Purchase of land in Spellingvik in Borgund
DN 2/986 · 3 Novbr. 1495 · Myklebolstad
What the letter says
Four members of the lawcourt in Sunnmøre make known that they were at Myklebostad on 3 November 1495 and saw Ingrid Ketilsdatter sell a strip of land called Nodsthy and what she owned in Spellingvik in St Peter's parish in Borgund to Sir Alv Knutsson and Lady Magnhild Oddsdatter. Two of the lawcourt members, Bård Jonsson and Torstein Jonsson, received the payment on her behalf. The letter is partly damaged, so some words are missing.
The letter in modern English (excerpt)
We, Peder [Anbjørnsson], Bård Jonsson, Torstein Jonsson and Peder Iversson, members of the lawcourt in Sunnmøre, acknowledge this, and we make [known with this] our open letter: We were at Myklebostad on the Tuesday after All Saints' Day (3 November) [in the year of our Lord 1495] and saw and heard that the trustworthy woman Ingrid K[etil]sdatter so[ld to Sir Alv Knutsson,] knight, a strip of land called Nodsthy, and as much as she owned [illegible] [Spelling]vik, which lies in St Peter's church parish in Borgund, with her [illegible] consent [illegible], with all the shares and benefits that belong and have belonged to it from old and new. It passed [from her] and her heirs to Sir Alv Knutsson and Lady Magnhild Oddsdatter and [their heirs as] property for ever. We, Bård Jonsson and Torstein Jonsson, also acknowledge that, according to [illegible] which she gave us authority for, we have received on her behalf the smallest penny and the greatest that they agreed in the purchase, so we are well satisfied on her behalf. For greater truth and [proof] we hang our seals on this letter, which was written in the year and on the day stated above. Endorsement: On the back, later: Deed of purchase for Spellingvik, which belongs to Giske.
Original text (excerpt)
Thet kennis vy epther skreffne men Pedher [Anbiornssøn] Bordh Jonssøn Torst[en] Jonssøn och Pedher Jffuersøn lagrettis men y Sundmør gøre vy [vitherligt med thetta] varth opne breff ath vy vare a Møkelbolsted tisdaghen nesth epther alle helgen dagh [anno domini. mcdxcv] saghe och hørde ath beskedeligh quinnæ Jngridh K[ætil]sdotther sold[e her Alff Knuthssøn] riddher en teygh som hether Nodsthy och saa møkit som hvn athe [ . . . . . . . . . Spelinge]vik som liggher y sancte Pedhers kirke sogn y B
Background
Alv Knutsson of Tre Rosor owned the Giske estate, and here he buys land near Giske, in Borgund near present-day Ålesund. Members of the lawcourt were farmers who sat in the local court, and they were used as witnesses to land purchases so that the purchase could be proved later. A teig is a bounded strip of field or meadow. The endorsement on the back, «belongs to Giske», shows that the land was later counted as part of the Giske estate. The letter was written about a year before Alv died, and shows that he gathered small properties around the main farm right to the end.
People: Alv Knutsson, Magnhild Oddsdatter