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Occupation: Bailiff (Herredsfoged) for Østermarie.
Reference: KG2 note
Poul Kofoed is the first Kofoed to live in Østermarie parish and is
presumed to be the father of Peder Kofoed; Julius Bidstrup (published


in 1886) states that Peder Kofoed was the son of a Mads Kofoed,
however this is now known to be incorrect. "Poul Kofoed's name (in
the old records it is spelled variously as: Pavell Kffth and Powijl
Kaafodt, etc.) is mentioned in 1545 as Reeve (Sandemand) for
Østermarie parish, and Merchant Guild Chairman (Oldermand), and as
living at one of the largest farms in Østermarie parish: Kofoedgård,
the 23. Slg. That Poul Kofoed and his family were firmly establish
in the area can be seen by the fact that already by 1569 a forest
(skov) in Østermarie parish had become known as "Kofods-skov". His
ancestry is not certain and is disputed, made more difficult by the
fact that he never used his father's given name as part of his
signature or mark. According to the respected Bornholm historian Dr.


M.K. Zarthmann (published in 1931) he was the son of Hans Kofoed and
brother to Peder Hansen Kofoed and Esbern Hansen Kofoed; and that
Hans Kofoed was the son of Peder Kofoed of Rønne and brother to Mads
Kofoed. In "På sporet af de første Kofod'er", Jørn Klindt (published


in 1979) states that there is not enough evidence to back this up
with any certainty; he thinks that perhaps he is brother to a Hans
Kofoed of Rønne, who is mentioned in records from 1525-43. Poul
Kofoed's sons were part of a new generation of Kofoeds born around
the middle of the 1500s that began to play a larger role in the
island's upper-class. At the same time much more written
documentation becomes available, so the individual families can be
traced without too much guess-work. In 1543 a group of Lübeck and
Danish commissionaries were appointed to settle a dispute regarding
money owing to Lübeck by some Bornholmers. Various meetings were held


around the island to settle the matter. The farmers from Østermarie
and Ibsker parishes that were involved met at "Pavell Køfføthes" farm


in Østermarie parish. At that time he was not signing documents for
the parish, but six years later in 1549 "Powijl Kaafodt" was the
Reeve for Østermarie parish, or as that position is still called on
Bornholm: "Sandemand". A "sandemand" was the chief magistrate and
bailiff of a parish (sogn), and in many ways had duties equivalent to


a Mayor (Borgmester) of a township (købstad). In 1550 he participated


in the establishment of the first latin-school in Rønne; in 1553 he
was promoted to District-Bailiff (Herredsfoged) for the East District


of Bornholm (Østre Herred, consisting of: Østerlars, Østermarie,
Ibsker, and Svaneke). Soon after that he is known to have undertaken


a journey to Lübeck. The "Lybækkerne" (the germanic Hansa imperial
free-city of Lübeck) had controlled Bornholm since 1525; King
Frederik 1. had forfeited the control of Bornholm to Lübeck for 50
years because of his inability to pay debts owed to the city. The
natives of Bornholm are recorded to have groaned under the Hansa's
rule, and declared "they would rather be under the Turks, than under
that German, Christian, imperial city." King Frederik took pity on
them and declared the inhabitants under his protection - this was to
little avail though. Fifty years later a sign of Lübeck waining
powers can be seen in the actions of King Frederik 2. concerning
Bornholm. During those long years the island had been considered the


Queen-city of the Hansa's special possession; they had made much
profit from the enforced payment of dues, and the export of such
valuable commodities as limestone. First a Lübeck governor was
formally ejected from København, then the inhabitants of Bornholm,
encouraged in insubordination by seeing how the authorities in
København dealt with their masters, refused to pay their dues.
Finally, one of the towns even forcibly ejected some Lübeck traders.


An ominous sign of things to come are reflected in Frederik's
opposition to any mention of Bornholm during peace treaties. Poul
Kofoed was appointed by King Frederik 2. and sent back to Bornholm
in order to negotiate back control of the island. Also, he was to
sit in mediation between the Lübeck Governor Sveder Ketting and the
citizens of Bornholm; this meeting was held on December 1, 1572 at
the home of Poul Kofoed. On September 7, 1575, Frederik 2. informed
Lübeck, "that the fifty-years of possession, accorded to them by his
grandfather, would have expired on the 19th of the month, and he
intended to retake possession of the island." The city replied that
the "Peace of Hamburg" extended their rights of possession - which
they held for unpaid Danish debts. Frederik replied the treaty was
invalid since his father, who had made it, was not crowned at the
time, and he himself had not been consulted in the matter. Complain
as they might, the Lübeck'ers had neither the power nor the ability
to stop the take over. Located just outside of Kofoedgrd's main house


is a mighty oak-tree (eg), known as the "Nøgle-egen", which is said
to be the "key" (nøgle) to the farm's good fortune. This romantic
legend probably dates back further than the 1800s; no sure
explanation is known as to how or why this came to be thought. The
oak-tree dates back to the time Poul Kofoed took possession of that
beautiful farm located in the fertile coast-land between Svaneke and
Gudhjem. The farm-house commands a wide view of the eastern parishes
and Svaneke township. On Bornholm there were three classes of farms:
1] Proprietægård (Propr.), earlier called a Frigård - meaning
property owned by a "free-man" ("frimand", later called a
"proprietær"); 2] Selvejergård (Slg.) - meaning a farm owned
independently, free of obligations to a property owner - it could be
occupied by its owner or rented out to a peasant farmer (bonde); 3]
Vornedegård (Vdg.), also spelled Vornedergård - meaning a farm leased


out long-term by a land-owner (proprietær) to a tenured peasant
farmer; these farms were "attached" to a proprietægård, and entailed
accompanying work obligations by the peasant for the proprietær who
held the rights on the farm's lease. These rights were known as the
"Herlighedsret" (Glory-right). In Danmark, a person did not become a
citizen by virtue of being born there. Citizenship was a valuable
privilege that included: the right to engage in business in a
community; rights and protections under the law; permission to reside


in a community without being expelled. Citizenship was extended by
individual communities to some of their inhabitants, primarily those
who wanted to engage in business, and did not pertain to citizenship
in the country as a whole. Until the twentieth century, only males
of the middle and upper classes, mostly merchants and tradesmen, were


granted citizenship.