Legends and mouth to mouth reports about "Vral" who became the sire to the great Hesteskee tribe at Bohuslan. For "Saalenenes Amtstiduende" by school inspector O. Forstram.

Hesteskee County in Northern Bohuslan, not far from the innermost part of Iddefyord, lies an age old tribal estate by the name of Hesteskee. It has sought refuge under the foot of the mountain, but before it the beautiful valley stretches itself wide and flat, west and southward. Here, in olden days, the farmers from afar met for riding contest on the rolling fields. Therefore the original name of Hesteskee (horses home). A little way out in the estate there is a longish mound. According to the "Vral" tradition the sire of the Hesteskee tribe is buried there. "Vral" was a mountain troll who was married the daughter at Hesteskee, to whose name many legends are attached. If there is any historical kernel in them, it probably is this:

On this farm there lived an emanate farmer or farmers, whose family for immemorial ages have been attached to it. A distinctive stock that always distinguished itself by its physical size and tremendous strength. The "Vral" figure himself seems, by the way, to belong to an ambulatory legend.

The owners of the farm, Boldkinon (possibly Roldkinon), down toward Stranstad, consider themselves to be descendants of "Vral" and on the great island, Orust, in the skerries, South of Uddeoolla, there is a hill called "Vralsbache" and a stone heap named "Vralsgrav". The legends about this "Vral" is similar to the legends about "Vral" at Hesteskee.

Even way up in Dalsland are features which belong to this legendary figure. We return to Hesteskee. Once, far back in time, the farmer at the place went out into the forest to cut wood. He heard someone scream and holler (it was "Vral") so pitifully within the mountain, it sounded like a boys voice. "Be quite my boy", the farmer said, and I will give you my daughter when she grows up". The crying ceased immediately and the farmer went home and did not think more about it. However, on the day the daughter was confirmed, a giant of a young man came to the farmer's house and demanded that the daughter be turned over to him. The farmer realized that it was a troll and did not dare but obey. As a bridal gift, the farmer brought a silver pitcher and as long as this remained in the family, the family would prosper, but if it was lost, the family would disintegrate. The boy's name was Vral. The legend is here told as it is directly transferred to a branch of the Hesteskee family that about 250 years ago emigrated to Norway (but there are several versions of this legend).

Vral had an appetite fit for a troll. In Bohuslan, the story goes; for breakfast did the best of a barrel of herring and a grab of flatbread (a grav is a stack of flatbread so big as a man can embrace) and he quenched his thirst in the stream Solesik so that the water ebbed a fathom in every land. The Norwegian family branch relates the following: Vral's wife complained to her neighbor that her husband was so serious, so cross, and never smiled. She got the advice to try with some food. The woman started to cook a kettle full of cereal and when Vral came home she put before him; the cereal, a basket of butter and a pail full of milk. When he had eaten all this he said laughingly, "I have not been so full since I got you."

Vral had the strength of twelve men. To him it was a minor thing to haul home, from the forest, a wood load that two horses could not pull. Once the bolt connecting the wagon and the part strapped to the horses broke, Vral put his finger in to hold it together, whipped the horses and drove them in full gallop. When the wife saw him at the front of the house, she cried out, "what in the name of Jesus are you doing, Vral?" At that moment the finger broke. "Women, if you kept quite, the finger would have held." he said.

The name of Vral also reached outside of the border. It was well known by the older generation of Edd, where several persons were heard to tell about him. One singular trait is, in a way, localized here. Once he walked to Frederickstad and bought twelve plough irons (that is to say, enough iron required to make twelve ploughs) and this unbelievable burden he carried until he reached Snekketorplklevene. There he met a man who suggested that Vral take a rest. Vral did just that. "Oh no, if I had known how good it was to take a rest, I would have lugged an additional twelve plough irons." he said.

At Edd, the tale of the origin of the Hesteskee tribe goes like this: Once the daughter at the farm was out tending the sheep and singing, "Vral, Novar and Bar." Immediately, three giants appeared, saying, "You have now called on us and now you must marry one of us.

In Bohuslan, too, the story of Vral's brothers, Novar and Bar, is alive. The last one mentioned is also called Barjel. The Norvarstad Country (or county) received the name of Novar, wee are told; but in Dalsland, the people insisted that Novar lived at Norsemark.

One time, the three brothers could not agree and Vral and Bar decided to kill Novar. They threw him into Storehee and piled on top of him, large stones, in such a great number that they made three islands which, even today are called Novars Island. Barjel lived at Bayelsmaen. There lies a pile of rocks similar to one at Vralamound by the old country road, going between Klevmarken and the Norwegian border. It s Barjel's grave.

Vral became a Christian (all legends agree on this). However, the troll nature was still a part of him. If he had to pass a cemetery, he always took a long roundabout way. There are several tales regarding his burial. When he realized that the end was near, he told his sons to take his corpse out at night (otherwise, they would not get it out). It was almost dawn when they got started and before they reached the end of the farm, the sun arose. Then the corpse got so heavy that the horses were unable to pull it. They hitched a couple of horses after another before the hearse (ten double teams, as Holmberg says), but they could not move it. Therefore, they had to intern him right there in a mound, as can be seen at Vralshog even today. Thus sounds the Bohuslans legend.

The Norwegian branch tells it a little differently: the story of Edd is really elfish. when the horses could not pull the corpse, they had to hitch on the two black goats that were tied up behind the door to the stable, as told them by Vral before he died. They did not manage to get the giant further than down to the field and buried him there. It seems that for at least 300 years, Hesteskee has belonged to the same family, gone as custodial possession from father to son. Maybe it still goes further back into history. In an article in Marra Bohuslan last year, it is stated that the oldest document, a parchment letter related to the farm, is dated 1699. It contains an agreement between the three brothers, Anders (the older) Nickel Anderson and Anders Anderson (the younger) and their sisters. The letter states, their father blessed Anders. Anderson already 38 years previously had mortgaged the farm for two hundred and eighty five dollars in silver. But now the brothers, out of brotherly love for each other, agreed to run the farm together releasing their sisters. The names of the owners have continuously been Hans, Halvard and Olaf. The farm was undivided until the 1880's when it was split between Hans Halvardson and his sisters. Now, Hans Hannson, the son of Hans Halvardson own one-half of the farm and the children of the sisters, the other half. Down through the years, the members of the family are scattered near and far. Thus, a number settled in the neighboring Nasinge County. They have all retained the family distinction, the tall, muscular physic and are all proud to be descendants of Vral. About 250 years ago, one of the farmers of the Hesteskee family emigrated to Norway and settled at Syverstad in Skejeberg and became the sire of the Syverstad family. One of his descendants, Thorbjorn Siverson, moved to Solberg also located in Skjeberg, in the year 1810 and moved from there to Urdahl at Hvaler (Whaler) in or about 1850 and from this time on, changed the family name to Urdahl (Urdal).

The Norwegian branch has, with very few exceptions (caused by inter-marriage),up to this date, retained the traits of the family. They are described as unusually tall, broad shouldered and bony people with dark hair and a big straight nose. They keep the Vral tradition faithfully and are proud to belong to an old, unbroken family going as far back as to the time when Bohuslan was part of the Norwegian landscape. It seems to be about the 1660 that the sire of the Syverstad family emigrated, that is to say, at the time when Andres Anderson mortgaged Hesteskee. It is also to be noted that just during these years, a considerable number emigrated from Bohuslan to Norway. Bohuslan was in the year 1658, given over to Sweden and there were many who could not adjust themselves to the new conditions and therefore, moved out, especially to the border district