Sigurd Havtoresson's lensmann witnesses a land sale
DN 2/342 · 25 May 1358 · Themben
What the letter says
Sigurd Eiriksson, lawman of the Uplands, and Tord Jonsson, lensmann for Sir Sigurd Havtoresson, declare that they were present at Temben in Skogbygda on the Friday after Whit Sunday, 25 May 1358. There they saw and heard Sigrid Gudleiksdatter and Torleiv Torgeirsson take each other by the hand. Sigrid acknowledged that she had sold Torleiv half a markebol of land in Temben with all its appurtenances, and that she had been paid in full. The two witnesses set their seals to the letter.
The letter in modern English
To all men who see or hear this letter, Sigurd Eiriksson, lawman of the Uplands, and Tord Jonsson, lensmann for Sir Sigurd Havtoresson, send God's greeting and their own. We make known to you that we were present at Temben in Skogbygda on the Friday after Whit Sunday in the third year of the reign of our worthy lord Sir Håkon, by God's grace King of Norway. We saw and heard that they took each other by the hand, on the one side Torleiv Torgeirsson and on the other Sigrid Gudleiksdatter. The said Sigrid acknowledged that she had sold the said Torleiv half a markebol of land [land with an annual land rent of half a mark] in the said Temben, with all appurtenances that have belonged to it from of old [uncertain reading], free and warranted against every man. She had received the first penny and the last and all in between, as was agreed in their purchase. In truth of this we two set our seals to this letter, which was made in the year and at the time stated above (1358).
Original text
Ollum monnum þæim sæm þettæ bref sea ædr hœyra sændæ Sighurdr Eirikssun logmadr a Uplondum ok Þordr Jonssun lænsmadr herra Sighurdr Hafthores sunar kuediu g. ok sinæ. ydr gerom mit kunnigt at mitt varom j hia a Þæmbini a Skoghæbygdæne a friadaghen nestæ eftir huitæsunnudagh a þridiæ are rikis okkors vyrdulæghs herra Hakonar mæd guds naad Noreks konongs.
Background
Sigurd Havtoresson (died c. 1392) of Sudreim in Romerike was a grandson of King Håkon V and was married to Ingebjørg Erlingsdatter, who had received Giske from her father Erling Vidkunsson in 1354. A lensmann at this time was a local officer who helped the sysselmann (royal district officer) or landowner collect taxes and keep order in the district. That Tord Jonsson calls himself Sigurd's lensmann suggests that Sigurd held a district or fief in the area, but the letter does not say which. The case itself is an ordinary land sale between two farmers, and Sigurd was not a party. Half a markebol was land that yielded half a mark in annual land rent, a small share. The lawman and the lensmann acted as witnesses, so that the sale could be proved later. The letter is dated by the reign of King Håkon VI, who had ruled Norway in his own right since 1355.
People: Sigurd Havtoresson