Bishop Håkon writes a friendly letter to Bjarne Erlingsson
DN 8/99 · [3 Novbr. 1337.] · Bergen
What the letter says
Bishop Håkon of Bergen thanks Bjarne Erlingsson for his friendship and his letter and explains that he left Tønsberg without waiting for him because he got a fair wind before winter. He asks Bjarne to greet the king and find out what the king wants to do about the matter of the white male falcon that Tomas the Scot was to have received, for there was no falcon to be had. He tells him that Bjarne's father, mother and sister are well, and asks him to greet the brothers Jon and Sigurd Havtoresson. The letter is dated by the editor to around 3 November 1337.
The letter in modern English (excerpt)
To the honourable man and his dearest friend Bjarne Erlingsson, Håkon etc. sends greeting as before. For the love, friendship and good will that you have always shown us, we thank you greatly, and especially for the letter we last received from you. We understand that you would gladly have seen us in Tønsberg. We would gladly have done the same with you as the year drew to its end and winter approached, had not a mild fair wind offered itself, ready and waiting for us. We nevertheless waited two days in Tønsberg. You worried, needlessly as it seems to us, about a small disagreement in the evenings. God knows that we count it as being without envy and hatred and entirely without grudge. People say that warm is the quarrel of friends. We took your jest in the best spirit, and we expect you to do the same with us. Greet our lord the king from us with our service, and be as close to him as possible in all good and all virtue, as we expect you gladly do. We fear that we have written him a long letter, in which among other things we mentioned the errand of Tomas the Scot concerning the white tercel (male falcon) he was to have received. There was none to be had, neither white nor grey, from what we understood as true both from your father and the provost. That was little to our liking, for the sake of our lord the king's honour,, that he should have waited so long for little or nothing. We ask you to find out what our lord the king wishes to do further in this matter. It is more difficult to deal with foreign
Original text (excerpt)
Erlighom manne ok sinum kærazstom vin Biarna Ellingssyni senðr Hakon etc. quediu vt prius kærleika. vinaatto ok gooduilia oss iamfnlegha teedan þokkom ver yðr mykilegha. Namfnlegha ok serlega firir bref þat er ver nestom af yðr fenghom. vndirstoðom ver at þer villdur oss j. Tunsbergi gerna seet hafua þat sama hefdim ver med yðr gærnsamlegha gort er framlidanðe aar. komanðe vetr bliðr byr boðen ok buin hefdi oss æighi bodezst. bidaðom ver þo tua dagha j. Tunsbergi, gaato þer þoat aat þarflœysu so
Background
Bishop Håkon Erlingsson of Bergen kept a letter book in which he copied his letters, and that is why it says «greeting as before» and «written as before». The recipient is Bjarne Erlingsson the younger (died 1353), son of the former drottsete Erling Vidkunsson, who was a man at the court of King Magnus Eriksson. The letter is a private letter and shows the close contact between the men of the church and the magnate families. Falcons from Norway were prized gifts between kings, and white gyrfalcons from the north were especially sought after at the courts of Europe. That Jon and Sigurd Havtoresson are mentioned in the same letter shows that they already belonged to the same circle. Sigurd later married Bjarne's sister Ingeborg Erlingsdatter, who received Giske in 1354. The sister mentioned in the letter may be Ingeborg, but the letter does not say so.
People: Bjarne Erlingsson den yngre, Erling Vidkunsson, Elin Toresdatter, Sigurd Havtoresson