All these documents are published in Diplomatarium Norvegicum and the volume and page are indicated, for example, DN III 539. All the documents numbered 1 through 14 mention Hallvard Gråtopp at least one time.
Documents numbered 1-5 and 7, 9 and 13 are translated in Drangedal med Tørdal by Olav Sannes on pages 316 through 322. Documents 7, 4, 6, 10 and 14 are printed in the text of this book and document 14 is also printed in these notes. The other documents will be summarized here.
Document #8, on the 30th of April 1439, Juror Asulv Andresson and Guttorm Anundson were present at Myrer in Røyken and composed a letter reporting that Herlaug Mattisson with a legally binding handshake gave Torgjuls of Lahell a document on which Lord Olav Bukk had affixed his seal. It stated that Olav had received from Herlaug 60 mark in money which Torgjuls owed because he had co-operated in the revolt with Hallvard Gråtopp and, together with Hallvard, had affixed his seal on a document. Olav gave Torgjuls a receipt on behalf of the King. By the same legally binding handshake Torgjuls verified that he had sold 1 markebol of West Åros in Røyken to Herlaug and had received full payment.
Document #11, Tormod Arnesson and Niklis Tormodsson were at Mæla on the 30th of March in 1444 and saw and heard that Orm Sigurdsson of Øverland in Kviteseid on behalf on his father-in-law Grim and himself had reached an agreement with Herlaug Pedersson about compensation "for rov og utløp -- vtløp", that is, for the plundering and rioting which they had done to him. Herlaug should because of this receive a feather quilt and five lengths of cloth and, within 12 months, 4 mark gold. To verify this we affix our seals to this letter which was written on the day and in the year which is mentioned above.
Document #12, I, Sigrid Niklisdaughter, and Magnus Pålsson by this open letter acknowledge receipt from Torleiv Solvesson and from Solve Torleivsson of the agreement-fine which they have promised to us, that is, my son-in-law Hartvig and me, for the harm they did to us at Brunla. We therefore declare them and their heirs free from all prosecution from us and our heirs and from the King and all men. To verify this we affix our seals on this document at Brunla on the 28th of October 1448.
The originals of the documents mentioned are now in various archives and libraries:
Document #1, 9 August 1438, is in the National Archives in Sweden. It was composed by three men, Øyjar Tordsson, Sveinung Olavsson and Eilev Helgesson on behalf of that "impoverished man" Eirik Niklisson. The seals of all three are affixed to it.
Document #2, 10 August 1438, is also in the Swedish National Archives in Stockholm. Together with Sebjørn Niklisson, Squire Haftor Niklisson, Members of the City Council Herlaug Mattisson, Hallvard Hallesson and Håkon Hoskollsson affixed their seals to this document. One of the seals on this document is now missing.
Document #3, 25 February 1439, is in the National Archives in Oslo. Two seals are fixed directly onto the paper. Sigrid Niklisdaughter managed to get Torleiv Solvesson and Pål Reniksson to put their seals on it together with hers.
Document #4, 3 March 1439, is a certified copy which is located in the Geheime Archives in Copenhagen and since 1937 also in the National Archives in Oslo in Norske Samlinger, section 1, book 2, number 3. Only marks from the seals remain.
Document #5, 23 March 1439, is also in the Geheime Archives and since 1937 in the National Archives in Oslo in Norske Samlinger, section, 1, book 2, number 2. The end of the document is missing.
Document #6, 17 April 1439, is a document written on parchment and is in the Arni Magnusson's Manuscript Collection, book 90, number 21, and is now in the National Archives in Oslo. Jurors Torgeir Gløersson and Gunnvald Hallvardsson affixed their seals to it together with the seal of Torgjuls of Lahell. All the seals are there and they connect this document with document #17 which was dated 4 March 1440 and on which the seal of Lagmann Håkon Hoskollsson is affixed.
Document #7, 27 April 1439, is in the Geheime Archives in Copenhagen and has a seal which is fixed directly onto it and which is damaged and which since 1937 is also in the National Archives in Oslo in RA, Norske Samlinger, section 1, book 2, number 1.
Document #8, 30 April 1439, is in Arni Magnusson's Manuscript Collection, book 90, number 10, and is lacking seals.
Document #9, 16 December 1439, is in the National Archives in Oslo. It was written in Oslo by Gudmund Helgesson and together with his seal he had Lagmann Håkon Hoskollsson of Oslo and Jon Amundsson of Bjørke affix their seals to this document. Seal 1 and 2 are attached to it together with a fragment of seal number 3.
Document #10 from 1443 exists only in copy, manuscript number 115, written on quarto sheets, and is in the National Archives. It was copied by the Priest Hans Jacob Wille of Seljord who died in 1808.
Document #11, 30 March 1444, in Arni Magnusson's Manuscript Collection, book 91, number 13, was composed at Mæla in Gjerpen by Jurors Tormod Arnesson and Niklis Tormodsson and charged Orm Sigurdsson of Kviteseid to pay a fine to Bailiff Herlaug Pedersson. Two seals showing coat of arms are attached.
Document #12, 28 October 1448, is in the National Archives in Oslo. The seals of Sigrid Niklisdaughter and Magnus Pålsson are fixed directly on it.
Document #13, 17 March 1452, composed by Bailiff Herlaug Pedersson is at the Royal Norwegian Scholarly Society in Trondheim. The seal is missing.
Document #14, 28 May 1438, is only a copy in Lars Eriksson Sparre's Letter Book XVI, folio 175, in the National Archives in Stockholm.
Document #15, 1 August 1438, is a copy in the same Letter Book, folio 175-175. The seals which were affixed are sketched in the Letter Book.
Document #16, 6 November 1438, is in the National Archives in Oslo. Of the four seals only a fragment of number 3 remains.
Document # 2 is written on vellum, letters #6, 8, 9 and 17 are on parchment and the others are on paper. Documents #15 and 16 do not exist in the original. Document #14 is reproduced in this book in connection with the revolt of Amund Sigurdsson Bolt.
Literature:
Stian Henneseid: Hallvard Gråtopp and the Bonde Revolt in 1438, Drangedal, 1988.
DN and RB
Claus Krag's article in Telemark History 9, 1988, is purely polemical.
2. The Events of the Summer of 1438
The depiction of the events of 1438 is based on those documents which are mentioned above. The general information exists in a number of historical works.
Literature:
Our People's Life and History by S. Hasund, volume III, page 227ff, 1934.
Reidar Marmøy: Our People's History, Volume IV, page 38ff, 1963.
Halvdan Koht: Norwegian Bonde Uprisings, page 25ff, Oslo, 1926.
CNH = Cappelens Norway's History, Volume IV, page 350ff by Steinar Imsen, 1977 and later editions.
