Side 73b. 1691. 22 og 23. Juni.
Jens Koefoed Pedersen, capitain, 5. Vg. Østermarie.
Elisabeth Ackeleje. Laugv: Casper Henrich Westerwalt, capitain.
Ved første ægt med afg. ?. 5 søn. 8 døt.
A: Hans Koefoed, fendrich, myndig, København. Værge: Svoger,
Christen Nielsen.
B: Sander Koefoed, København. Værge: Jens Ollufsen.
C: Jørgen Koefoed, sergeant, marier. Værge: Svoger Hans Jensen.
D: Detlef Koefoed, rejst til Ostindien. Værge. Svoger, Hans
Ollufsen.
E: Mathias Koefoed, f. 1672. Værge: Hans Koefoed, capitain,
Østermarie.
F: Margrethe ?, gm. Hans Ollufsen, Øster Sogn.
G: Sidzele ?, gm. Hans Jensen, Aaker.
H: Lisebeth ?, gm. Jens Ollufsen, Ibsker.
I: Anne ?, død, var gm. Afg. Lorrent Tyrvalt. 4 søn. 1 dat.
J: Magdalene ?, død, var gm. Christen Nielsen, corporal, Ibsker. 1
søn. 3 døt.
K: Kirstene, Jens Koefoedsdatter, trolovet med Petter Tiesen. Værge:
Peder Mogensen, Bodilsker.
L: Karen, Jens Koefoedsdatter, f. 1675. Værge: Søstermand, Hans
Ollufsen.
M: Johanna, Jens Koefoedsdatter, f. 1675. ( Tvilling.).
Værge:Søstermand, Hans Jensen.
Ved ægt med enken. 1 dat.
N: Elisabeth, Jens Koefoedsdatter. Værge: Hans Koefoed, capitain,
Pedersker .


Occupation: Merchant (Kæbmand)
Reference: KG1 note
Some details on Jens Pedersen Kofoed's life, as described in Jørn
Klindt's book "På sporet af de første Kofod'er", published in 1979,
and translated by his descendant Elene Marie Lau in 1996: Jens
Pedersen Kofoed was born in Rønne and enjoyed the priviliged
childhood of being the son of a well-to-do merchant in Rønne. He is
said to have been the brightest and most adventuresome of Peder and
Elisabeth's children. Although a Danish-Latin school had recently
opened in Rønne (with Rasmus Ravn, Bornholm's first historian, as its


principal) that was not the route deemed best for Jens; for in 1641,
at 13 years old, he was sent to Hanseatic league's queen-city:
Lübeck, finding employment there with the merchant Robert Wickne.
Though he only stayed in his service for about half-a-year, for what
could the cosmopolitan center of Lübeck offer when the world beyond
beckoned?! Jens Kofoed went to sea in the Easter of 1642, first
travelling to Danzig. Finally, he ended up in Jerez de la Frontera,
on the south-western coast of Andalusia, Spain. He worked for two
years in the service of the Johanniter nobleman Don Leon de la Quece,


and for three more years with his replacement the vicar Don Diego de
la Dame. It is not known exactly what he was doing in Jerez - the
town that has given its name to sherry. Already back then their
wines were widely renowned: William Shakespeare favoured the sherry
from Jerez. The town is located 20 km in land from the ports of
Cadiz and Puerto de Santa Maria, and they were some of the most
important harbour-towns in the wine, oil, and salt trade; so they
naturally maintained close contact with the Hanseatic league ports,
and as well with Danish ports. In 1647, then only 19 years old, Jens
set-out for Bornholm, he surely must have longed to see the beaches
of Bornholm, his family, and perhaps the Bornholmer girls? More
probably the troubling news of his families down-fall had reached his


ears. In any case, he hired onto a danish ship, to look out for its
cargo, and by the end of September had arrived in København, and soon


