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to as archbishop as early as february 1206.15 this circumstantial evidence
allows for a dating of the first and third letters to 1204–1206.
the property handed over in the first letter, or rather, the gift that is
being confirmed, appears to be a church farm called Hofstaðrinn (“hof
ſtaðen”, l. 5). the original giver is “ſigurðꝛ konongr moðꝛfaðꝛ mín” (l. 5),
i.e. Sigurðr II Haraldsson (d. 1155). although the name of the receiver is
missing, it seems to be an ecclesiastical institution dedicated to the Virgin
Mary, Mother of God, “guds modoꝛ” (l. 6).16 the receiver of the gift seems
to be a church other than Hofstaðrinn (which appears to be the gift) or a
monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Eight attested norwegian diplomas from 1188 to 1229 most likely refer
to the same place, Hof(staðrinn). these letters belonged to the Cistercian
monastery of Hǫfuðey (modern norwegian Hovedøya) just outside of
oslo, which was dedicated to the anglo Saxon king St. Edmund the
Martyr and to the Virgin Mary. the letters define the property rights
to Hof on Húðrimar (norwegian: Hov på/i Hurum/Hurumhalvøya),
i.e. the church farm Hof on the peninsula between the modern capital
oslo and the city of Drammen. Some are gift letters, others confirma-
tions of gifts, and three defined the rights of salmon fishing in Húðrimar
Straumr (named after the current in the narrow strait between Svelvik and
Hurum).17
our knowledge of these eight letters and their contents derives entirely
from the Akershusregister of 1622, the originals having likely been destroyed
15 Diplomatarium Norvegicum. 22 vols. (Kristiania/oslo: Malling/Kommisjonen for Diplo-
ma tar ium norvegicum, 1847–1992), VII, 6–10.
16 this form is possibly an indirect object in dative, e.g. “gaf/helgaðr guds modoꝛ”, or, though
less likely considering the archaic language of the letter, a genitive governed by a preposi-
tion, e.g. “til guds modoꝛ”.
17 these charters are described in Regesta Norvegica (RN) (nr. 204, 324, 352, 369, 370, 390,
588, 589). a digitized and searchable version has been made available by the national
archives of norway, “regesta norvegica”, online version by Digitalarkivet, accessed april
25, 2016, www.dokpro.uio.no/dipl_norv/regesta_felt.html. the monastery in question
was a large proprietor of land in the Middle ages. It was founded in the middle of the
twelfth century, and abolished in 1532, when it was burnt down and its treasures and archive
moved to Akershus in Oslo by the Danish Governor, Mogens Gyldenstjerne. See Bernt
Christian Bowitz, “Hovedøya Maria kloster – langt fra menneskers ferdsel? En analyse av
klosterets økonomiske forhold” (Ma thesis, Institutt for arkeologi, konservering og histo-
rie, university of oslo, 2009), last modified January 18, 2005, www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/
handle/10852/23783/Bowitzx.pdf?sequence=1.
A RECENTLY-DISCOVERED FRAGMENT