Knut Alvsson buys the deserted farm Nyhus in Øyer
DN 2/1013 · 15 Oktbr. 1500 · Grefsheim
What the letter says
Two priests and two members of the lawcourt testify to a handshake at Grefsheim on 15 October 1500 between Knut Alvsson and Niels Strog. Niels confirms that Alv Knutsson in his time paid him in full for the farm Hjevne in Øyer in Gudbrandsdalen. At the same time he sells the deserted farm Nyhus in Øyer to Knut and has been paid. He also promises that if he and his mother wish to sell Bierie, the mill or the mill waterfall there, Knut or his heirs shall have the first right to buy.
The letter in modern English (excerpt)
We, the men named below, Gunnar Eivindsson, parish priest in Ullensaker, Knut Nilsson, prebendary (holder of a church office with an income) at the cathedral in Hamar, and Torstein Olsson and Jon Gudbrandsson, sworn members of the lawcourt at Nes, acknowledge this and make known with this our open letter: We were at Grefsheim on the Thursday after St Calixtus' Day (15 October) in the year of our Lord 1500. There we saw and heard a handshake between the well-born man Sir Knut Alvsson, knight, on the one side and Niels Strog on the other. Niels Strog then acknowledged that Sir Alv Knutsson, God be merciful to his soul, had paid him to his full satisfaction for a farm called Hjevne, which lies in the southern part of Gudbrandsdalen in Øyer parish, with all the shares and appurtenances (everything that belongs to it) that have belonged to the farm from old and new, outside the fence and inside, free and warranted against every man. Niels also acknowledged that he had received the first penny and the last and all in between that were part of the purchase. We also saw and heard at the same time that Niels Strog sold Sir Knut Alvsson a deserted farm called Nyhus, which lies in Øyer parish in Gudbrandsdalen, with all the shares and appurtenances that have belonged to the deserted farm from old and new, free and warranted against every man. Niels then acknowledged that he had received the first penny and the last that were part of the purchase, so that he was well satisfied. Niels Strog also promised Sir Knut Alvsson that if it shoul
Original text (excerpt)
Thet kennis vij epter skriffne men Gvnner Evindsson kirke herræ a Vllenshoff Knuth Nielsson prebendatus Hammarensis Torsten Olsson och Jon Gudbrandsson swaredh lagrettis men a Ness gøre vij vitherligth med thetta varth apne breff ath vij vare oppo Greffsem torsdagen nest epter Calixti dagh anno domini m quingentesimo soghe vij och hørde a handherband thære aff ene halffue velbyrdig man herræ Knuth Alsson riddher en aff andhre halffue Nielss strogh, kennis tha Niels strogh ath her Alff Knuthzsson
Background
Knut Alvsson was the son of Alv Knutsson of Tre Rosor, who had inherited Giske in 1490 and died around 1496. Grefsheim at Nes in Hedmarken was one of the family's farms, and several purchases were made here. The letter is a deed of purchase in the form of a witness letter, in which witnesses confirm that the deal has been made and paid for, so that the buyer had proof if anyone later made a claim. A deserted farm was a farm that had been abandoned and was no longer worked, and there were many such farms after the Black Death and the plagues that followed, so they could be bought cheaply. The promise of a right of first purchase to the mill and the mill waterfall shows that water power for grinding grain had value. The purchase was made only months before Knut rose in rebellion against King Hans in 1501.
People: Knut Alvsson, Alv Knutsson