Mogens Gøye

Who was Mogens Gøye?

Mogens Gøye was a Danish statesman and Steward of the Realm, whose enormous wealth earned him the derogatory nickname "the King of Northern Jutland". Gøye was the Royal councillor of Danish Kings John I, the feuding Christian II and Frederick I, and Christian III. He was a key supporter of the Reformation in Denmark-Norway and Holstein. Often lauded by elder Danish historians as a knightly, social liberal upper-class idealist, Gøye is today viewed as a realist statesman understanding the need of a government and a moderate political attitude of the nobility.

He was the son of marsk Eskild Gøye, and brother of Royal councillor Henrik Gøye. Mogens Gøye was the father of Birgitte Gøye, who married admiral Herluf Trolle and co-founded Herlufsholm School. He was the grandfather of statesman Peder Oxe.