I am wondering what is meant by "not free" woman.
I am supposedly a descendant of Jon Trondson Benkestock and Birgitte Nilsdotter who lived in the the 1500's in Meløy, Norway. He was nobility but lost his status when he married Birgitte who was an "unfree woman" according to information on wikipedia when I googled him. Would that indicate she was indentured, a slave or already married? I don't know enough about the history of that area at that time. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Answers
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You are referring to a translation (maybe Google or something similar) of part of a Norwegian book written by Wilhelmine Brandt about the Benkestok family back in 1904. I think from what I could find that she wrote that Birgitte Nilsdatter was a "commoner" with a poor reputation so Jon's children with her were not considered nobility.
Where Wilhelmine would have found sources in the beginning of the 1900's for all her descendants of this family back in the 1500's is pretty suspicious to my mind. I can't dispute any of her facts but neither can anyone support them so I would take this connection to Norwegian nobility with a large grain of salt 😃
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That is why I said "supposedly", I agree without documentation there is no way to check her resources. Good to know who wrote this, I will look into it further. I don't care if I am nobility but it would be really nice to know who my ancestors were back that far, it really makes history so personal. Thank you for your answer, I appreciate it.
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She was not of Nobility and that is why the children lost their noble status. When Christianity came to Norway around year 1000 it put an end to kepping slaves.
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