Den Gyldne Løve

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Den Gyldne Løve (også kalt Gyldenløve, Golden Lion, Golden Lyon, Den Gyldene Løve, etter dagens rettskriving Den Gylne Løve) var ein norsk-dansk fregatt og "austindiafarar" i åra fram mot 1730. Skipet var 96 fot og hadde eit mannskap på 88, tre dekk, tre master og 22 kanonar. (Sjå den tilsvarande russiske fregatten Shtandart .)

Den Gyldne Løve måla av Paul B Sinding.

Kart over området rundt Ballyheigue der Den Gyldne Løve stranda. Frå ei bok av Charles Smith frå 1756, "The Ancient and Present State of the County of Kerry". Henta frå https://sites.rootsweb.com/~irlker/smithmap.html

Stranda i Ballyheigue der Den Gyldne Løve blei sett på grunn. Henta frå https://www.geograph.ie/photo/301946

Om etterspelet etter forliset av Den Gyldne Løve: Pue’s Occurrences, June 1731, reports ‘about 200 men’ were involved in the raid. Shelf mark: IN.18.42. Henta frå https://www.tcd.ie/library/manuscripts/blog/2015/02/the-golden-lion-and-its-silver-swag-a-kerry-tale-of-adventure/

Den 66 år gamle Johan Heitmann var skipet sin kaptein på den andre seglasen til India, det som blei første turen i teneste for Asiatisk Kompagni til kolonien Trankebar (no Tharangambadi). Lasta var dyrebar, romma under dekk av fylte med 60 tonn med jern og kornvarer, men det mest verdifulle var 12 kister med sølv i myntar og sølvbarrar, for til saman 80.000 danske riksdalar eller £ 16.000 (tilsvarer £ 2,7 millionar eller 33,6 millionar norske kroner i januar 2023). Sølvet skulle vera med til den danske kolonien for å kjøpa varer, men truleg også for å sikra langsiktige avtalar med dei indiske landeigarane i området.

Den Gyldne Løve gjekk frå København 21. oktober 1730, nokre dagar før orlogsskipet Cronprintz Christian, som skulle etablera handel med Kanton og Kina. Cronprintz Christian kom ganske fort ut for uvêr, og gjekk til Færøyane for naudhamn og reparasjonar.

Den 8. november (28. oktober etter britisk kalender) kom også Den Gyldne Løve inn i stormfullt vêr, ho var då utanfor County Kerry på sørvestkysten av Irland. I loggboka noterte styrmann Smidt at dei fekk tre varsel om at ferda kom til å enda ille: Først mista han noko av navigasjonsutstyret overbord, så drøymde ein av mannskapet at skipet kom til å gå på grunn, og tre dagar i førevegen viste det seg eit sterkt raudt lys over heile himmelen: saadant var mig aldri tilforn forekommet, mens Capitain Heithmand, fortalte, at hand eengang tilforn havde seet det, hvorefter nogle Dage kom en stærk storm. Når det først blei ropt "land i sikte" og "brenning forut", var dei overtydde om at det var "Eiland Brasil", ei øy sjøfolk og kartmakarar på den tida meinte skullle ligga 50 mil utanfor kysten av Irland. Det gjorde at dei kan ha lagt kursen lengre aust, for å komma innom øya, noko som berre gjorde at dei endte opp rett mot irskekysten.

Stranda

Skipet stranda like ved landsbyen Ballyheige (Bhaile Uí Thaidhg), etter at mannskapet med vilje sette det på grunn der, noko som blei eit poeng i seg sjølv i saka seinare. Den lokale godseigaren Thomas Crosbie sende tenarane sine ut for å komma kaptein Heitmann til unnsetning og stansa ei stor folkemengd som prøvde plyndra skipet. Han gav kapteinen og offiserane husly på Ballyheigue House, saman med den store og dyrebare lasta. Med dårleg helse etter å ha anstrengt seg for å redda mannskapet, døydde Crosbie kort tid seinare. Etter nokre månader innleidde enkja Lady Barrymore eit bergingskrav som endte med at ho blei tilkjent 4000 pund. Dramaet var likevel berre såvidt begynt !

