11 Foreword The articles in the present volume of Studies in the History of Lawall came into being as a result of the Swedish-Finnish Interdisciplinary Symposium in the History of Law which was held in Uppsala, April 18—20, 1983 on the theme, »The FlourishingJurisprudence in the Political, Cultural and Religious Seventeenth Century Society, Sweden’s Age of Greatness.» The objective of the symposiumwas to attain as complete a picture as possible of Swedish cultural lifeduring the seventeenth century by gatheringa group of experts fromvarious scientific fields and, against this background, to direct attention to the development of jurisprudenceduring this same century, that is, toviewjurisprudence as one of the branches of a blooming cultural tree, which during this century took root and developed withinthe borders of the area governed by Sweden. In order to realize this goal I invited scientists from both Sweden and Finland, theologians, historians, historians of intellectual history, art historians, as well as jurists, to hold lectures at the symposium. A total of not less than forty-two persons participated in the symposium, twelve of whomcontributed scientific lectures, all of which were followed by discussions. In conjunction with the 400th anniversary of the birth of Hugo Grotius the program also included a lecture in honor of this outstanding jurist by Uppsala University’s Vice President StigStrömholm. HugoGrotius can scarcely be considered a Swedish jurist, but because of his positionhe was, however, closely associated with Sweden and Swedish cultural life. As is apparent from these articles, and as was clearly evident fromthe lectures and their ensuing discussions, we have come a long way toward sketching a comprehensive picture and toward understanding the flourishing of Swedish culture during the seventeenth century. However, there still remain large areas whichhave not been scientifically penetrated and investigated, and these include the development of jurisprudence. May these lectures generate continued and extensive research. Finally, for financial assistance in sponsoring the above-named symposium, I wish to warmly and respectfully express my gratitude to His Majesty the King for contributions fromKingGustav VI Adolph’s Fund for Swedish Culture, the Emil Heijne Foundation for Scientific Research in Jurisprudence, and the Cultural Fund for Sweden and Finland. For assistance with the English translation I wish to thank Marie Clark Nelson, MA. Uppsala, October 1983 Göran Inger Professor of Uppsala University
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