Corporal Gifting
Corporal Gifting of Ore said the famous words: “Orsa Company does not promise anything definite” meaning they didn’t want to promise something they couldn’t keep.
Corporal Jonas Jonsson Gifting
The words became famous almost as soon as they were uttered:
“Orsa Company does not promise anything definite.”
They were spoken on 13 September 1894 near Komtillmåtta krog (tavern) in Gagnef, where the commander demanded that Orsa Company make a pledge of sobriety during the overnight stay.
Eager to keep his word, Corporal Jonas Jonsson Gifting explained his company’s attitude: they would not promise anything they could not keep.
The interpretation that Orsa Company could not make up its mind about anything is therefore completely wrong!
However, the expression was delivered by a man from our neighbouring village, Ore. Corporal Gifting lived in Dalbyn, in Ore. The soldiers in Ore parish belonged to Orsa Company. Corporal Gifting was born in the village in 1853 and died there in 1934.
But perhaps the expression was originally coined by a native of Orsa after all. Especially in southern Orsa, tradition says that Corporal Snickare whispered the sentence in Gifting’s ear before he was sent to present the company’s view to the commander.