Historisk Tidskrift. Utgiven av Svenska historiska föreningen
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Historisk tidskrift 125:3 • 2005

Innehåll (Contents) 2005:3

Uppsatser (Articles)

Härskarmakten och undersåtarna. Legitimitet och maktutövning i tidigmodern tid

Johan Holm

Fulltext (pdf)

Summary:

Power and Legitimacy in Early Modern Sweden

How did the interaction between the peasants and the Crown work in early modern Sweden? It has been argued that the peasants always lost political contest with the king’s government. The peasants lacked the arguments and the political language to protect their interests. It has also been taken for granted that the king was not very generous when the peasants complained to the Crown about injustices they had suffered.

In contrast with this view, this article shows that the interaction between the Crown and the peasants was more akin to a political discussion between equals than has previously been appreciated. The peasants and the king shared the same political culture, and recognised the same arguments as valid. Furthermore, the peasants turn out to have been quite successful in these discussions. From 1595 to 1635 it is unusual to find rejections of peasant complaints. When the high nobility assumed command over the government after the death of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632, however, things changed. From this date, rejection of peasant complaints became commonplace.