insignia of independence – martin sunnqvist 363 pair of scales that werenot in balance. The shield was surrounded by three coronets, one above and one on either side of the shield. Probably in the 18th century, smaller seals were made showing the shield surrounded first by three royal crowns, one above the shield and two on its sides, and then one royal crown above the shield and three coronets surrounding it. Finally, in 1818, the great seal was altered so that the pair of scales was placed in balance and that the royal crown was placed above the shield and the three coronets surrounding it. This design is used as the symbol of the court to this day. The Åbo (Turku), Dorpat (Tartu) and Göta Courts of Appeal were established in 1623, 1630, and 1634 respectively. They had seals that were iconographically much more elaborate than the seal of the Svea Court of Appeal, with figures of Justitiaas a goddess or personification and shields referring to the provinces of their jurisdictions. The seal of the Åbo (Turku) Court of Appeal1067 had the legend: Sigillum Supremi Iudicii Magni Ducatus Finlandiæ. In the middle of the circular seal was a sitting Justitia with a sword and an unbalanced pair of scales. Above her were two angels holding a royal crown, and below her were eight shields. The symbols on the shields are difficult to decipher, and since the Grand Duchy had nine provinces, it is not clear which ones were represented.1068 The seal of the Dorpat Court of Appeal1069 had the legend: Sigil. Iudic. Reg. Tribunal Livon. Careili Ingerm. There was a compartment in the oval seal, below which was a shield with a cross pattée in the middle, obviously representing Livonia.1070 On its sides were the shields of Carelia and In1067 RA, JRA, Besvärs- och ansökningsmål, resolverade utslagshandlingar, vol. 3, 1660-62, e.g., letter April 25, 1657. Cf. Westerlund, Adolf Wilhelm 1923, where only a newer seal with another motif is used as an illustration. 1068 That six of the shields must represent Egentliga Finland, Satakunda, Nyland, Tavastland, Savolax and Österbotten is clear, and the other two must be two of Åland, Lapponia, or Carelia. 1069 See, e.g., RA, JRA, Revisionsakter, vol. 1, 1633-35, the second file. 1070 Cf. the ballot box mentioned above, where a shield gules with a cross pattée argent represented Reval (Tallinn), but Livonia had a shield gules with a griffin holding a sword argent (this shield of Livonia is also used as a symbol of Livonia in the modern state arms of Latvia). The Seals of the Other Seventeenth-Century Swedish Courts of Appeal
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