the svea court of appeal in the early modern period 358 he also tried to collect documents which could throw some light on the history of the court. Despite doing this as early as 1699, he explicitly referred to the upcoming 100-year-jubilee of the court in 1714. In late 1560,1037 King ErikXIV(1533-1577, r. 1560-68) established a High Council (Höga nämnden), whichwas to act as the King’s court and give the King’s judgements.1038 Its first important function was to settle claims to land by the nobility against the crown, but it soon became an instrument of ErikXIV’s political persecutions.1039 It did not survive Erik’s overthrow in 1568. The High Council did not use the King’s seal but had a seal of its own from 1562.1040 A judgement from that year is signedSub Sigillo Parlamenti and bears the paper seal1041 of the High Council.1042 The same seal occurs on other judgements from the High Council as well.1043 According to adrawing made by Sandeman, the legend is Sigillum Supremorum Iudicum Regis Sveciæ,1044 the seal of the supreme judges of the king of Sweden. It is, however, difficult to transcribe the words from the impressions of the seal. The motif of the seal within the legend is a shield, parted per fess, in chief three coronets, two above one, in base a sword and a pair of scales in saltire. The shield is surmounted by a royal crown. Riksarkivet (hereafter RA, National Archives of Sweden), Svea hovrätt, huvudarkivet (hereafter SHA, Main Archives of the Svea Court of Appeal ), E I:1b: Kungl. brev m.m. 1614 –1639. That the text was written in 1699 appears on fol. 2v. In the following referred to as Sandeman. 1037 Rosén, Jerker 1955 pp. 19-21. 1038 Rosén, Jerker 1955 p. 26, quoting an instruction from 1563. 1039 Rosén, Jerker 1955 pp. 22-25 and 33-34. 1040 Rosén, Jerker 1955 p. 32. 1041 Paper seals are those whose motif is pressed into the document as such, into a piece of paper, then attached to the document or onto a piece of paper attached to the document with wax . 1042 RA, SHA, E I:1b, fols. 31v-32r. 1043 See the reference inRA, SHA, E I:1b, Sandeman, fol. 2v. 1044 RA, SHA, E I:1b, Sandeman, fol. 2v. The Iconography of the Seals The Great Seal of the High Council of Erik XIV see illustration 1, 2 & 3, pages 383-385
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