Sigurd Havtoresson sells land he received as a fine
DN 4/259 · 28 February 1342 · Oslo
What the letter says
In Oslo on 28 February 1342 Sigurd Havtoresson issues a receipt confirming that Hjarrand, the archpriest of Oslo, has paid in full for 7 øresbol of land in Siggarbøle in Ignardal, which Sigurd had sold him. Sigurd had received the land from Hjarrand Alvsson as a fine for an offence against the crown and against Sigurd.
The letter in modern English (excerpt)
To all men who see or hear this letter, Sigurd Havtoresson sends God's greeting and his own. I make known to you that I acknowledge with this my open letter and bear witness that I have received from Sira Hjarrand, archpriest in Oslo, the first penny and the last and all in between, as was agreed in our bargain, for 7 øresbol (land that yields one øre in land rent) of land in Siggarbøle, which lies in Ignardal on Stranden, and which I sold him with all the rights that shall belong to it and of old and anew have belonged to it. This land I received from Hjarrand Alvsson as sakøre (a fine) for the offence he had committed against the crown and me. As true testimony of this I gave Sira Hjarrand this my letter, which was made in Oslo on the Thursday in the second week of Lent in the 23rd year of the reign of my worthy lord Magnus, by God's mercy King of Norway, Sweden and Götaland (1342). Endorsement: (on the back) Concerning Sikabøle in Ignardal.
Original text (excerpt)
Ollum monnum þæim sæm þetta bref sea eder hœyræ sændir Sigurder Hafthores son q. g. ok sinæ, ek gerer yder kunnikt at ek kænnizt meder þesso minu ofno bref ok vidergangu væitir at ek hefuir af sira Hiarrænde ærchipreste j Oslo fyrstæ peningh ok œfstæ ok allæ þar j millum æftir þui sæm j kaup okart kom firir vij aura boll iardær j Siggærbœle er liggær j Jgnærdale a Strondenne er ek honum sældi meder ollum lunnyndum sæm þar till æighu at liggia ok till hafua leghet fra forno ok nyu. ok ek fek af H
Background
Sigurd Havtoresson of Sudreim was a grandson of King Håkon V through his mother and later married Ingeborg Erlingsdatter, the owner of Giske. The letter is a receipt for a sale of land. It shows that fines, sakøre, could be paid in land, and that Sigurd received the fine for an offence that also concerned the king. This suggests that he had a role as the king's officer, perhaps sysselmann, in Romerike, but the letter does not say so directly. Øresbol was a measure of land based on how much it yielded in annual rent, measured in øre. The letter also shows that churchmen in Oslo bought land from the magnates, and that fines could become goods that passed on in trade.
People: Sigurd Havtoresson