Credit, marriage, and the household in early fourteenth-century Norway

Research on credit in pre-modern Europe has revealed that people were indebted for large parts of their lives, and this was merely a consequence of the economic systems of the past. In the context of Norway, however, credit has not received much scholarly attention. What is more, historians have only recently started to reveal the extent of women’s economic contributions to the household and marriage partnership. This article seeks to increase our knowledge in both areas through an in-depth analysis of the use of credit in the marital economy. Guðríðr Auðfinnsdóttir’s three marriages comprise the main case studies. Belonging to the regional elite in Western Norway, her case serves as an example of how married couples arranged their marital property and how married women could contribute to their household’s credit activities in the early fourteenth century. Through an analysis of formalised agreements such as lending contracts, repayment notes and different forms of legal settlements from the period 1300–1350, I demonstrate that credit was deeply embedded in the medieval household economy. Credit was a practical solution to which people could turn in order to accommodate the needs and wishes of those involved at different stages in the negotiation of the marital property. Furthermore, the analysis shows that women contributed to the household economy both by competently managing their finances and by providing additional security through their own resources. The analysis also sheds light on a key aspect of the economic system of the time, namely how information about the household economy, including its debts, was held by the married couple, their families, and the local community. Lastly, the article emphasises the social and economic interconnectedness of medieval households, demonstrating how credit linked households and individuals.