or a whip, and that does not make him crippled or disabled”.65 The law also prescribed that if a man beat his child “too harshly, so that it dies, then he shall pay a fine as it is provided in the book on unintentional manslaughter, but not lose his life”.66 His wife was given a slightly higher value of protection: “If a peasant happens to beat his wife too harshly, so that she dies against his will, then he shall be charged with manslaughter as it said fur-ther on, but not be broken on the wheel.”67 These examples from written medieval Swedish law illustrate how the lawmakers aimed to protect the dependent family members against the master’s abuse of power, but at the same time, without mentioning it, confirmed a general and self-evident legal principle of their far-reaching duties of subordination, obedience and loyalty. c o n t i n u i t y a n d c o n t r ac t 43 65 “Agar bonde sin herde, vare sig med käpp eller spö, blir han ej lemlästad eller lytt därav, vare han saklös.” MELL, BB35:5; Holmbäck &Wessén 1962, p. 124; “Om någon slår sitt eget tjänstehjon, för att fostra det till goda gärningar eller dygd, och blir där intet sår, och slår han honom ej blå eller blodig, det vare ogillt...”, MEStL SM1:17; Holmbäck &Wessén 1966, p. 265. See alsoYVgL, Fredsbalken, 7-8, 15. 66 “Nu blir ett barn agat för hårt, så att det dör därav; då skall därför bötas så som stadgas i Vådamålsbalken, men ej mista livet.” MELL, EdB 34 in Holmbäck & Wessén, 1962, pp. 196-197. 67 “Nu råkar bonde aga sin hustru för hårt, så att hon ljuter döden därav mot hans vilja; då skall man söka honom så som längre fram säges om dråp, men icke stegla honom.” MELL, EdB 33 in Holmbäck &Wessén 1962, p. 197. See also Abrahamsson 1726, pp. 792-793.
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