The Danish Medieval Laws: The Laws of Scania, Zealand and Jutland

Description

"The Danish medieval laws: the laws of Scania, Zealand and Jutland" contains translations of the four most important medieval Danish laws written in the vernacular. The main texts are those of the Law of Scania, the two laws of Zealand – Valdemar’s and Erik’s – and the Law of Jutland, all of which date from the early thirteenth century. The Church Law of Scania and three short royal ordinances are also included. These provincial laws were first written down in the first half of the thirteenth century and were in force until 1683, when they were replaced by a national law. The laws, preserved in over 100 separate manuscripts, are the first extended texts in Danish and represent a first attempt to create a Danish legal language. The book starts with a brief but thorough introduction to the history of Denmark in the thirteenth century, covering the country, the political setting and the legal context in which the laws were written. There follows the translated text from each province, preceded by a general introduction to each area and an introduction to the translation offering key contextual information and background on the process of translating the laws. An Old Danish-English glossary is also included, along with an annotated glossary to support the reading of the translations. This book will be essential reading for students and scholars of medieval Scandinavian legal history. List of maps viii A general introduction to the Medieval Nordic Laws translations ix Foreword xi List of abbreviations xiii PART I. Introduction 1 Introduction 3 Denmark around 1200 3 The Church 8 The laws 10 The medieval laws in Danish legal history 12 The law texts 13 Translating medieval laws 14 The language of the laws 15 The law in the laws 18 The household 18 Courts and procedure 22 Village and agriculture 24 Ownership and different types of property 26 Inheritance 27 Sale 28 Mortgage and pledge 29 Prescription and possession 30 Objects without an owner 30 Responsibility for animals and slaves 31 Contracts 32 Crime and punishment 32 Bodily harm 34 Sexual offences 36 Theft and rapine 36 Military dues 37 Bibliography: introduction 39 Sources 39 Literature 40 PART II. The provinces and the laws 43 Scania 45 The Scanian laws 47 Dating 47 The manuscripts 49 The manuscript used for the translation 50 Editorial choices 51 The Church Law of Scania: translation 52 The Law of Scania: translation 56 The royal ordinances 97 Knud VI’s Ordinance on Homicide 28 December 1200 97 Manuscripts 97 Text 98 The Ordinance on Offering Compensation 101 Manuscripts 101 Text 101 The Ordinance on Ordeal by Hot Iron 102 Manuscripts 103 Text 103 Bibliography: Scania 106 Sources 106 Literature 106 Zealand 108 The province of Zealand 108 The laws of Zealand 110 Valdemar’s Law of Zealand 111 Dating 112 The law manuscripts 113 The manuscripts used for the translation and the editorial choices 114 The Church Law of Zealand 114 The law of Zealand known as the Law of Valdemar: translation 116 Erik’s Law of Zealand 153 Dating 153 The law manuscripts 154 The manuscripts used for the translation and editorial choices 154 Erik’s Law of Zealand: translation 156 Bibliography: Zealand 233 Sources 233 Literature 233 Jutland 235 The province of Jutland 235 Dating 238 The law manuscripts 239 The manuscript used for the translation and editorial choices 239 The Law of Jutland: translation 242 Bibliography: Jutland 294 Sources 294 Literature 294 PART III. Vocabulary 297 Vocabulary 299 I. Annotated glossary 300 II. Glossary Old Danish–English 317 Index 344