The social events at IRIS is inspired by the local history of the Rold area. From ancient time Rold forest has been a hiding place for outcasts from all of northern Jutland. The history of these people will frame the social events at IRIS and the working groups are named after well known robbers from this period. Below you can read about these people as “the robbers from Rold” and find the description of the robbers giving the “names of the working groups”.
The Robbers from Rold
– or actually the robbers in Rold since most came from other places
Rold forest is the biggest forest in Jutland and from the early middle-age up to around 1850 it has given shelter to both real living robbers but also indeed the stories about them. After the robbers disappeared, the stories has grown first told from one to another and later the Robbers from Rold has been a loved theme of talks, books and songs.
In the late Viking age you could still sail all the way to here on what was then a river. In the swamps around the river the tribes had their castles and “robbed” tradesmen passing by (made them pay toll).
Later in the middle age these castles had developed further and moved up in the hills but they still took whatever they could get from travellers. It did not help much that queen Margrethe the first either paid or forced the robber chieftains to give up their castles, since all kinds of unwanted and lawless persons from most of northern Jutland came to the forest to hide and make a living from what they could: robbery. Around 1800 -1850 this culminated with a robber society that terrorized the Rold forest area and even most of the northern Jutland.
At that time travelling through Rold forest you should count on being robbed if traveling alone or after dark. Travelers thus gathered at Inn’s north or south of the forest to form bigger groups and pass through the forest in daylight. The headlines were violence, attacks on vehicle, receiving of robbed goods, and housebreaking and muggings.
The people being attacked mostly did survive but with lasting wounds on both body and soul. The robbers used threats of further violence or burning down property to keep their victims silent. This worked because people often with good reason did not trust the police either. This fearful and unfortunate situation was part of many people’s lives in these years.
Bette Fanden (the small devil), Nøragersmeden (the smith from Nørager), Petronillen (her name was Pernille), Lorentz Meier and Peder Hjorth were the names of some of the most well known and feared robbers in and around Rold. They were actually real existing robbers documented through both books and legal notes from trials.
After an extremely violent attack taking place on the rim of the forest in 1836 that lead to the death of the victim, the leading robbers were jailed in 1837. In 1844 it was all over since they were all convicted after seven long years of trials. The case has been the biggest criminal case in Denmark until now. More than 200 persons were convicted; 27 for robbery, 50 for “receiving stolen goods”, and 150 for other crimes.
Seven of the worst were whipped in public and sentenced to slavery in jail in Copenhagen for the rest of their lives. The rest were “just” sentenced to slavery in jail for fewer years or even just for months on “water and bread” (in their local jails).
After this episode people could live relatively safely in Rold, even though there were still robber attacks until early 1900.
Names of the working groups
The working groups are named after the robbers:
Collaboration: Bette Fanden (Johannes Jensen from Stenild) was the brain behind much of the crime and the most well know. He was the height of a 12 year old boy, but of the strength of a full grown. He earned his name while robbing an old woman covered in a whole cows skin (including the head) to hide his physically easily recognizable appearance. She thought that her visitor was the devil himself (Fanden) because of the horns, but a rather small one (“bette” means small on the dialect of the area).
Organisational systems: Oldmowr means great grandmother in the dialect. In Danish we have a saying: “this is due to the devil and his great grandmother”, when some bad things happen. Since Bette Fanden had that name, his female companion was called Oldmowr, even though it was unfair. Her name was Mette and they were formally married. She was known as a rather kind and nice person. Surprisingly she was not part of the trials, even though she clearly must have knows of her husband’s work.
Strategic development and use: Lorentz Meier wanted to travel to Germany to do his trade after he had been educated as shoemaker in Aalborg (a few km north of Rold forest), but he never got pass Randers (30 km south of Rold forest) where he ended up in the pubs drinking all his money away. Living like that is expensive so he started his other carrier by robbing his former boss in Aalborg. He was so though, he did not say a sound while being given the 27 whiplashes.
Public sector / methodology: Petronillen (Ane Pernille Andersdatter Storm) was a “free living” woman and the lover of Lorentz Meier. She may have been the cruellest of the robbers, known for having placed a baby on the stove in order to make the mother revel the hiding places of the wealth of the family. She was – which was very unusually for a woman – also sentenced to public whipping.
Learning/ Education: Nøragersmeden was a blacksmith from Nørager. He was born in a family with a reputation for violence, mugging and pick-pocketing (A tinker family, too). In contraire of Bette Fanden the smith was big and strong, so when they were out together it must have been a wired sight. Still he was the one that took revenge when Bette Fanden once had kept the booty to him after a housebreak. He tricked Bette Fanden to come out on the heathers looking for a hidden treasure. On the way Bette Fanden had to pee. While doing that he was attacked by his mate, beaten up to tell where the money was and left with his pants down and his hands tied on the back to jump all way home, while the smith collected the money in their hiding place in Bette Fandens pillow at home.
Information systems development: Peder Hjorth was part of the inner circles of the gang, but we do not know much about him. From the documents from the trials we can read that he was actually the best pick-pocket of all. He did his work at the local markets – and once talked Bette Fanden from robbing Nøragersmeden, since “it is wrong to rob one with whom you have done so many robberies…”
ERP, Mergers and offshoring: Snøvle Maren was another woman that did go with robbers on their raids. Her name was Maren Carlsdatter. She had no nose and it had probably been eaten away by syphilis at an advanced stage. When she participated the robbers were usually masked.
Open/service innovation: Laang Ajs (in dialect: Long Anders) was in jail more than once, but he also escaped quickly. People said about him that he could open doors by looking at them. The reality was that he hid a small watch spring shaped like a saw between his teeth and his lower jaw ready to use when needed. After the police found out he too had to stay where he was put.
Social media: Tarmløs (without guts) had been a “patch tailor” repairing cloths, but he had suffered hunger and grown so slim they called him Tarmløs. He liked to set fire on houses – The stories say that “he was so cool, when they made houses hot as the robbers said when they burned down homes”.