per andersen with no visitations from the Royal Court, either because the central administration chose not to hold Herredage or court session or because the Herredage was held in Copenhagen or in one of the larger boroughs on Zealand, such as Slagelse or Roskilde, for the sake of convenience. But the cause could also be more concrete, such as the Herredage being cancelled because of epidemics.When this was the case the king could decide that the cases that had been sent to the Royal Court should be decided by the provincial courts, supported by some of the members of the Council of the Realm, the institutionalised Noblemen advising the king. Thus, the Royal Court functioned as, despite the irregular annual meetings, an appeal court for Zealand – while Jutland in particular was ignored, especially in the earliest and the latest periods, i.e. the fourteenth and the sixteenth centuries.38 After the Reformation the summons for the mostly annual Herredage and meetings of the Royal Court were to a certain degree standardised. The summons were contained in apublic letter issued by the king through his chancery. This letter contained information about the date and venue of theHerredage, which was to be published in all courts, while emphasising that the hierarchy of local, peculiar or town courts followed by provincial courts to the Royal Court must be observed and that any appellant who wished to raise a matter at the Royal Court was to approach the chancery, which would then provide a summons for the correct party or parties. At the same time, the judges that were to attend this Royal Court meeting were informed in private letters and the royal officials were also commanded to read and publish the summons throughout their jurisdiction. Most Danish post-Reformation kings participated in approximately 60 percent of the decisions that were made by the Royal Court during their period of reign respectively. They participated mainly in the most important cases and in the cases that were heard in Copenhagen or on the island of Zealand. From the Middle Ages it was usual for the king not to participate in meetings when the court was itinerant because these court sessions were often presided over by the chancellor on Zealand, 38 Lerdam, Henrik 2001 pp. 53-61. 263
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYyNDk=