Witnesses on Lørinteigen for Sigurd Jonsson
DN 1/662 · 26 July 1419 · Lören
What the letter says
The priest Nikulas Magnusson at Sudreim and five other men make known that on 26 July 1419 they were at a court meeting at Lørin. There Guttorm Skruk, representative of Sigurd Jonsson, brought two witnesses against Jon at Bjørke, representative of Guttorm Bengtsson. The witnesses swore that Sir Jon Martinsson told Torgeir Skjev that he would not let him have Lørinteigen any longer, and that Torgeir then asked to rent the plot from him.
The letter in modern English (excerpt)
To all men who see or hear this letter, Nikulas Magnusson, priest at Sudreim, Gunnar Jakobsson, Simon at Fossum, Brynjolv at Vilnom, Loden at Immissogh and Saxe at Lid send God's greeting and their own. We make known that we were at Lørin, a proper meeting place, on the Wednesday after St James's Day (25 July). We saw and heard that there came before us to the meeting on the one side Guttorm Skruk as representative of Sigurd Jonsson, and on the other side Jon at Bjørke, representative of Guttorm Bengtsson. Both acknowledged that this was their lawful court day, set for evidence about Lørinteigen. The said Guttorm then brought forward two reliable witnesses called Torkjell Torkjellsson and Hans the shoemaker. They swore on the book with a full oath that they were present, saw and heard the upright man Sir Jon Martinsson speak to Torgeir Skjev about Lørinteigen, which Torgeir had held for many years. Sir Jon said that he would not have it so any longer. Torgeir then asked to have the plot on lease from Sir Jon from then on and said that he would gladly give him full payment for it. In truth we set our seals to this letter, which was made on the day said before, in the year 1419. Stopul also set his seal together with ours, he who received the witnesses at the meeting, in truth.
Original text (excerpt)
Ollom monnom þæm sæm þetta bref sea æder høyra sender Nicholis Magnusson prester a Sudhrime Gunnar Iacobsson Symon a Fosseme Bryniolfer a Vilnom Lodhen a Immissogh ok Saxe a Liidh q. g. ok sina, kunnykt gørande at meer warom a Lørine j rættom stemfnoby a midhvikudaghin næst æfter sancte Jacobs dagh, saghum ok hørdhum vppa, at þer komo a stemfno for oss, af einne halwo Gudhthormer skruk j vmbodhe Sighwrdhar Jonssonar en af andre haluo Jon a Biorko vmbodzman Gudthorms Beng(t)ssonar, kændos þa badh
Background
Jon Martinsson (Rømer) was married to Agnes, daughter of Sigurd Havtoresson and Ingeborg Erlingsdatter, and was the father of Sigurd Jonsson, who later became drottsete and regent. The letter of testimony was meant to prove that the plot belonged to Jon and thus to Sigurd, because whoever rented land acknowledged that another was the owner. The letter is from the same years in which Sigurd was fighting for Giske in the inheritance dispute, and shows that he also had to defend smaller properties in Romerike. Lørin is probably the farm Løren in today's Lørenskog. The priest at Sudreim leading the meeting shows that the family seat Sudreim was still a centre for the family.
People: Sigurd Jonsson, Jon Marteinsson