The Bishop of Bergen waits for Erling and the envoys from Lübeck
HUB 2 nr. 526 · [1332] July 23 · Bergen
Erling Vidkunsson of Bjarkøy and Giske stepped down as drottsete in 1332, probably the year of this letter. The envoys from Lübeck had come to Bergen to meet him, and the letter shows that Lübeck sought negotiations with the Norwegian magnates.
What the letter says
Bishop Håkon of Bergen writes to King Magnus Eriksson on 23 July, probably in 1332, that two envoys from Lübeck have arrived, the priest Albert and the merchant Engelbert von Wersten. According to an extract they brought of a royal letter to Lübeck, they had come to Bergen to meet Erling Vidkunsson there. Neither of the two men they were to meet, probably Erling and the treasurer, was in town, and the bishop asks the king for instructions on what to do.
The letter in modern English
[The edition gives only a summary. The full letter, in Old Norse, is printed in DN 8/145.] The same [Bishop Håkon of Bergen] to the king [Magnus of Norway and Sweden]: reports that two envoys from Lübeck have arrived, the priest Albert and the merchant Engelbert von Wersten. According to an extract they brought from a royal letter to Lübeck, they have travelled to Bergen to meet the king's treasurer [uncertain: probably the drottsete] Erling Vidkunsson. He asks for instructions, since neither of the two [Erling and the treasurer] is present in the town. Bergen, the day after St Mary Magdalene [23 July, probably 1332].
Original text
526. Derselbe an den König [Magnus von Norwegen und Schweden]: meldet die Ankunft zweier Boten von Lübeck, des Priesters Albert und des Kaufmanns Engelbert von Wersten, die nach Ausweis eines mitgebrachten Auszugs aus einer kgl. Zuschrift an Lübeck sich zur Begegnung mit dem kgl. Schatzmeister Erlingr Vidkunnarson nach Bergen aufgemacht haben, und bittet um Instruktion, da von beiden letzteren keiner in der Stadt anwesend ist. [1332] (in crastino Marie Magdalene) Juli 23. Bergen. Geheimarchiv z
Background
Erling Vidkunsson (c. 1292 to 1355) of Bjarkøy and Giske had been drottsete (steward of the realm) for King Magnus Eriksson, and in 1332, when the king came of age, he stepped down. Ten days earlier the bishop had also written to Erling himself about the same envoys and complained that the king was not keeping his promise. That letter is DN 8/144 and is already in the archive with the year 1341. The Hansisches Urkundenbuch dates both letters to 1332, while the Diplomatarium Norvegicum has 1341, and the date of the Hansisches Urkundenbuch is used here. The edition's summary calls Erling the king's treasurer, but the letter to Erling mentions him together with the treasurer, so the two have probably been confused in the summary. The letter shows how Lübeck at this time tried to obtain negotiations with the Norwegian magnates about the trade in Bergen.
People: Erling Vidkunsson