Nils Lykke ( – 24 December 1535) was a Danish-Norwegian nobleman, feudal lord (''lensherre'') and member of 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 ...

in Norway. He was the son of Danish

member and landowner Joachim Lykke and Maren Bille. In 1528 he married Eline Nilsdatter (died 1532), daughter of

Nils Henriksson Nils Henriksson (or Niels Henrikssøn, circa 1455–1523) was a Norwegian knight, landowner, National Counselor and Lord High Steward of Norway who married Ingerd Ottesdatter (''fru Inger til Austrått''). He was the son of National Counselor ...

and

Inger Ottesdotter Rømer Ingerd Ottesdotter (Rømer) (c. 1475–1555) was her era's wealthiest landowner in Norway. She was the ultimate heiress of the noble Rømer family and a political intriguer. Lady Ingerd is noted for having orchestrated her powerful sons-in-la ...

. This was a period with strong conflicts between

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, which was supported by the Danish king, and

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, whose highest representative in Norway was archbishop

Olav Engelbrektsson Olav Engelbrektsson (, Trondenes, Norway – 7 February 1538, Lier, Belgium, Lier, Duchy of Brabant, Habsburg Netherlands) was the 28th Archdiocese of Nidaros, Archbishop of Norway from 1523 to 1537, the List of Norwegian monarchs, Regent of Norwa ...

. When Lykke had a child with his sister-in-law Lucie Nilsdatter, which was regarded as incest according to the law, he was imprisoned and held at the

Steinvikholm Castle Steinvikholm Castle () is an island fortress on the Skatval peninsula in the present-day Stjørdal Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The castle was built over seven years, from 1525 to 1532, by Norway's last Roman Catholic Archbishop, ...

, and eventually executed following Engelbrektsson's order.

References

1490s births 1535 deaths 16th-century Danish nobility 16th-century Norwegian nobility Executed Danish people Executed Norwegian people People convicted of incest Nils 16th-century executions by Norway {{Norway-bio-stub