Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1975, Page 42

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How old is the Faroese grannastevna?
recently-published Law of Christian V. Whether meetings were
in fact held on Sandoy or elsewhere in the Faroe Islands on
St. Halvard’s Day, for the inspection of infield walling is
uncertain; I know of no evidence that they were. But even so,
a Faroese grannastevna in the later sense of the term includes
a good deal more than walling inspection.
There are four references to be found in the earliest pre-
served Faroese Panteprotokol, that of 1706—22. Here we have
references to grannastevnur held in Sumba on 14 February
1708 and 22 January 1709, and in Vágur on 25 January 1709.
The business mentioned, however, has nothing to do with joint
village resources, and the meetings seem to have been no more
than groups of neighbours assembled to witness the signing of
land conveyance documents, in advance of their publication at
the Oravík várting. The word may here be due to the sorin-
skrivari writing the records, Frederich Severinsen Skougaard,
who must often have attended grannastevnur in Danish villages
in his capacity as ridefoged on Gabel’s estates, before he came
to Faroe.6
Professor Arne Norrevang has informed me that a reference
to another Suðuroy grannastevna occurs in the Forligelseskom-
missions-Protokol for Suderó for 1803, at which a quarrel with
a bearing on joint village resources was discussed in the pre-
sence of the sýslumaður and at least one kalsmaður. While I
have not had the opportunitv yet of personally examining this
record, it seems that this grannastevna may also have been a
meeting called specially to transact specific business, and not
one of a ^eries of regular annual meetings.7
A further occurrence of the word grannastevna occurs in a
letter dated 31 January 1836 from landfúti C. Ployen to the
Eysturoy sýslumaður, S. J. Weihe, in connection with the settle-
ment of Funningsbotnur. The man wishing to build his home
there, Niclas Magnussen, had complained to Ployen that he
was uncertain whether the joint landowners were prepared to
give him permission, or not. Ployen wrote to Weihe, ». . . .maa
jeg tjensligst anmode Dem om, paa Grannestævne, at indhente