Birgitte Gøye

Who is Birgitte Gøye?

Birgitte Gøye was a Danish county administrator, lady in waiting, landholder and noble, co-founder and principal of Herlufsholm School.

She was the daughter of Mogens Gøye and Mette Bydelsbak and the sister of Eline Gøye. She was raised in a convent, Ringkloster, and became lady in waiting to the queen, Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg, in 1538. She had been engaged against her will by her family to Jesper Daa in 1525, but in 1540, she was freed from the engagement, which until 1582 was as binding as a marriage. Thanks to her friendship with the queen, the king had professors and bishops investigate the matter and then issued a new law that banned parents from arranging engagements for their minor children. She married courtier Herluf Trolle in 1544. She had no issue, but raised many foster daughters from the nobility in her home and arranged their marriages.

In 1565, she founded the Herlufsholm School by donating her estate Skovkloster to it, and functioned as its principal until 1567. She was the county administrator of Tølløse until 1566 and Kappelgården ved Køge and Ringkloster until 1571.