SCANDINAVIAN LAW

in medieval times, a separate and independent branch of early Germanic law, and, in modern times, in the form of codifications, the basis of the legal systems of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland. in medieval times, a separate and independent branch of early Germanic law. It originated within what are now Norway, Denmark, and Sweden and was extended between the 9th and 13th centuries to the settled or conquered territories of Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, parts of Great Britain and Ireland, Normandy, Finland, and other territories along the Baltic shore. Before the Scandinavian states emerged as unified kingdoms in the 9th century, the several districts and provinces were virtually independent legally and administratively. Originally there were no written laws; the legal system consisted of customary law that was conserved, developed, and approved by the people themselves at the things (i.e., popular meetings of all freemen). The meetings were conducted by one or more prominent men conversant with the law, who made statements of law, gave directions concerning rules of law applicable in particular cases, and with the assent of the thing created new law when traditional law was insufficient. A trend toward greater legal unity gradually asserted itself, the result being the formation of more comprehensive regions with common things and identical laws. Between the 11th and 13th centuries the provincial laws were put in writing, most often as private compilations in the vernacular. In Norway, King Magnus V (126380) provided a common code of law for the rural districts as early as 1274 and for the towns two years later. Similar developments took place in Sweden in the 14th century, but Denmark remained subject to three different provincial laws until Christian V's Danish Law (1683). In addition to the principal subjects of private law (matrimony, inheritance, property, and contract), the codes contained constitutional and administrative law, criminal law, and law of procedure. Ecclesiastical law was usually excluded and treated separately. The codes were chiefly a codification of the customary law; influences from abroad were negligible except for some traces of canon law. The codes did, nonetheless, depart from customary law in some respects. Whereas the provincial laws had tolerated and regulated blood feuds, King Magnus' code abolished private vengeance, declaring that the king's officials should initiate criminal proceedings and provide for the punishment of those who committed crimes. Further, presumably under the influence of Christianity, legal provisions were introduced for assistance to paupers and the helpless. Rules concerning property in land were markedly original, for example, in giving the right of redemption to the family rather than to the king or clan. During the early modern period supplementary laws were issued, and in some cases the original codes were revised. Finally, during the reign of Christian V, a comprehensive codification was accomplished, and the earlier and often obsolete law was replaced by codes known as Danish Law (1683) and Norwegian Law (1688). The new codes were based mainly on the existing national laws of the two countries, and foreign influence was comparatively slight. There was a strong emphasisfor the timeson individual rights, and provisions of criminal law were relatively humane as compared with other European legislation. In Sweden a revised edition of the original code was issued in the 15th century. The need for more modern legislation, however, made itself increasingly felt, and, following the Danish-Norwegian example, in 1734 a royal commission drafted a new code, which was also applicable to Sweden's possession, Finland. These old codes have been almost completely displaced by modern parliamentary statutes.