Summary The Office of District Judges in Sweden in the Late Middle Ages and under Gustav Vasa About 1350 earlier provincial laws in Sweden were replaced by a law commonly known as ”Magnus Eriksson’s General Law of the Land”. This law established an office for judges in the lower courts of each district (härad). The dissertation deals with the first two hundred years (1350—1560) of these officials {häradshövding). The dissertation examines how the rules of appointing häradshövding were followed, what was their social position, and how large was their revenue. Secondly, it describes how the provision for substitutes functioned. Finally, the activity at the district court {häradstinget) is studied, especially the relations between the häradshövding and the nämnd (approximately, the English jury). The sources for the study consist of extant lawbooks, open letters about judgements, and especially transfers of lands. Fromthe middle of the 16th century domböcker (reports on the proceedings of the courts) were kept. The letters, taken as a group, are diffuse, fragmentary and represent the different härad very unevenly. The research was carried out through studying a number of individual härads, then combining and analysing the results. Five single härads chosen for individual investigation were Ulleråker in Uppland, Osterrekarne in Södermanland. Aska in Östergötland, Vartofta in Västergötland and Sunnerbo in Småland. They were located in different parts of the country and are among those for which the sources are most complete. THE FIVE INDIVIDUAL HÄRAD The härad of Ulleråker had fourteen häradshövdingar, all belonging to the low nobility. During the 15th century they all came fromor had a connection with the härad. After that they came from outside, and at the end of the period many of them were royal bailiffs. Many of the häradshövdingar belonged to families with häradshövdingar for several generations.
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