husaby (OSw) noun

Presumably a royal estate (king’s farm) providing living for a royal administrator. A husaby is mentioned only in HL, which is not what would be expected since the king’s estates were called konungsgarþer (q.v.) in the north of Sweden and husaby in the south. The function of a husaby as an administrative unit has been much debated, the historical material is very limited and no definite answers to its function have yet been published.

Husaby appears as a place-name in Sweden, Denmark and Norway although most of them are situated in central Sweden and around Viken in Norway. Stefan Brink claims that in Uppland they constitute bona regalia, and were part of the royal administration, but calls for more research into their function in the rest of Scandinavia.

A husabyman (q.v.) is mentioned only in DL, where he is a representative of the king with certain judicial rights on the local administration level beside the lænsmaþer (q.v.), or under him.

king’s farm OSw HL Rb Refs:

Brink 2000b, 65−73; KLNM s.v. husaby; Pettersson 2000, 49−65; Schlyter s.v.v. husaby, husabyman