Andreas Holmsen: Norway's History from Ancient Times to 1660, 1961 edition, pages 362 and 363 about the Gråtopp revolt.
Oscar Albert Johnsen: The downfall of Norway's Power, second edition, Oslo 1944, page 127ff, there is only a half page about the Gråtopp revolt, page 135.
The problem around Hallvard Gråtopp was first addressed by Ludvig Daae in the Historical
Journal in 1877, volume 4, pages 62-108 in "Contributions to Norway's History in the Years of
1434-1442".
3. Men Among Hallvard's Followers Who Were Mentioned by Name
"skilrikr" = honest, straightforward, honorable.
Mattis Torgeirsson at Holm or Tufte in Gjerpen and Torleiv Solvesson of Linnum in Brunlanes are mentioned above as members of the lower nobility, as noble people and of noble families. In a document dated 25 February 1439, Torleiv Solvesson and Pål Reniksson were called good men -- DN III 539 -- by Sigrid Niklisdaughter of Brunla. A close relative who was perhaps the mother of Mattis Torgeirsson was Hustru Ulvhilda of Holm who was married to a squire. He was probably Torgeir Mattisson of Tufte in Gjerpen who managed Holm. The son of the son of Torgeir, Mattis Niklisson of Tufte, was married to Hustru Karin Anundsdaughter. In 1533, as a widow, she exchanged 3 ½ markebol of Søndre Lindheim in Sauherad to Rolleiv Torsteinsson of North Lindheim in exchange for parts of Komnes, Søndre Hvam and Reine in Sandsvær -- DN XI 670.
In 1535, Rolleiv Torsteinsson is called "godhe man", that is, a good man or a nobleman -- DN XXI 612. Both he and Karin his wife, are mentioned in an unpublished document from the 1st of June in 1580, which is in the National Archives. According to it, he was married to a grandchild of Hustru Karin Anundsdaughter. Even if one cannot say for certain if all those mentioned were squires, it nevertheless seems that they belonged to families in which there were squires, that is, members of the lower nobility.
There is no information about the family of Gudmund Helgesson other than that he was a nobleman but he is mentioned as one of those good men who was with Amund Sigurdsson Bolt. Amund says in a document of 13 December 1436 -- DN III 528 -- "tha henge thæssæ godhe mæn thæres insiglæ fore thetta breff mædher mino æghno, swa som ær Thormod Gunnarsson, Bardh Thorrison, Niclis Ywarsson, Halward Thorisson oc Gundmund Hælghesson, hwilke som oc tha inne ware wppa forscriffne biscops gardh medh mic", that is, these good men who affixed their seals on this letter together with my own, were Tormod Gunnarsson, Bård Toresson, Niklis Ivarsson, Hallvard Toresson and Gudmund Helgesson, who also were at the previously mentioned Bishop's residence with me. Among those who were with Amund Sigurdsson Bolt at the negotiations in June of 1436 were two good men, Nisse Sveinsson and Hallvard Toresson.
Lagmann Håkon Hoskollsson of Oslo, who affixed his seal to the document together with Sebjørn Niklisson, was married to the daughter of Archbishop Aslak Bolt.
Literature:
M. B. Landstad: Family Sagas and Legends from Telemark, Memoirs, Kristiania, 1924.
Henning Solleid: Some Information About the Schjerven Family from Lardal and Their Ancestors, NSHT XI, 1944, page 111ff, with information about the family from Holm and Tufte in Gjerpen.
The Ullensaker District Book, volume I, by Edvard Bull, 1927, pages 90 and 91, about Gudmund
Helgesson of Holt and the Gråtopp revolt.
4. Districts in Telemark We Know Participated
After 1537, Telemark was still a separate Deanery and formally belonged to the Hamar Diocese.
The survey in RB of the land property belonging to the churches in the Gjerpen Deanery in 1398 -- RB 4-42 -- and the lists of the churches in 1401 -- RB 570-572 -- clearly demonstrate that not one of the districts mentioned in West Telemark was in the Oslo Diocese. Neither is it said in the sources from the 1400s that they belonged to the Oslo Diocese and the Gjerpen Deanery. In the document from 27 April 1439, Olav Bukk says that "this great disagreement which began some years ago....has lasted all too long in some places, particularly here in the Oslo Diocese". Later in the document he also writes "here in the Diocese".
A reasonable interpretation of those two visitation trips by Bishop Eystein in West Telemark may have simply been thus: Early in the 1380s the Bishop's position in the Hamar Diocese was vacant, so it may have been that Eystein was a substitute visitor to these districts. The relationship he had to West Telemark at that time may also be seen as a reflection of the unstable situation after the Black Death. Since he had visited in 1386 and at that time had encountered certain problems in these districts, it was reasonable that he attempted to put them in order later. It was actually his duty to do that.
It appears that Olav Brand was first ordained the Bishop of Hamar in 1380 in Rome but on that same trip he was immediately moved by the Pope to Stavanger -- DN XVI B 255. A man by the name of Sigurd was then ordained as Bishop of Hamar. This occurred before the 20th of February 1383 -- DN XVII 396. Sigurd served as Bishop of Hamar until 1418 or a little later but there were probably two Bishops by the same name, one after the other, says Oluf Kolsrud -- DN XVI B page 255 -- and then he adds, "Sigurd is always specifically named later than Bishop Eystein of Oslo who was ordained very shortly before 13 April 1386...". It thus appears that the first Sigurd served for a very short time and that the next Sigurd was appointed after Eystein became Bishop at Oslo. It may therefore be correct that Eystein made a visitation in West Telemark in 1386 because the Hamar diocese was without a Bishop at that time.
Literature:
RB and NK
Bishop Jens Nilssøn's Visitation Books and Travel Memoranda by Yngvar Nielsen, Kristiania, 1885.
J. Omholt-Jensen: "Telemark County in Ancient Times, Administrative Divisions", Appendix to Norwegian Folk Culture, Risør, 1926.
The lists of Bishops in the Hamar Diocese are found in, among other places, NK and in Hamar's
History, page 57, by Sven Kjeldstadli, Hamar, 1949. Oluf Kolsrud has a more comprehensive
survey of the Bishops with source references in DN XVII B, Appendix, 1913.
5. Revolt or Riot?
The words "upphlaup" and uppreist" have somewhat different meanings. "Upphlaup" is a rather unorganized gathering of people while "uppreist" is a more organized uprising of a band of rebels. In a document of 27 April 1439, Olav Bukk uses the expression "vpres" about the revolt of Amund Sigurdsson Bolt. Later in the same document he says "vpløp oc missæmia", that is, unrest and disagreement, and by this he probably points to the unrest in general but mostly to Hallvard Gråtopp and those who followed him.
