general background – mia korpiola 47 that they would reach a just and defensible verdict before God Almighty on peril of the salvation of their souls.119 Moreover, the Diet was no conviction automaton as a court; several accused are known to have been acquitted altogether, while others had to free themselves of the suspicions by compurgation or were acquitted pending further evidence (absolutio ab instantia).120 King Charles IX also had, for example, documents relating to the trials of 1600 and 1605 translated into Latin bydoctor Johannes Messenius (1579/80 – 1636), one of the first judges of the Svea Court of Appeal who was later to be condemned for treason and exiled. The published trial records would be used in foreign and domestic propaganda.121 But regardless of the political trials in the 1600s, no total breakdown of law, peace and justice can be discerned. The overall image of the reign of King Charles IXmust rather be perceived as active and reformist. Moreover, it must be observed that the establishment of the Svea Court of Appeal did not put an end to political trials in the Swedish realm. 119 E.g., Anthoni, Eric 1952 pp. 273-274. 120 Kjellén, Rudolf 1895 pp. 69-70. 121 Sententia ordinvm regni Sveciæ[1610]; Schück, Henrik 1920 pp. 145-148.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYyNDk=