Jörgen Krabbe

Baron Jörgen Iversen Krabbe of Krogholm Castle (now Krageholm) (1633–1678) was a Danish jurist and later a Swedish nobleman, who was one of the most influential men in the province of Scania and played an important role during the Scanian War of 1676–1679. He was executed by the Swedes for high treason.

Early life and education

Krabbe was born at Varberg Castle in eastern Denmark in 1633, the son of the Danish Governor-General of Norway, Iver Krabbe. The family's ancestral home was Jordberga in Scania, which at the time was part of Denmark.

Jörgen Krabbe studied law at the universities of Bologna, Orléans and Copenhagen.

Becoming Swedish

In 1658, Scania was ceded to Sweden and Jörgen Krabbe decided to give up his prestigious position at the Danish Chancery and pledge loyalty to the King of Sweden, since it was against the law for Scanians to own property in Denmark or to work for the Danish state. King Christian V of Denmark had offered him a position as county judge but Krabbe chose to renounce his career and return to Scania where he had his fiancée Jytte Thott.

The Krabbe family split their property between their two sons: Jörgen took over the Scanian lands and became Swedish, Tage remained Danish and took over their Danish lands. Jörgen Krabbe and Jytte Thott got married in Malmö in 1664 and had a lavish wedding feast with guests from both Denmark and Sweden, though the celebrations were exclusively in Danish. There were three toasts to Denmark and two to Sweden.

Jörgen Krabbe had high hopes of a career at the bar in Sweden but he found himself having to turn to large-scale farming as his main employment, and in his letters, he complained bitterly of this although he was very fond of Krogholm Castle where he lived with his wife. The same year as his wedding, Krabbe gained recognition as a Swedish nobleman, and was also a representative in the Swedish Diet in Stockholm. In 1676 he became a Swedish Baron, which he found to be an empty title compared to the career he had wished for. He wrote to his old friend and former estate manager, Hack Sörensen, and complained about this. The letter was confiscated by the Swedes and used as evidence against Krabbe during the trial.

Treason

That same year, the Scanian War broke out and Krabbe was accused of collusion with the local resistance movement (the snaphaner) and of having a taste for all things Danish.

He had offered the Danish admirals Juel and Tromp dinner when they reconquered the town of Ystad earlier that year and he had also been present when a unit of Danish friskytter and local resistance men captured a group Swedes in his brother-in-law Holger Thott's orchard at Marsvinsholm Castle. One of the Swedes was a quite renowned Swedish soldier by the name of Captain Klingspor. The friskytter were units of light cavalry that were mainly recruited on a local Scanian basis and they were often sent out from Landtz Crone (now Landskrona) to troubled or threatened areas, and this was also the case this time. The Swedes considered these troops and the local resistance men traitors and "snapphanar" and collusion with the "snapphanar" normally meant death. Several of Krabbe's employees were among the local resistance men that attacked Klingspor and the others. Apart from the episode in the orchard, Krabbe's former estate manager Hindrich Peersen and his former overseer Mogens Peersen both rode with the friskytter and led an attack on a Swedish quarter master by the name of Lorens Basch who had been sent out to collect taxes and war contributions in the area between Krogholm and Bollerup. Basch was arrested and sent to prison in Copenhagen together with a number of his men. Later, both Klingspor and Basch testified against Krabbe. In September 1677, Krabbe traveled to the Swedish enclave at Malmö of his own free will, hoping to clear up all misunderstandings, but instead he was arrested and charged with high treason. Basch had been ransomed from his captivity and was keen to get his revenge. On 6 November 1676, Krabbe was sentenced to lose his life, honour and property. He then spent several months in a cell at Malmö Castle before he was shot in Malmö's central square on 16 January 1678. He was buried inside the parish church at Tosterup, near Ystad.

Jytte Thott pleaded with King Charles XI of Sweden to pardon her husband, but the king answered that no amount of tears could save Krabbe. After his death, the court declared that Krabbe was the "Antesignanus"(leader and role model) of the Scanian nobility and people in his home province followed his example, so the court could not let his turncoat behaviour pass. They also accused him for his "arga wäsende"(wrathful personality), cowardice and haughty attitude and they feared that his false insistence on being innocent would reach foreign lands and let people in the world believe his rather than the Swedes' version. Jytte Thott took to her bed and grieved her husband so deeply that she spent the rest of her life in black. She had to leave their home Krogholm and moved to a smaller estate called Högested, where she had all the windows facing Krogholm walled up. As her property was largely taken over by Swedish creditors, she had to move to a farmstead called Baldringe where she spent her last years. Jörgen Krabbe and Jytte Thott had no children, and what was left of their property was inherited by their nephews and nieces.

References


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