the svea court of appeal in the early modern period 42 ting committee, candidates for which were suggested by the Estates, was appointed, and the burghers suggested that the town law also be revised. The law commission and royal administration both prepared proposals, but these were never finished – there was no political consensus over its contents despite the fact that proposals for many of the key chapters of the law had been drafted.94 Several Swedish laws appeared in print for the first time at the end of the reign of Charles IX. The provincial laws of Uppland and East Gothia were printed in 1607, and the 1442 law the following year. In his confirmation of the latter, King Charles IX observed that “with the greatest diligence and urge” (medh störste flijt och åhoga) he had sought in all the corners of his realm after all the “oldest and most reliable law books (alle the äldste och sanferdigste Laghböker) […] that had been used in the time of our ancestors, Kings and Regents of Sweden.” He had now already allowed the provincial laws of Uppland and East Gothia to be printed, while those of Södermanland, West Gothia, Västmanland and Hälsingland waited to be published in their turn as soon as possible. The king also declared himself willing to publish even the law books of other provinces, such as Öland, Småland and Finland95 “as soon as certain and reliable copies (någre wisse och troowärdige exemplaria) of them could be discovered.”96 Indeed, the law of Hälsingland was printed in 1609, and even a Finnish translation of the 1442 royal law was planned but never published. While the provincial laws had only marginal relevance in court practice in the early 1600s, their relevance was more symbolic. They were monuments of legal history and the glorious history of the Swedes, going back to the Goths. The antiquarian interest was growing considerably in the early seventeenth century as historians were to construct a long and brilliant history of Sweden and its ancient law-makers. This was to be used for political propaganda purposes; for example, against the old arch-enemy Denmark.97 As for the royal judicial powers, there had been many attempts before the founding of the Svea Court to reorganize them. During the reign of King Gustav Vasa, when attempts to reorganize the government were 94 Lagförslag i Carl den Niondes tid, ed. J.J. Nordström, pp. vii-xxii and passim. 95 While no provincial law is ever known to have existed for the island of Öland and the province of Finland, a provincial law of Småland existed in the Middle Ages. However, it had since been lost so that only its Chapter on the Church remains. 96 Stadfästelse på Landz-Lagen, 20 Dec.1608, Kongl. stadgar, ed. Schmedeman, p. 127. 97 Lindroth, Sten 1975 pp. 237-246, 249-255. See also Björne, Lars 2011 pp. 76-78.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYyNDk=