Mads Jensen Kofoed

1513 - 1552  (39 years)

• Navn	Mads Jensen Kofoed
  Født	1513	Lund, , Skåne, Sverige
  Køn	Mand
  Død	1552
  Person-ID	I0790	KaiOve
  Sidst ændret	23 feb. 2022

  
  

  Mor	Johanne Thygesdatter,   f. ca. 1485, Hasle, , , ,   d. eft. 1514, Bornholm, , ,  (Alder ~ 30 years)
  Gift	ca. 1505	Bornholm, , ,
  Notater	Referencenr.: 13853
  Familie-ID	F0336	Gruppeskema  |  Familie Tavle

  
  

  Familie	Gunhild Andersdatter Uf,   f. ca. 1525, Bornholm, , , ,   d. eft. 1550, Bornholm, , ,  (Alder ~ 26 years)
  Gift	ca. 1547	Bornholm, , ,
  Notater	Referencenr.: 13851
  Sidst ændret	18 maj 2016
  Familie-ID	F0335	Gruppeskema  |  Familie Tavle

  
  

• Notater

  Occupation: Mayor (Borgmester) of R?nne. Drowned on a seavoyage to Copenhagen. It is not known with certainty who Mads Jensen Kofoed's (born possibly 1513? or 1517?- died before 1573, possibly 1552?) parents were: The historian Giessing, in 1786, states that Mads Jensen Kofoed was the son of Jens Madsen Kofoed (1481-1519) and grandson of Mads Jensen Kofoed of Hasle. According to Julius Bidstrup's "Familien Koefoed A og B" (published in 1887) his parents might be Jens Madsen Kofoed and Johanne Thygesdatter, but he is not certain. Also, J?rn Klindt in his book "P¯ sporet af de f?rste Kofod'er" (published in 1979) has his doubts on this matter, and can not state for a fact that any of this is true. Current evidence suggests that it is likely that Mads Jensen Kofoed was born 1513 in Lund, Sk¯ne province; however, his parentage is still far from certain. In 1572 a meeting was held by Bornholm's Parliament to establish who had the right to the status of "Frimand" (Free-man) on Bornholm: Mads Jensen Kofoed's sons Jens and Hans Kofoed were in attendance at that meeting. Of course, that meeting had a broader purpose: a war in which Lübeck and Danmark had fought side-by-side had ended two yea previously, and there was another three years before the Lübeck 50 year claim to Bornholm was to expire; although Lübeck claimed that it had been given a further 50 years. In this predicament it was wise for the King to establish locally situated allies; and Bornholm's influential free-men, who normally would have been snubbed by the King and the true nobility, were now in a position to receive benevolent treatment from the Danish government. At the "Frimandsm?det" held on September 6, 1572 there were 17 men named as being in attendance: the brothers Jens and Hans Madsen Kofoed, Peder Poulsen Kofoed, Oluf Bagge, Peder Uf, Peder Myre, J?rgen Gagge, also ten other men only listed by their father's name; and at which occassion three Danish Parlimentary advisers (Rigsr¯der) had been sent to preside over the meeting. The Kofoeds had no written proof of their free-men status; they were only able to give heartfelt and solemn words about faithful service. It seems they had an inkling of things to come, and therefore begged the King not to let himself be "seduced" by Lübeck's representative Sweder Ketting, "because you might expect that Lübeck only plotted to keep our island under the yoke." This is the first record in which we find the Kofoeds being mentioned as "frim?nd". We know that they were related to Oluf Bagge and Peder Uf, and probably to several of the others. The question remains: did they already have claim to free-man status, or did they take advantage of the King's need for loyal followers - seeking acknowledgement of that status from their peers on Bornholm? It seems that they had to make certain commitments to the King in exchange for the full rights to free-man status. Two of the newly appointed free-men had an important mission to Lübeck the following year. On September 6, 1573 King Frederik 2. wrote a letter to Lübeck stating: "Our citizens, the brothers Peter and Jens Kofoth" have applied to Lübeck's government for verification of their vital statistics, so as, among other things, they are free to serve their King - who then requests the Lübeck council to give sympathetic consideration to their case and verify their births in Lübeck's records. We often find such vital statistics proofs attached to the documents in probate court cases, they were actually signed by the parish "Elders" before the church parish registers (kirkeb?ger) came into use. They were especially essential if disagreement arose among the heirs. In the Lübeck family registry for 1573 we find the following entry: Kofoedt, Matthias, dead