summary 367 the law of inheritance, but a will provided a solution which enabled even these children to be awarded a part of the inheritance. The legal debate on the right of inheritance, or rather lack of it, for illegitimate children, resurfaced in the 19th century in connection with the attempt to reform the rights of inheritance. In the 1840s, there were radical attempts to rescind the law of 1734 which regulated the legal position of illegitimate children with regard to rights of inheritance. But when the drafting committee was unable to agree on the wording of a new law, the will, once again, came to the rescue. With the repeal of terra salicain 1857, new opportunities arose which enabled wills to be used for the unrestricted distribution of property to whoever one wanted, provided there were no direct heirs whose legal rights to a share had to be recognised. Thus, both in the 17th and 19th centuries the will provided a solution acceptable to both conservative groups and those more inclined towards reform: the conservative groups did not need to encroach on the legal rules of inheritance, whilst illegitimate children were given a proper opportunity to inherit their parents. The legal virtues of JustitiaandPrudentia(Justice and Prudence), essential ethical concepts in the early modern period, serve to clarify the developments in law-makingwith regard to wills as evidenced in the judgments of the Svea Court of Appeal during the 17th century. The question asked in this dissertation is the degree to which law-making and the practice of law by the court of appeal was characterised by these two concepts. The period 1640-1690 in Swedish legal history, is characterised by greater professionalism and juridification arising from an altered legal culture. The courts had acquired a clearer structure through the establishment of the courts of appeal, a greater number of the lawyers in the higher courts had been trained in law and an extensive jurisprudence regarding sources of law enabled the making of new lawby the higher courts themselves. The transition from a subsistence economy to a market economy had created the need for new laws of inheritance which did not in advance tie individuals to a definite and obligatory rule of inheritance. The wishes of the individual regarding his/her own property became increasingly important. 7.1 Justitia: Disputed Wills and the Legal Culture of the Court of Appeal
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