part ii • legal cultures • eva löfgren The layout was introduced in Swedish manors in the late seventeenth century and quickly spread through different kinds of patterning, among which the ones intended for high-ranking military residences are likely to have been the most influential.9 Without delving too deeply into the history of Swedish farmhouse layouts, it should be emphasized that it was not a traditional configuration. But a few decades later, probably affected by the Crown supervising and correcting all public building activities, it was found in public or semi-public building categories such as courthouses, vicarages, and official residences. Despite their different functions, these were all shaped according to identical classicist principles, which meant that, much like English court buildings, Swedish purpose-built courthouses lacked ‘a specific identity as a house dedicated to law’.10 That said, it should also be underlined that the choice of spatial configuration and architectural principles was not arbitrary. Associated withthe distinction and status of public officials, the structure and design gave the courthouse an official appearance. Though sometimes taken for officer’s abode, it was unmistakably dissimilar from any ordinary farm. Froma contemporary perspective, the architecture seems to have given little support to those who wanted to keep the various actors segregated in a way we now think fundamental. Historical source material shows that the courthouse was not geographically secluded, but integrated into the fabric of rural life.11 Once at the courthouse, everyone had to pass through the same vestibule to reach or exit the courtroom. The judge and the court clerk often had to cross the courtroom to get to their chambers. It was difficult for the various actors not to meet. We also know from diaries, private correspondence, and biographies that a certain spatial disarray characterized the room where justice was trettio af träd, samt åtskilliga lusthus m.m. för högloflige ridderskapet och adelen, samt andra ståndspersoner på landet (Stockholm: Rekolid, 1993) [facsimile edn]. 9 In the late seventeenth century, with the creation of a militia-based army maintained by the allotment system (Indelningsverket), a number of patterns were produced for military dwellings. See Ulla Ehrensvärd, ‘Militära boställen’, in Robert Swedlund & Ulla Ehrensvärd (eds.), ‘At förse Riket med beständige och prydlige Byggnader’: Byggnadsstyrelsen och dess föregångare (Stockholm: Kungliga Byggnadsstyrelsen, 1969). 10 Mulcahy 2011, 34. 11 Löfgren 2011, 88–96. 146
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