Sølvet blir stole

Tidleg i juni 1731 tok hendingane ei spektakulær vending då Crosbie-eigedommen blei storma av minst 60 menn som slapp unna med dei tolv sølvkistene og drap minst to danske vakter i prosessen. Sjølv om halvparten av sølvet blei henta inn att med hjelp av Francis Ryan, ein av leiarane i gjengen, er framleis mykje av verdiane borte den dag i dag.

Å finna dei ansvarlege for ranet blei ei langdryg affære som vekte oppsikt over heile Irland. Mistanken fall snart på Crosbie-familien og andre jordeigarar. Kaptein Heitmann var med rette bekymra over det nære forholdet mellom den lokale sorenskrivaren Sir Maurice Crosbie, ein nevø av den nyleg avdøde Thomas, og dei mistenkte, saman med Lady Barrymore sitt tvilsame bergingskrav. Han hadde ikkje noko særleg tillit til domstolen i County Kerry, og han ønska at saka skulle behandlast i Dublin. Saka opna til slutt i Dublin i november 1735 og endte i frifinning av Arthur Crosbie (fetter til Thomas), erkediakon Francis Lauder og kona hans Bridget. Slik kaptein Heitmann nok både ante og frykta, blei Lady Margaret aldri sikta for å vera involvert. Han vende endeleg tilbake til Danmark i 1740, 76 år gammal og døydde kort tid seinare.

Storhendingane i County Kerry var inspirasjon til denne sjeldne balladen frå Trinity College Dublin, Burgage-samlinga. ‘An excellent new ballad on the county of Kerry jury’ (Dublin, ca 1735)

Frå artikkelen The Ghost of Ballyheigue Castle. Utdrag av "The O’Donnells of Tyrconnell – A Hidden Legacy", O'Donnell, 2019

Sidan har det vore sett eit gjenferd på slottet som ser ut som ein sjømann : Personen held eit sverd og er kledd i lange, tettsittande bukser (hoser) eller høge støvlar. Sverdet røper at det kanskje heller er ein av dei to danske vaktene som blei drepne i storminga av slottet i 1731, som går igjen - om ein då skal tru på det overnaturlege.

Vrak eller ikkje vrak ?

Restane av vraket kan framleis ligga på stranda i Ballyheigue, men sidan det er så mange vrak i området, var det vanskeleg å vera heilt sikker på kva som er Den Gyldne Løve. Arkeologar undersøkte fleire vrak i september 2014, då det var ein periode med spesielt lågt tidevatn. Etter vidare undersøkingar og tolking av funna, slo arkeologen Laurence Dunne fast at Den Gyldne Løve ligg på stranda i Ballyheigue, på posisjonen 52° 23' 02.369" N, 09° 50' 01.102" W. National Monuments Service skriv likevel i 2020 om "det mystiske vraket på Ballyheigue Strand" at det ikkje er sikkert at det er Den Gyldne Løve. National Monuments Service meiner det berre er eitt vrak, men Dunne har funne to ulike vrak på nesten same staden. Det ser ut som han meiner dette ut frå at han har funne nokre jern-barrar (iron ingots) eit stykke unna den andre vrakstaden, og det kan vera dette var ein del av lasta til Den Gyldne Løve.

Ting kan imidlertid tyda på at skipet var i så god stand at det var muleg å få det laus frå stranda og reparera skadane. I eit dokument frå den danske sida som oppsummerer verdiane som er gått tapt, viser dei til at Crosbie tok skipet og "and brought it at sea again and promised to pay therefor."

Munnleg overlevering

Historia om Den Gyldne Løve er munnleg overlevert i Ballyheigue heilt fram til vår tid. I ein skulestil har Éibhlís Ní Argáin skrive ned den versjonen som no blir fortalt blant dei gamle i landsbyen :

"They overcame them, took the silver and put the boxes on carts, which they had brought with them and some time afterwards divided it amongst the crowd, giving, it is said one-third to the Butler, one-third to Lady Margaret, and the remaining third to those who helped to uproot it from beneath the tower. This almost led to war between the Irish and Danes later. The Danes asked the English to help them to get back their silver but, it is said they took no steps to do so."
"The story of the silver ship is told up to the present day and some of the silver vessels which were found in it, are still to be found in the Castle."

