Knut Alvsson (1455 – 18 August 1502) was a Norwegian nobleman and landowner. He was the country's foremost Norwegian-born noble in his time and served as fief-holder in southern-central Norway. He was heir of the

Sudreim claim The Sudreim claim is an entitlement to the throne of the Kingdom of Norway held among members of the powerful and influential House of Sudreim in the late Middle Ages. Background In the early 14th century, when it was foreseeable that the male ...

to the

Norwegian throne The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdom ...

in accordance with the

order of succession An order, line or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Sverre dynasty became extinct. From 1497 to 1499 he served as commander of

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress (, ) or Akershus Castle ( ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress has been the namesake and centre of the ...

but was removed in 1499 when he lost King Hans' confidence. In 1501 he led a rebellion against King Hans in Norway. He met his death at the hands of pro-Danish

Henrich Krummedige Henrich Krummedige ( 1530) was a Denmark-Norway, Danish-Norwegian nobleman and a member of both the Norwegian and Danish National Councils (Rigsraadet, ''Rigsråd'') and played an extensive role in the politics of the era. He served as commanding ...

’s men in spite of a promise of

safe conduct Safe conduct, safe passage, or letters of transit, is the situation in time of international conflict or war where one state, a party to such conflict, issues to a person (usually, an enemy state's subject) a pass or document to allow the enemy ...

, effectively weakening the rebellion severely as well as ending a feud which had started with their fathers, Hartvig Krummedige and Alv Knutsson.

Background

Knut Alvsson was the son of Norwegian National Council member Alv Knutsson and his wife Magnhild Oddsdotter (ca. 1425–1499). He was the brother of Odd Alvsson (1460–1497), who was chief of

Akershus fortress Akershus Fortress (, ) or Akershus Castle ( ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress has been the namesake and centre of the ...

, and half-brother of Karl Sigurdsson (1476–1487), who served as Bishop of the

Diocese of Hamar The Diocese of Hamar () is a diocese within the Church of Norway. The Diocese of Hamar includes all of the churches in Innlandet county plus the churches in Lunner Municipality in Akershus county. Administratively, the diocese is divided into 1 ...

. He was descended on his paternal grandfather's side from the influential and wealthy Swedish ''Tre Rosor'' noble family, which were active during the period of the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...

Properties

He inherited the

Giske Giske may refer to: Places *Giske Municipality, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Giske (island), a island within Giske Municpiality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Giske (village), a village within Giske Municpiality in Møre ...

and Sudreim properties from his father, one of the largest estate owners in Norway, as well as goods and property in

Romerike Romerike is a Districts of Norway, traditional district located north-east of Oslo, in what is today south-eastern Norway. It consists of the Akershus municipalities Lillestrøm, Lørenskog, Nittedal, Rælingen and Aurskog-Høland in the southern ...

from his brother Odd Alvsson, who died in 1497. He also held extensive properties in Sweden through his first marriage to the Swedish noblewoman Gyrvel Gyllenstjerna. Alvsson's property would be later forfeit to the crown. His estate in large part would subsequently be awarded to his granddaughter, Görvel Fadersdotter.

Alvson-Krummedige feud

Knut Alvsson inherited a long-standing feud with members of the family of

. As a member of the pro-Swedish faction on the Norwegian council of the realm, Alvsson was in natural opposition to Krummedige, who was a key member of the pro-Danish faction. In the autumn of 1497 Alvsson's sheriff to Romerike, Lasse Skjold, was killed by the people of the district. Alvsson received an open letter about the incident, which proclaimed that common people in the Nes and

Ullensaker Ullensaker is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Jessheim. I ...

stood together in the action in protest of his oppressive tax collection practices. Alvsson discussed the rebellion of his people with the Danish and Norwegian councils of the realm, and following their recommendation, asked the offenders to apply for amnesty but they held him responsible for his sheriff's actions. The farmers chose to exercise their ancient right to summon a

thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

at Aker to submit their grievances and hear their defense for what they believed was a justified killing. They also intended to summon Alvsson to the thing. These actions, combined with signs that the rebellion was spreading throughout the ''sønnafjells'' (the region of Norway south of the Dovre mountains). Alvsson was unable to quell the farmers' rebellion. The rebellion grew such that he was forced to request assistance from the commander of the Norwegian Båhus fortress, his rival and enemy, Henrich Krummedige, since the latter had demonstrated his ability to work constructively with his local land owners. Krummedige not only failed to support Alvsson, but informed the king of the matter. Alvsonn was relieved of his command of

and replaced by Peder Griis, a Danish nobleman loyal to the king.

