Legal Procedure and Practice in Medieval Denmark

Per Andersen, Ph.D. (2005) in Law, Aarhus University, is Associate Professor of Law at Aarhus University. He has, among different areas, published extensively on the legal history of Medieval Denmark.

• Abbreviations ... ixList of Illustrations and Maps ... xiKings of Denmark ... xiiiIntroduction ... 1Introduction: Medieval Denmark—Part of EuropeChapter One Medieval Denmark ... 11Denmark’s Political History until c.1300 ... 11Social Structures in the Time of the Provincial Laws ... 18Developments after 1300 ... 24The Geographical Coverage of this Study ... 28The Administrative Division and Judicial Administration ... 29Chapter Two The Tradition—and the New Paradigm ... 37The Traditional and the New Paradigm ... 46Chapter Three Learned Law and Secular Legislation ... 50The Universities and Legal Education ... 52The Announcement of a New Era—Papal and Secular Law-giving ... 55Learned Procedural Law at the Beginning of the Thirteenth Century ... 60Summary ... 67Part One: Legal Institutions and Procedures of the Provincial LawsChapter Four The Danish Provincial Laws ... 71Chapter Five The Institutions of Legal Administration ... 84The Sentencing Functions ... 85New Directions—The Law of Jylland ... 92Executive Functions—The Ombudsman ... 118Summary ... 126Chapter Six Legal Procedure in the Provincial Laws ... 130The Book on Inheritance and Heinous Crimes ... 130The Ordinance on Manslaughter 1200 AD ... 137The Procedure in the Law of Skåne ... 142Valdemar’s Law for Sjælland—Following the Tradition ... 153Towards a New Law of Procedure—Eric’s Law for Sjælland ... 156Innovative Procedural Law—The Law of Jylland ... 169Summary ... 188Conclusion Part One Procedural Law in the Thirteenth Century ... 193Part Two: Legal Procedure and Practice in Late Medieval DenmarkChapter Seven Learned Tendencies and Practical Considerations ... 205Centralisation and the Imposition of a Hierarchy ... 206The Demand for Efficiency—Procedure in the Later Middle Ages ... 212A Learned Legal Environment in Late-Medieval Denmark? ... 217The Danish Legal System in the Later Middle Ages ... 220Sources for the Period c.1300 to 1558 ... 232Chapter Eight Practice and Regulation at the herredsting ... 242The Local Court’s Regulation and Organisation ... 242The Governance of Court—The Official ... 253Documenting the Activity of the Court—The Court Scribe ... 266Voting and Decision—The Jurors ... 269Procedure as Norm and Practice ... 290Summary ... 310Chapter Nine Landstinget—between the People and the King ... 314The Procedure and Running of the Landsting ... 315The Provincial Court Judge ... 322The Provincial Court Scribe ... 329Procedure and Sentencing at the Landsting ... 330Summary ... 341Chapter Ten Birkeret, Ting and Local Procedure ... 343The Patron of the Peculiar, the Foged, the Scribe ... 346Procedure at the Peculiar Courts ... 349Summary ... 355Chapter Eleven The Borough—Continuity and Consequence ... 356The Law of the Towns—The Town Laws and Practice ... 360Institutions for the Administration of Justice ... 363Legal Procedures in the Boroughs—Continuities and Consequences ... 381Post-Reformation Practice ... 392Summary ... 396Chapter Twelve The Royal Court of Law—The Highest Court ... 399Court and Political Forum ... 400Procedure and Trial at the Royal Court of Law ... 409Summary ... 414Conclusion Part Two Law and Practice in the Late Middle Ages ... 417Conclusion: Legal Procedure and Practice in Medieval DenmarkConclusion ... 423Bibliography ... 429Subject Index ... 445