General Notes

Benkestok - Opphavet til navnet for lavadelsslekten Benkestok

The Benkestok family (also known as Benkestokk, Benchestoch and similar spellings of the name) is one of the original noble families of Norway and one of the few to survive the Middle Ages. At the height of its power, the family ruled large estates in Bohuslän (now a part of Sweden), in Western Norway, in Northern Norway, and in the Faroe Islands.

The earliest known person in the family is Tord Benkestok from Strand, Bohuslän. He was mentioned by the Bishop of Oslo, Øystein Aslaksson, in the Church Property Register from the end of the 14th century. Strand is in Forshelle (now Forshälla) parish, 11 km south west of Uddevalla in what used to be the Norwegian county of Båhuslen (Bohuslän). The estate is by the Svanesundet sound (Svanehals, now Havstens fjord, Brunnefjälls kile and Halsefjorden in Swedish) between the mainland and the island of Orust.

The Benkestok family also lived in Ryfylke, Norway, where Talgøy in Sjørnarøyane and Haraldseid at Skjold were the family seats, as well as in Sogn, where Jordanger was the manor. Later members of the family moved north to Melø Gård in Meløy, Nordland, which marked the beginning of the expansion of the family's numerous descendants throughout the Northern parts of Norway.

From Wikipedia