after that left for Rønne. When summer and sailing-weather returned,


he sailed to Lübeck to visit his exiled and broken father, who died
late that same year still exiled in Lübeck. It was during the
following few years that Rønne experienced a gruesome witch-hunt of
never before known dimensions. It was considered every Christian's
duty to report any signs of witchery to the authorities, who
consequently persecuted the accused with great zeal. Jens Pedersen
Kofoed himself started such a process, as he felt himself to have
been "bewitched", and suspected his old wet-nurse, Boel Anne, to be
responsible. After getting her drunk, and with witnesses hidden from
view, he managed to cajole a confession of witchery out of her: she
admitted to having been payed to do so by a woman whose son had
received a sound beating from the self-assured Jens Kofoed. The five


years in Spain seems to have made him brisk and authoritative - he
did not take kindly to the offense, for he reported Boel Anne to the


bailiff. She was arrested and locked up in the basement of the town-
hall, where she was "convinced" to inform on four other women as
being members of her "witch-coven". The women were arrested and
confessed, as expected, to having entered into a pact with the Devil
himself. That they had gathered the local meeting place for witches,


called a "Blåkulla", for witch's sabbath. They also confessed to
having gone to the Blåkulla in Kalmarsund, on the swedish peninsula,
where they had danced and sported with the "Black Majesty"! They
told of having learned their witch-craft at Rosengården in Rønne -
which until 1645 had been the residense of Holger Rosenkrans. The
foreign lifestyle of the wealthy nobleman and his many guests, and
their carryings-on, apparently seemed so weird to Rønne's citizens
that the admission of learning witch-craft there was easily accepted!


Boel Anne was sentenced to be burnt alive, and on June 6, 1652, the
proceedings took place; one of the other accused witches had already
died in her prison cell, and her body was burnt along side Boel
Anne's. A third escaped the fire by jumping down a well to her
death; while the fourth was later burnt alive in November of 1652.
The last of the accused managed to put up bail and appeal to a higher


court, this finally put a stop to the horrendous chain-reaction. The


court found that the fourth "witch" had been bribed to inform on her;


the bribe consisted of being allowed to get drunk whenever she felt
like, and doing whatever she wanted! For this reason the last
"witch" was set free. Jens Kofoed, who after all had just done his
Christian duty, continued to help his mother manage her business
dealings; also he began to cast his eye about for a suitable wife.
Sander Lesler, the mayor in Hasle and brother-in-law to judge Mads
Kofoed, had died in 1639, but his widow still resided at a
"merchant's farm" (købmandsgården) in Hasle with her 18 year old
daughter Margrethe, a very suitable match, and surely a lovely lass!


Jens proposed, was accepted and the wedding took place on his 25'
birthday in 1653, the day he legally came of age. The young couple
settled in Hasle, and Jens aquired a merchant's farm of his own. The
new father was still a restless and quick-tempered young man, and
during a visit to Rnne in 1655 he got into a fight with another young


man; with the result that Jens Kofoed stabbed and accidentally killed


his opponent. This murder could have had dire consequences for the
young father - first of all he had to compensate the family of the
victim, which was done satisfactorily; but yet to be faced was the
court trial which could result in a death sentence. For a well-to-do


citizen there were ways to delay a trial, and in 1657 he managed to
get a further postponement due to a letter issued by King Fredrik 3.,


who had just declared war on Sverige/Sweden. The letter stated that
the trial would be delayed as long as Jens Kofoed joined the cavalry,


bringing with him another soldier, plus two armoured horses to the
campaign against the swedes in Skåne. He served with 'Ritmester' Knud


