ættærgæld (OSw) attærgæld (OSw) ættar gæld (OSw) noun

The derivation of this word is obscure, made even more so by the fact that there is no consensus in the manuscripts over the spelling. It can hardly be related to æt, ‘family’ but might be derived from ater, ‘return’ or even atta, ‘eight’. It appears to refer to the tribute paid by the crew of each levy ship according to two of the levy laws of Svealand, UL and VmL. There are records of its payment throughout the fourteenth century and through to the beginning of the seventeenth. The amount for each hundari (q.v.) was set in UL at 30 marker, ten per ship’s crew, but the amount is not specified in VmL. In the Roden (the historical region along the coast of Uppland), the tax was 10 marker per skiplagh (q.v.). It is considered to be one of the oldest fixed taxes, but its history is obscure and attempts to state how much it was per person have been unsuccessful. Although recorded in the laws in the context of the levy, it was probably more likely to have been an unrelated general communal tax, linked to the same divisions as the levy.

This word is not to be confused with ættarbot (q.v.), which is the compensation payable to the family of the victim of a killing by the family of the killer.

KLNM s.v. ättargäld; Lindkvist 1993, 21−23; Schlyter 1877, s.v. ættærgæld; SL UL, 60 note 45, 61 note 52; SL VmL, 42 note 27