The Bugge Family of Denmark and Norway
Translated from Norwegian by Carsten Berg and Sherri Morgan.
The information in this document is collected from:
Nordlandsslekten Hveding, by Johan Hveding (Oslo 1944), Familien Kjerschow, Elisa Tandberg (Oslo 1940), Slægten Bugge, P.C.B. Bondesen (Nyborg, Denmark 1910), Valdresslekten Bugge, G.A.K. Bjørkset (Fagernes 1961), NST bind XXX s. 59f, and Information from Stein Rune Jakobsen, based upon the book Slekten Bugge i YtreSogn, by Inger Kelmer and on the book Brønnøy-slekten Bugges danske bakgrunn,by Magnus Mardal.
All sources are in Norwegian or Danish.
The following is from Bondesen's book, pages 39-40 and 121-123, with the exception of some corrections from Bjørkset's book.
The Bugges used Swords and Shields
In battles for Freedom, against Violence and Burden;
But Shields and Arms were Buried,
And the Name disappeared with Castle and Gold.
Yet, out of the mould rose the Plants again,
The Bugge roses were never Dead.
On Mountains and Moors they continued to Bloom
And gave us the many Noble Men.
With the Sword of the Spirit and the Shield of Faith,
For the Freedom of the Heart, against enemy violence
They continued the Fight and later Won
Castles and Treasures, which never vanished.
God willing, the Bugges, Generation by Generation,
shall always walk in the name of Christ,
So that they never will vanish nor burn out,
But Blossom here forever and always with God.The name Bugge (pronounced "Boo-gee") has a very ancient history in the Nordic region. Already at the time of Fridlev den Raske (Fridlev the Quick) and Frode Fredegode (Frode the Peaceful (?)) we meet Bugges in Skåne and Halland, which were then part of Denmark but now are part of Sweden. Saxo Grammaticus thus talks of a local leader who was one of the Halland Bugges and who fell at Hvirvelshavn at Sjælland in a duel with King Fridlev the Quick. Hvirvelshavn is the present Bisserup at Vordinborg Bay in Denmark. Also, in Jylland the name Bugge has a long history. At Højene near Glenstrup, not far from Hobro, there was a Mr. Turild Bugge, "the Tax-King," with his family. "From him the Christian Bugges originated," it is stated by Klevenfeldt.
The Bugge Family in Denmark
Ten kilometres south of Viborg, the Jylland's naked highlands suddenly change and become an island of hills, crowned by magnificent, steep hills and large forests. Close by the Bækkelund Hotel (the text is from 1910) by the lake, was Niels Bugge's proud castle, Hald, which he bought from Peder Ludvigsøn Eberstein and his sister Margrethe in 1345. The knight, Niels Bugge, was the richest nobleman of his time, with a yearly income estimated at 300 "lesters" of grain (more than 14,000 barrels of barley). He was a handsome man with a noble appearance; authoritative, but also respected for his magnanimity. Denmark's Adels Aarbog (the Noble's Yearbook of Denmark) starts his pedigree with the following.
Niels Bugge was a member of the Danish National Council in 1302 and is mentioned among the witnesses in King Erik Menved's debenture to the city of Rostok. He had one son.
2nd generation - Bugge Nielsen
Knight, Master of Hegnet (Harre Herred at Salling), killed at Lyby church by Mr. Erik Brune (Banner) of Elkær. His wife is said to have been the daughter of Niels Gyldenstjerne of Aagaard (Vester Hanherred). They had three children:
- Bege Bugge
- Niels Bugge
- Erik Bugge
3rd generation - Niels Bugge of Hald
Knight, died 1359. He lived in the sad times "when the Germans fought over Denmark."
His father was one of Count Gert's (also called Count Gerhardt) Jydske followers and one of the witnesses on the Holstein side at the peace treaty in Kiev on 10th January 1332, when (an agreement) was made between Count Gert and King Christopher (Christopher II, of Denmark, ruled from 1319 - 1340). In the beginning, Niels Bugge sided with those who had given the title of king to the young duke Valdemar of South Jylland, despite the fact that Count Gert was the real leader. Niels Bugge was therefore among the count's men in the war which ended with the above mentioned peace treaty.
