Vincens Lunge refuses Ture Jönsson Giske and the Shetland estate
DN 9/568 · 30 August 1526 · Bergenhus
What the letter says
Vincens Lunge writes from Bergenhus on 30 August 1526 to the Swedish councillor of the realm Ture Jönsson. He explains why Ture's servant Per the scribe was held back in Bergen the year before, and that the servant has now received two years' dues from the estate in Shetland. Giske and the Giske estate he will not hand over until Sweden has given Viken back to Norway and returned Norwegian and Danish property in Sweden, as the Recess of Malmø promised. Instead he proposes that his mother-in-law Lady Inger Ottesdatter buy the Giske estate for land, gold or money, or that Ture receive the farm Slabogård in Östergötland in exchange.
The letter in modern English (excerpt)
Friendly and loving greeting in Our Lord beforehand, dear Lord Ture. You wrote to me that last year I had your servant Per the scribe held up for a long time here in Bergen to his harm, when he was to take possession of your estate in Shetland. Then you shall know that I with great diligence, firmly and repeatedly advised Per the scribe against going to Shetland, at useless cost to you, because for your sake I had given him a clear register of the estate, which he has since also found correct and true in every respect. Even so, he was determined to go there. In the meantime the agent of the good maiden, Maiden Karin, came and asked to take possession of the same estate on her behalf by right, and that I could not refuse her. Had I received word from the good maiden earlier, the good fellow would not have been held up so long. Now I have received her letter and view on the matter, and therefore I have fulfilled your wish, so that your servant on your behalf has received two years' rent (dues) of the estate in Shetland, about which he can tell you more himself. Further, you ask that I abide by and keep in mind the recess (agreement) concluded in Malmø between my most gracious lord King Frederick and King Gustav, concerning the said estate and also concerning Giske and the Giske estate. At the same time it was also agreed that Viken the following year should come freely and unencumbered under the Crown of Norway, as it had lain from of old, and that
Original text (excerpt)
Wenligh kerligh hiilssen forsent met wor herre kære her Thwre som i screffue meg tiill at ieg skulle i fiordt forlenge paa sind skade fortøffuet her i Bergen haffue ethers trauere Per scriffuere besettendes ederss gotz i Hetlandt etc. Tha mo i wide at ieg met stor flith hordeligen oc ydeligen affrodde Peder scriffuere tiill Hetlandt edher tiill forgeffueligh bekostingh at drage efftherthii at ieg for ederssz skylld haffde giffuet hannem clare register pa for gotz som hand well relige oc sande si
Background
After Knut Alvsson's death in 1502 the Giske estate was a matter of dispute between the family in Sweden and Norwegian magnates. Ture Jönsson of Tre Rosor was a Swedish councillor of the realm and fought for the right of the Swedish branch, here on behalf of a maiden Karin, probably Karine Alvsdatter. Vincens Lunge was a Danish nobleman, married to Ottilia, daughter of Lady Inger Ottesdatter of Austrått, who is called «odal-born» to the Giske estate because she descended from Sigurd Jonsson's family. The Recess of Malmø was the agreement between King Frederick I and King Gustav Vasa in 1524 after the break-up of the Kalmar Union, and Viken was a disputed borderland between the kingdoms. The letter is a private letter of negotiation, and it shows how Giske became a pawn in the high politics between Denmark-Norway and Sweden. That the estate also included land in Shetland shows how widely the properties of the Giske family extended.