Jytte Thott til Tosterup

Jytte Thott was a famous lady in her day and she is still a legend in the area where she lived most of her life in southern Scania. Her grandfather was a wealthy and powerful nobleman whom people called 'the king of Scania'. Unfortunately, Jytte grew up in times of war and her homeland, Scania, was conquered by the Swedes in 1658. When she was fifteen, Jytte got engaged to the Scanian nobleman Jörgen Iversen Krabbe who was eleven years older and had studied law in Italy, France and Copenhagen. The couple got married two years later in Malmö and had a lavish wedding. Originally, Jytte's husband was meant to work as a county judge in Zealand, but the Swedes banned all Scanians from working in Denmark and also from owning land on both sides of the Sound, so Jytte and Jörgen settled at Krogholm (now Krageholm) near Ystad in Scania. They lived the countrylife there for sixteen years. Jörgen Krabbe became a member of the Swedish 'Riddarhus' (House of Lords) and travelled frequently to Stockholm and learnt fluent Swedish but he was refused permission to practise law in Sweden. Jytte and Jörgen had no children but were very close to their nieces and nephews. In 1676, war broke out again and there was a violent uprising that wreaked havoc upon all and everyone. Swedish troops were posted at Krogholm but the employees at Krogholm were all Danish and many were involved in the resistance. At least one of the Swedes would later report Krabbe for collusion with the resistance movement. In the summer of 1677, Jytte's husband was walking together with her brother Knud and some Swedes in the orchard of Marsvinsholm castle, just down th road from Krogholm, when the resistance fighters came and kidnapped the Swedes. At the end of the summer Krabbe was arrested, Knud Thott and his brothers fled to the Danish enclave at Lands Crone (now Landskrona) and a number of Krogholm employees were arrested, tortured and executed. Jörgen Krabbe faced a long and difficult trial that lasted several months. Jytte Thott got very ill during his trial but managed to gain access to the Swedish king to beg for her husband's life, but the Swedish king declared that she might shed as many tears as she liked, but 'Krabbe was going to die'. Jytte's husband was shot in Malmö central square in January 1678. His coffin was brought to Tosterup Castle where it can be seen in its vault still today. Jytte Thott spent the rest of her life wearing black clothes. Most of her husband's lands were taken over by the Swedes and donated to faithful Swedes. Jytte had to leave Krogholm and first moved to a smaller estate about twenty minutes' ride from there, called Högested (now Högestad). She had the windows that faced Krogholm walled up and the rooms facing it painted black. Eventually, she lost Högested, too and had to move to a farmstead called Baldringe where she spent her last years. According to legend, she is still sighted at Högestad whenever something bad is going to happen and sometimes her wails of misery can be heard at night from the mounds behind Högestad. Jytte Thott and Jörgen Krabbe had no children so whatever people write on the topic here isn't correct. For any information on Jytte Thott/Jörgen Krabbe please contact joanna.vadenbring@abdn.ac.uk or Joanna Vandenbring on FB. I've written a PhD thesis on Jörgen Krabbe and various articles