In the document about the injury-fine which Orm Sigurdsson of Kviteseid and his father-in-law
had to give to Bailiff Herlaug Pedersson, it is said that they did "roff og vtløp", that is,
plundering and rioting. The word "utløp" is also used by Bishop Eystein about the revolt which
the bønder in Kviteseid made against the Bishop when he was on a visitation there. It appears
that "utløp" points to a less threatening gathering of people than "oppløp".
6. Fines Levied for the Revolt
Torgjuls of Lahell sold part of the estate of Åros for a very large sum and it is stated in the letters of sale that Herlaug should give the whole purchase price directly to Olav Bukk but that Herlaug should receive a little silver bowl from Torgjuls.
The written directions which Queen Margrete gave to King Erik at the time of his trip to Norway
in 1405 is printed in, among other places, NgL II, Ia, page 73, and Vivian Ettings' Margrete the
First, Copenhagen, 1986, pages 119-121.
2. Svarte Jøns, Castellan at Akershus
Two documents about the accusations against Svarte Jøns exist in a transcription in the Swedish Archives and are now printed in DN. The first which is dated in Oslo on the 28th of May in 1438 purports to bring testimony about what happened when Amund Sigurdsson Bolt made an agreement with Castellan Svarte Jøns at Akershus about turning over the Bishop's residence. The letter -- DB XXI 283 is as follows:
3. Olav Bukk and the Manor at Brunla
It has been conjectured that the father of Olav Bukk, Markvard Bukk, may have been Norwegian since there was also a Norwegian family with the name of Bukk in the 1400s. This family is not well known. About the family of Sigrid Niklisdaughter we know more.
Svein Rolvsson Galle is mentioned in the 1330s. His son Nikolas or Niklis Sveinsson was married to Ingeborg Sigurdsdaughter, the widow of Lodin Eivindsson. Nikolas and Sigrid had two offspring about whom we know, Erling and Sigrid.
Erling Nikolasson was dead in 1401. He had a son Brand Erlingsson who was married to Ragnhild Herleiksdaughter. On the 6th of November in 1425, Ragnhild was judged to be the heir of Nikolas Tormodsson. Ragnhild then sold land to her kinswoman, Sigrid Nikolasdaughter.
Sigrid Nikolasdaughter or Niklisdaughter was married to Markvard Bukk and, of their two offspring Olav and Katarina, it was the daughter who extended the family through marriage to Hartvig Krummedike.
The manner of writing names varies a great deal in the 1400s since the Norwegian language changed greatly at that time. In fact, some scribes were often bound by an older tradition while others followed it to some degree or not at all. In a document from 6 November 1425 -- DN I 509 -- we read "Niculosdotor", in the document of 24 February 1426 -- DN I 510 -- "Nyklisdotter", on 14 October 1436 -- DN II 542 -- "Niclisse dotther", and on 28 October 1448 -- DN III 577 -- "Niclissa dother". The pronunciation seems to have been Niklis from early in the 1400s and around 1400 and before then it was Nikolas or Nikulos. From the latter half of the 1400s this name became Nils.
Literature:
Halvdan Koht in his article "Norwegian History in the Light of Family History", point by point
refutes the contention that Markvard Bukk was a member of a Norwegian family -- NSHT V,
1935, footnote on pages 98-99.
4. Bishop Jens of the Oslo Diocese
The Dane Jens Jakobsson was the Bishop in the Oslo Diocese from 1420 to 1452. Before 1420
he had been Chancellor for Erik of Pomerania in Denmark. Later he was the Norwegian
Chancellor until the unrest after the revolts of 1436 and 1438. As Norwegian Chancellor he was
in Denmark so much of the time that Oslo was without a Bishop for extended periods of time.
At the end of his time as Bishop, he stayed mostly in Oslo.
5. Bailiff Herlaug Pedersson in the Skien District
Fru Kristin Toraldsdaughter was married to Herlaug Pedersson, probably in the last of her four marriages. She was probably born at the end of the 1300s and was first married to Svein Arnesson. The next who is known and who was probably number three of the men she married was Holte Jonsson of the noble family at Holter in Nes of Romerike. A branch of this family came to the Skien area. In 1437, Holte Jonsson is mentioned as the son-in-law of Fru Adalis -- DN I 551. It is only Kristin whom we know for certain was a daughter of Fru Adalis who was married to Torald Sigurdsson, a member of the National Council of Norway as early as in 1387, was knighted in 1397 but was mentioned as being dead in 1403. He was married the first time to a woman named Ragnhild -- RB 74. Torald probably had his home at Brunlanes or Tjølling and appears to have been a member of the Galtung and Kane families. See NHST XXIX, 1984.
Literature:
In the Year Book for Telemark, 1963, pages 85-95, Trygve Fosstveit has an article about "Bailiff Herlaug Pedersson and the Gråtopp Revolt" but does not discuss the marriage of the Bailiff. The agreement in 1474 -- DN III 658 -- was also concerned about the tiandegåve and the fjerdegåve* which Kristin Herlaugsdaughter had given her father in addition to several other disputes which had occurred between them. Jens Pedersson had earlier demanded a probate after the parents of Ulv and Herborg but Ulv had not agreed to that. The widow now agreed with Jens and Herborg who received Frambø in Bø as their part.
In the various sources the name of the youngest of those brothers who were bailiffs was written Jon, Jøns, Jønes, and Jens; toward the end of the 1400s it was usually written Jens.
Jusse Jakobsson was a bailiff and is mentioned as early as 1418. Three years later he was involved in a legal case about the inheritance of the estates called Haugholt and Vegheim in Sauherad -- DN XXI 218. Jusse was married to Ingeborg, who was the daughter of Gunnulv Audasson and Liv Hallvardsdaughter of Nordre Bjørntveit in Solum. When she was a widow, Liv married Royal Official Bjørn Tolvsson.
"The lawlessness was a result of the Union and the ineffective central government which the
King in Copenhagen tried to steer." The reasons for the unrest are interpreted in different ways
by the historians but some factors remain firm.
2. The Rebellion in 1436
Andreas Holmsen contends in Norway's History, Oslo, 1961, page 361, that it was not in the spring that Amund Sigurdsson captured the Bishop's residence. According to him, it is likely that the letter dated on Magnus Mass in 1436 is from the 13th of December, that is, the Magnus Mass which occurs before Christmas and not the Magnus Mass in the spring, that is, on the 16thof April. Holmsen bases this on the fact that the agreement for a meeting in October of 1436 actually was not kept. Holmsen contends that Amund Sigurdsson and his men met there but their opponents did not: "As the time went by, the position of Amund became more and more untenable. The army of bønder could not continue waiting idly in Oslo. It is reasonable therefore that it was then, and not in the spring of that same year, that Amund occupied Oslo."
