Stig Andersen Hvide

Sometimes the best pirate is a disenfranchised nobleman Unknown — 1293

After nobleman Marsk Stig Andersen Hvide was wrongly implicated in the murder of King Eric V in 1286, he was forced to be an outlaw. However, he wasn’t about to surrender and instead began a new career as a pirate, with his frequent raids laying waste to the coast of his homeland. He established his headquarters on the island of Hjelm and from here sailed out to plunder Danish ships and coastal towns.

Although Stig vigorously protested his innocence of the regicide, Denmark refused to listen. Finding that his pleas for clemency were being ignored, Stig instead joined forces with the Norwegian crown. He continued to be allied to Norway until he died of natural causes in 1293.

Yet Stig’s memory didn’t die with him on Hjelm. Instead he became a legendary hero who either killed the king after the king seduced

Stig’s wife, or, more frequently, was considered a patsy by those who wanted to curtail the power of the nobility. Stig’s story has been turned into novels, poetry and popular folklore. The pirate lord even became the subject of a popular 19th-century Danish opera that cements his heroic credentials.

From privilege to piracy, Stig was a man on a mission to clear his name