Uppsala öd
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uppsala öd, Old Norse: Uppsala auðr or Uppsala øðr (Uppsala domains or wealth of Uppsala) referred to the network of numerous royal estates that were the property of the Swedish crown. They were concentrated in the Swedish heartland around lake Mälaren, and they financed the king and his court.
Its origins are prehistoric and unknown. According to a tradition documented by the 13th century historian Snorri Sturluson it was founded over 2 000 years ago by the god Freyr when he settled at Uppsala (Gamla Uppsala) and founded the Temple at Uppsala.
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Freyr reisti at Uppsölum hof mikit, ok setti þar höfuðstað sinn; lagði þar til allar skyldir sínar, lönd ok lausa aura; þá hófst Uppsala auðr, ok hefir haldist æ síðan.[1] |
Frey built a great temple at Upsal, made it his chief seat, and gave it all his taxes, his land, and goods. Then began the Upsal domains, which have remained ever since.[2] |
The core of Uppsala öd were Husbys, farms that had the capacity to lodge the king and his retinue, and there was one in each hundred. The Husbys were also where the farmers delivered the taxes that they had to provide for the housing of the king's men.
However, during the 13th century, the system became obsolete because of the increasing use of money. The support of the king and his court was increasingly financed with monetary taxes, and the kings began to give parts away to the church and to nobility, in spite of the fact that it was stated in the medieval Swedish laws that the property belonged to the office of the king and that it could not be divided.
[edit] A selection of estates belonging to Uppsala öd
- Old Uppsala
- Husby at Vendel
- Old Sigtuna
- Husaby
- Ränninge on Fogdö
- Hovgården on Adelsö
