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This book explores the judicial treatment of suicides in early modern Sweden, with a focus on the criminal investigation and selective treatment of suicides in the lower courts in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Riikka Miettinen shows that reactions and attitudes towards suicides varied considerably despite harsh condemnation by officials. The indictment, investigation, and classification of suspected suicides and the mental state of a person already deceased were challenging, and depended on local co-operation and lay testimonies. Not all suicides were considered alike; a widespread view on the heinousness of suicide was not the same as agreement about specific cases, and did not result in uniform handling of them. The social status and local ties of the deceased influenced the interpretations and responses at the local lower courts and communities. Esteemed local community members had a better defence and greater chance to escape the shameful penalties.
This book represents the outcome of the “Conference on Church Archaeology in the Baltic Sea Region” held in August 2013 in Turku, Finland, which, in turn, had its roots in the long tradition of Scandinavian Symposia for Nordic Church Archaeology, started in 1981 in Denmark. During the past few decades, the scope of church archaeology has expanded immensely and can presently be described as a multifaceted field of research. This book represents a convincing testament to this development. Every chapter gives a distinctive perspective on the theme of sacred monuments and practices written by leading experts in this field. As such, this volume offers unique insights into the study of religious life and its material aspects in the Baltic Sea Region, made available for English-readers for the first time.
The contributions in this volume enter the debate about the way in which the provision of poor relief can be influenced by its national confessional context. They bring new perspectives to the understanding of theological aspects of Lutheranism, such as the connection between justification by faith alone and care for the poor, and work and work ethics. The articles also analyse the implementation of social responsibility of the authority towards different categories of poor ('deserving' and 'undeserving'), local administration and centralization of poor relief through connections of public and private sources of funding, and collaboration between state, church and civil society through different public and private aspects of poor relief. In this way the various contributions combine to demonstrate new ways in the study of the connection between confessional specifics and historical developments through detailed knowledge of theology, supported by concrete historical case studies.
'At a historic moment, when religion shows all its social and political strength in various post-modern societies around our globe, this fascinating collection of studies from the Middle Ages to twentieth-century Europe demonstrates all the richness and innovative force of investigating individual and shared experiences when questioning the cultural, political and social place of religion in society. It also makes known in English the work of a series of Finnish historians elaborating together a pioneering vision of the notion of experience in the discipline of history.' - Piroska Nagy, Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Canada This open access book offers a theoretical introduction to the his...
This open access book uses Finland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as an empirical case in order to study the emergence, shaping and renewal of a nation through histories of experience and emotions. It revolves around the following questions: What kinds of experiences have engendered national mobilization and feelings of national belonging? How have political and societal conflicts turned into new communities of experience and emotion? What kinds of experiences have been integrated into, or excluded from, the national context in different instances? How have people internalized or contested the nation as a context for their personal, family and minority-group experiences? In what w...
During the early modern centuries, gunpowder and artillery revolutionized warfare, and armies grew rapidly. To sustain their new military machines, the European rulers turned increasingly to their civilian subjects, making all levels of civil society serve the needs of the military. This volume examines civil-military interaction in the multinational Swedish Realm in 1550–1800, with a focus on its eastern part, present-day Finland, which was an important supply region and battlefield bordered by Russia. Sweden was one of the frontrunners of the Military Revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries. The crown was eager to adapt European models, but its attempts to outsource military supply to ...
It is generally recognized that in early modern society, the position of the church and clergy was very central. As many historians have stated over the decades, the church and state were closely connected and their power structures and ideologies supported each other. However, when studying the social and public role of the church and clergy, it soon becomes quite clear how pervasive this phenomenon was. The church not only created but also maintained and acted as a part of international, national, and local communities, structures, and cultures that connected people regardless of their social status and gender. The church was a spiritual, administrative, and social institution and experien...
Väärentäjä kuin murhaaja. Wäärentäjä Grandellin sattumuksien täyttämä elämäntaival avaa ainutlaatuisen näköalan veijareiden ja lurjusten elämään ja 1800-luvun Suomeen. Carl Grandell oli vaatimattomista oloista kotoisin oleva mies, joka yritti edetä elämässään niillä keinoilla kuin hänelle oli mahdollista. Silti kruunu piti häntä murhaajan veroisena pahantekijänä. 1800-luvun alun Suomessa ihmisen paikka oli ennalta määrätty, eikä rahvaalla ollut mahdollisuuksia nousta yhteiskunnan portaita ylöspäin. Hitaasti leviävä kirjoitustaito tarjosi nokkelalle henkilölle asemiensa parantamiseen yhden keinon - vaikkakin laittoman ja riskialttiin. Mahtavampiensa valla...
This book aims to shed light on a global and complex phenomenon: migration. In order to grasp this vast and ambiguous issue, the book offers ten multi-layered case studies, each focussing on one aspect of migration. With this selection of articles, this collected volume builds a bridge between the past and the present and highlight the many sides of migration. The chapters will demonstrate how the questions of controlled migration, movement of labour, improvement of one’s life, and interaction of people of different origin have puzzled us in the course of the last five hundred years.
The formation of states in early modern Europe has long been an important topic for historical analysis. Traditionally, the political and military struggles of kings and rulers were the favoured object of study for academic historians. This book highlights new historical research from Europe’s northern frontier, bringing ‘the people’ back into the discussion of state politics, presenting alternative views of political and social relations in the Nordic countries before industrialisation. The early modern period was a time that witnessed initiatives from people from many groups formally excluded from political influence, operating outside the structures of central government, and this book returns to the subject of contentious politics and state building from below.