Erling Vidkunsson receives land on Gudøy for a debt
DN 1/326 · 13 August 1351 · uden Sted
What the letter says
Kolbein Toresson writes on 13 August 1351 that he owes the canons and the chapter of the Apostles' Church in Bergen 22 marks for an office he had held for them. Erling Vidkunsson at Bjarkøy has paid the debt for him. In return Kolbein gives Erling 7 månedsmatsbol in Gudøy in St Peter's parish on Sunnmøre, and if the land proves smaller or not free, Erling shall receive other land from Kolbein instead.
The letter in modern English (excerpt)
To all men who see or hear this letter, Kolbein Toresson sends God's greeting and his own. I make known to you that I owe the canons and the chapter of the Apostles' Church in Bergen 22 marks for the office I have held for them. Because I was unable to pay this debt, Sir Erling Vidkunsson at Bjarkøy has undertaken to pay it for me and has made me free of it. In return I have given him 7 månedsmatsbol (land yielding land rent equal to one month's food) in Gudøy, which lies in St Peter's parish on Sunnmøre, freely and securely against anyone, with all the parts and rights that have belonged to it of old and new. Should the said land prove to be smaller or not free, Sir Erling Vidkunsson shall enter into other land of mine, as much as he lacks. In truth of this, Brother Teit Teistsson, Kolbein Simonsson and Otte Arnesson set their seals together with my seal to this letter, which was written on the Saturday after the Mass of Laurence (10 August) in the thirteenth year of the reign of our worthy lord, Sir Magnus, by the grace of God king of Norway, Sweden and Scania (1351). Endorsement: On the back, contemporary: This letter concerns [illegible] månedsmatsbol in Gudøy.
Original text (excerpt)
Ollum monnum þeim sem þetta bref sea eda hœyra sendir Kolbein Þoresson Q. G. ok sina ek gerer ydr kunnikt at ek er skylduer korsbrœdrum ok kapitulo at Posstola kirkiu j Bœrguin tuer merker ok tyttugu firir þeira vmbod en ek hefir hapt. nu af þi at ek var ei liduer at luka fyr nemda skuld þa hefir herra Erlinger Vikunnarson j Biarkœy tekit þa skuld till sin at luka firir mik ok gor mik þar huittan vm a þar þat at ek hefir feingit honum her j mot siau manadamata boll j Gudœy er liger j Peter kirki
Background
Erling Vidkunsson of Bjarkøy and Giske had been drottsete (steward of the realm), that is, regent, from 1323 to 1332 and was now an older man who went on gathering land. Gudøy lies near Giske, and the letter shows how the estate around Giske grew as Erling took over the debts of people who could not pay. A månedsmatsbol was land that yielded land rent equal to one month's food, a common land measure in western Norway. St Peter's Church is the church in Borgund, the old trading town (kaupang) near today's Ålesund. The letter was written two years after the Black Death of 1349, when many farms stood empty and many people were in debt, so it is probable that such agreements became more common in these years. Two years later Kolbein gave Erling yet another månedsmatsbol on Gudøy because the buildings on the farm were in poor condition.
People: Erling Vidkunsson