Brita Scheel

Brita Scheel or Birgitte Skeel, (1638–1699), was a Danish noblewoman.

Brita Scheel was the daughter of the Danish chancellor Christen Albretsen Scheel (1603–59) and Birgitte Rud (1612–45). She married the vice president of Göta Hovrätt, the Scanian noble Christian Barnekow (1626–66) in 1660, the Danish chancellor count Christoffer Parsberg (1632–71) in 1669 and the chancellor Knud Thott (1639–1702) in 1682.

Brita Scheel made herself much talked about by her contemporaries. In 1659, at her fathers funeral in Copenhagen, Brita Scheel took possession of the document where the Danish nobility gave its consent to the Danish absolutism and turned it over to the Swedish Royal House despite demands from the Danish royal House to have it back. An incident for which she became renowned occurred during a visit in Själland. During a stay at an inn while travelling, her Coachman was murdered by highwaymen without her notice, and one of them took his place with the intent to attack her out on the road. During the trip, however, Scheel threw her Garter (stockings) around the neck of the false usher and strangeled him from behind, after which she took over the reins. For this act, she was depicted holding a Garter (stockings)

She lived in Denmark 1669–1679, during which her estate Køgegård was given rights as an independent Jurisdiction area. She was an efficient estate manager. In 1678, she was the target of a famous attempted murder by her lady's companion Agnete Sophie Budde. In 1679–1682, she lived on her estate Vittskövle in Swedish Scania, where she was active in resisting the pacification policy of Sweden over the formerly Danish Scanian province by appointing Danics vicars. Upon her third marriage, she moved to Denmark, where she lived the rest of her life.