Kurki of Laukko
Encyclopedia
The Kurki or Kurck family, also known as the family of Laukko, (other versions of the name: Korke, Kurki, Kurke) is a medievally-originated Finnish noble family that produced several historically prominent persons. It is documented in the late 14th century. The family is usually divided in several lineages as it continued through female succession.
Please observe that no one surnamed Kurki who lived in Finland after the 17th century is descended from this family through documentarily proven agnatic lineage. The surname is general in Finland, and has been used by several other former or current unrelated families.
The medieval Kurki family held the manor of Laukko at least since 14th century, until the beginning of the 19th century.
A seal of a member of this family is know already from early 15th century. It depicts a common crane
, which is kurki in Finnish. However, the coat of arms of the family since 15th century depicts a sword with three stars (lady Elin's coat of arms, and later confirmed in the 1st baron's coat of arms at the Swedish House of Nobility when the baronial rank was obtained in 1652).
In 1797 Arvid Fredrik Kurck (1735-1810) was created a Swedish count, but his branch went extinct.
Laukko seems not to have been an immense landholding until made gradually such by the second Kurki family in the 15th century.
The location of the Matthew (Mattis) Kurki folklore as itself matches, because Laukko is located in Vesilahti
, the historical Pirkkala
area, where those folk legends are strongest.
There is a gap of a century between Mattis Kurki and the first documented Kurki, deputy lawspeaker Jakob Kurki (Jeppe, Jesper, Jaakko, Jacob) of the late 14th century, whose seat was the manor of Niemenpää in southern Tavastia
.
descends. Nicholas is surmised to have been childless, but from a younger kinsman of his (researchers have estimated that as nephew, be it nephew through a brother or, more probably, a sister) Jeppe, a further family using the name Kurki descends. This Jeppe Kurki (Jacob, Jaakko, Jesper) married Karin Klasdotter, daughter of Klas Lydekesson, an important heiress.
The last male of their line was a grandson, Arvid Kurk (1463-1522), who was the last catholic
bishop of Turku
. Bishop Arvid Klasson Kurk had a sister, Elin Kurk, who was married with Knut Eriksson (Canute Ericsson), lawspeaker
of Northern Finland. Elin's son Jöns Knutsson (1503-c 1577) inherited his uncle the bishop Arvid and was the next owner of Laukko and the Kurki patrimony.
This epoch also includes (at least in folklore): Klas Kurk, of 15th century. He was a nobleman who in the folk ballad Death of Elin burned his (first) wife Elin, whom he believed to have been unfaithful and given birth to a son of another man. The poem however is either fictive or possibly persons are mixed.
Lady Elin's father was lord Klas Jeppesson Kurk. Her husband was lawspeaker Knut Eriksson (died in 1539 at great age), a member of the Privy Council of Sweden
and since 1511 lagman of Northern Finland (Elgenstierna gives him as a scion of the Småland
ic family of petty gentry holding the manor of Näs; but Gillingstam opines him being of Finnic extraction).
Elin's son Jöns Knutsson Kurck (1503-c 1577) was also member of the royal council (PC) and his father's successor as lawspeaker. The family continues through a son of Jöns' second marriage with Ingeborg Tott:
Colonel Axel Kurck 1555-1630 was a soldier whom revolting Cudgel men (nuijamiehet)
wanted to make their chief, but he did not consent. Axel became later military governor of the entire Finland.
Jöns Kurck (1590-1652), member of the Royal Council and president of Court of Appeals of Turku, was created friherre (baron) in 1652, and he started the baronial family that survived to 20th century. The baronial Kurck family held the Laukko manor yet over a century, but settled chiefly in Sweden in the area of Stockholm, because they were of high nobility
and often among the important officials of the kingdom.
The unmarried baron Axel Gustav Kurck (1728-1800) established Laukko as a fideicommiss for agnates of the Kurck family.
Arvid Fredrik Kurck (1735-1810) was in 1797 created count
but did not bother to register it at the Swedish House of Nobility. He succeeded in 1800 as owner of Laukko fideicommiss.
His distant cousin and successor, baron Klas Arvid Kurck (1769-1834), Lord Justice of the Supreme Court of Sweden
, and Lord President of the Chamber Court of Sweden (the supreme administrative court
), had to sell (ultimately in 1817) the ancestral manor of Laukko when Finland
had become a separate grand duchy attached to Russian Empire, because the Kurck family wanted to stay in Sweden, and the Finnish government did not allow foreigners to possess landed properties.