Litt fleire detaljar finn vi i attforteljinga i Eric Wood si bok "The Boy’s Book of the Sea", sjølv om noko av det som står der kan vera dikting.

Ballyheigue Golden Lion Festival 1967, henta med løyve frå Kennelly Archives.

Nyare fenomen

Vidare har historia vore opphavet til ulike festivalar, paradar og liknande i nyare tid. I 1967 og 1968 blei det arrangert Ballyheigue Golden Lion Festival med "fancy dress pageant", ei slags kostymeoppvising med premiering av "Golden Lion Queen". I 2017 var det ein kveld "The Golden Lion Show Case Night of Entertainment". Truleg har det vore fleire slike med meir eller mindre historiske innslag.

Litteratur og kjelder

• Dungan, Myles 2015. On this day – 12 June 1730 – The robbery of the Golden Lion in Ballyheigue, Co.Kerry., 12.06.2015
• Dungan, Myles / irishhistory 2015. 12th June 1730 - The theft of the silver bullion from the Golden Lion, podcast om sølvskatten frå Den Gyldne Løve
• Holzer, Hans, 1967. The Lively Ghosts of Ireland, London 1967, side 32, refererer til artikkel frå 1962 av Patrick Denis O'Donnell i Ireland of the Welcomes.
• Kennelly Archives 1966. October 1966; pottery dig with mugs found near a shipwreck in Ballyheigue, Pat and Des Lavelle, Jerry and Padraig Kennelly Junior, the Evans family,
  short URL: https://bit.ly/313eCWb
• MacMahon, Bryan 1991. New Light on The Golden Lion and the Danish Silver Robbery at Ballyheigue, i: Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society. Vol: 24 pp:113-149, 1991.
  Utdrag: This article examines the robbery in 1731 of six chests of silver, part of the cargo of the 'Golden Lion' which was driven ashore at Ballyheigue during the previous year.
• MacMahon, Bryan 1994. The Story of Ballyheigue, Ballyheigue, 1994 ISBN 0-9517658-2-5
• Magnus, Hein 1980. Johan Hansøn Heitman - 1664-1740 - en norsk skipper, kartograf og skribent (Johan Hansøn Heitman, Norwegian Sea Captain, Cartographer and Writer), s 80-88 i: Handels- og Søfartsmuseet på Kronborg årbog 1980
• O'Donnell, Francis Martin, 2019.The Ghost of Ballyheigue Castle. An extract (4 pages) from the book The O’Donnells of Tyrconnell – A Hidden Legacy, by Francis Martin O'Donnell, published by Academica Press LLC, London and Washington DC, 2019.
• RadioKerry FM, Tralee, 25. desember 2020, artikkel 900 - The Story of Kerry Shipwrecks, plasserer det ukjente vraket på "Ballyheigue Strand, 310m SW of Ballyheigue carpark"
• RadioKerry FM, Tralee, 25. desember 2020, lydklipp#1 Helen O’Carroll, curator of the County Museum, describes what artefacts they have from this wreck
• RadioKerry FM, Tralee, 25. desember 2020, lydklipp#2 Local historian Brian McMahon, tells us more about The Golden Lion
• Rigsarkivet, København, Arkivfunktionen for samlinger af kopier dannet af Rigsarkivet (1730-1784). Arkivserie: D-film nr. 24: Dokumenter i British Museum vedr. Dansk Handel i fjernøsten (1730 - 1786) Seddelregistratur 3, nr. 24, Bemærkninger: Mikrofilm. Indeholder to manuskripter fra British Museum. 1) Beretning ang. skibet "Gyldne Løve"'s stranding i Irland (1730). 2) Rapport ang. officielle danske klager over told (1786). Udskilt fra Filmsamling D.
• The Crosbie Papers, Letters and papers relating to the Danish Silver Robbery, 1731-1735, i "Talbot Crosbie Papers", tidlegare referert til NLI MS 5033, rett referanse er : Call Number: MS 50,545/12 (Manuscripts Reading Room), Collection: Talbot Crosbie Papers. XII. Letters and papers relating to the Danish Silver Robbery, 1731-1735. Notes: Papers relating to the robbery of the cargo of the Golden Lyon from the property of Thomas Crosbie in 1731. Physical description: 6 folders (c.70 items), Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann / National Library of Ireland, Baile Átha Cliath / Dublin
• The Irish Times, 31. januar 2005 10,000 shipwrecks listed off coast, "Vi skal no begynna å undersøkja funnstadene", seier Mr Fionnbarr Moore, senior arkeolog ved Avd for undervassarkeologi ved The National Monuments Service. Moore skal prøva finna ut om to vrak som har dukka opp ved lågvatn dei siste vekene på Banna Strand, Co. Kerry, kan vera av store handelsskip som forsvann tidleg på 1700-talet.
  
