fylghia (OSw) fylgi (OGu) noun

This was one of a number of words used to designate the marriage portion given by the parents to their son or daughter on marriage. It occurs only in this unqualified form in VmL and in later manuscripts of this and UL is replaced by fylghþ. A more frequent alternative was hemfylghþ (q.v.). The word could also refer specifically to the amount given to a bride by her marriage agent (giftomaþer), but otherwise applied equally to both sexes. The portion could consist of both land and movables and was at the time of the provincial laws treated as an advance on inheritance (Kock 1926) so that when the time came for the father’s estate to be divided, any such portion was deducted from what was due to the heir(ess) according to the normal allocation.

KLNM, s.v. medgift; Kock 1926; Peel 2015, 137 note 20/54−56, 164−65 notes 28/37−38, 28/38, 190 note 65/9−11; Schlyter 1877, s.v.v. fylghþ, hemfylghþ; SL UL, 83 notes 30, 31, 279 note 12