Jürgen Polman ( -c. 1641)

The Polman Patriarch

With his diligence, perseverance and career choice, Jürgen Polman charted the course that many generations of his family line would follow.

Jürgen Polman (The Elder), also known by the names Georg and Göran, was born in the mid- to late 16th century and considered the progenitor of the Swedish family Påhlman. At least one account pronounces him the son of Hans Polman¹, a county clerk in Padise, which is a historically significant parish located in the vicinity of Tallinn in Estonia.

Portrait of Jürgen Polman the Elder (d. 1641), original painting located at Karlbergs slott. This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Image must be attributed to Polmanarkivet shared under the same license.

Jürgen’s first wife was Anna Wesell, and he later married Gertrud von Bremen. His son Jöran (also known as Jürgen The Younger) was born in 1597. Jürgen had three other sons – Claus, Henrik Johan and Fredrik. Sources suggest² that Claus was the progenitor of the von Pohlmann family line, registered at the Knights’ House in Reval³ (Tallinn) under No. 112.⁴

Throughout his adult life, Jürgen seems to have aligned with and remained loyal to Swedish monarchs who vied for control of the region. This is evidenced by the various, if sometimes fleeting, properties and parcels of land that he received in return for his service.

Duke Karl wrote to him expressing his delight that Jürgen had succeeded in enlisting more than a hundred farmers during the Polish-Swedish War (1600-1611).

On 20 November 1600, Jürgen entered the service of Duke Karl of Södermanland. Around this time, in exchange for a sum of money that Jürgen had formerly advanced to the Duke, Jürgen was given the manor Piigandi (Pigant).⁵ This was a “knight manor” located in the Kannapäh parish of Estonia, owned by Polish families and later seized by them once again.

Jürgen became a captain or hauptman at Anzen (Antsla) in Estonia in 1601.⁶ Duke Karl wrote to him expressing his delight that Jürgen had succeeded in enlisting more than a hundred farmers during the Polish-Swedish War (1600-1611). The Duke encouraged him to involve even more farmers in their cause by alleviating taxes for those who enlisted, and suggested that Jürgen get in touch with an old warrior, Herman, a driver or förare (a corporal rank), who could lead the peasants.⁷

Gustavus Adolphus — Karl IX, 1550-1611, Unidentified painter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Three years later, in 1604, Duke Karl was officially declared Karl IX, sovereign of Sweden. That same year, according to Werner Tawaststjerna,

“a group of Livonians (Germans) noblemen visited Charles IX asking that they would be granted farms in Finland where their wives and children could be supported because they themselves fought against the enemies of the kingdom. The King agreed to their request and ordered Councilor Arvi Henrikinpoika Horn to be distributed by the chief Tönne Yrjönpoja to the mentioned lords, so that each of them received an income of 150 thalers a year; the Livonians still had to make it a good horse service.”⁸
Werner Tawaststjerna, 1935

Jürgen may have been among this group, or at least benefited from their request, because in 1604 he received from Karl IX a grant of estates in Sääksmäki parish⁹ in Finland as a reward for his loyal service, which he held for fifteen years. Since wars were frequent and money tight, these fiefdoms and land grants were awarded instead, many of them in Finland. One of the requirements to retain them was to do horse (cavalry) service, and this was strictly upheld. This is illustrated in the case of a Livonian named Philipp Urader, one of Jürgen’s peers, who was unwell and unable to fulfil the conditions, and lost his land as a result.

“… In April 1603 [Urader] received the instruction that every Livonian should present himself with his equipment in Vyborg on June 4th; many of his compatriots, Thomas Bock, Jürgen Polman, Claus Nidder and others spoke to him in May when they went there with 10 horses …”¹⁰
Friedrich Bienemann Jr., 1903

Interior of the ruins of Padise medieval monastery in Estonia.
*Source: Swedish National Heritage Board, 1920. Photo in the public domain.*

In 1613, Jürgen was granted the power of attorney to be the steward and commander of Padise, obeying the stewards at Refle.¹¹ In 1614, he was assured the entire parish of Sääksmäki – only to be asked to give up half of it a year later to Peder Hansson, unless Jürgen was willing to pay off Hansson’s debt.¹² In 1615, he was briefly pledged the Estonian knight manor Tuttomäggi (Tuudi) in the parish of Karusen by its heirs – but this too slipped away. The village of Öetes in Fodials vakka in the parish of Emmerns was given to him in 1623.¹³ A letter by Alexander von Essen to the King dated 1627 points to further land proprietorship – the villages of Nurmsi and Sargvere in Estonia had been previously leased to Jürgen, but he was obliged to return them by the following year after making use of the farm. The letter was signed and sealed by Jürgen as well as von Essen, who had inherited the villages and wanted them back.¹⁴

Finally, in 1631, Jürgen received the estate and manor of Öötla (Oethel) in Estonia’s St. Petri parish as a donation from King Gustavus Adolphus, which he had previously received as a grant in 1624. When Jürgen died in or before 1641, his widow Gertrud was allowed to retain Öötla.¹⁵

An impressive portrait of Jürgen Polman the Elder by an unknown artist, painted in the first half of the 17th century, is held in the collection of Karlberg Castle in Sweden.¹⁶ It depicts the patriarch wearing a somewhat stern expression and generous gold-hued attire with silk and lace trimmings. The family coat-of-arms can be seen on the left; far below it, Jürgen grips a staff with his leather-encased hand in a stance fitting for a commander and patriarch.