This is only a situation which Andreas Holmsen supposes. In no place is it mentioned that the planned meeting in Oslo in October of 1436 was held. Neither do we know of even one decision which could have been made at such a meeting. In no place is it mentioned either that an army of bønder was waiting in Oslo the whole autumn. It is hardly likely that this happened. Amund Sigurdsson must have been at the Bishop's residence as early as in February on 1436. The document which the Swedish rebels wrote in Kalmar on the 10th of March in 1436 indicates this.
In the agreement with Amund Sigurdsson the word datinging is used which means to negotiate until a provisional agreement is reached on the same day that the two parties stand against each other. This document, as well as the one from 28 May 1438 about the events of two years earlier, are reproduced in this book.
Literature:
Hanserecesse von 1431 bis 1476 I.
HT 1890, 3rd series I, pages 488-499: "New Studies about the Rebel Leader Amund Sigurdsson's History" by Ludvig Daae.
HT 1892, 3rd series II, pages 101-140: "About Amund Sigurdsson Bolt and the Riots in Southern
Norway 1436-1438" by Gustav Storm.
3. The Leader, Amund Sigurdsson Bolt
The fate of Amund Sigurdsson Bolt after the revolt is uncertain and has tempted much conjecture. That which is presented in this chapter is the most reasonable according to the sources which have been brought forth recently.
Hustru Asgerd Aslaksdaughter at Kirkeberg was the sister of that well known Bishop of Oslo, Eystein Aslaksson. Her daughter, Ingrid Torbjørnsdaughter is called Frue as early as 1417 -- DN III 467. Thus she was or had been married to a Knight. Her mother was only Hustru, that is, married to a squire. In her third marriage Hustru Asgerd was married to Squire Guttorm Rolvsson. They had at least one son and one daughter. The first time, Asgerd was married to Rolf Saulesson or Solvesson but it is not known if they had any children together. Asgerd was alive in 1433 -- DN VI 447 -- and perhaps she was alive as late as 1438.
When Fru Ingrid Torbjørnsdaughter was present at Kirkeberg in 1417 together with several members of the family, Amund Sigurdsson Bolt is not mentioned. Ingrid has the title of Frue already then but we do not learn anything about her husband. In a document dated in Oslo on the 19th of February in 1437, Amund Sigurdsson calls Hustru Asgerd his mother-in-law -- DN III 738. With Rane Ormsson he exchanged a mill at Holmefoss in the Haug parish of Eiker "farthest down at the waterfall below Hustru Asgerd's house with my mother-in-law's advice and approval". In exchange he received one markebol of Rud in the Fiskum Parish of Eiker.
Of those three bailiffs' fortresses which Peder Ulvsson of Ervalla destroyed, Agneholm was situated on a small island at the mouth of the Gullspång River at Lake Vänern, that is, on the southeast shore of the Lake. This fortress was from the 1360s. The Dala Fortress was situated on the west side of the Lake at the mouth of the Dalbergs River. Edsholm was located on the northwestern shore of Vänern by the Grums Fjord. All three were destroyed by Peder Ulvsson and his men in 1434 and not one of them was rebuilt.
His son Ulv Pedersson of Ervalla was a knight in 1443. Two years later he confirmed those gifts which his forefathers had given to the Cloister -- DN XVI 151. Ulv mentions in the document his beloved brothers Jon Pedersson and Amund Bolt and his sister Margreta Pedersdaughter --"...minna elskelica brødhra som ærw Joan Pædhersson oc Amund Bolt, oc min syster Margreta Pædersdotter..." For two of them he thus used their patronymic but not for Amund Bolt. This has caused many problems for those who have researched the revolt and the rebel leader Amund Sigurdsson Bolt.
Literature:
Gösta Aldner has in HT 34, 1946-1948, an article about Amund Sigurdsson Bolt, pages 179-190. He also refers to other literature about the subject.
Jan Ranke's article, "A Norwegian-Swedish Grave Stone with a Coat of Arms" in the Journal of Heraldry, 1984.
Kersten van de Gheren in his chronicle in Hansische Geschichtquellen, Neue Folge, volume II, Berlin, 1900.
The Downfall of Norway's Power, NU, by O. A. Johnsen, Kristiania, 1924.
4. A National Meeting
A National Meeting was a meeting in which the common people could also participate. A
meeting of the National Council was only for its members, that is, the highest leaders of the
nation.
5. The Connection With The Revolt in Sweden
The connection with the revolt in Sweden was mainly between the Engelbrekt revolt and the
uprising of Amund Sigurdsson Bolt. Regarding the Gråtopp revolt we do not know anything
about such a direct connection. According to the tradition at Vrålstad in Tørdal, there was a
certain connection.
6. Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
Engelbrekt was killed by Måns Bengtsson of Göksholm who was a member of the Dag och Natt family. He later became the Judge in Närke. His father, Bengt Stensson, had also been the Judge there. His brother, Erik Stensson, was married to Gudrun Håkonsdaughter Bolt from Tronstad in Hurum and his son Olav Eriksson inherited Tronstad. He was, in other words, the son of a sibling of "Engelbrekt's murderer".
The Judge, Måns Bengtsson, had a daughter named Cecilia who was married to Amund Bolt, that is, Amund Pedersson Bolt, son of Peder Ulvsson of Ervalla. As mentioned earlier, Lord Peder Ulvsson had also married into the Bolt family.
Literature:
The article, "Engelbrekt" by Erik Lönnroth in the Journal "Scandia", volume VII, pages 1-13, 1934.
Henrik Schuck's Engelbrekt, Stockholm, 1934.
J. Ranke's Swedish Coat of Arms from the Middle Ages II, Lund 1982.
There have been various opinions about the fate of Hallvard Gråtopp after the revolt but it is
most usual now to say he survived the uprising.
2. Was there a National Meeting in the Summer of 1439?
Until better evidence is discovered, we must conclude that there was no National Meeting during the summer of 1439.
Literature: See references in the text.
3. What Does the Name Gråtopp Mean?
Dialect researchers do not recognize the word gråtopp as having the meaning wolf. See also Fosstveit, 1963. Fosstveit instead concludes that the meaning was "grey haired at a young age". If this is correct, such a man would be easy to recognize. That he was not is indicated by what Olav Bukk says in the document of 27 April 1439. "Know, dear friends, that I do not fully know from whom this manifestation of authority and disagreement first came. Therefore I ask and advise you to identify him immediately when these good men come together and to spare no one, neither cleric nor laymen, who really is guilty in this matter."
Literature:
Fosstveit, 1963, see above
Olav Sannes' Drangedal med Tørdal, Drangedal 1924.
