Sigurd Havtoresson seals the king's letter of protection for Jämtland
SDHK 11957 (DN 14/12) · 29. juli 1381 · Trondheim
What the letter says
King Olav Håkonsson announces in Trondheim on St Olaf's Day 1381 that he takes the common people of Jämtland, both lay and clergy, men, women, children and servants, with all their goods, under his protection. He forbids everyone, and especially the sysselmenn (royal district officers) and their stewards, to wrong them, and anyone who does so is to answer for breach of the royal letter. The drottsete Ogmund Finnsson and others of the Council of the Realm have sworn to uphold old law and right for the common people throughout Norway, and the king promises that the people of Jämtland are to keep their old rights as the law book shows. No new or unlawful taxes, tolls or impositions are to be laid on them. The protection is to apply until the king comes of age. The drottsete Ogmund and the king's kinsman Sigurd Havtoresson seal the letter.
The letter in modern English
Olav, by God's grace king of Norway, Denmark and Gautland, sends all men who see or hear this letter God's greeting and his own. We wish you to know that we have taken our common people and our subjects in all Jämtland, both lay and clergy, both men and women and their children and servants, and all their household and goods, both movable and fixed, lawfully into God's keeping, protection and royal safeguard in all rightful matters. We fully forbid every man, whatever his position and standing, and especially our sysselmenn there and their stewards, to mistreat our common people and our subjects there in any way against the law, or to do our subjects, lay or clergy, any wrong. Whoever does so must expect anger and punishment and heavy fines from us, and in addition answer to us in full for breach of the royal letter. Furthermore: since our drottsete, the dear Lord Ogmund Finnsson, and several of our good men in the Council of the Realm have sworn to the common people throughout Norway that on our behalf they will uphold and have upheld old right and old law, whoever is to rule there on our behalf, we ourselves have also granted the common people there, both lay and clergy, as said before, that they are to keep all their old right and law, as their parents enjoyed it under our forefathers, the kings in Norway, and as their law book shows. And we fully forbid every man, and es
Original text
Olaffwer medh Gudz nad Noregs Dana ok gota konunger sender allum mannum sem thetta breff sia æder høẏra qwedia Gudz ok sina. Veer vilium ath theer vither ath veer haffwm tekit almwga varn ok tegna vara i allo Jemptelande bade leyka ok lærda bade karlmen ok quinnor ok barn thera ok hion ok varnath thera allan ok godz thera bede laust ok fasth logliga i Gudz wald vara vernd ok konungxliga trausth thil alra rettha mala fwlkomlica forbiwdom hwariom manne hwer stæder eller thigundar sem hver er ok en
Background
Olav Håkonsson was ten years old and had become king in Norway after his father Håkon VI died in 1380. His mother was Queen Margaret. In the early years the council governed for the boy, and the letter of protection promises the common people of Jämtland, which then belonged to Norway, the same old rights that the Council of the Realm had sworn to uphold for the whole country. The king calls Sigurd Havtoresson his kinsman. Sigurd and the king's grandfather Magnus Eriksson were first cousins, both grandchildren of Håkon V. That Sigurd set his seal beside the drottsete's shows that in 1381 he was one of the leading men of the realm. He was married to Ingebjørg Erlingsdatter, the heiress to Giske. The letter survives in a paper copy from after 1486. The dating «olavsvoko dag» may also mean 28 July.
People: Sigurd Havtoresson