On January 30th, 1331 the bloody battle at Lohede, a short distance south of Dannevirke, took place. The battle lasted from morning to evening, and was fought with great bravery on both sides. Count Gert was at one point in great danger. He had been thrown off his horse, and lay in his heavy armor on the ground without being able to stand up by himself. A Holstein farmer helped him up. "Now, use your old strength," the farmer shouted. That the count did so can be seen from the result of the battle: When the dark November day was over, he had won. We may suggest that Niels Bugge was among the victorious, brave flock which drove the king and his men on a wild escape southwards.
Nevertheless, it was not enough for Count Gert to be a mere chancellor during the minority of his sister's son, Duke Valdemar. His plans were higher: He wanted to become king himself. Thus, the friendship ended between the count and Knight Bugge, who had pledged his loyalty to the Duke. Knight Bugge was unlike many other powerful men of his time, who could serve one master one minute and another the next.
Furthermore, the Count had molested one of the knight's close friends, Niels Ebbesøn, in a battle over heritage between Stig Andersøn Hvide and Ebbesøn. Niels Ebbesøn was probably the son of Niels Bugge's sister [and thus his nephew]. It was important, however, for the count to win the powerful knight and the leader of the Jylland Danes, for his own cause. Therefore he asked, as sung in the "Kæmpevisen" ("Song for Giants"), Niels Ebbesøn ride to "Mr. Bugge your friend," who "has not spoken to me for long." Niels Ebbesøn would not run this errand, but rode to Randers instead and killed Count Gert.
Probably, Niels Bugge did not take part in this murder nor in the battle that later took place between Niels Ebbesøn and the count's sons. Nor did he take part in the process of putting Valdemar Atterdag on the throne. Duke Valdemar was still alive, and he was Niels Bugge's king! Thus, it helped little that King Valdemar Atterdag promised Mr. Bugge both castles and gold, and later threatened him with war. Knight Bugge answered proudly: "My faith I will not trade in for Gold. To him, whom I have sworn my trust I will stay firm. If you will storm me or fight me, nine winters at Hald I will bind you."
Later, the condition between the king (Atterdag) and Niels Bugge became more friendly. Duke Valdemar had then given up his demand to the throne, and little by little joined forces with the king. Later, the two Valdemars, the king and the duke, were even joined in a trust dated on 13 March 1345. Thus, we find the knight, Mr. Bugge, among the 12 men who had been entrusted by the king to negotiate peace with the Swedish-Norwegian king, Magnus Smek, king of Norway from 1319 to 1355 under the name Magnus the 7th Eriksson. Niels Bugge was also in King Valdemar's company during the military campaign towards Meclenburg and Brandenburg in 1349 and 1350, and he was present at Spremberg and Bautzen when King Valdemar Atterdag negotiated the settlement between Ludvik of Bavaria and Carl IV.
Shortly thereafter, he was again in Denmark, where the anger directed towards the king had grown into unforeseen proportions. The heavy taxation and the king's arrogance were quite unbearable. Niels Bugge, together with some other nobles, had a meeting with the king at Kallunburg, but King Valdemar would not change his ways. An agreement could not be reached. Bugge and the other good men thus declared that they would rather lose their lives than see the farmers mistreated in such a cruel way.
The next year, there was yet another meeting, this time at Vordingborg. Apart from Bugge, the powerful knight, Claus Limbek, was also present. The king would still not listen to reason, and they could not come to a compromise this time either. There was no more to be done. Bugge could no longer hold back the insurrection, and instead he took an active part. The same did Duke Valdemar, who was very angry on behalf of his sister, Queen Helvig: The king had had her locked up at Søborg castle. Bugge took a very active part in the fight which now started. In reality, he became the actual leader for a riot which included the whole peninsula of Jylland, from Skagen to the river Elbe. In the process, he conquered the castle Langetind at the Limfjord, where he also took some prisoners.
