Editing Gjerstad (section)

==General information==
The [[prestegjeld|parish]] of Gjerstad was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see [[formannskapsdistrikt]] law). The borders have not changed since that time.<ref name="Dag">{{Cite web |last=Jukvam |first=Dag |year=1999 |title=Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen |url=http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/90/rapp_9913/rapp_9913.pdf |publisher=[[Statistics Norway|Statistisk sentralbyrå]] |language=no |isbn=9788253746845}}</ref>

===Name===
The municipality (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) is named after the old ''[[Gjerstad (village)|Gjerstad]]'' farm ({{langx|non|Geirreksstaðir}}) since the first [[Gjerstad Church]] was built there. The meaning of the first element is uncertain. One possibility is that it is the [[genitive case]] of the male name {{lang|non|Geirrekr}}. Another possibility is that it comes from the word {{wikt-lang|non|geirr}} which means "spear". The last element of the name is the plural form of {{wikt-lang|non|staðr}} which means "place", "abode", or "town". Historically, the name of the parish was spelled Gerikstadum (c. 1400), Gierestat (c. 1567), Gierrestad, and Gjerrestad.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4pBAAAAIAAJ |title=Norske gaardnavne: Nedenes amt |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |year=1905 |edition=8 |location=Kristiania, Norge |page=11 |language=no |author-link=Oluf Rygh}}</ref><ref name="snl">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Gjerstad |encyclopedia=[[Store norske leksikon]] |publisher=[[Kunnskapsforlaget]] |url=https://snl.no/Gjerstad |access-date=2017-12-28 |date=2017-11-02 |editor-last=Thorsnæs |editor-first=Geir |language=no}}</ref>

===Coat of arms===
The [[coat of arms]] was granted on 18 April 1986. The official [[blazon]] is ''"[[Gules]], three knives [[argent]] in [[fess]] [[palewise]] points to the base"'' ({{langx|no|På raud grunn tre opprette sølv knivar}}). This means the arms have a red [[field (heraldry)|field]] (background) and the [[charge (heraldry)|charge]] is three [[knife|knives]] pointing downwards. The knives have a [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] of [[argent]] which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The knife was chosen as a symbol for the [[forge|smithies]] and knife makers in the municipality. Knife making has long been a local tradition for which Gjerstad is well known. The arms were designed by Odd Kjell Mostad. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Gjerstad |access-date=2023-01-19 |publisher=Heraldry of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gjerstad, Aust-Agder (Norway) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/no-09-11.html |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=Flags of the World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1986-04-18 |title=Godkjenning av våpen og flagg |url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/LF/forskrift/1986-04-18-964?q=flagg |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=Lovdata.no |publisher=Norges kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet |language=no}}</ref> {{See also-text|the coat of arms of [[Vestre Toten#Coat of arms|Vestre Toten]]}}

===Churches===
The [[Church of Norway]] has one parish ({{lang|no|sokn}}) within the municipality of Gjerstad. It is part of the [[Aust-Nedenes prosti]] ([[deanery]]) in the [[Diocese of Agder og Telemark]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size:medium"|'''''Churches in Gjerstad'''''
!Parish ({{lang|no|sokn}})!!Church name!!Location of the church!!Year built
|-
|rowspan="1"|Gjerstad||[[Gjerstad Church]]||[[Gjerstad (village)|Gjerstad]]||1848
|}