4. Hallvard Gråtopp -- Who Was He?
G. Storm -- HT, 3rd series, volume II -- at first says that the Hallvard Toresson, who was with Amund Sigurdsson Bolt, "possibly" was from Øymark in Østfold because there was a man there with this name at the same time -- 28 June 1442, DN I 566 -- but later Strom omitted his reservation and wrote that Amund Bolt's man, Hallvard Toresson, "was from Ødemark". Others have later agreed with Storm. A name cannot be enough to attach the man to Øymark. Hallvard Toresson who was in the following of Amund Bolt was a nobleman and no such information is known about the man from Øymark.
It is not likely that Sebjørn Niklisson and Eirik Niklisson were one and the same man. Some
suggest that they were brothers, for example, Edvard Bull in Christiania's History, volume I,
page 296, but the sources do not give a basis for this assertion.
5. Legends About "Lord Halvor"
One of the most remarkable traditions from Vrålstad is about a signet ring which is still at the estate. On the ring are the letters E.E.S. and a coat of arms which is also found on documents from 1535 and 1539 issued by Torbjørn Hallvardsson of Vrålstad -- DN IX 788. The ring is said to be the ring of the Swedish rebel leader, Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, and that his daughter, Elisabet or Elsbet, brought it to Vrålstad after her father was murdered.
The signet ring is very large and must have belonged to a man with thick and powerful fingers. At least this corresponds well with the fact that Engelbrekt was "not tall, but heavy set and had unusually thick fingers and hands" -- H. Hildebrand's Sweden's Middle Ages.
The tradition about the signet ring was told on Vrålstad during an inspection of it by those in attendance at the Gråtopp Anniversary Festival in the summer of 1988. The ring is now in Drangedal. Experts contend that it cannot be older than from the 1600s.
The coat of arms on the ring matches one on the document from 1539 -- DN IX 788. The original of that document is on paper and is in the Deichman Library in Oslo. The document is on a quarter page and sealed on the outside with a signet ring or personal mark.
Literature:
Siri Jaren, Skollenborg, a student's piece of work in the field of history, "About the family at Vrålstad".
B.H. von Løvenskiold: "Description of Bratsberg County and the Town of Skien", Christiania, 1784. Facsimile edition, 1958, Borsum Publishing House and Sellers of Used Books.
Hans Jakob Wille's Description of Sillejords Parish in Upper Telemark in Norway, Copenhagen, 1786.
N. Nikolayson in The Year's Report for The Society for the Preservation of Norwegian Antiquities, 1882, and 1885 about the old buildings at Vrålstad.
HT in "Progress", Skien, 1895, legends from Drangedal.
M.B. Landstad's Ættesagaer and Legends from Telemark, Kristiania, 1924, pages 100-102.
Rikard Berge in "Norwegian Folk Culture" about the stabbur at Vrålstad. A stabbur is a distinctive looking storehouse.
Hans Hildebrand's Sweden's Middle Ages, Volumes I - III, Stockholm, 1898-1903.
Ole Meldal: Reply dated 2 October 1743 to the questions by the authorities about topography,
history and language; a copy is located in the Source Publishing Division in the National
Archives, the original for Telemark is in the University Library in Oslo.
6. Hallvard Gråtopp and Drangedal
Two factors were decisive for Ludwig Daae when he connected Hallvard Gråtopp to Drangedal, first the legend about "Lord Halvor" at Vrålstad, and secondly, the name Gråtopp or the Gråtopp Castle on a hill fort at Holte in the district of Drangedal, about 15 km southeast of Vrålstad. The fortress, which was located at a narrow passage south of Holte, is a hill fort from the time of the migration of the Germanic tribes during the fourth to the sixth centuries A.D. and is therefore much older than from 1438. (Translator's note: For a discussion of these details, see page 42 in Gunnar Lunde's Bø Soga I, Kultursoga, published by the Bø Community, 1972) If Hallvard had retreated to Drangedal after the unsuccessful uprising, he may have built a citadel for defense at that location because it was the best suited place from which to stop potential military forces sent by authorities advancing toward Vrålstad. Later Gråtopp or the Gråtopp Fortress may have replaced an older name.
Bjørn Torleivsson lived at Søndre Bjørntveit in Solum. A noble family also lived on Nordre Bjørntveit and the widow there married Royal Official Bjørn Tolvsson.
The building at Klevar in which the document about its sale was found was, according to the National Antiquarian with expertise in building techniques, from early in the 1600s while the second storey was added later and repaired in 1798.
Literature:
DN and RB.
KLMN, volume XVII, pages 651ff, "Sysselmann" by Per Sveaas Andersen.
2. The Great Family Strife
The family strife in Sauherad in the 1330s is considered in Cappelens History of Norway -- CNH IV, pages 57 and 58 in the 4th edition and pages 58 to 60 in the 1st edition -- to exemplify that the "King made demands for fines when someone did wrong". It also says that Erling at Haukvik had to "pay fines" and that the other "assailants were sentenced to large fines". The documents about this case do not report that which is maintained in CNH because in them fines to the king are not discussed at all. The legal action which emerged shows that the case concerned the King's followers who were judged according to the document listing rules of conduct for them. See Bygdebok for Sauherad, volume III, pages 862-865.
Torleiv Saksabjørnsson was the central figure in the family fight. Among others mentioned is his son Bjørn Torleivsson who later became a Royal Official. See Bygdebok for Sauherad, volume IV pages 97ff.
Ivar Ogmundsson Rova was probably born around 1290 -- NBL VI 549. The Royal Treasurer, Bjarne Anundsson of Skalberg in Tjølling, on the 4th of February in 1320 wrote his will at the Tønsberg Fortress -- DN XVI 2. He was engaged to Rønnaug Smidsdaughter from another of those three old estates on Skalberg. Sæmund Wulfsberg in 1982 wrote in Langs Lågen, number 3, that Rønnaug Smidsdaughter was later married to the Knight and Seneschal Ivar Ogmundsson Rova of Lindheim in Nes Parish and that they had a daughter names Cecilia who was married to Torbjørn Saksabjørnsson of Lindheim. Wulfsberg did not cite his source. If it is, however, correct that Rønnaug and Ivar were married, it must have been early in the 1320s and Cecilia cannot be their daughter and at the same time the mother of Bjørn Torleivsson who is mentioned as early as in 1337.
Cecilia must have been the daughter of Lord Ivar from an earlier marriage. He was probably born sometime before 1290 and married the first time around 1310 or earlier. Cecilia may have received her inheritance when her mother died. The first wife of Ivar Ogmundsson appears to have been Kristin Toresdaughter who was the daughter of Torer Håkonsson or Bishopsson and Ingeborg Erlingsdaughter of the Tandberg family of Ringerike. They had the following offspring: Håkon, Kristin and Elin -- Bygdebok for Sauherad, volume III, page 793 and volume IV page 185 and DN XV 3. Lord Ivar and Kristin had two daughters, Cecilia and Kristin; the latter was married to the Swedish Squire, Nils Magnusson of Åbo in Södermanland.