Baron Klaus Arvid's only son's only son, Dr. Phil, baron Klas Karl Gustav Kurck (1849-1937), cultural historian, was the last legitimate agnate of this Kurck family. Female-line descendants of the baronial lineage live, mostly in Sweden, including branches of families von Friesendorff
, Stjernswärd, Wrede
, von Nolcken, and Procopé
.
, Willem-Alexander
(born 1967), Prince of Orange
, descends paternally, through a female line, after 500 years, from each of the three above-mentioned Finnish families of Kurck. This is because one ancestress of Willem-Alexander has been countess Eva Horn (1653-1740), wife of Reichsgraf Nicholas Bielke, lord of the Finnish barony of Korpo
, and daughter of the Finnish field marshal
Gustav Horn
(1592-1657), Count of Pori, the Lord High Constable of Sweden
. The Horn counts of Pori, Finland descend, through the Porvoo
-originated owners of the manor of Sydänmaa, from a daughter of the abovementioned lady Elin Klasdotter, heiress of the Kurck of Laukko, and her husband lawspeaker Knut Eriksson. Lady Elin, as explained above, descended from the medieval Kurck of Laukko family and from the Kurck of Niemenpää family (and was their heiress), and of course all her descendants so descend too.
Please observe that no one surnamed Kurki who lived in Finland after the 17th century is descended from this family through documentarily proven agnatic lineage. The surname is general in Finland, and has been used by several other former or current unrelated families.
The medieval Kurki family held the manor of Laukko at least since 14th century, until the beginning of the 19th century.
A seal of a member of this family is know already from early 15th century. It depicts a common crane
Common Crane
The Common Crane , also known as the Eurasian Crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes.It is a large, stately bird and a medium-sized crane at 100–130 cm long, with a 180–240 cm wingspan and a weight of 4.5–6 kg...
, which is kurki in Finnish. However, the coat of arms of the family since 15th century depicts a sword with three stars (lady Elin's coat of arms, and later confirmed in the 1st baron's coat of arms at the Swedish House of Nobility when the baronial rank was obtained in 1652).
In 1797 Arvid Fredrik Kurck (1735-1810) was created a Swedish count, but his branch went extinct.
Original Kurki family of Tavastia
According to folklore, an ancestor of the family Kurki was Matthew Kurki, a legendary chieftain of Pirkka men of 13th century. Legendary material assign him as the first owner of Laukko. However, before the confiscation of ecclesiastical properties in 16th century, kings and government did not have lands to grant to speak of, and therefore this idea, having received it from king as reward, in the folklore derives from more modern era. In Middle Ages, people owned usually just inherited lands and lands conquered or assarted by the clan. Landed properties were highly family-committed.Laukko seems not to have been an immense landholding until made gradually such by the second Kurki family in the 15th century.
The location of the Matthew (Mattis) Kurki folklore as itself matches, because Laukko is located in Vesilahti
Vesilahti
Vesilahti is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
, the historical Pirkkala
Pirkkala
Pirkkala is a municipality of Finland.It is located some south-west from Tampere in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is...
area, where those folk legends are strongest.
There is a gap of a century between Mattis Kurki and the first documented Kurki, deputy lawspeaker Jakob Kurki (Jeppe, Jesper, Jaakko, Jacob) of the late 14th century, whose seat was the manor of Niemenpää in southern Tavastia
Tavastia
Tavastia may refer to:* Tavastia , a historical province of the kingdom of Sweden, located in modern-day Finland* Tavastia Proper, a modern region of Finland* Päijänne Tavastia, another region of Finland...
.
Medieval Kurki family
The heiress of the old Kurki family of Niemenpää married sometime in late 14th century a nobleman named Herman, of either Swedish or German extraction and using the nickname Svärd, "sword", in accordance with his coat of arms. Of their sons, Nicholas used the nickname Kurki, whereas another son, Peter, seems to have been known as "sword" ("..old lord Peder Swärdh.."). From Peter, owner of Niemenpää, the continuous line holding the lordship of HarvialaLordship of Harviala
Lordship of the Manor of Harviala was a medieval frälse possession in Finland.-Property:Harviala has been an immense property in Southern Häme in Finland. The manor and the seat of lordship were in Vanaja....
descends. Nicholas is surmised to have been childless, but from a younger kinsman of his (researchers have estimated that as nephew, be it nephew through a brother or, more probably, a sister) Jeppe, a further family using the name Kurki descends. This Jeppe Kurki (Jacob, Jaakko, Jesper) married Karin Klasdotter, daughter of Klas Lydekesson, an important heiress.