Rebellion

In 1500 King Hans of Denmark, Sweden and Norway made an ill-fated attempt to conquer the Ditmarshes in Northern Germany. Alvsson, who had married the granddaughter of Swedish King Karl Knutsson, and was involved with the Swedish Independence Party, concluded it was time to act. While in Sweden he participated in the Swedish National Council meeting in

Vadstena Castle Vadstena Castle () is a former Royal Castle in Vadstena, the province of Östergötland,Sweden. History Vadstena Castle was originally built by King Gustav I in 1545 as a fortress to protect Stockholm from enemies approaching from the south. Th ...

in 1501, at which the council approved the revolt against King Hans]. Alvsson directed harsh accusations against King Hans' control in Norway and was provided Swedish support for his return to Norway, based on the belief that a Norwegian uprising would quickly follow the Swedish uprising. In 1501 he led Swedish forces in an attack on Båhus Fortress on the Swedish-Norwegian border, which Henrich Krummedige still commanded. Krummedige was able to hold his fief of Båhus, but Alvsson captured Akershus Fortress in March 1502, although the citizens of

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 ...

remained pro-Danish while the nobles and bishops of the country remained neutralpresumably waiting to see which side prevailed. King Hans dispatched his son Christian (later crowned King Christian II of Denmark and Norway) at the head of Danish forces; they relieved the siege of Båhus Fortress, and also captured

Älvsborg Fortress Älvsborg Fortress (), with its main facility Oscar II's Fort () built 1899–1907, is a now-defunct Swedish fortification located at the mouth of the Göta River in the Älvsborg district of Gothenburg, Sweden. History Construction of the fo ...

across the river from Båhus Fortress in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. Krummedige then led forces north to finish off the rebellion by recapturing

Tønsberg Fortress Tønsberg Fortress (''Tunsberghus festning'') was a medieval fortress and castle, located in Tønsberg, Norway which was defended by the fortress for over 300 years. It includes ruins from ''Castrum Tunsbergis'', Norway's largest castle in the 13 ...

and investing Akershus Fortress, which Alvsson was defending. When it became clear that the rebellion was stalemated, Alvsson came on board one of Krummedige's ships under a safe conduct. Krummedige's men killed Alvsson on 18 August 1502, either by treachery or, as alleged by Krummedige's men, in response to Alvsson's own violence. Breaking the rules of safe conduct was considered a grave treachery after the old Norse laws, which were still used in Norway at the time. However, the court in Oslo deemed Krummedige to have acted justly. The conditions for this judgement have been discussed by historians for years. The crown judged Alvsson a traitor. Krummedige had prevailed, although Gjerset reports he was compelled to leave Norway and the uprising was not totally quelled until December 1504 ( Nils Ravaldsson became the leader of the rebellion after Alvsson's death). Alvsson's death at the hand of Krummedige's minions caused the rebellion against the king to collapse. It also solidified the Danish-Norwegian ties and marked the last attempt at Norwegian independence for over 300 years.

In literature

The death of Alvsson has been romanticized to serve as a centerpiece for Norwegian

Romantic Nationalism Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

. Ibsen characterized the period of the Scandinavian Union and the subsequent Dano-Norwegian union (1537—1814)as "Four Hundred Years of Darkness" as part of the Norwegian nationalistic romantic literature upwelling in the close of the 18th century. For example, it was used to set an anti-Danish tone in Ibsen's play ''Fru Inger til Østeraad'', when he has Olaf Skaktavl acclaim: "Recall the afternoon when Hendrik Krummedike came before Akershus fortress with his fleet? The captains of the fleet offered to discuss peace terms; and, trusting a safe conduct, Knut Alfsøn went onboard. Only three hours later we had to carry him through the fortress gate ... Norway's bravest heart was lost when Krummedike's minions struck him down...". The original text which is translated above is provided here in Norwegian:

"Mindes I hin eftermiddag, da Hendrik
Krummedike kom med danske flåden for Akershus?
Skibsherrerne bød mindeligt forlig; og tryg ved lejdebrevet
lod Knut Alfsøn sig ro ombord. Tre timer efter bar
vi ham ind gennem slotsporten –
...
Norges bedste hjerte brast, da Krummedikes
lejesvende fældte ham."

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvsson, Knut 1455 births 1502 deaths Norwegian rebels Norwegian barons Norwegian landowners 15th-century Norwegian nobility 16th-century rebels 16th-century landowners