Urne's company in Skåne and soon found himself on the front line.
Through out the autumn of 1657 the fighting went back and forth
between Engelholm and Halmstad. When the alarming news came that the


swedish King, Karl Gustav 10., had halted his campaign against the
northern german states and had turned his entire army toward the
Danish southern-border, the Danish military-command recalled the
cavalry stationed in Skåne. After Jens Pedersen Kofoed was stationed
at winter-quarters on Sjælland, he asked for two weeks Christmas
leave on Bornholm. This was granted and he left for Bornholm on
December 21, where everything was well: the three year old Margrethe
and the one year old Sidsele were expecting to receive a new sibling
as a Christmas-gift at the very time their dad returned home. The
new year of 1658, which turned out to be the most dramatic in
Bornholm's history, started out beautifully with a double christening


in Hasle Church: Elisabeth and Anna Sophie were the names given to
the twin-girls. That winter turned out to be unusually cold, already


in January the sea-ice was spreading rapidly; which prevented Jens
Kofoed from sailing back to his regiment. The Swedish General
Wrangel's forces invaded Jylland from the south. They took
Frederiksodde fortress and from there marched across the ice (an
unprecedented feat, possible only because of the unusual cold) to the


island of Fyn, and hence on to Lolland and then Sjælland. That meant


that København was open to attack; which forced the Danish government


to sue for peace, and in the resulting "Peace of Roskilde" (February
1658) Danmark lost its provinces Skåne (Scania) and Blekinge, the
district of Bohus, Trondheim (in Norge/Norway), and the island of
Bornholm. As the sea-ice prevented any communication with Bornholm,
no one there knew of this incredible turn of events. Not until April


16, when the ice broke and a fishing-boat from Skåne brought the news


did the Bornholmers realize that they, without being asked, had been
made Swedish by the stroke of a feather-quill! On April 29 the new
Swedish Colonel (Oberst) & Commandant, Johan Printzenskiöld, landed
with 120 Musketeers and began exploring their new province; all the
while preparing the Bornholmers for their new nationality. By May 18,


1658, delegates had been chosen to make a journey to Malmø and stand
before Corfitz Ulfeldt and swear allegiance to the Swedish King. The
delegates included Jens Kofoed's cousins Mads Madsen Kofoed (c.1616-
before 1665) of Eskildsgård, Hans Olufsen Kofoed of
Blykobbegård, and Peder Madsen Kofoed (c.1622-1688) of Svaneke, as
well as his own brother Hans Pedersen Kofoed (c.1627-before 1681) of
Rønne. The Swedish King renewed the war - in spite of the recently
signed treaty - in August of 1658 by landing at Korsør and shortly
afterwards surrounding København, this time firmly intent on
"erasing" Danmark.
This meant the situation radically altered for both Printzenskiöld
and the Bornholmers: Printzenskiöld was stranded and felt himself
isolated on an island with a hostile populace, whom he was forced to
rob for money and young soldiers for the Swedish Army; while the
Bornholmers felt ill at ease over the occupying forces being at war
with their mother-land, hoping that liberation would soon be the
outcome. The prospects did not look too promising for Danmark that
fall: København was the only remaining strong-hold, and King Fredrik
3. had declared that he "would die in his nest." Luckily for Danmark
a Dutch armada appeared in the Øresund and came to their rescue. For


the Dutch had taken over the Hanseatic League role as protectors of
free-trade in the region, and they considered that the Swedes would
become too dominating a force if they managed to amalgamate Danmark.
The heavy taxes and forced conscription by the Swedes angered the
Bornholmers, and a conspiracy began to form: its purpose to
overwhelm the Swedish occupying force, recapture Hammershus fortress,


and deliver Bornholm back to Danmark. A highly dangerous enterprise
to be sure, but the core group of men from Hasle were both determined


and effective. This group consisted of the clergyman for Hasle-
Rutsker parish: Poul Hansen Ancher (c.1630-1697), its mayor: Peder
Olsen, and Jens Pedersen Kofoed, who was the only one who had fought
against the Swedes - therefore it is thought that his hatred towards
the enemy, and his violent temper, aided in the quick and decisive
outcome of the uprising. The leaders divided the tasks: the Pastor
Poul Ancher would mobilize the citizens; Peder Olsen was to take care


