gagngjald (ON) noun

The gagngjald or tilgjöf (‘bridal gift’, ‘husband’s gift’) was given by the bridegroom to the bride as a ‘donatio propter nuptias’ (lit. ‘gift because of marriage’). The size of the gagngjald was to be in a fixed relation to the size of the heimanfylgja (see hemfylghþ).


bridal gift OIce Kge 13
OIce Js Ert 19
ONorw GuL Kvb, Arb
ONorw MLL Ert 13

husband’s gift ONorw GuL Kvb, Arb Refs:

Helle 2001, 139; Hertzberg s.v. gagngjald; KLNM s.v.v. enke, festermål, medgift, ægteskab; Robberstad 1981, 348, 361

Citation
  • ‘gagngjald’. A Lexicon of Medieval Nordic Law.

  • http://www.dhi.ac.uk/lmnl/nordicheadword/displayPage/1641
    (07/27/2024)