The House of Trolle is the name of a noble family, originally from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The family has produced prominent people in the histories of Sweden and

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 ...

(where it is sometimes spelled ) since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and is associated with several estates in both countries.

Family history

Historically attested male-line family members are known as far back as the 14th century. The earliest was the knight Birger Knutsson, also known as ''Birghe Trulle''. The earliest known generations held the estate of Bo in

Småland Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...

, Sweden. Birger Trolle, High Councillor of Sweden, inherited Bergkvara castle from his half-brother Håkan Karlsson. Arvid Birgersson and Eric Arvidsson were among mightiest in the country and both almost became Regents of Sweden in their time, in competition against the Sture family. Gustav Trolle was

Archbishop of Uppsala The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until the early 20th century) has been the primate of Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward under the Lutheran church. Historical ove ...

. The original Swedish line of the family died out in the late 16th century. Eric's younger half-brother Joachim (d 1546) inherited Lilloe in

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

from his mother and settled in Denmark. The Danish family line continued through his relations, becoming an important house of high nobility. One of his sons was Danish admiral Herluf Trolle and one of great-grandsons, Niels Trolle (''Nils Trolle til Trollesholm og Gavnø''), was Statholder of Norway.''Trolle – dansk slekt'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref> Sweden again had a branch of the family when Niels Trolle's son Arvid Nielsen Trold, Lord of Trollenäs Castle, swore loyalty to Sweden (and was in 1689 given a seat among Sweden's nobility) after Skåne, his native land, had become a permanent part of Sweden. The head of the House received in 1816 by primogeniture the hereditary title of baron in Sweden for the House. All currently extant branches of the House of Trolle descend from him; the remaining Danish branches having died out in 1787.

Coat of arms

The family name comes from the family coat of arms that depicts a headless

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

. According to tradition, the family had taken these arms on the basis of a legend that a common ancestor must have killed a troll and robbed a drinking horn, which was called ''Våxtorpshornet el''.

Prominent family members

;Denmark * Herluf Trolle (1516–1565), Danish naval hero * Niels Trolle, vice admiral * Mette Trolle ;Sweden *

Eric Trolle Eric Trolle may refer to: * Erik Trolle Erik Trolle (or Erik Arvidsson) (c. 1460–1530) was elected regent of Sweden in 1512, during the era of Kalmar Union. He was Justiciar of Närke and a Lord High Councillor of Sweden from 1487. Biography ...

(c. 1460–1530), Swedish Lord High Constable * Gustav Trolle (1488–1535),

*Frederik Trolle (1693-1770) Owner of Trolleholms Castle *Nils Axel Arvid Carlsson Trolle (1859-1930), Baron of Trollenäs Castle *Ulf Trolle Managing Director of Trollenäs Gods AB

References

{{Reflist

External links

Trollenäs Castle official website

Family history

Coat of arms

Prominent family members

See also

References

External links