before 1573 on Bornholm, his wife: Johanna; their children: Peter, Jens, Boel - married to Oluf Bagge; Anneke - married to Michael Abraham. The reason that the family is registered in Lübeck exactly in 1573 is of course the application the brothers made that same year for their vital statistics. According to J?rn Klindt's "P¯ sporet af de f?rste Kofod'er" it appears that Gunhild Uf and Mads Kofoed were already married by 1547. The Lübeck legal-registry of 1573 states that a woman named Johanne was Mads Kofoed's wife and mother to four of his children; so accordingly it is not absolutely certain who was the mother of which of Mads Kofoed's children. The fact that in 1573 Johanne was stated as the mother of Mads Kofoed's children may be a reflection of their legal relationship, rather than blood ties. Nor is it known for a fact which wife came first: Gunhild Uf or Johanne Jensdatter Myre? The exact birth years of his children are not known, but they are all thought to have been born between 1540-50. J?rn Klindt further writes that more information about Mads Kofoed is surely there to be found in the archives of K?benhavn, or in Gottorp and Potsdam - where the remnants of Lübeck's archives are now held. As mayor for R?nne township Mads Kofoed was an influential man on Bornholm, so it would be rather peculiar if there weren't more traces of him to be found. It could be that he is the same person as the Mads Kofoed known to have died during a sea-voyage to K?benhavn in 1552. Part of the difficulty in answering this question lies in the fact that one Lübeck entry states he died "before 1573" and another states "in 1573"; which is correct and which in error? Mr. Klindt asks the following questions: What was the case of the vital statistics about? Why was it that Hans Kofoed, who on Bornholm was considered to be Jens Kofoed's brother, did not appear on the 1573 Lübeck registry as part of the family? But, of course, who will research this? Who has the ability, resources, inclination, and time? His son Jens Kofoed is known to have died in 1625, an old man around 80 years old. The same is said of Hans Kofoed who died in 1623, and he is with greater certainty considered to be the son of Gunhild Uf, as he is not mentioned in the Lübeck registry of 15 a son of Johanna and Mads Kofoed. Hans Kofoed has been listed by Bornholm's first historian Rasmus Ravn (who lived from 1603-77) to be the brother of the Judge Jens Madsen Kofoed; that he was not listed in the Lübeck family registry of 1573 makes for a stronger case th he was in fact half-brother to Jens Madsen Kofoed. Further proof that the two men were brothers can be seen by the fact that Hans Kofoed's sons were made the heirs to Jens Madsen Kofoed's property. Chief Justice Jens Kofoed had no direct heirs at the time of his death, so the four sons of his brother Hans Kofoed, and a certain Albert Hansen - on account of his wife Karina Mikkelsdatter, were made heirs to his reportedly large fortune. For who else was there left in 1625 to inherit? His brother Peder had long since died, as well as his children. His sister Boel's children with Oluf Bagge had left the island. His sister Anneke had married a Michael/Mikkel Abraham, a common Bornholm name, and so a daughter from their marriage would have been known as "Mikkelsdatter", which leads us to Karina being Jens Kofoed's niece. Working from the facts as I know them leads me to the following two possible senarios: 1) That Johanne Jensdatter Myre was Mads Jensen Kofoed's first wife, they probably married around 1540; they had four children and before 1547 Johanne dies. Around 1547 Mads Kofoed marries Gunhild Uf - they have a son, Hans, born around 1547-50. 2) That Gunhild Uf was Mads Jensen Kofoed's first wife, they probably married around 1540; within a year of giving birth to Hans, around1542, Gunhild Uf died. Mads Kofoed then, around 1543, marries Johanne - with whom he had at least four children who lived to adulthood. The first senario is generally thought to be the most likely, but that is just a guess. The key to this question is: Were Gunhild Uf and Mads Jensen Kofoed married before or in 1547? In the land-registry testimony of Bornholm's Land- Register, dated May 22, 1522, is mentioned a P. Kofod as mayor of R?nne; but whether or not he was related to "Familien Koefoed A or B" is not known. (H?bertz, Documentation of Bornholm's History, p. 63) Referencenr.: 790