Summary Asserting one’s rights. Views of land ownership in seventeenth-century Sweden, as reflected in the institution of ancient usage In 1665, Major Johan Appelbom instituted legal proceedings against the peasant freeholders of Tierp in northern Uppland, Sweden, claiming that a certain meadow in the Blackmyran common had always been mown for the Crown. In support of his claim, he invoked a letter issued by KingJohn III in 1591, in which the king granted the parishioners of Tierp the right to use the common for one year. But the peasants denied having used it by royal favour and claimed to have held the meadow as their own since time out of mind. No one m the local community had ever contested this claim. Consequently, the Royal Court of Appeal in Stockholm (Svea hovrätt) found in favour of the peasants, confirming their ancient usage {urminnes hävd). This study discusses rights to landed property in seventeenthcentury Sweden. More specifically, it investigates the law and legal practice governing disputes in which rights arising from ancient usage were claimed. Generally, such claims were respected by the courts for most of the century—the aforementioned dispute over a meadow was not exceptional—but towards 1700 the situation began to change. What were the reasons for the earlier practice, and why was it altered? These are the two main questions addressed in this study. Chapter 1. Land, law and tradition Howdo propertv rights arise and how do they cease to exist? This question, fundamental to most human societies, forms the point of departure of this chapter. In modern societies, lawvers normallv reckon with derivative title only. Property rights to land are said to arise by purchase or inheritance, for example, and to cease, for instance, when the owner sells the land or dies. Although this type of title played a promin-
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