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Landskap (Province) Look up a province in the menu below and click on the button 'Display the province" and you will get a map showing the province' geographical position in Sweden.
The provinces of Sweden have a various origin and age. In the absence of source material we know very little about how the society was organised. Most likely were sections of the population organised in what was called "land" and later "landskap" (provinces). The common life was regularised in the villages. These so called "land" were in the middle of the 11th century constituted and loosely bounded up with a common king as a uniting factor. By being Christianised the Roman Church had an influence on the society which was growing during the Middle Ages. The different provinces were characterised by that they were strongly self-governed. The provinces in the part of Sweden called "Götaland" were divided up into administrative county district called "härad" and in the area of Sweden called "Svealand" that kind of units were called hundare and in the coastal region skeppslag. In the island Gotland these districts were called "ting". During the 12th and 13th centuries the significance of the provinces was growing. These "land" were both an administrative and a judicial unit. Its body was called "landsting" or "lagmansting" and was conducted by a chief judge called "lagman". Most of the provinces corresponded with the "lagsaga", which was the area for the law of the province, with the exception of e.g. Östergötland, which also included the small "lands" in north and east of Småland. The law-rolls of the Swedish provinces were valid for the people before a common law for all provinces was introduced. These provincial laws were taken down on paper in the 13th and 14th century. These laws are besides the rune stones, the earliest literary text in the Swedish language. The Swedish provincial laws were divided into acts, so called "balkar". This classification in acts is preserve to the Swedish law of today, except for minor additions and adjustments. The acts were divided up in so called "flockar". Under the King Magnus Ladulås' reign, 1275-1290, it was established, that the chief judge ("lagman") had to keep a judgement book, where all passed sentences had to be written down. According to the law, the judgement book had to be written in Swedish, regardless if the king, a chief judges or so-called "häradshövding" would write in it. The older provincial law of Västergötland is the oldest preserved Swedish law and was taken down in the 1220th. The provincial law of Skåne was taken down in about 1210 and the "Gutalagen" from the province Gottland in 13th century have their origin from Danish legislation. In the end of the 13th the provincial law of Östergötland was taken down and the provincial law of Uppland in 1296, Småland in about the 14th century. During the beginning of the 14th century the provincial laws of Västmanland, Södermanland and Hälsingland were taken down. There was a law called "Danalagen" and the history experts disagree if that law belonged to the province Värmland or Dalarna. However they are sure that it has existed a provincial law of Värmland, but nothing of it is preserved. The king Magnus Ladulås, the son of Birger Jarl, established the provincial law of Närke. The later province "Dalarna" was a county district ("hundare") and the chief judge was the "lagman" of Närke. Beside the provincial laws there were special city-laws, where so called "Björköarätten" the most famous. "Björköarätten" was a law for Stockholm and other cities in the mainland. When the provincial laws was taken down, the Christian church had established as much, that it had some extent of influence, which had an effect of tone down on the legislation. In the province laws contained a special act of church ("kyrkobalk"), where the church' interests were maintained. The Swedish provinces lost its significance during the end of the 13th century and in the 14th century, when the kings so called "folkungarna" was reigning. The central power increased during the reign of Birger Jarl (he was not a king, but a guardian of his son Valdemar) and king Magnus Ladulås. These kings and their men founded so called "frihetslagar" (liberty-laws) as the privacy of the home, women's protection, protection during the court sessions and protection when visiting the church. These laws founded by the king was called "edsöreslag" and promised the common law. When the law of Östergötland was taken down, these laws founded by the king were included in a separate act. When the central power had increased, there was a need of a common law valid for all provinces. About 1335, king Magnus Eriksson founded a common law, which by gradual stages became established in all Swedish provinces. During the reign of king Kristoffer, a new version of the common law was established in 1442. These common laws were hold good to the new law founded in 1734.
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