CHAPTER 5
1 Duke Skule when he rallied the forces: In 1238 the Norwegian Duke Skule Baardssøn challenged King Haakon Haakonssøn’s right to the throne by having himself proclaimed king at the Øre ting. He and his army of followers waged war in several parts of Norway, but after losing a battle in Oslo, he fled to Nidaros. Skule was eventually slain at Elgeseter Cloister. His death brought to an end the century-long strife over succession to the throne.
2 offering the land to the heirs: In accordance with the laws of the time, ancestral land had to be offered for sale to the descendants of the original owners before it could be sold to anyone else.
3 his father had acknowledged him as his own: Not until 1270 did celibacy for priests become part of Norwegian Church law. Even then, it was not strictly enforced, particularly in the countryside.
4 the murder of the dukes: In 1318 the Swedish dukes Eirik and Valdemar were murdered by their older brother, King Birger Magnussön, after a long-standing power struggle.
5 a letter of reprieve: Permission, granted by the king, for a man to remain in Norway even though he either had been sentenced to banishment or had committed acts punishable by banishment.
CHAPTER 6
1 merchants of Bjørgvin: Medieval name for Bergen, which was the royal and ecclesiastical center of West Norway. In the twelfth century it became the first port in Scandinavia to have international commercial importance, and it was the main market for the export of dried cod, or stockfish. By the fourteenth century Bjørgvin was the largest Norwegian town.
2 woodpile dance: Dance often performed around a large woodpile on the day after a wedding. First the bride and groom and then other couples, by turn, would share a piece of bread and drink from the same cup and then dance around the woodpile.
3 Abishag the Shunammite: A beautiful young woman who came under David’s care when he was an old man. Adonijah sought in vain to make her his wife.
PART II CHAPTER 1
1 the Gandvik coast: The Gandvik Sea was the medieval name for the White Sea, near present-day Arkhangel’sk, Russia.
2 mare: A supernatural female creature which, according to folk belief, torments people in their sleep by perching heavily on their chests.
CHAPTER 2
1 prime: The second of the seven canonical hours, usually about 6 A.M. According to Church law, specific prayers were to be recited at seven prescribed times of the day.
2 chapter: An assembly of the canons of a cathedral. Canon was an ecclesiastical title for a member of a group of priests who served in a cathedral and who were usually expected to live a communal life.
CHAPTER 3
1 Venite: revertamur . . . : Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. . . . Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. Hosea 6:1 and 3.
2 Salvator mundi . . . : Savior of the world, save us all.
3 turnover day: The day on which tenants and servants were allowed to give up their positions and move to new ones. The exact day varied by area, but was often Summer Day (April 14) and Winter Day (October 14) of each year.
CHAPTER 7
1 with either five or eleven others: Two types of oath could exonerate a person from a charge brought against him. One required five people to swear to the person’s veracity; the other required eleven people. In the case of an accused woman all the others had to be women.
2 King David and Bathsheba: Old Testament story about the beautiful Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite. She was seduced by King David and conceived a child who later died. After the death of Uriah, Bathsheba married David and gave birth to Solomon.
PART III CHAPTER 1
1 the farmer in the mound: A commonly held pagan belief that the spirit of the original owner of an estate continued to offer protection from the grave.
2 Quid mihi . . . : Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. John 2:4.
CHAPTER 2
1 Winter Day: October 14, considered the beginning of the winter half year.
2 an unredeemable offense: A crime that could not be absolved through the payment of fines; a crime punishable by unconditional banishment.
CHAPTER 4
1 Jesus Kristus Soter . . . : Jesus Christ the Savior. The lion of the tribe of Judah is victorious.
CHAPTER 5
1 corrody: A pension or allowance granted by a cloister in exchange for donated land or property; it permitted the holder to retire into the cloister as a boarder.
2 nona hora: The fifth of the seven canonical hours set aside for prayer, usually the ninth hour after sunrise.
LIST OF HOLY DAYS
Sigrid Undset, Kristin Lavransdatter
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