Hans Hansen Lilienskiold

Hans Hansen Lilienskiold (c.1650 – 1703) was a Norwegian jurist, government official, civil servant and land owner. He was a member of the Lilienskiold noble family and served as County Governor of Finnmark. He is particularly remembered as an author for his works on the topography  and culture of Finnmark.

Biography
Lilienskiold was born in Bergen, Norway.  He was the eldest of six in the family of Hans Hansen (Smidt)  Lillienskiold (ca. 1610-1681) and Margrethe Jonasdatter (ca. 1624-1654). Hans Hansen Smidt had been born in Tønder, Denmark. He became a lawyer in Bergen in 1650 and later held various government commissions. He was County Governor of Bergenhus len  (1667-1669) and Mayor of Bergen (1679-1681). Hans Hansen  Smidt was ennobled with the surname Lillienschiold in 1676. He became quite wealthy and owned various properties including Losna-ætta on Losna in Sogn and part of Giskegodset in Sunnmøre.   His family also became related to the noble family Svanenhielm through the marriage of his grand-daughter Cecilia Christine Lillienschiold (1687-1749) to Morten de Svanenhielm (1690-1749) of Svanøy.

Hans Hansen Lilienskiold  was enrolled at the University of Copenhagen in 1668.  Later he toured various cities including Leipzig, Rome and Paris on a journey lasting three and a half years. In 1672, he became secretary at the Danish-Norwegian Counsellor in Stockholm. 
In 1673, Lilienskiold appointed deputy judge of  the Bergen District Court and the Gulating Court of Appeal (1673-1684). After the death of his father in 1681,  Lilienskiold  acquired the farm Hop on Askøy and farm Sletten in Lindås. He served as County Governor of Finnmark from 1684.  He was appointed district governor of Møre og Romsdal in 1702 never to accede because of illness. He died on January 12, 1703 in Copenhagen.

Lilienskiold wrote two volumes of travel records from his journey through Europe, two volumes of general history and three volumes of topographical  and cultural depictions of Finnmark. His most notable work was titled Speculum Boreale (1699) which contained an early historical description of the Sami residents of Finnmark. The work also contained colored ink and watercolor drawings of landscapes, towns and people in the county.

Selected works
Reisejournal 1668–1670
Reisejournal 1670 over en reise til Italia, Frankrike, Nederland og England
Finnmarkens beskrivelse
Trolldom og ugudelighet i 1600-tallets Finnmark

References

External links
Lilienskiold's Speculum Boreale 
 Collection of Lilienskiold's drawings and waterpaintings
Lilienskiold coat of arms

Category:1650 births
Category:1703 deaths
Category:People from Bergen
Category:University of Copenhagen alumni
Category:Norwegian civil servants
Category:Norwegian landowners
Category:Norwegian lawyers
Category:Norwegian judges
Category:Norwegian non-fiction writers
Category:County Governors of Norway