In this letter, as Lorna Mandt Robertson explains it, Rolf Hoiberg, a fine Norwegian researcher, traces how a descendant of Dyre Vaa married into the Mandt family.
Hi Bob, Eva and Lorna.
A while ago I found the probate-record from Rauland which gave us the parents of Torbjoerg Bjoergulfsdtr, I said then her great grandfather was the brother of Dyre Vaa – I was wrong (mixed up two cousins with the same name) – Her great grandfather was Dyre Vaa himself whom once rowed the Troll over the lake and another time hit a troll with a gunshot. We are inside the fairytales now, but the old people believed in these stories.
The ancestors I have found so far, based on the probation-record and the “bygdebok” for Rauland.
1: Torbjoerg Bjoergulfsdtr b.at Vaa-Setberg, Rauland
parents
2: Bjoergulf Aamundson b. at Vaa-Setberg, Rauland d. 1691
3: Gunhild Aslaksdtr b. at Sudigard Kosstveit d. 1718
grand parents
4: Aamund Dyreson b. at Vaa-Setberg, Rauland d. bef. 1676
5: Ingerid Torgeirsdtr b. at Rauland/Oedevoxlid?
6: Aslak Talleivson b.abt. 1625 Kosstveit d. 1676
7: Gro Ivarsdtr
g.g
8: Dyre Vaa b.abt. 1585 d. 1681
9: Gunhild Olavsdtr 2nd marriage for both
10: Torgeir Rauland
11: ?
12: Talleiv Kosstveit d. abt. 1660
13: ?
g.g.g.
16: Bjoergulf Vaa d. 1643
No.8, Dyre Vaa was a great skier and warrior. He was in Denmark for 10 years, the 30 years war in Europe. He was first married to a girl from Haatveit in Mo.
He also made the triple rope hook when he returned. Same story as told about Vetle the Evil. This story is also told about a third person so it’s hard to know what is true and lies, but there are several very good stories told only about Dyre and these stories are a part of our Norwegian culture and beliefs. When I went to primary school, we read these stories in our reading-books. Here is one and you must make your own faith to this.
Dyre was not afraid of anything. He was a hell of a hunter and loved to stay in the mountains. One late autumn he filled his provision bag and made his match-lock gun ready for hunting reindeer. This gun he brought back from his army-service in Denmark. He walked over to the Trappers cottage, left his bag, climbed up the “Veidemannsbui” waterfall to a peak called “Stolen”, further up “Kollnutslaekja” over “Tangefjoell” to east “Slaekjune” and over to the “Hokkebrot”-lake. Used to be a Reindeer-track there and so this time too, Dyre found 7 very dashing deers, big and with shining skin. He creeped in, aimed and shot the greatest. He skinned the buck and brought back meat, fat and the fur to the cabin. When he arrived, it was dark. He made a fire, fried some meat for supper. Then he heard some shouting in the mountain. Three times he heard from “Valasjaanuten” in east: “My dear, dear buck”.
Then he heard a answer from “Notaas” in west: ” Dyre Vaa has shot your buck with his put-out pipe”. “Where is Dyre now?”, the first Troll asked. “He is in “Veidemannsbui” (the trapper’s cottage)”, the other said. Then the Troll run downwards. “Do you sleep Dyre?” it said with rough voice. Dyre did not answer. Louder the troll cried: “Do you sleep, Dyre?” Dyre kept silence. Then the troll shouted so the echo came back from mountains and valleys all around: “Do you sleep, Dyre?” “No”, Dyre said. “Do you see me, Dyre?” the troll then said. “No”, Dyre said. The troll came rattling down the slope and said again: ” Do you see me now?” “No”, Dyre said. Third time the troll cried really loud, right outside the cabin-door: “Now then, do you see me?” “Yes, now I see you”, Dyre said and fired a shot at him.
“Oi, oi”, the troll said. Then a loud laughter was heard from Notaas (the mountain in west): ” This was what I knew that Dyre would scent at you with his put-out pipe”. Then lots of small trolls appeared and starts to bury the troll. This is the reason why this valley today is more or less without soil.
My English is not good enough to translate the small nuances, but hope you got an idea of the Norwegian background.
Best regards
Rolf Hoiberg, probably related to that poor Troll.