May family

The May family, also spelled Maj, was a prominent Danish family associated with the clergy and with the legally privileged elite of Denmark-Norway. The family traced its descent to Søren Nielsen May, a priest who died in 1679 and who originated from Helsingborg in Scania, then part of the Danish realm. His marriage to Catharina Motzfeldt connected the family to an influential network of clerical, commercial, judicial, and political figures. Catharina Motzfeldt was the daughter of Peter Motzfeldt, a noble Copenhagen wine merchant. More importantly for the family's rise, Catharina's sister was the mother of Peder Griffenfeld, who became the de facto ruler of Denmark-Norway during the early 1670s. Through this relationship, the May family belonged to Griffenfeld's wider circle of close relatives and benefited from the prominence that followed his ascent. The family's status therefore reflected both its own clerical position and its connection to one of the most powerful political figures in the Danish-Norwegian state of the period. Søren May and Catharina Motzfeldt had ten children. Their descendants and marital connections extended into several important institutions. Maren May married Ludvig Stoud, Bishop of Christianssand. Else May married the priest Poul Munkgaard, while Gundel May married Herman Arentsen, a son of the writer and civil servant Arent Berntsen. Cathrine Marie May married the priest Rasmus Andersen Montoppidan. Ellen May married the judge Poul Pedersen Fabritius. Bertel Sørensen May, who died in 1711, served as priest in Tystrup and Haldagerlille. The family is also associated with the Søren May House in Holbæk. Built for Søren May in 1669, the building survives and currently serves as the seat of Holbæk Museum. It provides a tangible architectural connection to the family and to the social position of a prosperous Danish clergyman in the seventeenth century. The May family is a historical lineage rather than a contemporary commercial brand. Available reference material documents its ancestry, marriages, clerical and judicial connections, relationship to Griffenfeld, and surviving property, but does not establish a modern corporate organization, commercial product portfolio, current leadership, website, or listed entity.

The May family, also written as Maj, emerged as a notable Danish lineage through its association with the clergy and the privileged estates of Denmark-Norway. Its documented ancestry begins with Søren Nielsen May, a priest who died in 1679 and who came from Helsingborg in Scania. At the time, Helsingborg was part of the Danish kingdom. Søren May married Catharina Motzfeldt, daughter of Peter Motzfeldt, a noble Copenhagen wine merchant. The marriage gave the family an important connection to Copenhagen's commercial and elite circles. Catharina Motzfeldt's sister was the mother of Peder Griffenfeld. Griffenfeld rose to become the de facto ruler of Denmark-Norway in the early 1670s. The May family, alongside Griffenfeld's other close relatives, consequently gained prominence through this kinship network. Their standing was reinforced by the family's participation in the clergy, an institution that occupied a legally privileged position within the Danish-Norwegian order. Søren May and Catharina Motzfeldt had ten children. Their children's marriages connected the family to bishops, priests, judges, and other established figures. Maren May married Ludvig Stoud, Bishop of Christianssand. Else May married Poul Munkgaard, a priest. Gundel May married Herman Arentsen, who was the son of Arent Berntsen. Cathrine Marie May married the priest Rasmus Andersen Montoppidan. Ellen May married the judge Poul Pedersen Fabritius. Bertel Sørensen May became priest in Tystrup and Haldagerlille and died in 1711. These relationships illustrate how the family's influence operated: not through a single commercial enterprise, but through clerical office, marriage alliances, and proximity to political power. The family's connection to Griffenfeld placed it within a prominent network during a consequential period in Danish-Norwegian history, while its clerical roles embedded several members in the religious and administrative structures of the state. A surviving material landmark associated with the family is the Søren May House in Holbæk. Constructed for Søren May in 1669, the house is now used by Holbæk Museum. Its survival preserves an example of the family's built environment and offers evidence of the social position held by its namesake during the seventeenth century. The available material does not document the May family as a modern brand, company, or organized business. It provides no evidence of contemporary operations, products, corporate ownership, financial performance, or current executives. The family is best understood as a historical Danish lineage with clerical, judicial, and elite connections.

• 1711

  Death of Bertel Sørensen May

  [1]May familyen.wikipedia.org

  Bertel Sørensen May, who served as priest in Tystrup and Haldagerlille, died in 1711.

• 1679

  Death of Søren Nielsen May

  [1]May familyen.wikipedia.org

  The family's documented progenitor, the priest Søren Nielsen May, died in 1679.

• 1670

  Family prominence through the Griffenfeld connection

  [1]May familyen.wikipedia.org

  During Peder Griffenfeld's rise to power in the early 1670s, the May family gained prominence as part of his wider circle of close relatives.

• 1669

  Construction of the Søren May House

  [1]May familyen.wikipedia.org

  A house was built for Søren May in Holbæk. The building survives and now serves as the seat of Holbæk Museum.

Historical Danish clerical and privileged family lineage

1. 1May familyen.wikipedia.org