the svea court of appeal in the early modern period 320 not have experience in the day-to-day administration of justice, as these posts were often delegated to surrogate provincial and district judges (underlagmanandlagläsare).942 The four second class judges and the vice president had similar experiences prior to their assessorships as the first class judges. Göran Ulfsson Snakenborg, for instance, had beenhofmeister (hovmästare) of the duchess of Saxony and provincial governor of Stegeborg, Leckö and Dal, as well as Uppsala Castle. After his assessorship, he was appointed district court judge of the Vermdö and Åkers ship districts (skeppslag)943. What differentiates the second class judges from the first class judges is that except for the vice president, who acted as legate on three occasions, these men did not take part in diplomacy.944 The four third class judges in 1614 were quite a heterogeneous group. This does not strike one as an oddity, since finding men who were “learned and experienced in law” was no easy task at this time.945 There were previous careers within the royal court and administration (Michill Olofsson, d. 1615), in town administration (Lars Bengtsson, nob. Skytte, d. 1634) and at the university (Johannes Messenius). Hans Dober (ca. 1564 –1627) had the most diverse career of these men. He had a German background and first appears as an apprentice of the town surgeon of Stockholm in the 1580s, but he soon went to Västerås where he worked as organist and town clerk (syndicus, stadsskrivare). His many talents were spotted during this time. Duke Karl (later Karl IX, r. 1604 – 1611) made him a surrogate district judge and later he was appointed surrogate provincial judge. Dober was respected as a judge and it is no wonder that he was recruited to the Svea court in 1614. Despite his post at the Svea court, he continued his work as surrogate judge in Uppland until his death in 1627.946 It seems thus that the third class judges were able to provide both practical experience as well as some knowledge of learned law. Twenty years later, in 1634, the court had already functioned for some time and one could expect that an everyday routine had already been es942 Petrén, Sture 1964 p. 56. 943 A ship district (skeppslag) was an administrative area, which, in case of naval war, was responsible for supplying a ship with men, equipment and provisions. 944 Anjou, A. 1899, p. 55 and passim. 945 Petrén, Sture 1964 pp. 57-58; Nilsén, Per 2003 p. 302. 946 Anjou, A. 1899 pp. 72-73, 78; Petrén, Sture 1963 pp. 63-64; Almquist, J.E. 1945; Westman, Karl Gustaf 1927 p. 27.
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