Which date is it?

Question

On the LEFT page of the DigitalArkivet, 3rd paragraph:

I'm interested in the death of Kirsten Ramstad, age 79.  I can't quite tell what the date of her death/funeral is.  It looks like it says New Years after 31 Dec (X'ber)...two different dates.  Could someone read the first two lines of that entry for me?

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20050502030025

Answer 1

"Nyttaarsaften 31 Xbris blv holdet liig prædichen udj Wictens kirche over Kirsten Ramstad Anno ætat: 79"

New Year's Eve 31 December was held funeral sermon in Vikna church over Kirsten Ramstad, 79 years old.

The next paragraph is for New Year's Day 1719, so the funeral was obviously held at the end of 1718. Denmark-Norway changed to Gregorian calendar in 1700, so there's no issue about date conversion.

Comments

Thanks for the star, Maria!

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Thanks everybody.....I got hung up on the aften part and thought it meant "after"  - and it just didn't make sense.  Thanks again for all your usual help and eagle eye.  One day I'm going to sign up for a course in Norwegian....;-)

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You're welcome - "aften" simply means evening in Norwegian. But it's also used similar to "Eve" in English for the day before a holiday.

Answer 2

Hi Robyn!

I interpret it as it says "Nytt aars aften" i.e. New Years Eve, which is 31st of December, so then more consistent :) (but I can't really read the rest of the two lines, very difficult!)

Kind regards,

Maria