The king besieged Bugge's castle, Hald. Close to Hald, there are still remains of a rampart which is called "King Valdemar's entrenchment" by the local farmers, at the same place where the original Hald is said to have been situated. On the 26th of July 1353 a temporary compromise was reached at Vindinge Å on the island Fyn, where the Jylland nobles, and in particular knight Bugge, were involved. There was a mutual return of conquered properties, and closer arrangements on the release of prisoners were agreed upon.
On mid summer's day in 1354, a complete reconciliation was reached between the king and his unhappy people. Niels Bugge was offered - and accepted a seat in the National Council, and the next year we find both him and Claus Limbek as active members at the royal court at Jylland. Yet, peace did not last long! The king was stern and cruel as always, and once more the Jylland farmers, with Bugge as their leader, took to arms. Duke Valdemar also took part in these conflicts. The throne seemed to wave at him from a distance, and it was important for him to grasp this opportunity. He was defeated, though, and had to give up the districts of Langeland, Als and Femern. In this way, the duke was made harmless to the king. More difficult should it prove to win against the Jylland farmers' defiance. "The Jyde, he is strong and lasting." So he was that time, as so many times later!
At a meeting two days before Christmas at Slagelse in 1358, the king offered the people of Jylland a compromise. Niels Bugge and his men had appeared at this meeting, with the king's promise of a safe return. The disagreement was so deep, however, that a solution became impossible. Thus, they returned for their journey home.
Mr. Niels Bugge reached no further than Middelfart. Just after New Year's 1359, he was killed, and so were Ove Stigesøn of Eskebjærg and Peder Anderssøn of Margaard; the first the son of the powerful Stig Anderssøn, the last one without doubt the same Stig's brother.
"To the Men of Middelfart the King sent Notice,
that they should go against Bugge when he arrived.
Mr. Bugge rode in the streets of Middelfart,
where people met him clothed for fight.
They met him both on foot and horse,
and no one was on Bugge's side.
The Men of Middelfart, Christ please forgive them,
attacked Mr. Bugge on peaceful errand.
The Men of Middelfart, God give them shame,
attacked without reason the noble man."It was west of the town, it is said, in a field close to the harbor, that the three diplomats were attacked by some fishermen and killed with the same tools they otherwise used to dig up worms for their fishing. Until as late as 1874 (eighteen hundred and seventy-four!) the owners of the land where this mishap supposedly happened, had to pay a yearly blood tax of 49 shillings, the so- called "Bugge money." Some stones marked the place where Mr. Bugge was killed. Later, a road was constructed at this site, and the stones removed. Yet along this road there still grow red flowers (of a kind called "skræpper" in Danish) which according to the saga have grown from the blood of Knight Bugge. Thus, they are called "King Bugge's roses."
The king was accused of having ordered this murder, but swore that he had nothing to do with it. The king and Bugge's son came to an agreement, but history does not believe king Valdemar to have spoken the truth. This suspicion is seen in the song about the killing of Mr. Bugge (see above). The knight had the sympathy of the people, won through noble-mindedness and loyalty, rare characteristics of his time. Thus, a wonderful picture of Mr. Bugge is drawn in the song:
"My faith I will not trade in for Gold.
To him whom I have sworn my trust,
I will stay firm."Such was the faithful knight's answer when King Valdemar would win him back with sweet promises. In another song, about an English prince who had been robbed by Eske Frost, Mr. Bugge's just ways are once again expressed:
"But had I come to the land of Mr. Bugge,
I would have been robbed neither by Knights nor by Men»".The wealth of Mr. Bugge also surely contributed to his position as his people's natural leader. Apart from Hald (at Nørlyng), he owned Nørre Vosborg at Ulvborg, Estrup at Hellum, Spøttrup at Rødding, Aastrup at Vennebjerg and Rolstrup at Mors. Rolstrup was a gift to Saxe Pedersøn, when he married the knight's sister's daughter, Catherine. Furthermore, he owned several other farms, particularly in the northern parts of Nørrejylland. It was not without reason that he was sometimes called "King Bugge".