of communications with the Danish government in København; and Jens
Kofoed to organize and lead the armed attack. On December 8, 1658
Johan Printzenskiöld rode out from Hammershus fortress for Rønne,
where a ship was to set sail with a request for reinforcements for
the Swedish garrison, which only numbered around 100 men.
Printzenskiöld was extremely worried about a possible landing of
Danish or Dutch troops, being conscious of the fact that he could not


rely on "these Danes," which he ironically named the Bornholmers. We
are luck to have Jens Kofoed's own description of the events of the
uprising, although it is not the original it dates from around 1700.
The simple, straight-forward tone and detailed description of the
events make the story ring true, and after some consideration by
historians Jens Kofoed has been accepted as the primary source.
Fortunately a contemporary Swedish description has been found to
corroborate his description; this from a ship's coxswain from Ysted,
Jens Fribonde, which he gave to the Swedish authorities after his
release as a prisoner-of-war.
1) Jens Pedersen Kofoed's "true and proper account of how Bornholm
was wrested from the Swedes": It was a Wednesday when the Swedish
Commander rode from Hammershus Fortress to Hasle, where he summoned
Mayor Peder Olsen to the street and gave him a grave warning to pay
the levyed taxes or face the dire consequences. Then he rode on to
Rønne to stay with its Mayor, Peder Laursen. As soon as the
Commander left Hasle, Poul Anker and I went by sleigh from Hasle to
Nyker, where Mr. Jacob had promised to provide 20 men whenever
needed. But I could not get any men to help - only a horse, a gun,
and a sabre. I then rode on alone to Blykobbegaard along the rode to


Rønne, stopping to wait in the Skule-forest for my comrades: Captain
Niels Gumløs, Aage Fenrik, and Claus Nielsen, all of Hasle, at which
time we were joined by Jens Laursen Risom and farmer Hans Nielsen. I


gave Jens Laursen my gun, seeing as he had none, and next rode to get


myself another at Blykobbegaard. All five of us rode in the darkness
to Rønne, intent on arriving at my brother Mads Kofoed's house. As
we rode down the street we saw the Swedish bailiff, Jens Persson,
walk past us towards Mayor Peder Laursen's house, where Commander
Printzenskiöld was staying. Since he had seen us riding with our
guns we figured it best to state our business to Printzenskiöld at
once. We placed Aage Fenrik and Claus Nielsen to guard the gate, not


knowing how many men were with Printzenskiöld. I entered the room
first, followed by Niels Gumløs and Jens Laursen, and immediately
asked him if he wished to surrender - as he was the only Swede there.


He at once cried out, falling down between the table and the bench;
we pulled him up again to sit by the table, upon which lay a large
parcel and a sealed letter. When asked from where they came he
answered: from his King in Sweden and they were to be sent on to
Pomerania. So I quickly snatched the mail declaring, "This is going
to be sent to my king - the King of Danmark!" Next we took hold of
Printzenskiöld to take him outside, at which point some other
citizens came to help; as soon as we had him on the street, he broke
free and ran away. I shouted for him to stop, but he did not
heed, and immediately a shot was fired and he fell down dead. Two
guards were posted by his body, so that it would not be robbed while
we were looking for his servant and the other Swedes in town. We
found all but two: his secretary and rider had hidden, but we found
and arrested them the next day. Printzenskiöld's body was then
brought into Rønne's town-hall.
2) Jens Fribonde's description: Two weeks before Christmas he
Commander rode from the Fortress to Rønne and took lodging as usual
at Mayor Peder Laursen's. It was then they gathered around the
house: Claus Kam, Jens Kofoed, Niels Gumløs, Villum Clausen, Mads
Kofoed, and others. Next Jens Kofoed went into the room with his gun


