Trond Torleivsson Benkestok (c. 1495 – 14 February 1558) was a Norwegian land owner,

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

, and

feudal lord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or s ...

(''lensherre'') 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 ...

Biography

Benkestok was born around 1495 (or before 1500) in

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 ...

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

Torleiv Trondson Benkestok and Adelus Eriksdotter Kruckow. In 1532, he actively supported Johan Kruckow, who wanted

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

rather than King

Christian II A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Ch ...

on 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 July 1532, Christian II was captured and imprisoned. As Frederick I won the struggle, Benkestok was awarded the title of

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Boys served a knight as an attendant, doing simple but important tasks such as saddling a horse or caring for the knight's weapons and armour. Terminology ''Squire'' ...

(''væpner''). He was probably a supporter of

Roman 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 ...

until the last Catholic 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 ...

fled Norway in 1537. Among other places, he owned a lot of land at

Meløya Meløya is an island in Meløy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The island lies east of the island of Bolga, north of the island of Åmøya, and west of the island of Mesøya. The island is only accessible by boat, and there are regula ...

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

(''Meløy – gård'') which he had as his main farm from no later than 1540. In 1541 he received taxes from Meløy chapel and from

Sunnfjord Sunnfjord ( - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland county. It includes the municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, the southernmost parts of Kinn, Sunnfjord, and the southernmost parts of Brem ...

len. He was awarded

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, ) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities () of Fjord, Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Sande, Haram, Stranda Mu ...

len, the land of Stigten in 1547, and around the same time he was also promoted to knight. In 1555 he took charge of Bergenhus Fortress and in the years 1555-56 he was commander-in-chief during the absence of commander Christoffer Huitfeldt (c. 1500–1559).

Claus Bille Claus Bille (ca. 1490 – 4 January 1558 at Lyngsgård, Scania) was a Danish landlord and statesman. Early life Claus was born as the youngest son of a Danish nobleman, Steen Basse Torbensen Bille of Søholm (1446–1520) and his wife, Margr ...

once described Benkestok as the "most respected and wise nobleman North of the mountains". Benkestok was married to Anna Jonsdotter Haar (ca. 1510 - 1567), with whom he had sons Tord and Jon Trondson Benkestok and daughters Adelus, Kristin and Brynild. He died in Vanse, Norway, 14 February 1558.

References

Other sources

*Brandt, Wilhelmine (original edition: 1904, facsimile ed: 1997) ''Slægten Benkestok'' (Oslo: Damms Antikvariat AS) 1490s births 1558 deaths 16th-century Norwegian nobility T Norwegian knights Norwegian squires {{europe-noble-stub

Biography

See also

References

Other sources