DUNDEE, BLASIUS [SSNE 768]
- Surname
- DUNDEE, DUNDIE, DUNDIJ, DUNDI, DONDEIJ
- First name
- BLASIUS
- Title/rank
- BURGESS
- Nationality
- SCOT
- Region
- DUNDEE?
- Social status
- BURGESS
- Religion
- LUTHERAN
Text source
Blasius Dundee was born before 1550 and first appears in Sweden in 1575 where he became an established merchant. Apparently he had been living and working in Copenhagen prior to moving to Stockholm. The tax records for 1583 and tolls records for 1582 note that Blasius Dundie had given up his burgess-ship in Copenhagen and now sought to gain burgess privileges in Stockholm. Confer: Wolter Dondej [SSNE 8493].
Blasius Dundee appears in the Stockholmsstads tänke böcker for 1577 simply noted as a "Scot" presumably undertaking trade with the Swedish capital from his base in Copenhagen. In 1577 he delivered supplies and acted as banker for King John III's campaigns. In 1579 Blasius Dundee along with Hans Watson appeared before the Stockholm magistrates to testify in a case involving Lucas Lamej, stating that he had been in Stockholm earlier than he claimed.
Blasius Dundee became a burgess of Stockholm on 20 July 1583, owning several houses there. Blasius Dundie purchased various buildings and plots, one of his earliest being an unspecified house he acquired in April 1589 and sold in July the same year. In 1591 Blasius Dundie acquired a large stone-built building on the southern end of Köpmangatan, adjoining the corner of Skärgårdsgatan (known then as Själagårdsgatan). This seems to have served as his main residence. He also possessed two further plots: in St. Johannesgränd and a smaller ‘garden’ plot (presumably an allotment) on an alley long known as Blasius Dundies gränd (now Staffan Sassesgränd). In August 1599 reference is made to Blasius Dundee's herb garden on Södermalm, albeit no further details appear. At the end of October 1599 there is also a reference to Blasius Dundee's house, located on Köpmangatan.
Blasius Dundee appears in the tax records for Stockholm burgesses for the years 1583-1585, and again from 1587-1592.
Between 1586-96 Blasius Dundee was one of the city Elders. In 1589 he was called to support Thomas Ogilvie's claim for overdue reimbursement against a fellow Scottish merchant in Poland. The following year he served as a witness in an inheritance case involving yet another member of the Scottish community in Sweden, Andrew Angus.
In 1593, Blasius Dundee was one of the burgesses who represented Stockholm at the burial of John III and the coronation of Sigismund, where he handed over the keys of the town. At the Riksdag at Uppsala in 1594 he was one of the burgesses representing Stockholm who took an oath of loyalty to Sigismund on the 22/23 February. That year he appeared before the Stockholm court and requested and obtained a pass for his freighted ship from Scotland, captained by one Lubeck man called Herman Piper.
In 1595 Blasius Dundee extended large cash loans to the Swedish crown, only repaid in 1616. In 1596 his servant boy, Klemet, was brought up before the Stockholm consistory for making a girl pregnant.
It seems that Blasius Dundee's representational work to King Sigismund Vasa (king of Poland, and following the death of his father Johan III, briefly king of Sweden) on behalf of the Stockholm burgesses led to difficulties with Duke Karl (later Karl IX), Sigismund's uncle and a rival for the Swedish Crown, eventually successful. On 16 July 1599 Duke Karl - through a proxy named Eric Jörenson - accused Blasius Dundee of treason, of consorting with other foreigners and other rebellious subjects. This information came about through a letter written by Arfvid Ericson which he had sent to Hans Skytte. Blasius Dundee countered by refuting all the allegations against him (specifying that he neither congregated secretly with others, be they Finns or from elsewhere) and stating that he would prove that the purported 'letter' had been composed at the castle itself, in the tower, as told to him by Clas Lhosin.
Blasius Dundee appears to have paid tax in 1621.