In the "Adelsleksikonet" (Encyclopaedia of Nobles) there are ten different coats of arms connected to the name Bugge. Two of these are probably confused with the Strangesøn and Vandelbo families, which both married into the Bugge family. Of the others, only one can be proved to have been used. In a gold field and on the helmet it shows a half, cut-off, silver armed boar. This was the coat of arms used by Knight Bugge of Hald. It is still preserved in his and his daughter Ellen's seal. With this, he sealed a letter of debt to King Valdemar together with his brother-in-law, Mr. Erik Nielssøn (Gyldenstjerne)- in 1355. The old Høeg´s had the same coat of arms. Holger Parsberg concluded that the Høeg family arms had the same origin as the Bugges. Still today there are numerous Bugges who use the boar as their seal.
Niels Bugge was married twice. His first wife would have been called Lisbeth Kuul, the daughter of Mr. Palne Jønson and Elne Lændi. Palne Jønson of Stovringgaard was Valdemar Atterdag's marshal from 1354 to 1356. His wife was the daughter of Niels Lændi of Troldorp at Sabre Herred.
The second time, Niels Bugge was married to Ingeborg Vendelbo. She was the daughter of Peder Vendelbo and Sophie Andersdatter Hvide.
In his first marriage he had six children, in his second, two:
- Niels Bugge
- Jep Bugge
- Mikkel Bugge
- Bent Bugge
- Kirsten Bugge
- Ellen Bugge
- Knud Bugge
- Lisbeth Bugge
4th Generation - Knud Nielssøn Bugge
Member of the National Council, Lord of Hald.
While the Bugge family, among the most powerful families at Jylland, earlier had used every opportunity to oppose the king, several members now seem to have joined King Valdemar Atterdag's forces. Among those who did so was Knud Bugge. The same was the case with his (probable) brother Bent Bugge and his brother-in-law, Christian Vendelbo. Another of Niels Bugge's sons-in-law, Gotskalk Skarpenberg, was still opposing the king from Jylland, though.
From the beginning, the atmosphere between the king and Knud Bugge was not very good. Knud Bugge suspected the king for having had a role in the cruel killing of his father at Middelfart. But Valdemar, his son and several knights swore that "neither by advise, help, connections, will or permit having had anything to do with this terrible murder". The king promised to forever hate the assassins and love Knud as his own son. In addition, Prince Christopher, the king's son, promised Knud his friendship and brotherhood, in the same way that Knud promised to turn has back upon friends and family and join the king's party.
In 1360 his put his seal as a national counsellor upon the agreement between king Magnus and the "Haandfæstningen" at Kallundborg, and in early June 1632 he was at Vordingborg castle at Duke Henrik's wedding to King Valdemar's daughter, Ingeborg. On the same occasion, he was also among the king'switnesses in connection with the dowry for Duchess Ingeborg. He is not mentioned later. He had two sons:
- Christopher Bugge
- Jep Bugge
He "was destroyed by the anger of Queen Margrethe," but later became a rich man again through marriage among the non-noble wealthy. This Queen Margrethe was, as many will know, the queen who joined Denmark and Norway under one throne in the joint kingdoms of Norway and Denmark which lasted until 1814. Jep Bugge had two sons:
- Mikkel Bugge
- Jon Bugge
Esquire, was among King Erik's men at the treaty in Kolding in 1411. He had one son:
- Lars Bugge
7th Generation - Lars Bugge (or Lauritz Bugge)
He was a farmer at True (Onsild Herred). In 1460 he lost his heritage in a dispute with the Flemmings, because his mother was not a noble. He had to give up his noble title himself, and he is called a farmer at a court where he was among the judges in Randers in 1469 and as a witness at Mariager Birketing in 1479 . In 1484 he signed a testimony at Hald's Herredsting with a mark. The old, noble Bugges had disappeared, and the proud Hald had fallen down.
