SAGA-BOOK - Viking Society Web Publications

Land Tenure in a Faroese Village 39
Tjemunes, with the reservation that cows raised from its
grass should not be entitled to summer pasture on the
hushagi, since they were already getting their share of
outfield. This condition was later extinguished in return
for the right granted to the northern owners to enclose
more of Stongin.t"
In 1892 the N61soy lighthouse was erected. An area of
outfield equal to one mark was enclosed as an allotment so
that the lighthouse keepers could each maintain a cow.
A special act of the Danish Parliament was passed to
expropriate the land 2 3 and the Sunnarahelvt owners
were handsomely compensated. The Nortiarahelvt owners
suggested a re-adjustment of the boundary, so that the
loss would fall equally on both outfields (and so that they
would have a share of the compensation money), but the
Sunnarahelvt owners would not agree. A lawsuit was
heard in Torshavn in 1904, and it was decided by the court
that as the Sunnarahelvt owners had enclosed land and
sold it, the Nortiarahelvt owners should compensate
themselves with the remainder of Stongin.
A certain portion of Stongin round the old sea-mark on
the highest part of the peninsula is drawn up into six
traoir, or allotments for landless men (map F). Each
of these plots is supposed to be capable of maintaining one
cow. They carry no outfield rights and are enclosed
from crown land in accordance with an allotment act of
1894, which aimed at providing fishermen with small
pieces of land to help to stabilise their domestic economy.
These were staked out in 1914, and in the same year the
Norfiarahelvt private owners brought the rest of Stongin
into some sort of cultivation in recognition of their right
to enclose a corresponding portion of common.
.. For the details of the disputes of 1816 and 183S-6 I have drawn on the
evidence of documents preserved on Nolsoy, Copies are doubtless also
preserved in the official archives in T6rshavn.
aa According to N6lsoy accounts. I have not seen the Act itself, but my
friend Hr R6land W. Hognesen has given me the references: Lovtidende for
Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1892, 392; Folketingstidende, cols, 430S, 492S,
S23S-8; Landsiingstidende, cols. 2017-18, 2068, 2087-8, Tillzeg A, cols. 181S-18,
Tillzeg C, cols, 1061-6, 1203-4.