RB 54

62 ish medieval county laws {Östgötalagen, dated to the second half of the 1200s), ordeals were prohibited in the thirteenth century,-"* although they seem to have reappeared by the fourteenth.medieval Swedish country laws reveal, however, that from the fourteenth century onward, the ordeals as ultima ratio were probably replaced by nämnder, or boards consisting of lay members.-^ The predominance of these local lay boards clearly reflects the communitarian, dinggenossenschaftlich, character of medieval Swedish law. Together with the other branches of administration, the legal one went through radical changes in the 1600s. Already in the sixteenth century, the traditional right of the peasant to choose the local hundred court judge had been taken over by the Crown, which regarded the judicial offices as a part of its holdings. Whereas legal procedure at the beginning of the century was still characterized by a strivingtowards communitarianreconciliation, at the end of the century written and swift forms of decision-making as well as an emphasis on legal expertise and a pronounced endeavor toward material truth had taken over. During the seventeenth century, a hierarchical court structure, based on the newly founded appellate courts, was established.-^ Without doubt, the attempts since 1686 towards a national legal statute accelerated the changes in judicial practice. The written formof legal procedure can be regarded as a direct consequence of the hierarchical court structure. The courts of appeals - the high courts and the city courts in larger towns^s — needed to have documents in writing to be able to proceed. Moreover, it was indispensable that the local courts gave their judgments in written form, so that the high courts could performthe scrutinizing function conferred to them. As seen above for France and Germany, written forms and hierarchical court structures are common features of centralizing judicial administration. Together with the adoption of the Roman-canon written mode of procedure, a learned body of legal professionals developed in France and Germany. Although no equivalent, thorough change occurred in Sweden, a certain, more limited legal professionalization did take place as the training of legal professionals was significantly altered during the seventeenth century. As for legal education, a gradual change was brought about by the founding of the high courts as appellate instances. From the beginning, they were at least partly staffed by learned jurists, some with doctorates. Some had studied in Sweden -•* Sjöholm 1988 p. 58. -5 The ordeals were expressly prohibited in another county law {Helsinglandlagen) which is dated to the first half of the fourteenth century. Letto-Vanamo 1995 p. 113. It is not clear whether the nämnder'wereconcerned about a “material truth” or whether they remained closer to oath-helpers. Ibid. pp. 127-130, 229-230. Letto-Vanamo 1989 pp. 233-247. In the larger towns, the lowest judicial instance was called a treasurer’s court {kärnnerrätt); on their foundation, see Karonen 1994.

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