Sigurd Jonsson bears witness to the strife in Korshavn in 1449
DN 3/808 · 6 Septbr. 1449 · Oslo
What the letter says
In a letter written in Oslo on 6 September 1449, Sigurd Jonsson, knight and commander of the realm, and the councillors of the realm Sigurd Bjørnsson, archpriest in Oslo, and the squire Simon Bjørnsson tell what happened in Korshavn the summer before. The men of the knight Hartvik Krummedike had stopped Archbishop Aslak Bolt's servants and taken letters and belongings from them. Hartvik offered full compensation in gold, but the archbishop wanted exactly what he had lost and threatened revenge on «the Holsteiner». The situation almost turned into armed combat between the ships before Kolbjørn Gest and Simon Bjørnsson brought about a truce until each had got home.
The letter in modern English (excerpt)
To all good men to whom this letter comes, we, Sigurd Jonsson, knight and commander of the realm in Norway while our gracious lord the king is away, Sigurd Bjørnsson, archpriest in Oslo, and Simon Bjørnsson, squire, members of the Council of the Realm in Norway, make known: After we parted from our gracious lord King Christian this summer, after the Visitation of Mary (2 July) in the year of our Lord 1449, we were in Korshavn together with several good men from here in Norway. There we heard how the strife began and proceeded between the venerable father in God, Sir Archbishop Aslak, and Sir Hartvik Krummedike, knight. First it was the case that Sir Hartvik's men had stopped some of the archbishop's servants, on whom they found some letters, and held back some of what the servants had with them. It was nevertheless proven that this happened without Sir Hartvik's knowledge, for he had not yet come home from Denmark. Sir Hartvik then promised that for friendship's sake he would gladly get the archbishop and his servants their belongings back, or something else as good. The archbishop told Sir Hartvik that he wanted these things back, and gave him a written list of how much it was supposed to have been. To that Sir Hartvik answered that he would gladly do so according to what the Council of the Realm that was present said. Then both we who are named and the other good men took the list and assessed what the things listed there could at most be worth. Then the
Original text (excerpt)
Alla the godha mæn som thetta breff hændir til at koma kungæra wy Sighurdh (Jonsson) riddare rikens Noreges høffuitzman j mins nadugha herra konungsens frawaran Sighurdh Biornsson erchipresbiter j Aslo oc Simon Biornsson a wapn rikissens raadh i Noreghe at æfftir thet wy warom skiilde fra waar nadighæ herra konung Cristiern nw j sommar æfftir w[ar] frus messo visitacionis anno domini mcdxl nono warom wy j Korshaffn med flere godha mæn hær aff Noreghe, oc høyrdhom wy j hwat mato then skyrll byria
Background
The letter is a letter of witness, made to establish what actually happened, probably because the matter could be used against one of the parties later. Sigurd Jonsson (died 1453) was the son of Agnes Sigurdsdatter of Sudreim and Jon Marteinsson and owner of Giske, and he governed Norway as commander when the king was away. In the summer of 1449 the realm was split between two candidates for the throne: Christian I of Denmark and the Swedish king Karl Knutsson. Archbishop Aslak Bolt sided with Karl, while Hartvik Krummedike, a nobleman from Holstein with fiefs in Norway, was Christian's man, and Sigurd Jonsson was also on Christian's side. That the men took letters from the archbishop's servants suggests that the political game lay behind the strife in Korshavn, an outer harbour at the far end of the Oslofjord. The archbishop's words about how a Norwegian deals with a foreigner show the resentment against Danish and German noblemen in Norwegian fiefs. A bars is a small sailing ship, and a snekke is a light, open vessel.
People: Sigurd Jonsson