It is clear that there was a sort of connection between Lord Ivar and the family from Lindheim. In the Cadaster, it says -- RB 27 -- that Vetrlide owned Nes in the Nes Parish "which Lord Ogmund Finnsson gave to the Gimsøy Cloister for the salvation of the soul of Ivar Rova and as a burial place for him". Nes was one of the estates in the family at Lindheim. Later that which the Cloister owned at Nes was exchanged for 1 laupsland and 3 markebol of Prestholt.
Vetrlide was married to Cecilia, the widow of Torbjørn Saksabjørnsson and around 1400 Vetrlide of Nes gave 1 markebol of Midgarden Sveinseid in Lunde to the Holla prestebord for the salvation of the soul of "Cecilio kono sinna", that is, Cecilia who was his wife. Furthermore, it is said, "Og serdeilis gaafuo synir henna". This must be understood to mean that she had sons but not with Vetrlide.
Shortly after 1400, Vetrlide of Lindheim gave 1 laupsland of Askilt in Bø to the Nes Prestebord-- RB 8. This was exchanged for an equal part of Berge in the Nes parish. It is probable that Vetrlide moved from Nes to Lindheim in his later life.
Ormar Torleivsson of Lindheim, mentioned around 1400 -- see above -- had a son Solve Ormarsson who was married to his sibling's offspring Margreta Bjørnsdaughter. "Solfue Ormarsson ok hans hustrv Margreta" sold half of Loftsgarden Hem to the Nes Church around 1400 -- RB 9. Those two and their son Anund are mentioned in a document from about 1400 -- DN VI 392. This son appears again later at Lofts-Borge in Gjerpen and it is said about his son Solve Anundsson that Lofts-Borge was his ancient allodial property.
Literature:
NBL, volume VI, page 549, "Ivar Ogmundsson Rova" by Halvdan Koht.
CNH IV, volume VI, pages 57-58ff, in the chapter entitles, "The Crown and the Bonde".
Bygdebok for Sauherad III and IV, Sauherad community, 1985 and 1988.
Knut Helle's King and Noblemen, 1972, page 58: The document listing the rules of conduct among the King's followers stated that disputes between the King and his followers as well as disputes among his followers should be settled at the King's court, but the document does not specifically mention that participation of "good men" or noblemen in these cases -- Hirdskrå page 41.
Lorens Berg's Tjølling, a bygdebok, Kristiania 1915.
The Local History Journal Langs Lågen, 1979 -.
3. Kinsman and Kinsmen's Wives
See text for references.
4. Priests, Priests' Wives and Inheritances
References in the text and, in addition, Erik Gunnes' "Priests and Maidens -- Celibacy in the
Norwegian Middle Ages" in Hamarspor, a festscrift which is a tribute dedicated to Lars Hamre,
1982.
5. Allodial Property of the Families from Lindheim and Vrålstad
A document dated 20 February 1560 -- DN XI 801 -- and one from 6 November 1557 -- DN XI 797 -- show that Tone Lindheim was the mother of Rolleiv Torsteinsson. His father was a Torstein. Actual direct proof for who this man was and where he lived does not exist. A document from Kleivjorden in Lyngdal from 1 June 1580 which is unpublished -- RA -- concerns a purchase of a horse while "Rolleff Lyjndem" was still living in Sandsvær, so he was obviously from there. Rolleiv is mentioned at Lindheim from 1520 -- DN XI 306 -- and thereafter. Forward to 1533 -- DN XI 670 -- he was the owner of, among other properties, allodial parts of the estates of Sandsvær, Søndre Hvam and Reine. At the probate at Nedre Sigmundstad in Sande in Vestfold on the 14th of April 1466 -- DN VII 466 -- Liv Torsteinsdaughter inherited all of Søum in Sandsvær together with the tenant farm Myrer and the mill waterfall in the Reine River and, in addition, a part of Åsnes in Sande. Liv was married to Rolv Erlingsson.
According to this, it is reasonable that Rolv Erlingsson was the father of Torstein Rolvsson who was married to Tone Lindheim. Their son, Rolleiv Torsteinsson who was married to Karin Olsdaughter from Skjærum in Lardal had two sons about whom we know, Anund who took over Lindheim and Olav who lived at Søndre Hvam in Sandsvær during the last half of the 1500s.
From early in the 1600s we have the following information about the circumstances of ownership at Hvam and Reine in Sandsvær: in 1624 "Rollff Hvamb" owned 12 lispund of property gained through marriage at Nordre Hvam in Sandsvær and "Rollffs Born", that is, his offspring, Olav and Eivind owned 12 lispund allodial property in Nordre Heian, estate number 52, in Ramnes, 6 lispund of allodial property at Søndre Hvam and 6 lispund mortgaged property in Nordre Hvam while a part of Vestre Åker in Sandsvær was gained through marriage. Mari Rolvsdaughter was the owner of allodial property in Vestre Åker.
In 1624 Per Hvam owned 9 lispund of allodial property at Søndre Hvam and 2 lispund of mortgaged property.
In 1624 Torgeir Reine was, with his brother and sister, owner of 10 ½ lispund of allodial property at Reine, and 8 lispund allodial property at Åsnes in Sande, 1 lispund mortgaged property in Åsnes and 5 ½ lispund mortgaged property at Reine.
In November of 1597, judgment was delivered in a legal case about the mill at the waterfall, Fyndarfossen on the Reine River in Sandsvær, and a Halvor Birke was awarded the right to it. He had inherited it from his father's family which was descended from Anund Torsteinsson who was awarded it in 1536 -- DN XXI 616. A document from 1416 was also mentioned in this case -- DN XXI 213. Anund Torsteinsson must have been a brother of Rolleiv Torsteinsson and a son of Torstein and Tone.
Early in the 1600s a Rolv married into the family at Hvam. In 1624 his offspring, Olav and Eivind, owned allodial property at Søndre Hvam while the father had property gained through marriage in Nordre Hvam. Per Hvam owned allodial property on the estate where he lived, Søndre Hvam. According to this, there must have been a relationship between the people on these two estates. We notice that Rolleiv Torsteinsson, in addition to the son Anund, had a son called Olav who managed Søndre Hvam in the last half of the 1500s. It must have been his daughter who married Rolv.
In 1624 Torgeir Reine owned, together with his brother and sister, allodial property at Reine and Åsnes in Sande. The property at Åsnes which belonged to the family in 1466 still belonged to it in the 1600s.
Literature:
Olav Såtvedt's Sandsvær's History, volume III, 1992, Komnes page 306, Søum page 364, Reine page 384.
