Erling gives his daughter Ingebjørg the whole of Giske
DN 2/323 · 24 January 1354 · Nes i Romsdal
What the letter says
At Nes in Romsdal on 24 January 1354 Erling Vidkunsson gives his daughter Ingebjørg the whole of Giske to own for ever, with Ekni, Havstein, seal islets, egg islets, salmon fishing, grain, livestock and horses. He does so at the request of his son Sir Bjarne in his last hour, and out of love for his daughter. He asks King Magnus to uphold the gift, and should the other daughters and sons-in-law oppose it, Ingebjørg shall instead receive the fourth-part gift and tenth-part gift of all he owns.
The letter in modern English (excerpt)
To all men who see or hear this letter, Erling Vidkunsson sends God's greeting and his own. I wish to make known to you that, at the request of Sir Bjarne, my son, in his last hour, and out of love for Ingebjørg, my daughter, I give her Giske whole and undivided to own for ever, with all its rights: Ekni, Havstein, seal islets and egg islets (places for seal hunting and egg gathering) and salmon fishing, with grain, livestock and horses, and with everything else, small and great, that belongs to the farm and has belonged to it of old and new. Therefore I ask you, my honourable lord Magnus, by God's grace king of Norway, Sweden and Scania, and all other good men who live in your lands, to uphold her in this gift, should anyone wish to speak against it, which I do not believe. Should it nevertheless happen that my sons-in-law or daughters will in no way accept this, I give the said Ingebjørg, my daughter, the fourth-part gift and tenth-part gift (the fourth and the tenth of his property that a man could by law give away freely) of everything, undivided, that I own or shall come to own, in greater or lesser part. In truth of this I, whole and healthy, set my seal to this letter, which was made at Nes in Romsdal the day before St Paul's Eve in the 35th year of the reign of my lord King Magnus (the editor dates the letter to 24 January 1354). Endorsement: On the back of the vidisse (the certified copy) in a much later hand: Letter that Giske was given as sj
Original text (excerpt)
Ollum monnum þeim sem þetta bref sea eder hœyra sendir Ellingr Vikunnar son q. g. ok sina. Ek vill yder kunight gera. at saker bœnastadar herra Biærna sonar mins j hans yttazsta tima ok j kiærlæik vider Jnghibiorgho dottor mina. þa gæfuer ek henne Gizska af ol[lu] oskiptu. till æfuenleghrar æighu. med ollum lunnendum. Ekni. Hafstæin. sæluær ok æguær. ok laxa fiski. med korne ok bui ok hæstom ok j hueriu sæm huert er. smaat ok stort sæm gardenom till hœyrir ok hœyrt hefuir fra forno ok nyiu. þi b
Background
Erling Vidkunsson had been drottsete (steward of the realm), that is, regent, from 1323 to 1332 and was one of the largest landowners in Norway. His son Bjarne the Younger died in 1353, and with no son the estate would be divided among the daughters, so Erling uses a deed of gift to keep Giske together in the hands of one of them. The law gave a man the right to give away freely a fourth and a tenth of his property (fjerdingsgave and tiendegave) outside ordinary inheritance, and that is the fallback Erling refers to in case the siblings complain. Seal islets and egg islets were holms where seals were caught and eggs gathered, and together with the salmon fishing they show that Giske lived from the sea as much as from the field. Ingebjørg married Sigurd Havtoresson of Sudreim, and through her Giske passed on to the Sudreim family. The letter was written a few years after the Black Death of 1349 and only a year before Erling himself died.
People: Erling Vidkunsson, Ingebjørg Erlingsdatter, Bjarne Erlingsson den yngre