english summary 452 this bookis a comparative study of how the power of the king, as regulated by law, expanded from the middle of the twelfth century to the middle of the fourteenth century in the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.1 While medieval Scandinavian kingship and the nascent state formation have been well researched, there has previously been no comparative study of law-regulated royal authority and functions. This study investigates the king’s power as established by law, by considering the extant law material as a whole and applying a more systematic comparative approach than earlier studies by asking identical questions of the Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish law material. In concrete terms, this study examines similarities and differences in development over time by studying how different types of royal authority and power resources are formulated in both provincial and countrywide laws. The aim is to elucidate a development towards political centralization, institutionalization, hierarchization, and territorialization. This book assesses the extent to which these processes resulted in something that can be perceived as a stage in a state formation process with the growth of public exercise of authority.2 The outline of the book is based on the assumption, well grounded in previous research, viz. that judicial and military functions were the foundation for medieval kingship. Another premise, likewise supported by earlier studies, is that the actors who competed with the king for authority and power resources were the regional legal assemblies (thing) and the church. An empirical chapter is therefore devoted first to changes in the king’s judicial and military authority and functions, respectively, and then, in separate empi1 It is of course the boundaries of the medieval kingdoms that apply here; at this time Scania (Skåne), for example, belonged to Denmark and Finland was a part of Sweden. 2 This study largely ignores the “state formation” for which the church was responsible during the Middle Ages, since that shows little or no continuity into modern times. Kingship and Law: A Comparison between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in the High Middle Ages Chapter 1: From Royal Power to State Power
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