Bygdebok for Sauherad, volume IV, 1988, pages 102-105.
6. Concluding Words About Hallvard Gråtopp
The boundary problem: in the bygdebøker from Telemark where the boundaries of the diocese are discussed, it is maintained that the western districts belonged to the Oslo Diocese. Aanund Olsnes calls them in the Kviteseid bygdesoge III, Culture Saga, 1987, "the Oslo portion of Telemark", page 137. It is the pastoral letter from Bishop Eystein which Olsnes and others take as their basis -- see below -- but the Bishop does not include these districts in the survey of the churches in the Oslo Diocese -- see RB. The Cadaster of the Diocese from 1574 to 1577 lists them under the Telemark Deanery on the Hamar Diocese -- pages 209-232 in the published edition from 1929 by Sigurd Kolsrud, see under Literature below. In a document of 31 October 1433 -- DN VI 472 -- to "all priests who live in the Tunsberg and Gjerpen Deaneries" Bishop Jens Jakobssen mentions those churches to which he will make visitations. In the Gjerpen Deanery there were Mo at Eidanger, Ski in Bamble, Solum, Holla, Bø, Sauar, Gimsøy and Gjerpen and from Slemdal or Siljan he went over to Lågendalen. We know of only two visitations by the Oslo Bishop to the districts of Fyresdal and Kviteseid, those of Eystein Aslaksson in 1386 and 1395. Sandaaker also counts the visitation of Eystein in 1401. Bishop Jens in 1426, renewed the document from Bishop Eystein when he was on a visitation to Eidanger but we hear nothing about his being in those western districts in Telemark on that trip -- RB 578 and DN IX 235. In 1441, -- DN I 564 -- Bishop Gottskalk of Holar on Iceland was in Tørdal which was then an annex to the Drangedal Parish in the Gjerpen Deanery. He made a visitation on behalf of Bishop Jens of Oslo -- see also DN IX 290.
"The boundary between the Oslo and Hamar Diocese separated Upper Telemark into two parts, so that Kviteseid, Nissedal, Tørdal, Fyresdal, Skafså and Mo belonged to Oslo while the remainder belonged to Hamar," says Olsnes. He adds, "The boundaries of the Diocese from 1152 had consequences for the parish divisions in Kviteseid since Brunkeberg Annex was removed from it and added to the Seljord Parish in the Hamar Diocese." Furthermore he says, "Admittedly we have this information from such a late source as Bishop Eystein's pastoral letter of 1395, but it should probably be recognized that the boundary was drawn in that way when the Hamar Diocese was established in 1152." -- page 102. In the pastoral letter, Eystein does not, however, say that these districts belonged to the Oslo Diocese and he does not include them in the book listing the properties of the churches which belonged to the Oslo Diocese in 1401 -- RB 570-572.
Olsnes does not mention this while Sandaaker says in 1986, "The visitation in 1401 apparently did not include Telemark, that is, the Tax Land, and when Tørdal was included, the basis for that must have been that this Annex was now under the Priest in Drangedal." He continues, "Those districts we are considering were together with Grenland, that is, the Tithing Territory part of the Oslo Diocese and the Gjerpen Deanery. The remainder of the Old Telemark was in the Hamar Diocese." He refers to DN III no. 751 page 540 dated 3 March 1439 and DN I no. 762 page 552 dated 13 October 1437. Nowhere in these documents, however, is it said that these districts belonged to the Oslo Diocese. The document of 3 March 1439 is addressed to "all priests in the Gjerpen Deanery both in the Tithing Territory and the Tax Land", the document for 23 March 1439 mentions "Telemark as far as the Oslo Diocese extends" and the document from 13 October 1437 tells that Hjarrand Toraldsson, Canon in Oslo and Dean of the Gjerpen Deanery, was together with Sira Audun at Moland in Fjalestad in Nissedal. The latter document does not say that Nissedal belonged to the Gjerpen Deanery and the Oslo Diocese. In 1423 Hjarrand Toraldsson was the Priest at Sauherad and in January of that year he was at Hjartdal in Telemark to gather evidence -- DN XI 127 -- but that does not mean that Hjartdal was included in the Gjerpen Deanery and the Oslo Diocese.
Olsnes wrote on page 108, "As mentioned, there is an enumeration of the church parishes in Telemark which were in the Oslo Diocese in 1395" and refers to DN IX 186 where the pastoral letter is printed. This gives the impression that there is a list in which it is specifically mentioned that these districts were in the Oslo Diocese. But Bishop Eystein says neither directly or indirectly that these were parishes which belonged to this Diocese. He does not mention the Oslo Diocese at all but refers three times to the rest of Telemark. The pastoral letter together with the confirmation from Bishop Jens was also published in RB -- pages 573-578.
The pastoral letter from 1395 was not originally included in RB, so Eystein did not mix it together with the Cadaster which in 1398 was drafted about the church property of the Gjerpen Deanery and the 1401 list of churches. RB 571 has the heading Telemark at the top of one page which is otherwise blank except for the Bø Church in Tørdal which is included. This has been interpreted as a reservation of a place for churches in the "Oslo part of Telemark". This might indeed be so but then a closer research may have revealed that there was no "Oslo part" besides Tørdal. The Cadaster is written in many places in such a way that there is much room for additions.
We do not have the original of the pastoral letter from Bishop Eystein nor the confirmation by Bishop Jens which was dated 22 February 1426. What we do have is a certified copy or transcription which is written on two sheets of parchment and bound as folio 21 a, 21b, 22a, and 22b in RB. The pastoral letter itself is in folio 21a-22a, while the confirmation of Bishop Jens is in folio 22b, and all is written by the same person. It was probably Bishop Jens who had it copied and bound together with the actual RB -- see RB, Introduction XIV. The document from Bishop Jens is dated in Tveit by the Eidanger Church and he says that he has seen and read the document from Eystein and renews its contents. Everything in the document was for the best for the Bishop and for the Church so he could not have had any basis for opposing it. According to the expression he used, the document was new to him. It had probably lain in the archives of the Dean of the Gjerpen Deanery and the Bishop had the opportunity to see it on his visitation there.
