summary 375 purpose. Later research has preferred not to see Swedish law and the laws of other countries as being in conflict with one another, but would rather emphasize common European legal characteristics, i.e. elements of ius commune, when portraying the development of Swedish law. Whichever view one takes, Stiernhöök personified the attitude to law in the 17th century with his combination of national and foreign, and of tradition and innovation in law-making. The 17th century was the time when professional lawyers took their place as judges in the courts of appeal, but also as the representatives of the parties to a case. These representatives played an increasingly important role in legal developments during this century and this was certainly valid for civil cases, where the parties steered the process to a large extent. If one ignores the regulations governingterra salica, then there were no legally binding regulations in the field of wills and testaments, and the regulations that were available were largely outmoded. It was up to the parties themselves to decide on the distribution of their property. The parties also controlled the proceedings themselves. This was particularly noticeable in the legal arguments employed in the submissions by lawyers and which the court of appeal was obliged to consider in reaching its judgment. Legal developments in Sweden during the 17th century were characterised to a great extent by antagonisms: not only between the old medieval traditions and the new legal ideas, but also between the interests of the family and the right of individual self-determination. Social changes and the new economic order had brought about changes in attitudes to the law. The different Estates together with the doctrine of suum cuique influenced lawmaking involving legal institutions which in various ways were used to strengthen the position of the nobility and the family. This was not least applicable to the law of inheritance and the law of wills. The century was one of antagonisms in which the 1640s and the 1680s constitute two essential watersheds. The 1640s was the period when the power of the nobility was at its height. Queen Christina’s policy of royal donations was at its most extensive and the nobility exercised significant power through its position in the 7.3 Conclusion
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