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Appendix B: Agriculture and Forestry
- valder (OSw) , völlr (ON) n.
- Pasture, field, a particular place. In compounds i.e. hviorþvalder (OSw, pasture), svina valder (OSw grazing for pigs) vighvalder (OSw a place of crime).
- Refs: Brink 2004; CV s.v. völlr; ONP s.v. völlr; Schlyter's.v. valder.
Common resources and public property
Common resources were resources 'outside the enclosure', i.e. pastures (see above), fishing waters, woodland, forests or wells. Originally, these were for the common use of all men, but eventually these rights were often restricted to various extents in the different provinces.
- skogher (OSw) , skogh (ODan) , skógr (ON) n.
- Translated as woods, woodland or forest depending on where they were. In Denmark and the very south of Sweden it would mainly be leaf trees such as birch, oak and hazel, while further north birch and conifers and in Iceland birch or willows or a single conifer. The woods and forest were important assets yielding food for the animals, firewood, timber for building houses and joinery, iron and tar, hunting and fishing, birch-bark and bark for bast, and they were protected against misuse. Especially SdmL, UL, VgL VmL and ÖgL are very detailed on the rights and use of these assets for example the use of the acorn forests for pigs or the oak as the most valuable species. Most important was also that the forest and woodlands offered next to unlimited land for expansion of cultivated land through slash and burn methods. According to the laws, the forest would also provide shelter for criminals and robbers, for vagrants and outlaws.In compounds: almænningsskogh (ODan) common wood, byarskogher (OSw) village woodland, gisningaskogher (OSw) acorn woodland, hæghnaskogher (OSw) enclosed wood(land), kirkjeskogh (ODan) church's wood, varskogher (OSw) private woodland.Woodland and forests were land 'outside the enclosure', i.e. common resources, almænninger, and the use of most assets was regulated in the laws. See almænninger below.
- Refs: CV s.v. skógr; Fritzner's.v. skógr; Eliasson and Hamilton 1999 47–54; Hoff 1997, 262–87; Kardell 2003, 54–105; KLNM s.v. skog; ONP s.v. skógr.
- almænninger (OSw) , almænning (ODan) , almenningr (ON) n.
- Literally 'all men'. The village land included the cultivated land and the land used for hay harvest and (partly) grazing, i.e. 'land within enclosure'. The land 'outside the enclosure', the almænninger was regarded as a common resource and the rights to reclaim land for cultivating on the almænninger, thus intruding on the common resource, is regulated in all Swedish laws.It is only in ÖgL (Jb 1) that the king and his rights are mentioned. ÖgL regulates the procedure to be undertaken if the king wishes to sell an almænninger. Contemporary material shows that the king most probably had rights to a third of the common land in Västergötland, Östergötland and Småland (Rosén 1949, 36 f.).It is important to distinguish between ownership and the right of usufruct. According to the Danish laws the king owned the almænning but the farmers had the right to use assets from the woods, with or without royal permission.The village common, byalmænninger, was owned jointly by the villagers both according to Danish and Swedish law. There are many compounds with almænninger indicating its importance: almænningsiorþ OSw ('-property'), almænningsskogh OSw ('-forest'), almænningsvatn OSw ('-water'), hæræþs almænninger OSw ('common land of the härad'), landsalmænninger OSw ('common land of the province').There were also a number of man-made assets regarded as public property: almænningsbro OSw ('-bridge'), almænningsbrun OSw ('-well'), almenningsfar OIce ('public ferry'), almænningstorgh OSw ('-square', '-market'), almænningsvægher OSw ('-road').
- Refs: Helle 2001, 111–14; Hertzberg 1895, s.v. almenningr; Hoff 1997, 255–62; Holmbäck 1920; KLNM, s.v.v. alminding, beite, bergsregale, envangsbrug, hvalfangst, häradsallmänning, jordejendom, landnåm II, regale; Rosén 1949, 36 f.; Porsmose 1988, 298–301; Schlyter's.v. almænninger.
- skoghaskipti (OSw) , skógarskifti (OIce) n.
- Woodland and forests might be divided between the farmers for different purposes. In UL and VmL skogha skipan is a division of acorn forests with respect to the number of pigs each farmer is allowed.
