Jon Marteinsson receives farms in Hogar in Dal
DN 2/477 · 16 Novbr. 1382 · Söreim
What the letter says
At Sudreim on 16 November 1382 Olav Borgarsson conveys the two uppermost farms in Hogar in Brålanda parish in Dal to Jon Marteinsson and his heirs to own for ever. The farms amount to twelve løpsbol, and Olav's father had bought them from Arvid duvlag. The conveyance is payment for an accounting debt Olav owed Jon, and for the share Jon owned in Belleberg. Sir Knut Algotsson, Sir Anders at Byrstad and the priest Guttorm at Sudreim are among the witnesses.
The letter in modern English (excerpt)
All men who see or hear this letter, I, Olav Borgarsson, greet with God. Be it known to all that I have given the honourable and wellborn man Jon Marteinsson as payment the two uppermost farms in Hogar, which my father bought from Arvid duvlag. They amount to twelve løpsbol (land measured by land rent in løp, a grain measure) and lie in Brålanda parish in Dal. This I have given the said Jon Marteinsson for the account I rightly owed him, and for the share he owned in Belleberg. Therefore I convey this said property, with everything that lies with it and of old has lain with it inside the fence and outside, from me and my heirs to Jon Marteinsson and his heirs to own for ever. I and my heirs bind ourselves to keep the property free and without interference for him and his heirs against anyone. In witness I ask for the seals of these honourable men to this letter: Sir Knut Algotsson, Sir Anders at Byrstad, Sira Guttorm, church priest at Sudreim, Torstein Simonsson and Karl pakka, together with my own. Written at Sudreim in the year 1382 after God's birth, on the Sunday after St Martin's Day (11 November). Endorsement: On the back in a contemporary hand: About Hog. In a later hand: Letter about Hogim, which lies in Dal.
Original text (excerpt)
Alla the mæn thætta bref see æller høra helser iæc Olaff Burgarsson mædh gudh thæt skal allom mannom viterlikt væræ at iæc haffuer gullet hederlikom manne oc vælbornom Jon Martensson twa the *østerstarsta gardhana j Hoghom ther min fadder køpte af Arvidh duwlægh oc ær tolff løpa bool liggiænde i Bralanda sokn a Dale, thæt haffuer iæc gullet them fornæmpda Jon Martensson for then rækinskaph iæc hanom rættelika skillugher var, oc for then delen han atte j Bællubergh. thy afhænder iæc mic thætta fø
Background
Jon Marteinsson (Rømer) was the son-in-law of Sigurd Havtoresson and father of Sigurd Jonsson, who later inherited Giske. That the letter is written at Sudreim shows that Jon lived at the family's manor in Romerike. Dal is Dalsland, which today lies in Sweden, and the letter shows that the family owned land on both sides of the border at a time when Norway and Sweden had common kings. The accounting debt suggests that Olav had managed something for Jon, for example property or revenues, and had not been able to settle his account. A løpsbol was a land measure reckoned by land rent in løp, a measure often used for butter or grain. The letter is a deed of conveyance, a document that transfers ownership.
People: Jon Marteinsson