Military levying: Rolls by Local and National Authorities

I have been asked a general question about the difference between Danish military levying rolls kept by local and national authorities. I will answer that question today with an example of the difference in the information recorded by the two authorities.

In the main roll for 1822 for lægd 63 under Viborg County, we can see Christen, son of Anders Christensen. In the roll kept by the national authorities, it was recorded that he was a farmer (”Gaardmand”), as shown above.¹ That piece of information is also given in the roll kept by the local authorities, but furthermore that roll tells us the exact date his deed was publicized in court, as shown below.² This makes it easier to find information about his real property. The rolls kept by the local authorities are often more detailed than those kept by the national authorities.

From 1788 a kind of clerk called a lægdsmand was appointed for each lægd and he wrote the roll for his lægd. Another clerk called the lægdsforstander (typically the hundred bailiff) copied information about værnepligtige from his entire area into his rolls. Finally, the rolls from the lægdsforstandere were copied into roll kept at the national level by the Chancery until 1848 and thereafter by the Ministry of Justice. The rolls kept at the national level are those most often used, possibly because far from all rolls from the local authorities have been kept. Anyhow, as the example above shows, it is worth looking for the local rolls.

Source references:

1. Viborg Amt, Lægdsruller, year H/1822, Hovedrulle for lægd 1-76, lægd 63, old no. 196, new no. 169; digital images, Sall Data (http://ao.salldata.dk/vis1.php?bsid=18371&side=314 : accessed 15 December 2018).
2. Lysgård-Hids Herredsfoged, Viborg Amt, Lægdsruller, 1822-1824, lægd 63, old no. 196, new no. 169; digital images, Sall Data (http://ao.salldata.dk/vis1.php?bsid=306411&side=109 : accessed 15 December 2018); path: "Type: Militær arkiver."
3. The image at the top of the post shows Christopher Krabbe, who was the hundred bailiff for Lysgård-Hids Herreder 1886-1909. The photo was taken by Peter Elfelt, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8558152