Jørgen Friis (died 1616 in

Skørping Skørping is a railway town in Rebild Municipality in Region Nordjylland in the geographic region of the Jutland peninsula known as ''Himmerland'' in northern Denmark. The modern town has a population of 3,076 as of 1 January 2024.Governor-general of Norway from 1601 to 1608. During his lifetime, the Danish nobility had a monopoly on a number of administrative offices. Friis was a member of that small class of upper nobility whose had access to the highest positions in Denmark-Norway, including membership on the

riksråd Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish) or Rigsrådet (in Danish or English: the Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that ...

. He became Governor-general of Norway in 1601 and initiated a major effort to revise the Norwegian law which led to

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the H ...

’s ''Norwegian Law of 1604''.

Personal life

The date of Friis' birth is unknown, though it is likely that he was born at Nes Castle in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. His father, Ivar Friis (died 1557), was the lord at Nes, and his mother was Sophie Andersdatter Glob (died after 1574). His family was part of an early noble line from southern

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 ...

, which has been traced back to at least the mid 1300-century, based on the earliest recording of their coat-of-arms. The family belonged to the leading noble circles in Jutland, and Jørgen Friis had an upbringing that was common for young men of his standing. As a young man he experienced military action when in 1576 he served in the king's retinue during a campaign into

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

. He was married three times, first on 2 August 1573 to the Danish nobelwoman Anne Pallesdatter Juel (died 19 December 1576), daughter of Palle Juel (died 1585), the judge in Nordjylland and Anne Lykke (died 1585). His second marriage was to the Danish nobelwoman Else Bjørnsdatter (1558–1594), daughter of the danish national counselor Bjørn Andersen (1532–1583) and Sidsel Truidsdatter Ulfstand (died 1561). His third marriage was to the Norwegian nobelwoman Lisbeth Christoffersdatter Galle (died 1616), daughter of the lord of Steinvikholm, Christoffer Galle (died 1555) and Birte Clausdatter Bille (1534–1613). She served as Acting County Sheriff of the County of Vinstrupgård, taking charge of the tenantry after the death of her first husband, Eggert Ulfeldt. Friis had a total of twelve children: four daughters and eight sons. Several of his sons died while studying abroad. His son Christen Friis became Chancellor of Denmark in 1616. Friis died in 1616 in

Career

Friis followed the traditional early career path of a nobleman, with service at court and as a court

Junker Junker (, , , , , , ka, იუნკერი, ) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German , meaning 'young nobleman'Duden; Meaning of Junker, in German/ref> or otherwise 'young lord' (derivation of and ). The term is traditionally ...

in 1578. In 1580s-90s he served with various smaller in Denmark, and 1595, he became a judge in North Jutland, which provided him a good knowledge of the law and its interpretation. He achieved the highest rank in 1596, when he was named to the Danish national council (''riksrådet''). Most of Friis' labor went to managing the numerous fiefs for which he was responsible. He also devoted attention to his personal interests. He had inherited Krastrup manor in North Jutland from his mother. The manor house at Krastrup burned in 1612, but was restored at Jørgen Friis’ direction.

Governor-general of Norway

In 1601 he was granted Norway's most important fief,

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

, as well as the position of Governor-general of Norway. Friis served as Governor-general of Norway until 1608, when he returned to Denmark, where he was granted the far less labor-intensive Seilstrup fief, which he held until his death. When he assumed the role of Governor-general (''statholder'') from

Axel Gyldenstjerne 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 ...

was present in Norway. Friis had to pledge that we would "listen and pay diligent heed to the complaints of the common people and help them secure justice." His most important contributions were in translating and organizing the law. The Danish-Norwegian administrators found it absolutely necessary to recast the old Norwegian law, which was written in

old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

and difficult for them to interpret and apply. Moreover, there were newer laws that were not properly entered into the older documented law record. As early as 1557

Christian III Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...

had directed a revision of the Norwegian laws, without success. Frederick II had also directed a revision of the law in 1572, without success. Yet another royal direction to translate the laws and add provisions for fines had been addressed to the governor, Axel Gyldenstierne, in 1592.

was one of the most remarkable of the Danish-Norwegian kings, having initiated many reforms and projects in both Denmark and Norway. He visited Norway 26 times, more times than all his predecessors combined, and became aware of the egregious abuses of the law by fief holders like

Ludvig Munk Ludvig Ludvigsen Munk (1537 in Vejle – 8 April 1602 at Nørlund castle, Funen) was a Danish official and Count. He was also referred to as Ludvig Ludvigsen Munk von Schleswig-Holstein and Ludvig Munk til Nørlund. Career He was a Junker at t ...

. In 1602 Christian IV resided in

, reviewed the need to revise the laws, and the governor-general Jørgen Friis, with the support of Anders Green and various men of the law, was commanded to prepare a new law book. Under the eye of the king, the commission work quickly, and the new law book, which was printed in 1604, entered into force in January 1605 under the name, ''KONG CHRISTIAN DEN FJERDES NORSKE LOVBOG af 1604''. The law was essentially a Danish translation of the older Norwegian law created by

Magnus VI Magnus the Lawmender (1 or 3 May 1238 – 9 May 1280), also known as Magnus Haakonsson, was King of Norway from 1263 to 1280. One of his greatest achievements was the modernisation and nationalisation of the Norwegian law-code. He was the first ...

and recorded in Norwegian from 1274 to 1276. Friis' work on the Norwegian law was of great importance, since it produced a law book which was better suited to conditions that existed at that time in Scandinavia. As is common with the law, it had to be updated multiple times, including revisions by

Jens Bjelke Jens Ågessøn Bjelke (2 February 1580 – 7 November 1659) was a Norwegian nobleman who was Chancellor of Norway from 1614 to 1659, and was succeeded by his son Ove Bjelke. He was the son of Åge Bjelke and Margrethe Thott. At the time of h ...

, but it served as the essential source of law until it was superseded by ''kong Christian 5s Norske Lov av 1687'' ( King Christian V's Norwegian Law of 1687).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friis, Jorgen 1616 deaths 16th-century Danish nobility 17th-century Danish nobility Governors-general of Norway 16th-century Norwegian nobility 17th-century Norwegian nobility Year of birth unknown Friis family