The last male of their line was a grandson, Arvid Kurk (1463-1522), who was the last catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
bishop of Turku
Bishop of Turku
The bishop of Turku was the medieval catholic religious leader of Finland.Influenced by Papal bulls Swedish magnates in the 12th century set up crusadeing expeditions to convert the heathens in the eastern Baltic. This resulted in the establishment of the Catholic Church, the Christian religion...
. Bishop Arvid Klasson Kurk had a sister, Elin Kurk, who was married with Knut Eriksson (Canute Ericsson), lawspeaker
Lawspeaker
A lawspeaker is a unique Scandinavian legal office. It has its basis in a common Germanic oral tradition, where wise men were asked to recite the law, but it was only in Scandinavia that the function evolved into an office...
of Northern Finland. Elin's son Jöns Knutsson (1503-c 1577) inherited his uncle the bishop Arvid and was the next owner of Laukko and the Kurki patrimony.
This epoch also includes (at least in folklore): Klas Kurk, of 15th century. He was a nobleman who in the folk ballad Death of Elin burned his (first) wife Elin, whom he believed to have been unfaithful and given birth to a son of another man. The poem however is either fictive or possibly persons are mixed.
Noble, ultimately baronial family Kurki, in Sweden known as Kurck
Elin Klasdotter, sister of bishop Arvid Kurk, and heiress of the medieval Kurki family, is the ancestress of the next male-line family that used the surname Kurki. The Swedish formulation of the name - Kurck - was manifested as the family was registered under that name in 1625 at the Swedish House of Nobility when that institution was established.Lady Elin's father was lord Klas Jeppesson Kurk. Her husband was lawspeaker Knut Eriksson (died in 1539 at great age), a member of the Privy Council of Sweden
Privy Council of Sweden
The High Council of Sweden or Council of the Realm consisted originally of those men of noble, common and clergical background, that the king saw fit for advisory service...
and since 1511 lagman of Northern Finland (Elgenstierna gives him as a scion of the Småland
Småland
' is a historical province in southern Sweden.Småland borders Blekinge, Scania or Skåne, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means Small Lands. . The latinized form Smolandia has been used in other languages...
ic family of petty gentry holding the manor of Näs; but Gillingstam opines him being of Finnic extraction).
Elin's son Jöns Knutsson Kurck (1503-c 1577) was also member of the royal council (PC) and his father's successor as lawspeaker. The family continues through a son of Jöns' second marriage with Ingeborg Tott:
- Canute Jönsson (died 1598). His wife was Bridget Benedictsdotter of the Gylta family, who inherited the Hedensö manor in Näshulta, SödermanlandSödermanland', sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a historical province or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanland and Uppland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea.In Swedish, the province name is...
. That manor became the Kurki family's seat in Sweden.
Colonel Axel Kurck 1555-1630 was a soldier whom revolting Cudgel men (nuijamiehet)
Cudgel War
The Club War was a 1596/97 peasant uprising in the kingdom of Sweden against exploitation by nobility and military in what is today Finland...
wanted to make their chief, but he did not consent. Axel became later military governor of the entire Finland.
Jöns Kurck (1590-1652), member of the Royal Council and president of Court of Appeals of Turku, was created friherre (baron) in 1652, and he started the baronial family that survived to 20th century. The baronial Kurck family held the Laukko manor yet over a century, but settled chiefly in Sweden in the area of Stockholm, because they were of high nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
and often among the important officials of the kingdom.
The unmarried baron Axel Gustav Kurck (1728-1800) established Laukko as a fideicommiss for agnates of the Kurck family.
Arvid Fredrik Kurck (1735-1810) was in 1797 created count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
but did not bother to register it at the Swedish House of Nobility. He succeeded in 1800 as owner of Laukko fideicommiss.
