servants in medieval swedish testaments 326 In 1298 Elisabeth, a servant (Latin famula) of the noblewoman Juliana Hagbardsdotter, is remembered in Juliana’s testament: Elisabeth and her daughter Kristina receive a town house in Sigtuna.1 By 1300 Juliana has died.2 Three years later, in 1303, Elisabeth writes her own will; see Figure 1.3 At this time she is still a servant, but in another noblewoman’s household. In her testament, Elisabeth grants the same town house to the monastery in Sigtuna. Her testament is witnessed by, among others, her new mistress Ramborg Israelsdotter and two other female servants. Thus, Elisabeth both receives a valuable gift of landed property and writes her own will. These circumstances indicate that she and her daughter were greatly loved and cherished. In her will, Elisabeth presents herself as “the daughter of Johannes in Nibble”, but we know nothing else of her family background. Although she had a daughter, no husband is mentioned, nor is Elisabeth referred to as a widow. Furthermore, the two documents together show that Elisabeth had changed employer and, since she was allowed (by her new mistress) to write a will, the relationship between Elisabeth and Ramborg also must have been good. The fact that other female servants were trusted as witnesses clearly shows that not only Elisabeth was treated with great regard. This attitude is in contrast to the image presented in Swedish medieval laws and regulations, where servants and hired labour, often badly treated, lived in subservient positions at the bottom of society, unable to advance into any better situation during their lifetime.4 Sweden was never a feudal society, but the possession of slaves was a common practice in the Viking Age and earlier.5 Freed slaves and servants are mentioned already on runestones.6 The obligations of a servant are in general less 1 SDHK 1787. 2 SDHK 1905. 3 SDHK 2040. 4 Andersson 2023. 5 Brink 2021, Chapter 3, and p. 277; see also Rio 2021 on various definitions of unfreedom. 6 The Swedish runestones U168andU696 were both raised for a løysar, meaning (recently) liberated man (Brink 2021, p. 213); in an inscription on a Danish runestone (DR58) the Introduction
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