Thomas Lindkvist – författare

The Västgöta Laws contains the translation of the oldest of the Swedish provincial law codes and other texts of great relevance to the legal history.

The first version, the Older Västgöta Law, is from the first half of the thirteenth century and the earliest example of an indigenous vernacular literacy with the Latin script from Sweden. A second and highly revised version of the law is preserved in a manuscript from the middle of the fourteenth century. This volume also contains a translation of the annotations and proposals made during the complicated negotiations between representatives of the church, the kingdom, and the community of the province. Together, the two versions of the law and the annotations offer a unique possibility to understand the making and transformation of a medieval law. The importance of the regional leaders, the lawmen, is evident from the earliest example of history writing in Sweden, illustrating the legal and political history of Västergötland.

With an Introduction that places the province of Västergötland and its law into its political setting, this translation is invaluable for all students and scholars of medieval Swedish legal and political history.

The Västgöta Laws contains the translation of the oldest of the Swedish provincial law codes and other texts of great relevance to the legal history.

The first version, the Older Västgöta Law, is from the first half of the thirteenth century and the earliest example of an indigenous vernacular literacy with the Latin script from Sweden. A second and highly revised version of the law is preserved in a manuscript from the middle of the fourteenth century. This volume also contains a translation of the annotations and proposals made during the complicated negotiations between representatives of the church, the kingdom, and the community of the province. Together, the two versions of the law and the annotations offer a unique possibility to understand the making and transformation of a medieval law. The importance of the regional leaders, the lawmen, is evident from the earliest example of history writing in Sweden, illustrating the legal and political history of Västergötland.

With an Introduction that places the province of Västergötland and its law into its political setting, this translation is invaluable for all students and scholars of medieval Swedish legal and political history.

The cultural borders of Europe are today more visible than ever, and with them comes a sense of uncertainty with respect to liberal democratic traditions: whether treated as abstractions or concrete realities, cultural divisions challenge concepts of legitimacy and political representation as well as the legal bases for citizenship. Thus, an understanding of such borders and their consequences is of utmost importance for promoting the evolution of democracy. Cultural Borders of Europe provides a wide-ranging exploration of these lines of demarcation in a variety of regions and historical eras, providing essential insights into the state of European intercultural relations today.