Tales from the district office

Hjortlund parish belonged to Gørding district. When there were local disputes, you met up at the magistrate at the district office. The respect shown to authority was not always equal, which these stories testify.

Parish bailiff and district bailiff

Previously, the highest local police authority was the parish bailiff. He was under the district bailiff, who was a royally appointed official. If the parish bailiff could not or did not have the authority to resolve local conflicts, he brought them to the district bailiff.

The parishes around the river Kongeå came under the jurisdiction of the district bailiff in the Gørding-Malt districts. In the years 1737-1800, Skads district also was under the same district bailiff. Until 1811, the district bailiff’s office and courthouse were at the manor Endrupholm north of Bramming. From 1811-1814, they were located in Byegen in Jernvedlund, and later at Hulvad in Malt district. In 1838 the courthouse moved to Vejrup Inn, where it was housed until 1845 when they built a new courthouse in Holsted.

Peepers to see with

Once, a postman named Bossen, signed for an amount with another man's name. One Sunday, Bosse was in church and heard the candidate Knudsen speaking. The topic was that if a person trusted himself, others could also trust him. The words made an impression on him, and when Bosse came home, he turned himself in.

He was fired immediately, and the man whose name he had falsely signed with, was summoned to appear at the district office for the trial. Jørgen Frandsen Simonsen, as the man was called, stated that the report was correct, and he was given a piece of paper on which he had to write his name.

When this was done, he pushed the paper over to the district bailiff, as he said:”He can quite clearly see here that it is not I who has signed it, if he can be bothered to open up his peepers”.

”Peepers and peepers,” repeated the district bailiff,” what is that?"

”It's probably them, you use to see with, methinks,” said Simonsen, after which he left the office.

Who is waiting for who

One day Hjortlund's parish bailiff Peder Bertelsen was summoned to appear at the district office at a certain time. He came a little too late, and when he came into the office, the district bailiff said:”Who should wait, you or I?”

To that replied Peder Bertelsen:”I had always heard that the person, who comes first, has to wait.”

From the days when you could smoke inside

Another occurrence involves the same district bailiff. This time it was a publican in Ribe, who was summoned to a meeting. The publican was an avid tobacco smoker, who liked to be in good time. Therefore, the waiting room was thick with smoke when the district bailiff opened the door, and he exclaimed:”What on earth is that kind of tobacco he is smoking?”

The publican replied:”Can sir’s fine nose not stand to smell its own products?" It was namely cherry leaves.

The new head clerk

The district office had got a new head clerk, who thought he was irreplaceable. At an interrogation, which was not really about anything serious, he asked a man from Hjortlund what his name was.

The man replied:”It is Jørgen Poulsen, but others call me Jørgen Snedker.”

The clerk was a bit annoyed by the response and then said:”What should we write then, Jørgen Poulsen or Jorgen Snedker or what?"

Jørgen Poulsen replied:”You can also write Jørgen Pot if you like, as long as you don’t put me on the fire.”

Author: Truels Truelsen, Hjortlund Parish archives,

Sources and literature:

Hjortlund Parish archives, see www.hjortlundsogneariv.dk              

Hans Knudsen: Strid om Valg af Tingsteder for Gørding-Malt og Tyrsting-Vrads Herreder, i: Historie/Jyske Samlinger, bind 4, række 4, 1924