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prolonged noble property disputes – anu lahtinen 137 Given the problems caused by the guardian system, some unmarried women may have found in their husbands someone to defend their economic interests against their own relatives.378 The extent to which Anna Johansdotter had explicit hopes of reclaiming her property is not known, but in any case, this task was taken on by her husband in 1602, when they got married. Joen Planting was a man with a rising career and ambitions, and after the marriage he immediately started a struggle for the alienated property rights as well as the lost rent of many a year of his wife. At this time, the Svea Court of Appeal did not yet exist, so Planting tried to summon Karl Persson and Arvid Hansson Stålarm to the Turku Town Court. At first, both military tasks and apathy seemed to keep his opponents away from the court. However, in 1613, Planting managed to get an ordinance from King Gustavus II Adolphus, in which the Steward in Turku, Johan De laGardie, was ordered to investigate the case. The King also delegated many other cases to the stewards to settle.379 The ordinance led to a meeting between Planting and Karl Persson in Turku in 1614. As a result of this meeting, Planting, his wife and her co-heirs were given back the manor of Ravijoki, situated in Mynämäki (Sw. Virmo in Southwestern Finland), which had come into the hands of Karl Persson.380 Now it was time to confront Stålarm, who had the estate of Tursunperä (also situated in Mynämäki) in his possession. At this point, in 1616, Planting seized the chance to take the case to the Svea Court of Appeal. His antagonist, apparently aware of his own weak position, seems to have thought that evasion was the best defence, as he ignored the first three summonses. This tactic could sometimes prove useful: if the opposing party got something else to think about, fell ill or died, the case could be postponed ad infinitum. Arvid Stålarm was not lucky, however. On 5 October 1618, the Court gave Stålarm another year and a day to defend his rights to Tursunperä. He was already facing fines for neglecting the summonses. 378 Ozment, Steven 1996 pp. 110-112, 120, 131; Lahtinen, Anu 2009a pp. 176-180. 379 On other disputes delegated to Johan De la Gardie, see, for example, Handlingar upplysande Finlands historia under Gustaf II Adolfs tid I (1611–1614), documents nos. 106, 128, 135. 380 See also Planting-Gyllenbåga, Wilhelm 1900 pp. 8-9. The manor of Ravijoki (presentday Ravea) is (mis)spelled in a variety of ways in the old documents and later publications.

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