Erik Juel, often referred to as Erik Juel to Hundsbæk and Alsted (1591 – 13 February 1657) was a Danish

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

seignory In English law, seignory or seigniory, spelled ''signiory'' in Early Modern English (; ; ), is the lordship (authority) remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple. '' Nulle terre sans seigneur'' ("No land without a lord") ...

and Privy Councillor, the father of Admiral

Niels Juel Niels Juel (8 May 1629 – 8 April 1697) was a Danish naval officer. He served as supreme commander of the Dano-Norwegian Navy during the late 17th century and oversaw development of the Danish-Norwegian Navy. Background Niels Juel was born ...

and of the politician and diplomat Jens Juel.

Biography

Erik Juel was born in 1591 at Alsted, the son of Peder Juel of the noble Danish Juel family and his wife Margrethe née Ulfstand. From 1610 to 1616, he held the office of secretary to the Danish Chancellery, with a break during the

Kalmar War The Kalmar War (1611–1613) was fought between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. Though Denmark-Norway soon gained the upper hand, it was unable to defeat Sweden entirely. The Kalmar War was the last time Denmark-Norway successfully defended its '' ...

from 1611 to 1613 when he was '' Hofjunker''. During the siege of

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 41,388 inhabitants in 2020 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

he had a horse shot under him. After the war, in his capacity of secretary of the Chancellery, he was also appointed

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Ribe Cathedral Ribe Cathedral or Our Lady Maria Cathedral ( or ''Vor Frue Maria Domkirke'') is located in the ancient city of Ribe, on the west coast of southern Jutland, Denmark. It was founded in the Viking Age as the first Christian church in Denmark by Ansgar ...

. In 1623, he was appointed provincial judge in

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

and also held several other local posts and offices. He was granted Gudum Convent by the Crown (until 1651). During the ''Kejserkrigen'', the Danish outshoot of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, he had to flee his estates in 1627, travelling to

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

while his wife and children sought refuge in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. For a while, after the end of the war, he served as the leader of the Jutland nobility at the Provincial Meetings (''Provinsmøderne'') and was in 1638 and again in 1646 appointed country commissioner. From 1640 to 1646, he was granted Pandumgaard in fee, from 1646 to 1648 Lundenæs and from 1648 to 1657

Aalborghus Aalborghus Castle () is a castle in Aalborg, Denmark. It is a half-timbered (''bindingsværk'') castle built by King Christian III from 1539 to around 1555 initially as a fortification. A building had existed at the site before Christian III's ...

. During the

Torstenson War The Torstenson War was fought between Sweden and Denmark–Norway from 1643 to 1645. The name derives from Swedish general Lennart Torstenson. Denmark-Norway had withdrawn from the Thirty Years' War in the 1629 Treaty of Lübeck. After its vic ...

, from 1643 to 1645, he was part of the military leadership in Jutland. In July 1651, he was elected a member of the Privy Council. Not living to see the achievements of his two sons, Niels and Jens Juel, he died on 13 February 1657, aged 65 or 66, leaving his widow in poor financial circumstances .

Family

Erik Juel married Sophie Clausdatter Sehested on 4 October 1618. They had the following children: * Claus Eriksen Juel (6 March 1621 – 16 November 1673) * Peder Juel (14 July 1623, Hundsbæk Gods – 9 December 1656,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

) * Karen Eriksdatter Juel (14 October 1626, Gudumkloster – 17 October 1656, Kærsholm) *

(8 May 1629, Christiania – 8 April 1697) * Jens Juel (15 July 1631, Nørtorp Thy – 23 May 1700, Copenhagen) * Melchior Juel (1634–1678) * Maren Eriksdatter Juel (7 April 1636, Nørtorp Thy – 1664)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Juel, Erik 1591 births 1657 deaths 17th-century Danish people Juel family