Rasmus Hansson's list of goods Knut Alvsson took
DN 13/638 · [1537.] · Nordlandene?
What the letter says
Lord Rasmus Hansson draws up, probably in 1537, a list of what a Knut Alvsson has taken from him. The list includes a fox-skin tunic worth 60 mark, an English tunic lined with sealskin, cloth, a bonnet, a candlestick, brass and pewter dishes, a bed worth 20 mark, chests, a pot and a kettle, weapons such as a sword, a war hammer, a dagger and probably two hand firearms. In his bag were among other things a spoon, a coral band, a Rhenish guilder and 2 mark in money.
The letter in modern English (excerpt)
This is the property that Knut Alvsson took from me. First a tunic of fox skin, worth 60 mark. Further an English tunic lined with sealskin. A damaskes [uncertain reading]. A double [uncertain reading] saye (woollen cloth). A new bonnet (cap) worth 2 guilders. A cloth with clasps [uncertain reading], 8 ells long. A candlestick with 4 branches (arms), worth 2 Rhenish guilders. A large brass dish [uncertain reading] worth 1 Rhenish guilder, silver-plated [uncertain reading]. 3 pewter dishes. 2 børringer [uncertain reading] of brass. A bed (bedclothes) worth 20 mark. 1 chest with Prussian cloth [uncertain reading]. 1 casket. A pot of [illegible] våg (a measure of weight). 1 kettle of one pound (a measure of weight). 2 rør (hand firearms) [uncertain reading]. 2 pillows. A sword. 1 war hammer. A dagger. Further in my bag: my spoon, a coral band, a jakobsdaler [uncertain reading], 1 Rhenish guilder and 2 mark in money. Also a lined bonnet, 3 locks and 2 towels. Endorsement: On the back: Lord Rasmus Hansson.
Original text (excerpt)
Thette effter gotz togh Knud Alsson fran migh primo en reffskyngh kiortell saa godh som lx marck noch en engelsch kiortell foreth medh sæl [en dammask kass(?) endubell sayen eth ny byneth saa gaath for ij gl. en dugh medh spengell viij alne langh en lyssze stage medh 4 piper saa good som ij r. gl. en stoer mellyngh god for i r. gl. sølffweth iij tynffadt ij børringer aff mersyngh en sengh saa good som xx marck i prysk klede kisthe i skrin en #j vogh grydhe i punds kedell ij røyer ij hoffuedyner
Background
The well-known Knut Alvsson of Tre Rosor, owner of the Giske estate, was killed under safe conduct near Oslo in 1502. The letter therefore hardly concerns him, and the Knut Alvsson here is probably a namesake, perhaps a bailiff in the Northern Lands, where the editor believes the letter belongs. It was included in the search because the name is the same as the owner's. Lord Rasmus Hansson was probably a priest, since «herr» (lord) was used of priests. The list is a list of losses or a complaint, written to demand the goods back or obtain compensation. 1537 was the year when Archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson fled and the Reformation was introduced, and that may suggest that the plundering belongs to the unrest of that year, but the letter does not say so. The list gives a concrete picture of what a clergyman owned in clothes, household goods and weapons.