• Titley, Walter: Titley Papers - By Walter Titley, British Resident Minister at the Court of Denmark. Referert hos Foreningen Trankebar, linken er daud per 7. mars 2023: http://www.trankebar.net/history/golden-lion/titley.htm

Fotnotar

I.

17th century shipwreck exposed in Ballyheigue Bay
During low spring tides in September and October 2014 Laurence Dunne Archaeology were engaged by the Underwater Archaeology Unit (UAU) of the National Monuments Service under the direction of Dr. Connie Kelleher to assist in a survey and targeted excavations of a 17th century shipwreck that had become partially exposed on Ballyheigue Strand, Co. Kerry. The work was undertaken as a rapid response to reports from the public that individuals were removing artefacts from the vulnerable shipwreck.
The name of the ship is not definitively known but current research indicates that it may have been the Wind Trader, an East Indiaman, which operated on the Baltic-Bristol-American trade route that was wrecked at Ballyheigue around 1729. Recent records show that sections of the shipwreck have occasionally become visible in the sand since the 1960’s. At these low spring tides locals have removed quantities of intact and broken ceramics including Westerwald and Frechen stoneware from Germany and fine table wares from Bristol, numerous magnums of port, barrel staves and several other artefacts. In the mid 1970’s substantial quantities of artefacts were removed many of which adorn the houses of Ballyheigue today. Recently several wonderful artefacts recovered from the Wind Trader by local historian Eddie Roe were deposited in the Kerry County Museum, Tralee after his death. In the course of our recent work almost 250 artefacts were recovered.
In 1987 the National Monuments Act was amended and since then it is illegal to remove or interfere with shipwrecks that are over 100 years old without a licence from the National Monuments Service.
Our current research show that around 238 shipwrecks occurred between Brandon Point, Kerryhead and Tralee. Of that total there are around 26 recorded shipwrecks in Ballyheigue alone with another 9 at Kerryhead, five on Banna Beach and 10 at Barrow. In the overall Tralee Bay area there is an amazing total of 181 shipwrecks recorded so far.
The majority of the shipwreck records understandably date to the 18th and 19th centuries during the age of sail as by that time ships and their cargoes began to be insured. Lloyds List of records is one of the major research resources for shipwrecks. Bad weather aside, a major contributory factor to the large number of shipwrecks during the age of sail was due to poor navigation as there were virtually no accurate sea charts completed until the 19th century. Early cartographers placed the Magharee Islands and Fenit Island in the wrong place and in some maps Kerryhead does not appear at all. Many shipwrecks occurred because vessels assumed they were entering the Shannon Estuary for Limerick by staying south of Loop Head when in fact it was Kerryhead that they were off.
...
Tralee Bay is an extremely dangerous bay to be in a storm and was even more so in the age of sail. The bay is shallow and has many islands, reefs and rocks. The earliest description of Tralee Bay was recorded by Charles Smith in 1756 and who also provided a map. Smith writes...’The east side is a flat, low land, called Magheriebeg, off which are 7 small islands called the Hogs...By giving the Hog Islands a berth, and sailing east by north you come into Tralee Bay, little frequented by ships, being dry at low water; however small vessels lie safe aground in it. The channel is towards the middle of the bay, the entrance is between two small islands, called the Sampier Isles to the north, and the mainland to the south. All the maps of Ireland and sea charts place Fenit Island, which they call Fenor, in the middle of this bay, whereas it lies close to the shore on the north side, between which and the main there is a small creek for ships, which must be entered from the north, but the passage is so narrow and foul, that it cannot be entered without a good pilot.’
A number of ships wrecked, including the Wind Trader, were East Indiamen. These were very large three masted and three decked armed cargo ships operated from the Baltic and Netherlands trading between major ports like Bristol and Liverpool to the East Indies and to the Americas. The most famous of the Ballyheigue shipwrecks is the Danish East Indiaman the Gyldenlove more commonly known as the Golden Lion that stranded on Ballyheigue Beach on the 28th October 1730. The ship was en route from Copenhagen to Tranquebar, India, under Capt. Johan Heitman, with 12 chests of silver bullion worth £16,000 / £50,000, 60 tons of iron and corn. Seen to be in difficulty it was guided in with lights put up by Mr. Crosbie of Ballyheigue Castle and driven into shallow waters and was beached during the storm. The captain, chaplain, officers and 60 crew were rescued. The recovered silver was later stolen and was subject of much conspiracy and legal transactions.
It is anticipated that further archaeological monitoring and surveying of the shipwreck will be undertaken at low spring tide opportunities in 2015.

