Anstein Døli

The founder of our family was Anstein Broke who is mentioned in 1327 as a rural mayor in the parish of Nannestad, which is the neighboring parish to Ullensaker. The rural mayors in the medieval time were always selected from the best family in the parish and belonged to the gentry. Surnames were often used in the Viking time and the medieval time, an example is our Viking King Harold the Fairhaired (Harold Harfagre.) Broke is a surname and means in Old Norwegian a shaggy animal.

Anstein was his Christian name. His father's name is not known at present, but according to the coat of arms of Anstein Broke's descendants and his social position as a rural mayor, he belonged to one of the old gentry families in the district of Romerike, Anstein Broke had a son, Einar Ansteinsson.