E. I. Kouri is Professor Emeritus of General History at the University of Helsinki. He is a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and the International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions. Jens E. Olesen holds the Chair for Nordic History at the University of Greifswald. He is a specialist on Nordic history, dealing especially with late medieval/Reformation and early modern history of Scandinavia and Finland. He has published extensively on the Kalmar Union and on the struggle for the Baltic between Denmark-Norway and Sweden.

'The authors provide broad and balanced insight into all the Scandinavian societies and analyze them both comparatively and on their own terms. International readers looking for sound information on 350 years of Scandinavian history have a new handbook to consult.' Peter Thaler, Scandinavian Studies

• Introduction E. I. Kouri and Jens E. Olesen; Part I: 1. The disintegration of the medieval church Martin Schwartz Lausten; 2. Social, political and religious tensions Lars Olof Larsson; 3. The Reformation in Denmark, Norway and Iceland Ole Peter Grell; 4. The Reformation in Sweden and Finland E. I. Kouri; 5. Intellectual currents Ole Peter Grell; 6. The crown and the aristocracy in cooperation in Denmark Heikki Ylikangas; Part II: 7. Growth and stagnation of population and settlement Eljas Orrman; 8. Economic growth and trade Knud J. V. Jespersen; 9. Social consequences Knud J. V. Jespersen; Part III: 10. The internationalisation of the Baltic market Åke Sandström; 11. The Dutch and the English in the Baltic, the North Sea, and the Arctic Ole Peter Grell; 12. The struggle for supremacy in the Baltic between Denmark-Norway and Sweden, 1563–1721 Jens E. Olesen; 13. Militarisation of Scandinavia, 1520–1870 Gunner Lind; 14. Colonial empires Erik Gøbel; 15. The military imperative Leon Jespersen; 16. Fiscal and military developments Leon Jespersen; 17. From aristocratic regime to absolutism, 1660–82 Leon Jespersen; 18. The consolidation of the Nordic states: the Europeanisation of Scandinavia Leon Jespersen; 19. Centre and periphery Oystein Rian; 20. Religious and social regimentation Ole Peter Grell; Part IV: 21. Demography and family, c.1650–1815 Solvi Sogner; 22. Economy and social conditions Dan H. Andersen and Jens Chr. V. Johansen; 23. Material and popular culture Jens Chr. V. Johansen; 24. The situation of the commoners, 1650–1750 Harald Gustafsson; 25. Religious and intellectual currents Seppo Salminen; 26. Cultural Europeanisation, court culture and aristocratic taste, c.1580–1750 Jorgen Hein; 27. Architecture, literature and the arts Allan Ellenius; 28. Music at the Danish and Swedish courts in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries John Bergsagel; 29. Music in Scandinavia in the eighteenth century John Bergsagel; Part V: 30. Constitution and politics Panu Pulma; 31. Denmark in the Napoleonic Wars, 1807–14 Ole Feldbaek; Part VI: 32. The new economic order - Scandinavia between the Congress of Vienna and the Paris Commune Torkel Jansson; 33. The demographic transition during the period 1815–70: mortality decline and population growth Solvi Sogner; 34. Agricultural development in Scandinavia, c.1800–50 Matti Peltonen; 35. Industrial expansion Markku Kuisma; Part VII: 36. New social categories in town and country Lars-Arne Norborg; 37. Social reactions at different levels Torkel Jansson; 38. The beginning of the Great Emigration Lennart Limberg; 39. Everyday life Jan Eivind Myhre; 40. The education of new groups in society Lars Pettersson; 41. Arts, architecture and literature Goran Lindahl; 42. Literature Sigurd Aarnes; Part VIII: 43. The constitutional situation Torkel Jansson; 44. The idea of Scandinavianism Henrik Becker-Christensen; 45. The Nordic nation states: the building of the Finnish nation Hannes Saarinen; 46. When Denmark became a nation state Vagn Skovgaard-Petersen; 47. The Nordic nation states Silvert Langholm; 48. Sweden Lars Petersen; 49. Iceland, 1800–74: the emergence of the nation state Anna Agnarsdottir; Part IX: 50. From the Reformation of states and churches to the formation of nations and civic societies, 1520–1870 E. I. Kouri and Jens E. Olesen; Conclusion E. I. Kouri and Jens E. Olesen; Select bibliography; Index.

