Norway Census: Difference between revisions

This the first census-like registration in Norway. It was made about 1430 by Aslak Bolt (1377-1450), Archbishop of Nidaros. The registration was made for economic reasons, as the Catholic church, which was the official religion of Norway at the time, was in serious debt. The Black Death had ravaged the country, and many farms were left desolate. Close to 2/3 of the Norwegian population had perished.  

Properties were registered so taxes could be assessed. The registration includes the value of each property, amount of taxes paid (or not), and the name(s) of the owners. There published version also includes an index by given-name and place-name. This index includes names of estates (farms) that were under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Nidaros. As the registration only applied to the archdioces of Nidaros it only include properties in Møre og Romsdal, Sør-Trøndelag, Nord-Trøndelag, and Nordland counties.  

A printed version was produced in 1997 by the National Archives of Norway from the original manuscript in the Münchensamlingen (München Collection) in Riksarkivet in Oslo. The manuscript is in such poor condition that it is not available to the general public. In the print version the handwritten manuscript is shown on the left page, and a modern Norwegian language translation is given on the right page.