Olsnes attaches much importance to the pastoral letter from Bishop Eystein and mentions, among other things, that the Bishop gave indulgences* of 40 days to the Kviteseid Church, 20 days to the Bø Church in Tørdal and the Tveit Church in Nissedal and 10 days to the Roholt Church in Vrådal and the Treungen Church. It is not unusual that a Bishop gave indulgences to churches which were located in a different diocese than his own. Some examples demonstrate this: Bishop Gunnar of Hamar on the 19th of June in 1452 was at the Loken Priest's residence in Eidsberg -- DN I 598 -- and gave indulgences of 40 days to St. Olav's Church in Eidsberg in the Oslo diocese -- "de Edzbergh Asloensis diocesis" and just as many days for each of the other four churches in Eidsberg: Folkenborg, Tenol, Trømsborg and Hærland. Bishop Arne of Hamar in 1302 gave 40 days' indulgence to those who visited the Skiptvet Church in the Oslo Diocese on certain days. Archbishop Jorund at Nidaros did the same in 1308 -- DN I 87-88. On 7 June 1442, Bishops Gottskalk of Holar and Gunnar of Hamar -- DN XVI 143 -- together with other bishops gave 40 days' indulgence to those who on certain festival days visited the Skara Church in Sweden.
In 1980, Hansen includes a map of the administrative and economic dividing lines in Telemark which existed in the Middle Ages. The basis for the map is J.S. Munch's Fortresses and Districts, Studies in Telemark's Early Iron Age, the University's Collection of Antiquities Yearbook, 1962. Hansen says this, "We see that the ecclesiastical division in diocese goes across the dividing line of the Tax Land and the Tithing Territory -- drawn in with dotted lines on the map. Those districts in Upper Telemark which were located southwest of Bandak belonged to the Oslo Diocese. It is difficult to indicate any reason that this should be so."
The Oslo Bishopric owned -- RB 231 -- 8 laupsland in the most eastern part of Åse in the Mo Parish in Telemark and in addition 2 markebol in each of the three other Åse estates. There is nothing remarkable about the bishopric owning property in another Diocese but there was an addition written by another person in the Cadaster, "In addition, a part of the main* tithe as far as the Oslo Diocese extends and the tax of each property which is sowed." It may appear as if this is meant for the Mo Parish but is this addition placed in the correct spot? Could a heading be missing here? It is so unclear that it is necessary to look more closely at this addition.
Notice particularly the last section of the addition in RB 231, "and the tax of each property or estate which is sowed". This is very reminiscent of a euphemism for the word "korntiend", that is a grain tithe. One is tempted to believe that the scribe did not want to use that word directly when it referred to a place in the Tax Land where they should not have to give such a tithe but a tax instead. The scribe therefore uses the word tax and says, "tax from each property which is sowed". This may allude to the two districts in the Tax Land, Tørdal and Lisleherad, which were moved to the Tithing Territory and therefore should give a grain tithe and not a hide or fur tax as they had earlier. At any rate, there may have been an attempt to collect a tithe from these districts. We know that this was not realized. In the tithing lists in the National Archives, among others, Bratsberg County church accounts -- pk 24A, we can see that each church in the Gjerpen Deanery with the exception of the Tørdal and Lisleherad Churches received its part of the tithe. If it were as Olsnes asserts, that "the Oslo part of Telemark" originated as early as 1152, these districts should certainly have given a tithe as the others in the Oslo Diocese?
From RB it is clearly evident that the Oslo Diocese was enlarged into the area of the Tax Land at the latest in 1401 but only with Lisleherad and Tørdal which after the Black Death were annexed to Heddal and Drangedal in the Tithing Territory. It is therefore said, "as far as the Oslo Diocese extends". This or similar phrases were also used later, among other instances, by Dean Hjarrand Toraldsson on the 23rd of March in 1439 and Bishop Jens in the 3rd of March in 1439 says the same with the words, "Gjerpen Deanery, both in the Tithing Territory and the Tax Land." It must have been very important for him to mention this. The reason for this may be that in 1439 they knew that Hallvard Gråtopp had lodging in Tørdal which was known as a district in the Tax Land. In the addition in RB 231, it must have been important to include it in order to show that those two districts had become a part of the Oslo Diocese and the Tithing Territory and therefore should give a kind of tithe in the form of a tax on sowed land and not avoid the main tithe either.
Oluf Kolsrud says clearly and precisely in NK, page 189, the following about Telemark and those two Diocese, "Lower Telemark belonged to the Oslo Diocese, Upper Telemark to the Hamar Diocese, likewise Upper Numedal, Sigdal..." etc. He obviously knew about the theories which say that those western districts in Telemark belonged to the Oslo Diocese. The publisher of RB in 1879, H.J. Huitfeldt, thus says without reservation that these districts "belonged to the Oslo Diocese" -- RB Introduction XIV.
On the 27th of November in 1357, Erland Hallvardsson, Canon in Hamar, was at the Priest's residence in Brunkeberg on behalf of Bishop Håvard of Hamar and exonerated Orm Neridsson -- DN III 239. The Priest's residence is also mentioned in 1360 and in 1358 Priest Arne of Brunkeberg is mentioned. Later this parish was annexed to Seljord. Does Olsnes mean by the words "Brunkeberg was removed from Kviteseid and added to the Seljord Parish in the Hamar Diocese" that Brunkeberg originally belonged to the Olso Diocese?
Through his work with RB, Bishop Eystein shows that he was a Prelate with unusual ability and will and strength to accomplish that which he thought should and must be done. In an uncertain time, when estates, church parishes and priests' positions were discontinued, he was a man who attempted to put in order those chaotic conditions. It is not surprising that the turbulent situation in West Telemark challenged his energy so that he took responsibility for the task whether or not it was in consultation with the Bishop of Hamar. There is no proof that, after the life of Bishop Eystein, these districts received visitations from the Oslo Bishop or that they in some other manner had a connection with the Oslo Diocese.
Literature:
Lars Ivar Hansen's Markebol and the Deserted Estates, Settlement and Economic Circumstances in Fyresdal circa 1300-1600, University Publishing House, 1980. He calls the Oslo Bishop "The Archbishop", page 28.
Trygve Lysaker's Archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson's Background, The royal Norwegian Society of Scholarship's Society's Documents, 1961, number 3, Trondheim, 1961, on consignment at F. Bruns Bookstore.
Odd Sandaaker's article in the Journal of Telemark's History, 1986, pages 91-105, "Tredjung og storsokn. The Kviteseid Church in Ancient times".
Aanund Olsnes' Kviteseid Bygdebok, volume III, Culture History, 1987.
The Diocesan Cadaster, that is, the Norwegian Ecclesiastical Cadasters after the Reformation, volume I, Oslo and Hamar Diocese Cadaster, 1574-1577, Oslo, 1929, by Sigurd Kolsrud.
Norwegian Seals from the Middle Ages, published by Public Arrangement, Kristiania, 1902, pamphlets 3 and 4.
KLNM, volume XVIII, pages 280ff, "Tithe" by Lars Hamre.
A. Steinnes' "Tithing Lists in Bishop Oystein's Cadaster", in a festschrift tribute to Halvdan Koht, Oslo 1933, pages 144-153.
CNH 15, map 55, and RB and DN -- see above.