E. I. Kouri is Professor Emeritus of General History at the University of Helsinki. He is a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and the International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions. Jens E. Olesen holds the Chair for Nordic History at the University of Greifswald. He is a specialist on Nordic history, dealing especially with late medieval/Reformation and early modern history of Scandinavia and Finland. He has published extensively on the Kalmar Union and on the struggle for the Baltic between Denmark-Norway and Sweden.

'The authors provide broad and balanced insight into all the Scandinavian societies and analyze them both comparatively and on their own terms. International readers looking for sound information on 350 years of Scandinavian history have a new handbook to consult.' Peter Thaler, Scandinavian Studies

• Introduction E. I. Kouri and Jens E. Olesen; Part I: 1. The disintegration of the medieval church Martin Schwartz Lausten; 2. Social, political and religious tensions Lars Olof Larsson; 3. The Reformation in Denmark, Norway and Iceland Ole Peter Grell; 4. The Reformation in Sweden and Finland E. I. Kouri; 5. Intellectual currents Ole Peter Grell; 6. The crown and the aristocracy in cooperation in Denmark Heikki Ylikangas; Part II: 7. Growth and stagnation of population and settlement Eljas Orrman; 8. Economic growth and trade Knud J. V. Jespersen; 9. Social consequences Knud J. V. Jespersen; Part III: 10. The internationalisation of the Baltic market Åke Sandström; 11. The Dutch and the English in the Baltic, the North Sea, and the Arctic Ole Peter Grell; 12. The struggle for supremacy in the Baltic between Denmark-Norway and Sweden, 1563–1721 Jens E. Olesen; 13. Militarisation of Scandinavia, 1520–1870 Gunner Lind; 14. Colonial empires Erik Gøbel; 15. The military imperative Leon Jespersen; 16. Fiscal and military developments Leon Jespersen; 17. From aristocratic regime to absolutism, 1660–82 Leon Jespersen; 18. The consolidation of the Nordic states: the Europeanisation of Scandinavia Leon Jespersen; 19. Centre and periphery Oystein Rian; 20. Religious and social regimentation Ole Peter Grell; Part IV: 21. Demography and family, c.1650–1815 Solvi Sogner; 22. Economy and social conditions Dan H. Andersen and Jens Chr. V. Johansen; 23. Material and popular culture Jens Chr. V. Johansen; 24. The situation of the commoners, 1650–1750 Harald Gustafsson; 25. Religious and intellectual currents Seppo Salminen; 26. Cultural Europeanisation, court culture and aristocratic taste, c.1580–1750 Jorgen Hein; 27. Architecture, literature and the arts Allan Ellenius; 28. Music at the Danish and Swedish courts in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries John Bergsagel; 29. Music in Scandinavia in the eighteenth century John Bergsagel; Part V: 30. Constitution and politics Panu Pulma; 31. Denmark in the Napoleonic Wars, 1807–14 Ole Feldbaek; Part VI: 32. The new economic order - Scandinavia between the Congress of Vienna and the Paris Commune Torkel Jansson; 33. The demographic transition during the period 1815–70: mortality decline and population growth Solvi Sogner; 34. Agricultural development in Scandinavia, c.1800–50 Matti Peltonen; 35. Industrial expansion Markku Kuisma; Part VII: 36. New social categories in town and country Lars-Arne Norborg; 37. Social reactions at different levels Torkel Jansson; 38. The beginning of the Great Emigration Lennart Limberg; 39. Everyday life Jan Eivind Myhre; 40. The education of new groups in society Lars Pettersson; 41. Arts, architecture and literature Goran Lindahl; 42. Literature Sigurd Aarnes; Part VIII: 43. The constitutional situation Torkel Jansson; 44. The idea of Scandinavianism Henrik Becker-Christensen; 45. The Nordic nation states: the building of the Finnish nation Hannes Saarinen; 46. When Denmark became a nation state Vagn Skovgaard-Petersen; 47. The Nordic nation states Silvert Langholm; 48. Sweden Lars Petersen; 49. Iceland, 1800–74: the emergence of the nation state Anna Agnarsdottir; Part IX: 50. From the Reformation of states and churches to the formation of nations and civic societies, 1520–1870 E. I. Kouri and Jens E. Olesen; Conclusion E. I. Kouri and Jens E. Olesen; Select bibliography; Index.