Danish Gods

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A Gods is an estate which consists of a manor or main farm and the land and other farms owned by the estate. In many cases, an estate would function the same as a herred. However there are many different records from an estate that can help enrich genealogical research. A few gods records include: - Probate records: If a probate cannot be found under the herred, it is always good to check with the local gods records. If a person had belonged to a gods they would have registered the probate with the estate rather than the herred. - Fæsteprotokoller and fæstebreve: letters and contracts between the lord and farmer. These are contracts of permanent work for the farmer, with conditions. They usually outline what is expected of the farmer, descriptions of the house given to them, and who the previous farmer of the farm was (many times the previous owner was some sort of relation), along with other miscellaneous information. - Jordbøger: records about the lands and how much it is worth in taxes. These records include names of every farmer under the gods. - Lægdsruller: Military conscription rolls.Lists of males who may be available for military service.

Most gods records are deposited at the regional archives (landsarkiv) and grouped together by gods.