justitia et prudentia, kapitel 7 364 riod. It was not until the mid-17th century that the use of wills became so widespread that it left a major impression on society. The substantial social and economic changes that occurred during this century had created a whole new basis for Swedish society and members of the nobility, especially, had discovered the advantages of making wills. The Swedish National Law Code (first enacted during the mid-14th century) regulated central aspects of life such as marriage and inheritance, but during the 17th century it became increasingly outmoded, especially in relation to financial matters. In addition, the perception of the family and family law had changed. Throughout this period, the focus shifted increasingly towards a respect for the wishes of the individual, with the result that the system had to balance the rights of individuals to determine the disposition of their wealth against the interests of close relatives. Since inheritance, at this time, was a greater source of income than earned income, inheritance was a highly important legal field. Real estate was by far the most valuable property in 17th century Sweden; people owning land could always rely on the yield from it at times when other sources of income declined. During the 17th century, male members of the Swedish aristocracy often served with the armed forces on continental Europe, and thereby had the opportunity of bringing war booty back to Sweden. Many of them also received grants of land from the Crown. As mortality rates were very high and remarriages frequent, resulting in a very high number of stepchildren, the disposing of an estate was often very complicated. One of the most common reasons for drawing up a will was, therefore, a wish to avoid unnecessary conflict among the children on the disposition of the estate, and this was avoided either by prescribing an equal distribution or by favouring one of the children above the other(s). All of these factors contributed to an increasing demand during the 17th century for the opportunity of making a legally valid disposition before death (mortis causa). As a result, there was an increase in the number of wills and, thereby, also an increase in the number of cases of disputed wills in the courts (especially the courts of appeal). This development was made more problematic by the virtual absence of legislation pertaining to wills, and it became increasingly obvious that this absence of legislation was causing major problems. The legal position was very unclear, and this created confusion and uncertainty for the courts hearing cases of disputed wills, which in turn resulted in an uneven administration of justice and so-
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