Jürgen Polman in the archive

Jürgen Polman

Footnotes

1
Otto Magnus von Stackelberg, Genealogisches Handbuch der baltischen Ritterschaft 1 [Genealogical Handbook of the Baltic Knighthood 1] (Görlitz: Verlag für Sippenforschung und Wappenkunde Starke, 1931)
2
“Geschlechtsbuch der Familie von Pohlmann”, Rahvusarhiiv (National Archives of Estonia), Immatrikuleeritud Aadli Sugukonnaregistrid Matriklikomisjon, https://www.ra.ee/dgs/_purl.php?shc=EAA.854.3.284:1, accessed: 4 March 2023
3
The name Reval was used for seven centuries after the Danish conquest of the city in 1219, until 1918. The region was historically called Livonia, home to the Livonians, comprising parts of present-day Latvia and Estonia.
4
“Påhlman nr 501”, Adelsvapen-Wiki, https://www.adelsvapen.com/genealogi/Påhlman_nr_501, accessed: 17 March 2022
5
Hagemeister Heinrich von. 1837. Materialien Zu Einer Geschichte Der Landgüter Livlands 2 [Der Dörptsche Kreis]. Riga: Frantz.
6
“Påhlman, släkt”, Riksarkivet, https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=7430, accessed: 21 March 2022
7
Jakob Koit, “Estnische Bauern als Krieger während der Kämpfe in Livland 1558-1611”, Eesti Teadusliku Seltsi Rootsis aastaraamat = Annales Societatis Litterarum Estonicae in Svecia, no. 4 (January 1966): 39-40, https://dea.digar.ee/article/JVeestirootsiselts/1966/01/0/6
8
Werner Tawaststjerna, Kaarle IX:n Ja Sigismundin Taistelu Viron ja Liivinmaan Omistamisesta [Charles IX and Sigismund’s Battle for the Ownership of Estonia and Livonia] (Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran Kirjapainon Oy., 1935), 248
9
Specifically the quarters of Liettula and Ridvala.
10
Friedrich Bienemann Jr., ed. Baltic Monthly, LV (1903): 72
11
Jonas Hallenberg, Svea Rikes Historia Under Konung Gustaf Adolf Den Stores Regering [The History of the Kingdom of Sweden Under the Reign of King Gustaf Adolf the Great] (Stockholm: Carlbohm, 1793) 67
12
Half the estate including Liettula and Ridvala went to Hansson, while Jürgen kept Salo and Konho until 1619 when they were recalled. Source: Riksarkivet (Contributor), Meddelanden från Svenska riksarkivet: Ny följd II [Announcements from the Swedish National Archives: New consequence II], Volume 6, Issue 3 (Täby: Riksarkivet, 1922), 479 and Gotthard von Hansen, Die Sammlungen inländischer Alterthümer und anderer auf die baltischen Provinzen bezüglichen Gegenstände des Estländischen Provinzial-Museums [Collections of domestic antiquities and other objects related to the Baltic provinces of the Estonian Provincial Museum] (Reval: Lindfors, 1875), 77
13
Riksarkivet (Contributor), Meddelanden från Svenska riksarkivet: Ny följd II [Announcements from the Swedish National Archives: New Consequence II], Volume 6, Issue 3 (Täby: Riksarkivet, 1922), 640
14
Alexander von Essen to King Gustavus Adolphus, 27 May 1627, National Archives of Estonia, “Georg Pohlmann’s Verpflichtung gegen Alexander von Essen wegen der Dörfer Nurmis und Sargefer”, no. 1152, https://ais.ra.ee/en/description-unit/view?id=200000395234, accessed: 17 May 2023
15
Gustaf Elgenstierna, ed., Den Introducerade Svenska Adelns Attartavlor med Tillagg och Rattelser [The Genealogies of the Introduced Swedish Nobility] (Stockholm: Norstedt, 1925-36)
16
A replica of the painting is also held in a manor in Sweden.

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Jürgen Polman ( -c. 1641)

The Polman Patriarch

Jürgen Polman in the archive

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The Polman Patriarch

Jürgen Polman in the archive

Footnotes

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