8th Generation - (Jens, Jørgen or Knud) Bugge
Farmer at Randers, Jylland in Denmark.
9th Generation - Lauritz Bugge
Farmer at Randers about 1530
10th Generation - Michel Bugge
Farmer at Randers. He had two, perhaps three sons:
- Lauritz Bugge
- Christen Bugge
11th Generation - Lauritz Michelsen Bugge
District stipendiary magistrate at Sundfjord, North Bergenhus Amt (County) in Norway. According to the Norwegian Genealogical Magazine (Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift, volume XXX, page 59f), died in 1649. (Bondesen's book from 1910 states that he died on 20th May 1640, but this seems to be wrong.) Married to Margrethe Nielsdatter, died 1653. His epitaph is in the Holmedal Church. On the painting we see a man in a black suit with a "pipekrage" - the large, white collars used by the priest of that time. His wife is at his left side, their two sons in black suits and with white, embroidered collars to his right. According to Bondesen, the text underneath this painting says: «Here under lies buried Honest end Good Man S. Laurids Michelsen Bugge, Last Magistrate at Sundfjord, who died on 20th May A. 1640 (see below, editor's note), with his dear Wife Honest and God-Trusting Woman Margrethe Nielsdatter, who died there A. 1653. God give them a happy Resurrection».
Mr. Stein Rune Jakobsen has informed me about the following in an e-mail from 1998:
Inger Kelmer indicates that Bondesen must have been mistaken, and that the date of death should be "20th May A. 1649". In the book, "Slekten Bugge in Ytre Sogn," she refers to a trial at Bergen City Hall in January 1650, where Bugge's wife appears in his place and informs (the court) that he died during the spring of 1649. This trial is also mentioned by Ragnvald Fagerhein in his book, "Fjaler gjennom 1000 år", and here is also referred to a trial where Bugge took part as late as on 10th February 1649. In the book "Aktstykker til de norske stændermøders historie 1548-1661", Vol. II, brochure I page 107f, it referred to a tribute to the king dated 27th June to 20th July 1648 (in connection with the swearing of allegiance to King Frederik III) from Jølster, Holmedal, Aschevold, Kindt and Førde parishes. Here, Lauritz Michelsen has signed, and here he does not use the name Bugge.
12th Generation - Tollef Bugge
Born 1623, diedd 1706. He was parish clerk at Brønnøy at Helgeland in the northern part of Norway. He must have been married twice, but his wives are not known. Ten children:
- Hans Bugge
- Else Bugge
- Claus Bugge
- Margrethe Bugge
- Niels Bugge
- Marithe Bugge
- Lars Bugge
- Christen Bugge
- Jacob Bugge
- Herman Bugge
13th Generation - Herman Bugge
Born approx. 1690, died 1742. He was parish clerk at Brønnøy after his father, and lived at Mossem. Married to Ingeborg Johannesdatter Stud, who lived longer than him. Her parents were the ship captain and merchant at Brønnøy, John Pedersen Stud and Elisabeth Jacobsdatter Rusch. John Stud died in 1699. Herman Bugge and Ingeborg Stud had eight children:
- John Bugge
- Margrethe Bugge
- Karen Adrianne Bugge
- Maren Bugge
- Dorthea Bugge
- Elisabeth Bugge
- Tollef Bugge
- Christopher Bugge
14th Generation - Dorthea Bugge
Born on 13th January 1718, died on 2nd March 1786. Married at Nesna on 9th October 1748 to John Klæboe , born 1713, died 31st December 1784, ship captain and merchant at Saura in Nesna (see the Klæboe family). Dorthea Bugge and John Christensen Klæboe had six children, and were cousins themselves (Dorthea Bugge's mother, Ingeborg, was the sister of Elisabeth Stud, married to Christen Hansen Klæboe. Their parents were, as mentioned above, John Pedersen Stud and Elisabeth Jacobsdatter Rusch (editor's note)).
Gå til
aneliste/Go to Ancestor List