Blasius was married three times. His first wife appears to have died in 1578, and his second wife, called Walborg, is noted in 1581 in the Stockholmsstads tankeboker. His first, Malin Willems/Williamsdotter was probably of Scottish birth. In 1599 he accused her of adultery with several men - including a Scottish clerk of the Muster roll, William Brown [SSNE 6131] to whom he wrote directly. Two of his children were baptised at St Nikolai church in Stockholm, in 1611 and 1615. Within this period he is reported to have been in Vasa in Finland.
Blasius Dundee died in 1621 and left behind his wife (variously Brita/Anna), several children including Blasius Dundee [SSNE 6130] younger and Catharina and Brita Blasiidotter [SSNE 6134]. Several other children were buried in Nicolai between 1588 and 1603. It is not clear if he was related to John Dundee [SSNE 7783].
The part of Stockholm called 'Blasieholmen' is sometimes claimed to be named after him. However, the usage began a long time after his death, and the man himself never held property on the islet (then separated from the rest of Stockholm). It is also postulated that the name pertains to another individual with the first name Blasius.
Sources: Swedish Riksarkiv, Biographica Microcard, E01354 4/7 REFERENCES TO HIS DESCENDENTS; T. Fischer, The Scots in Sweden, (Edinburgh, 1907), pp. 21-25, 215; J.Berg and B. Lagercrantz, Scots in Sweden, (Stockholm, 1962), p.25; F.U.W. 'Blasius Dundie', Person Historisk Tidskrift, vol. 3, 1901, pp.41-52; Borgarståndets Riksdagsprotokoll före frihetstiden, (Uppsala, 1933), p.337; Stockholms stads tänkeböcker från år 1576-1578,(Stockholm, 1943), p.383; Stockholmsstads tänke böcker 1578-1583, (Stockholm, 1945), p.106, 383; Stockholms stads tänkeböcker 1589-1591, (Stockholm, 1948), p.36, pp.44-5, p.71, p.216, p.246, p.247, p.321, p.334; Stockholms stads tänkeböcker 1592-1595, (Stockholm, 1939), p.79, 90, 127, 131, 147-8, 155, 162, 189; Stockholmsstads tänke böcker 1596-1599, (Stockholm, 1954), p.316, 377, 397; Stockholm Stadsarkiv, Stockholmsstads Konsistorii Protokoll, 1595-1632, vol.1, p.75 and vol.2, p.17; Stockholm Stadsarkiv, St Nikolai kyrkas dopbok fran och med 1611 till och med 1622, p.3 and p.18; Stockholm Stadsarkiv, Register över döda m flera enligt Nikolai församlings räkenskaper, I 1546-1623, pp.10-11; Birgitta Lager, Stockholms befolkning på Johan III:s tid (Stockholm, 1962), p.22, 86, 132, 154; F.U. Wrangel, Stockholmiana I-V Anteckningar, (Stockholm, 1912), pp.41-55; N. Stahre, et al, Stockholms Gatunamn, (Stockholm, 1982), p.70; Steve Murdoch, Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe, 1603-1746 (Brill, Leiden, 2006), pp.57, 161. See also Curt Haij, 'Skottar i Stockholm under 1600-talet', unpublished list of names, Hintze biblioteket, Genealogiska Föreningen, Sundbyberg, Stockholm. Thanks to Ardis Dreisbach for this information.
See also: Riksarkivets ämnessamlingar. Personhistoria https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/A0069583_00174#?c=&m=&s=&cv=173&xywh=2422%2C1587%2C3628%2C2092
HouseinStockholm
Service record
- SWEDEN, STOCKHOLM
- Arrived 1576-01-01
- Departed 1582-12-31
- Capacity BANKER, purpose CIVIL SERVICE
- SWEDEN, STOCKHOLM
- Arrived 1583-01-01
- Departed 1621-12-31
- Capacity MERCHANT BURGESS, purpose CIVIC, MERCANTILE, TRADE, COMMERCE
- SWEDEN, STOCKHOLM
- Arrived 1586-01-01
- Departed 1596-12-31
- Capacity CITY ELDER, purpose CIVIC