Laurence Dunne Archaeology's albums: 17th century shipwreck exposed in Ballyheigue Bay, Facebook 19. november 2014.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.787798784601160&type=3&comment_id=817803468267358

II.

Wreck of the Week - The Mysterious Wreck on Ballyheigue Strand, Co. Kerry.
When the tide is out at Ballyheigue and when stormy seas shift the soft sands, the skeletal remains of a wreck become visible on the lower strand. The wooden ribs and mound of ballast stones hint at what was once a medium-sized sailing ship. In the past, during periods of bad weather, some of the buried cargo became strewn across the beach. Broken pottery, glass bottles and pieces of wooden barrels have been recovered over the years by people walking the beach. These finds, along with material recovered from targeted investigations of the wreck, suggest the vessel was an 18th century trading ship.
The ship would have been subject to extensive salvage efforts after being stranded on an accessible beach, with locals invoking the age-old right to ‘spoils of the sea’. Images from the 1960s which form part of the Padraig Kennelly Archive, show local interest as well as curiosity in the wreck at that time. Investigations of the wreck in the 1960’s by Kerry historian Edward Roe, recovered a large amount of ceramics, intact glass wine and brandy bottles, along with three felt tricorne hats packed in straw within a crate. Mr Roe donated his collection to Kerry County Museum, where they are housed today along with his archive of historical material which he bestowed to Kerry County Library in Tralee. A human upper arm bone was also recovered from the site (Murray, G. & Ní Mhurchú, C. 2011) which lends further significance to the wreck as the potential final resting place for members of possible passengers or crew.
The wreck and associated artefacts are protected under the National Monuments Act, and in September 2014, following a report of recent interference, the National Monuments Service’s Underwater Archaeology Unit undertook a targeted excavation to assess the damage. The freshly broken remains of a barrel and glass bottles were identified, as was a scatter of 18th century ceramics including Westerwald, Sgraffito and Staffordshire cream ware. Packing material used between the barrels and crates within the hold of the ship -known as dunnage- was also recovered.
The identity of the wreck remains a mystery. The National Monuments Service’s Wreck Inventory of Ireland Database (WIID) lists some 20 wrecks for the Ballyheigue/Tralee Bay area, from the 17th - through to the 19th centuries. Local tradition does point to two ships as the most likely candidates. The ‘Golden Lion’ or ‘Gyldenlove’, a Danish East India frigate which was en route from Copenhagen to Tranquebar (now Tharangambadi, India), became stranded on the beach at Ballyheigue in 1730. Although the silver and gold on board was removed, the wreck is still the most popularly remembered and cited, probably due to its valuable cargo. The second vessel is the ‘Wind Trader’ which had been engaged in the Baltic-Bristol-American trade and recorded as having been lost at Ballyheigue in 1729. The recovery from the beach in the 1960’s by Mr Roe of early 18th century clay pipes with the letters CH on them, representing Charles Hicks of Bristol along with Westerwald mugs dating to the early 1700s, provide a possible link to the Wind Trader but whether the Ballyheigue wreck is that of the Golden Lion, the Wind Trader or another previously unrecorded wreck may forever remain a mystery.
Sources
Kelleher, C. 2015. ‘The Ballyheigue Wreck, Co. Kerry’, Archaeology Ireland, 29 (2), pp. 16-20.
Kelleher, C. 2018. ‘The Ballyheigue Wreck, Co. Kerry’, Kerry Magazine, 28, pp. 37-39.
Kennelly Archive Online: https://bit.ly/313eCWb
Leslie, R. Life Aboard a Privateer (Conway Maritime Press, London; 1889/reprint 1970).
Murray, G. & Ní Mhurchú, C. 2011. ‘The Edward Roe Collection’, Kerry Archaeological & Historical Society, Kerry Magazine, pp. 33-34.
WIID: Wreck Inventory of Ireland Database, Underwater Archaeology Unit, National Monuments Service, Dept. of Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht, Dublin.
Explore more about the wrecks at Ballyheigue and other wrecks off the Irish coastline on our Wreck Viewer: https://bit.ly/3fOX0BB
...
[vedlagte foto og illustrasjon i Facebook-innlegget:]...
Image 4: Westerwald mugs, forming part of the Edward Roe Collection now housed in Kerry County Museum (© L. Dunne and Kerry County Museum, Tralee)
Image 5: Replica wine bottle of the period of the type carried as cargo on the ship that now lies wrecks on Ballyheigue Strand (© National Monuments Service)

