city in a triumphant manner. Olav given command of the royal castle in Bergen
Bergenhus Fortress
Bergenhus fortress is a fortress located in Bergen, Norway. Bergenhus fortress is located in the entrance to the harbor in Bergen. This is one of the oldest and best preserved castles in Norway.-History:...
.
Death
Shortly after Olav's return to Bergen German Hanseatic merchants attacked him at Munkeliv AbbeyMunkeliv Abbey
Munkeliv Abbey was a Benedictine abbey located at Nordnes in Bergen, Norway. It was one of the oldest monasteries in Norway, and also one of the wealthiest and best-documented.-History:...
. In the attack which destroyed the abbey Olav was killed, together with the Biship of Bergen and about 60 other Norwegians.
Literature
- Øye, Ingvild (ed.): Bergen and the German Hansa, Bryggens Museum, Bergen 1994 ISBN 82-90289-52-9