His distant cousin and successor, baron Klas Arvid Kurck (1769-1834), Lord Justice of the Supreme Court of Sweden
Supreme Court of Sweden
The Supreme Court of Sweden is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in Sweden. Before a case can be decided by the Supreme Court, leave to appeal must be obtained, and with few exceptions, leave to appeal can be granted only when the case is of...
, and Lord President of the Chamber Court of Sweden (the supreme administrative court
Administrative court
Greece, as a civil law country has administrative courts. The establishment of those courts can be found in article 94 of the Constitution of the Hellenic Republic 1975, as revised in 2001. The administrative courts are composed from districts Courts of First Instance, district Courts of Appeal and...
), had to sell (ultimately in 1817) the ancestral manor of Laukko when Finland
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian czar as Grand Prince.- History :...
had become a separate grand duchy attached to Russian Empire, because the Kurck family wanted to stay in Sweden, and the Finnish government did not allow foreigners to possess landed properties.
Baron Klaus Arvid's only son's only son, Dr. Phil, baron Klas Karl Gustav Kurck (1849-1937), cultural historian, was the last legitimate agnate of this Kurck family. Female-line descendants of the baronial lineage live, mostly in Sweden, including branches of families von Friesendorff
Von Friesendorff
- Notable members : Riksfriherre, Baronet and member of the Privy Council of Sweden - Johan Fredrik von Friesendorff...
, Stjernswärd, Wrede
Wrede
Wrede may refer to:*Fabian Wrede , an advisor to King Charles XI, King of Sweden**Carl Gustaf Fabian Wrede, governor of Vaasa province in Finland.**Mathilda Wrede , evangelist and a baroness, daughter of Fabian...
, von Nolcken, and Procopé
Procopé
Procopé, a surname, may refer to the following people:*Hjalmar Procopé, a deceased Finnish politician*Ulla Procopé, a deceased Finnish ceramic designer...
.
Royal descendants
The current heir-apparent of the Kingdom of the NetherlandsKingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
, Willem-Alexander
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange is the eldest child of Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus. Since 1980 he is the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He is also the head of the House of Amsberg since the death of his father in 2002. He was in military service and he studied...
(born 1967), Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange....
, descends paternally, through a female line, after 500 years, from each of the three above-mentioned Finnish families of Kurck. This is because one ancestress of Willem-Alexander has been countess Eva Horn (1653-1740), wife of Reichsgraf Nicholas Bielke, lord of the Finnish barony of Korpo
Korpo
Korpo is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Iniö, Nagu and Pargas to form the new town of Väståboland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Finland Proper region...
, and daughter of the Finnish field marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Gustav Horn
Gustav Horn af Björneborg
Count Gustav Horn af Björneborg was a Swedish/Finnish soldier and politician. He was the youngest son of Field Marshal Carl Horn and Agneta von Dellwig, born while his father was imprisoned in Örbyhus Castle, after the defeat against the Russians.He was born of the Finnish noble family Horn of...
(1592-1657), Count of Pori, the Lord High Constable of Sweden
Lord High Constable of Sweden
The Lord High Constable was a prominent and influential office in Sweden, from the 13th century until 1676, excluding periods when the office was out of use. The office holder was a member of the Swedish Privy Council and, from 1630 and on, the head of the Swedish Council of War...
. The Horn counts of Pori, Finland descend, through the Porvoo
Porvoo
Porvoo is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century...
-originated owners of the manor of Sydänmaa, from a daughter of the abovementioned lady Elin Klasdotter, heiress of the Kurck of Laukko, and her husband lawspeaker Knut Eriksson. Lady Elin, as explained above, descended from the medieval Kurck of Laukko family and from the Kurck of Niemenpää family (and was their heiress), and of course all her descendants so descend too.
Sources
- Äldre svenska frälsesläkter by Folke Wernstedt, 1965 (deals with the family of Arvi Kurki and the Svärd family)
- Svenska adelns ättartavlor by Gustaf ElgenstiernaGustaf ElgenstiernaGustaf Magnus Elgenstierna was a Swedish historian and genealogist.-Biography:He was born on August 26, 1871 to Carl Elgenstierna and Evelina Petersohn. He married Clara Sandberg in 1908...
, 1925 (1998 edition) - deals with the baronial Kurck family
- W. W. van Valkenburg, De voorouders van Z.K.H. Prins Claus, Prins der Nederlanden, Ned. Leeuw Feb/March 1966.
- Leo van de Pas, Genealogics database