Law and The Christian Tradition in Scandinavia The Writings of Great Nordic Jurists Law and Religion Series

This book presents a comprehensive history of law and religion in the Nordic context.

The entwinement of law and religion in Scandinavia encompasses an unusual history, not widely known yet important for its impact on contemporary political and international relations in the region. The volume provides a holistic picture from the first written legal sources of the twelfth century to the law of the present secular welfare states. It recounts this history through biographical case studies. Taking the point of view of major influential figures in church, politics, university, and law, it thus presents the principal actors who served as catalysts in ecclesiastical and secular law through the centuries. This refreshing approach to legal history contributes to a new trend in historiography, particularly articulated by a younger generation of experienced Nordic scholars whose work is featured prominently in this volume.

The collection will be a valuable resource for academics and researchers working in the areas of Legal History and Law and Religion.

Foreword by John Witte, Jr.; Introduction: Kjell Å Modéer Helle Vogt; The Middle Ages; Introduction: Bertil Nilsson Helle Vogt; Per Andersen Helle Vogt: Archbishops Absalon and Anders Sunesen: Legal reforms in around 1200 in Denmark; Bertil Nilsson Stina Sundmark: Anders Andersson And, Brynolf Algotsson Laurentius of Vaksala, Swedish church law around 1300; Reformation and Early Modern Times; Introduction: Mia Korpiola Heikki Pihlajamäki; Morten Kjær Mattias Skat Sommer: Johannes Bugenhagen: The architect of the Danish Reformation; Heikki Pihlajamäki: Olaus Petri: The architect of the Swedish Reformation; Mia Korpiola: Archbishop Laurentius Petri: The Respected Authority of the Swedish Reformation; Morten Kjær and Mattias Skat Sommer: The Christian jurisprudence of Niels Hemmingsen; The Enlightenment – Secular Law in Christian Societies; Introduction: Søren Koch and Kristian Mejrup; Søren Koch: Ludvig Holberg: Natural Law and the Struggle with Pietism in Eighteenth-Century Denmark-Norway: Ludvig Holberg (1684–1751); Kristian Mejrup: Andreas Hojer: the standard-bearer of Danish-Norwegian Pietism; National Romanticism and Constitutionalism; Introduction: Anders Jarlert Kjell Å Modéer; Lisbet Christoffersen and Niels Henrik Gregersen: Shaping the Danish People’s Church in the Context of Freedom of Religion. A.S. Ørsted (1778–1860) and N.F.S. Grundtvig (1783–1872); Kjell Å Modéer: Christian Legal Historian and Intermediary of Henric Schartau’s Religious Heritage: Carl Johan Schlyter 1795 – 1888; Alexander Maurits: The Theological Battle for Freedom of Religion in Sweden: the Case of Henrik Reuterdahl and Johan Henrik Thomander; Jussi Sallila: Karl Gustav Ehrström: Humanity, the Christian Spirit, and Criminal Law in Finland in the nineteenth century; Modernity: Secularism and Positivism/Legal Realism; Introduction: Anders Jarlert Kjell Å Modéer; Egil Morland and Torgeir Landro, Absalon Taranger: Legal history and church politic in Norway around 1900; Anders Jarlert: Swedish Modernity in Transition within Law and Theology: Halvar G F Sundberg and Gustaf Aulén; Egil Morland: Church Leader in Times of Trouble: Eivind Josef Berggrav (1884 - 1959); Kjell Å Modéer, Frede Castberg 1893 – 1977: A Counterpoint in Modern Nordic Legal Culture; Kjell Å Modéer: A Late-Modern Catalyst in Swedish Ecclesiastical Law: Göran Göransson (1925–1998);

Kjell Å Modéer is Professor Emeritus of Legal History at Lund University, Sweden.

Helle Vogt holds the Chair in Legal History at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.