The Skanke family is a former Norwegian noble family.

Connection with the Isle of Man

According to the Skanke Family Association in Norway (''Skanke-foreningen i Norge''), the family can trace its roots to Jemtland in the 14th century with a high degree of certainty, and with less certainty to the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

before that. The association's shield depicts a blue-armored leg (or shank), spurred in gold, on a field of white. The family's use of a leg motif in its heraldry has been compared with the Manx

triskelion A triskelion or triskeles is an ancient motif consisting either of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry or of other patterns in triplicate that emanate from a common center. The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean s ...

. Manx historian George Vaughan Chichester Young, O.B.E., supposed from that similarity that the family descends from the rulers of Manx (who lost their kingdom as a result of the

Treaty of Perth The Treaty of Perth, signed 2 July 1266, ended military conflict between Magnus the Lawmender of Norway and Alexander III of Scotland over possession of the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. The Hebrides and the Isle of Man had become Norwegian t ...

and the 1275 loss of the

Battle of Ronaldsway The Battle of Ronaldsway took place in 1275 at Ronaldsway in the southern part of the Isle of Man between a Scottish army and the Manx. The battle crushed the final attempt by the Manx to re-establish the Norse Sudreyar dynasty. As the battl ...

). He wrote in his work ''A Brief History of the Isle of Man'':

Skankes opposing each other

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 ...

was an unstable creation, often shook by struggles between the pro-Danish and pro-Swedish factions. These conditions would lead the family into battle, with relatives ending up on opposing sides in a war of succession. In 1452, knight Örjan Karlson Skanke from Jemtland is mentioned as agent of

Charles VIII of Sweden Karl Knutsson Bonde ( 1408–1470), also known as Charles VIII and called Charles I in Norwegian contexts, was King of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465 and 1467–1470) and King of Norway (1449–1450). He rose in Swedish politics beca ...

. Ørjan was sent to conquer

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, 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 with knight Ørjan's own distant relatives. Olav Nilsson (ca. 1400–1455) was commander of

Bergenhus Fortress Bergenhus fortress () is a fortress located in Bergen, Norway. Located at the entrance of Bergen harbour, the castle is one of the oldest and best preserved stone fortifications in Norway. History The fortress contains buildings dating as earl ...

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. Olav Nilsson and his brother Peder, marching up from the south and pushing Ørjan out of

. The same thing happened all over again in 1453 with Ørjan 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. The pro-Danish side, led by the knight Olav Nilsson and his brother and fellow knight, Peder Nilsson, came out on top in this struggle. The two brothers belonged to Norwegian pro-Danish forces which repeatedly defeated the Swedish forces of Charles VIII in the area around

. After their participation in the fighting the brothers received high ranking positions in the administration of Norway.

Olav Nilsson Skanke warred with the Hanseatic League

Only a few years after becoming the main royal official in Bergen, Olav lost his position due a conflict with the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. The League pressured the Danish king into firing Olav after he had made attempts at reducing their autonomous status in the city. In response to this, Olav carried out a prolonged private war of

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

and

raiding Raiding may refer to: * The present participle of the verb Raid (disambiguation), which itself has several meanings * Raid (military) * Raid (video games), a group of video game players who join forces * Raiding, Austria, a town in Austria * Party ...

against both the League and Sweden, in the end forcing the Danish king into restoring his former position. After returning to Bergen, however, Olav was murdered by the League's men, together with his young son and his brother Peder, as well as the

bishop of Bergen The Catholic Diocese of Bergen or Diocese of Bjørgvin in Norway existed from the eleventh century to the Protestant Reformation (1537),

and many monks in

Munkeliv Abbey Munkeliv Abbey () was a Rule of St. Benedict, Benedictine abbey located at Nordnes in Bergen, Norway, Bergen, Norway. It was one of the oldest monasteries in Norway, and also one of the wealthiest and best-documented. There are no visible remains ...

which was burned. After these murders the family, led by Olav's widow Elise Eskildsdatter (d. ca. 1492) and her children, continued to fiercely battle the League through piracy until receiving compensation and restoration of status some years later.

Modern era

The Skanke Family Association in Norway is open to any person holding the Skanke or related surnames. It encourages genealogical and prosopographical research into the family.

References

Other sources

*de Robelin, Roger (1995) ''Skanke ätten'', *Engdal, Odd G. (2006) ''Norsk marinehistorisk atlas 900–2005'' (Bergen: Vigmostad & Bjørk) *Hetland, Ingebrigt (2008) ''Pirater og sjørøvere i norske farvann'' (Oslo: Pantagruel Forlag) *Øye, Ingvild (1994) ''Bergen and the German Hansa'' (Bergen: Bryggens Museum) * Young, G.V.C. (1997) ''A Brief History of the Isle of Man'' (Mansk-Svenska Publishing Co Ltd) * Young, G.V.C. (1981) ''History of the Isle of Man Under the Norse: Or, Now Through a Glass Darkly'' (Mansk-Svenska Publishing Co Ltd) *Young, G.V.C. (1981) ''The three legs go to Scandinavia a monograph on the Manx royal family and their Scandinavian descendants'' (Mansk-Svenska Pub. Co. Ltd)

External links

Skanke-foreningen i Norge website
{{in lang, no Norwegian families Norwegian noble families