summary. the open window all property brought into the marriage, including inherited property, as well as any property possibly acquired during the marriage, which was contrary to the intentions of the Swedish town law which only allowed the spouses to jointly own movables and cash in the marriage. Real property should be kept separate in the marriage. What was considered real property in Stockholm included houses or parts of houses in which an occupational activity could be conducted or goods stored. Immovable property thus included residential houses, rooms in residential houses, basements, attics, retail shops, workshops, as well as ships and of course plots. Movable property could consist of metals such as silver, copper and iron; household utensils such as kitchenware, bedding and beds or other furniture; storage barrels with salted herring or grain and more. Some women and men brought large amounts of cash into a marriage. Women and men with the same social status brought about the same amount of property into their marriage. This fact is interpreted as evidence that there were opportunities for women to be equal owners of a household’s property. Stockholmcan thus be characterized as a city where spouses jointly owned property. To verify if they really owned property jointly, the study examines whether the husband also needed the wife’s consent when he wanted to conduct a transaction that involved property that originated from his own family. The answer to this question is affirmative. He always needed her consent when conducting a transaction with the household’s immovable property. The courts were particularly attentive in cases where the spouse wanted to pledge the couple’s immovable property as collateral for a loan. Preferably, the court wanted the wife to be personally present at the time. This can be interpreted as a precautionary measure and a sign that the court wanted to be certain that the wife had not been coerced into such an agreement, because there was the risk that the wife would lose her home, the foremost immovable property. If a spouse surreptitiously carried out a transaction with the household’s immovable property, he was obliged to compensate his wife. From an international perspective, Stockholm stands out in this regard. In most cities, a husband only had to ask for his wife’s consent when he was going to carry out a transaction 288
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