Innlegg på Facebook-sida "National Monuments Service - Archaeology": Wreck of the Week - The Mysterious Wreck on Ballyheigue Strand, Co. Kerry., National Monuments Service, Dept. of Housing, Local Government & Heritage 18. august 2020 nationalmonuments@housing.gov.ie archaeology.ie
https://www.facebook.com/NationalMons/posts/pfbid0CbqavXyowSKkrWgDynmvqvnhgNvButjbJkN3YDZF6E8D5iNi9YdRPqL8M7UaYBA1l

III.

By a marriage settlement of the year 1680, Ballyheigue passed to the eldest son of his third marriage, Thomas Crosbie, M.P. for Kerry, 1709, who died in 1730 as a result of exposure and fatigue endured in rescuing the Danish East Indiaman, the Golden Lyon, which, with twelve chests of silver bullion and coin totalling £15,966 9s' 6d., was driven ashore in Ballyheigue Bay in 1730. Ballyheigue House was then a 'long, low, thatched mansion of the old-fashioned Irish type.' In the south-west corner of the court-yard there was a strong stone tower, with vaults and a cave beneath it, the restored fragment of the feudal keep of the de Cantillons. The captain and officers of the Danish ship were offered hospitality by Thomas Crosbie, in Ballyheigue House, the crew being lodged in houses in or about Ardfert and Tralee; but the Danish treasure was robbed from its stronghold in 1731, and Froude, in his Short Studies on Great Subjects and in his English in Ireland, has given an account of the great robbery but little flattering to the Kerry gentry of the day. The curious, however, will find a more authentic account in Miss Hickson's pages.

Hickson, Old Kerry Records, 2nd Series, s 283-284 i: The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 1921, henta frå Internet Archive : https://archive.org/stream/5sp2irishecclesi18dubluoft/5sp2irishecclesi18dubluoft_djvu.txt

IV.

Artefact of the Week
Tricorne hat
This hat dates from the early 18th century. It is a brown felt hat with a low crown and a wide brim complete with horsehair button. The shape and flexibility of the material allows the style to be adapted depending on preference. It was discovered in the 1960’s by Mr. Eddie Roe, a shipwreck enthusiast and an indefatigable researcher. He recovered numerous artefacts from a selection of Kerry shipwrecks. On his death in 2009, his collection of artefacts was donated by his brother Mr. Joseph Roe. The shipwreck from which the hat was recovered most likely dates from circa 1725-1750. The identity of the ship is unknown, though primary contenders are the Golden Lion (1730) and the Wind Trader (1746).

Kerry County Museum, 21.juli 2020 https://www.facebook.com/CoMuseumKerry/photos/a.130299240352612/2904978866217955/