Bjelke (noble family)
Bjelke, also spelled Bielke, was a Danish and Norwegian noble family, known since the mid-1400s and extinct in 1868.
History
The family's progenitor was Josef Andersen of Gyllarp in Scania, living in the middle of the 1400s. His son Tilluf Josefsen to Gyllarp was the father of Jens Tillufsen Bjelke, who by his marriage to Lucie Nielsdatter Gyldenløve came to possess Austrått Fortress and Estate i Ørland, Norway. In the 1600s, this family was among the mightiest in the kingdom. The last man of the family was dr.phil. Carl Frederik Bjelke (1837–1868).
Coat of arms
The family's arms are a silver shield whereon two blue beams (Norwegian: bjelke).
The coat of arms appears, among other places, in family members' wax seals, in heraldic artworks at Austrått Fortress, and in a portrait of Ove Bjelke.
Connection to other families
The family has no confirmed connection to the Swedish family Bielke.
The other Bjelke family in Norway, living today, descends from the Swedish Bielke family known as Lilliebjelke (‘Lily Beam’).
Prominent members
Gallery
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Ove Bjelke.
Unknown painter. -
Henrik Bjelke.
Painter: Karel van Mander -
From Austrått: Arms of Juel (left), Bielke, and Giedde.
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From Austrått: Arms of Tott and Bjelke.
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From Austrått: Arms of Bjelke and Lindenow.
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From Austrått: Arms of Bjelke and Brockenhuus.
See also
- Bielke
- Bjelke
- Danish nobility
- Norwegian nobility
Literature
- Danmarks Adels Aarbog
- Trætteberg, Hallvard: Norges våbenmerker. Norske by- og adelsvåben