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

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
    (09/25/2023)