and sabre pointing at Printzenskld; Niels Gumløs struck him
with his gun, causing him to fall down under the table, whereupon
they began to drag him outside, crying: "Out with you - you blood-
hound!" At which point the Mayor intervened pleading, "Please, good
men stop and think before you do harm." To which Jens Kofoed
replied, "Everything is enfolding as planned." The Commander then
requested to surrender, and they promised him clemency; as they were
taking him out of the room both Mayor Laursen and his brother,
Daniel, pleaded for him. But the Mayor was struck on the chest with
a musket and Daniel was beaten, so that he had to crawl away out onto


the street. Next Villum Clausen went to Printzenskiöld and raised
his pistol to Printzenskiöld's left eye and fired a shot, and the
Commander fell down dead in the street; after which both Jens Kofoed
and Niels Gumløs each fired a shot into him. They then chased
Printzenskiöld's attendants, firing shots at them as they tried to
escape, causing them to surrender.
Commentary on the two accounts: Both of the above descriptions are
internal reports - not meant as propaganda - one from each of the two


warring camps. No real difference is stated in the progression of
events, of course there is some discrepancy of certain details and in


the evaluation of the purpose. There is really only one major
discrepancy: why was Printzenskiöld shot dead? Was it because he
tried to flee, or was it a deliberate act? Both sources inform us he


was offered amnesty, that the remaining Swedes in Rønne were spared,
and that the next day the rebels only threatened to kill them in
order to force the Swedes to surrender Hammershus fortress. This
clearly suggests that they had only planned to take Printzenskiöld
prisoner - for what would have been gained by killing him? It was
Jens Kofoed's brother-in-law Villum Clausen who fired the pistol, and


only he could tell what spurred him to action. As stated above Jens
Pedersen Kofoed forced the capitulation of the Swedish army stationed


at the north Bornholm fortress of Hammershus. He and his men would
then take as prisoners-of-war swedish re-inforcement troops as they
landed at Sandvig during Christmas-time. That generation of Kofoeds
was strongly represented in the early hours of the uprising: besides
the leader Jens Kofoed, there were his brother Mads Kofoed, his
cousins from Blykobbegård: Hans and Claus Olufsen Kofoed, and his
sister's husband Villum "Kelou" Clausen. The location of these
events was Rønne's mainstreet: Storegade; along which were located
the Kofoed families homes, side-by-side with Mayor Peder Laursen's
house. Rønne was still very small at that time, the current large
town-square was then only a green area with trails leading out to the


surrounding farmsteads. Further down the street, across from the
present latin-school, was the old town-hall; before which are placed
memorial stones to commemorate the spot where Printzenskld was shot
dead. The dramatic shots fired by Jens Kofoed and Niels Gumløs into
the already dead enemy were significant: this legitimized Villum
Clausen's questionable murder of Printzenskiöld as part of the
uprising, now everyone was equally responsible - there was no going
back! Jens Pedersen Kofoed led a band of men north to the fortress of


Hammershus, where they convinced the Swedish army-unit stationed
there to surrender. Later he and his men captured Swedish re-
inforcement troops as they landed at Sandvig. On December 29, 1658 a
deputation was sent to København to inform King Frederik 3. that
Bornholm was once again Danish property. For his bravery and saving
Bornholm for Danmark, King Frederik gave Jens Pedersen Kofoed a
pardon, for the original deed of manslaughter, and promoted him to
Captain in the army. He was also awarded ownership of Maglegård in
Østermarie parish. He lived at Maglegård the rest of his life and was


buried in the church inØ stermarie, where there is still a portrait
of him. A painting of Jens Pedersen Kofoed by an unknown artist is
displayed at Frederiksborg Castle; a copy is kept in Bornholm's
museum in Rønne. The painting shows his coat-of-arms and tells, in
latin, that is was painted in 1683, when he was 55 years old.
Historians since the 18th century have named him with great honour
"Bornhoms Befrieren" - which translates as: Liberator of Bornholm.
See "Notes" of wife Margrethe Sandersdatter Lesler for information
from the probate held after Jens Pedersen Kofoed's death.