from the Dafiifh,) ; ? 1^9 ôdels^ods, -©f freehold, cari ?bç> al^nàted
by.fale, of any otljer' way whatfOevéri from. jbimf that ‘can’ make'#
appear, that li£ has the heft : tide to it, by being’the right: hejc,
dr- ockls-maüd. '. Ifrhe has it not in ;hi§ power; to redeem it, then
he muft declare every, terith ÿear ât' the'ieffidns, that
money is thferoftly teafon; and j|P he &r*nounts that diffied%^ t>r j
if'he, or his heirs, - to the fecondj Or third généraïién - he able’ to
redeem it, then he that inhabits it'who isjonly a pofïèflbr pfo
temporej ^uft turn out: dhe^y,.'and ipve vp\the ppemifest®, the
odels-mand, f . For this rea/bn^ ! tljey keep a -ftridaidcauntaf
their pedigree, and formerly-about midfomfner, everyrfaMily tried,
to meet'together and -ffls^r^nilttvhs merryj and if any pf their
kindred had deceafed fifieethen- la ft meeting,; they réarked his-namé
in the t^l-ftoek 'provided for that purpbfe'. - When king Harald
■ Haarfâger, in .thé eleventh century, made himfèlf ifovèréign Idr-d iof
all Norway, and fuppreffed all the petty kings; hmpowerlex*
tended likewife to the Odels-bpnden, and. they werç obliged rtb
pay him atax, which'was without doubt, thfe origin bfstihe Ddsla-
jkat, or taf, which is ftill impofed upon them, thimgKikàigi Hagen
Adalfteen, afterwards promifed that it ihoadd he taken, off. : By
this we may conclude that they are miftjiken, who think thatt the
odels-right was hot inftittited tin. the tune of the orufadcs, and took
its, rife, froma certain Norwegian havmg pérmiffidn ori'Jrisxètum
from the. holy land, tô reclaim bis patrimony" whidhwas'mken
from him during.his abferice. According .to theidld Jaw, caked,
odds balken,. thirty years poflèfliôri was required ta.jeftablifh rtbje
Ddel’s-Trightj | arid,' thenriiK ri^t CQuldcnevfitjhei&ifc#cdr?to|tl®
crown unlefe by treafon or felony. Tb&'t^elMrigbt is aprèfgri-
able to that of the fele-eyers, or freeholders in'Denmark,; notrinly
becaufe it is better fecured to'their, femilies-.by;the';right,:of ier
demption; buthecaufethçyrpoftèfs it withiaUlthe privileges whidh
* The Teal fignifiçation, of the word Odel implies real property, according tofjoh.
Gramm, in his diflèrt^tion upon die- word HerretnancU ataiAddbpnde redeanaus,
is non alius quam locuples et copiofus colopijs. aut furjdi pc^fforikVjSchefFerus automat
ab Adel et' Odel .onundpm féflè, q.üpd^Ébpriëtafçm,pmhimod-aS fciliçët ah ,Gdh
proprîetas, et A ll fojtum omne denotariq:atqjje AdelBonde effe'eum ,qui hatjeçeî)'Qdçl»
hpc eft' proprium ét.ü inajbnbus ;per‘ JhiÉreditatemfaCguifltun» ppffidebat’yhtf^Wi'**
Vidé Acta Sociètatis, Reg. Hafn-. T. ii. p. 270.
' f What 'filere is elfe to he obferyed by putting it.up, „ or lengthpiiggithe time.fcjr
redeniptipn, is:tp be feen in: DoS:.. Ffid. ÇHrift. Sevél inâugùraE fiifiéftatio de prpro-
'ga'tioneTtefmini, reiprahendi bona- gentilitia in Nprvegu. Writtetf .in.tlig^ar
Î The law'now requires but twenty years. ■
I a
a noblemarihas in Demhark; for the. Norwegians Odelfgaard, or
freehold is only fubjed to th^erown. Whether this Odels-right
befto the advantage, or. difadylntage of the counfry, is a queftion queftK>0'
thatoannot be eafily refolved.-',„However, we may kty of this g|
of moil human %ftitutions, which are always imperfed, that it
may. produce“ both good and bad#gbnfequences; It has this good
efted, that it fixes the pealant’s affedions on his native place, with
ho.pes of kf^jipgjiis |1|$^. hi? f®ri^fc<fhd eorifequentlyj
improves with pleaiine thofe Dofleffibns which he looks
ypoUfto be fo ftrongly fecureu tdhim. It Hk^ifeTm4uces many
a^peafant’s fon, who fees the pofleffion that'jtoaft.^ie jcfey- d®v&lve
to him, to keep near at hand, with ho|ies q£ dijoymg fthd: ^rii-
pfoving it by his induftrytJ’ On the Contrary, - when it mnR be
ibid to a ftranger, it never fetches its^valrf^ beq^yle the buyyr
prifleffes it with a- great uncertainty, and dots liri^,,tb |fflpfcoye
the ground that gannot properly be call’d hjs own, aceordmg to
thp words of the, poet.
,“ Sic V6s non vobis nidificatis aVesi” »>“
. one vei^ great eril arifes thiSu
namely, many an ufridut^il and ^wicked fon, becaufe he is the
leldeft, and depends on his odels-right, which nothing cm affed,
Behaves extrerfiely ill, not o l^ ’to#j<iefeviag“
the death of'his father, but alfo to'.his ofwn parAifaj]^ - -Tliifa
jce^tainly be remedied, without infrhigmg “wh^i
ylftre are younger children of a better diiporitit^*-' and. mrire ;dri-
ferving of the inheritance. By this means,'great fma agafufr t j i
t e of nature might be prevented, i f the legMatu|efe%;i$iiik
fit to fet proper reftridions to the odefeiight. JJut this
beyond the bounds of my fubjed, which dbes not al@w me to
introduce any thing foreign to a Natural Hiftoiy. I fhall therefore
Willingly leave this point to be difeuffed by others, who are
more converfent and experienced in thofe affeirs.
T H E É N D,