Ritið : tímarit Hugvísindastofnunar - 01.01.2016, Side 194

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rúmlega 5.000 ríkisdali og gjöldin tæplega 3.000 ríkisdali. Einnig er varðveitt heim-
ild úr rentukammeri undirrituð 1648 þar sem verið er að athuga mögulegar tekjur
konungs af Íslandi. Þar reiknast þeim til að tekjurnar gætu verið 6.884 ríkisdalir.
Í þessari tölu verður að ætla að reiknað sé með tekjum af vörum, fiski, vaðmáli og
sokkum sem sendar voru til birgðahúsa konungs auk tekna af konungsbúunum sem
lítil vitneskja virðist vera um í rentukammeri. Segir þessi athugun rentukammers
nokkuð um hversu lítið var vitað um Ísland í Danmörku á þessum tíma.
Efnisorð: Lénsreikningur, reikningslén, endurskoðun lénsreikninga, konunglegur
fógeti, 17. öld.
A B S T R A C T
The Fiefdom Account for the Fiscal Period 1647–1648.
The fiefdom of Iceland 1647–1648. Examination of income and expenses
of the Rentekammer Office’s audit of fiefdom accounts
and the settlement of accounts made by the royal magistrate
In the years 1541–1683 Iceland was one of the fiefdoms of the Danish King and
had the same obligations as other fiefdoms owned by the King. In 1683 the ad-
ministration was reorganized and Iceland became one region ruled by a governor
(stiftsamtmaður). After the Reformation the King’s income from Iceland increased
considerably since all church property was confiscated including landed properties
of the monasteries as well as those of the catholic bishops Ögmundur Pálsson and
Jón Arason and his sons. The fief-holder, being the highest ranking official of the
Danish King, was obligated to deliver to the Rentekammer Office an account of his
income from the fiefdom as well as expenses occurred. This was the same practice
for all the fiefdoms of the Danish King. Those accounts were then audited by the
Rentekammer Office. This article specifically examines the account of the fiefdom
of Iceland for the fiscal period of 1647–1648. During the years 1645–1648 Iceland
was a fiefdom by account (reikningslén), which means that the fief-holder received
a fixed salary from the King each year and had to return an account of income as
well as extraordinary income. At that time Jens Søffrensen was the highest ranking
official in Iceland. He resided in Copenhagen and had the rank of a magistrate or a
royal magistrate.
This article examines a fiefdom account (lénsreikningur) of a fiefdom by account
(reikningslén) as a source that has mainly been ignored by scholars. The emphasis
is on discussing and highlighting information found in the account rather than
interpreting it in a traditional way. The fiefdom accounts reveal, for example, the
administrative connection between Denmark and Iceland, as one of the fiefdoms
of the Danish King. They also display accounting practices of the time and show
the income the Danish King received from Iceland measured in commodities like
LÉNSREIKNINGUR REIKNINGSÁRIÐ 1647–1648