Pax, Iustitia et Ordo: Bykvinders strafferetlige ansvar i Sverige 1474-1500: Bykvinders strafferetlige ansvar i Sverige 1474-1550
Oversat titel
Pax, Iustitia et Ordo: Urban Women's Criminal Liability in Sweden 1474-1500: Urban Women's Criminal Liability in Sweden 1474-1500
Forfatter
Semester
4. semester
Uddannelse
Udgivelsesår
2025
Afleveret
2025-06-02
Antal sider
80
Abstract
Specialet undersøger, hvordan kvinder blev straffet for forbrydelser relateret til vold, frarøvelse af liv, berigelseskriminalitet og seksualforbrydelser i Stockholm i perioden 1474-1500. På baggrund af 2.034 doms- og anklageskrifter fra byens retsprotokoller undersøger specialet, om kvinden selv blev idømt straf eller om hendes værge modtog straffen på vegne af hende. Analysen viser, at kvinder hverken var helt uden ansvar men heller ikke besad samme muligheder som mænd ved domstolen. De havde størst ansvar i sager om vold og tyveri, mens deres handlemuligheder var mindre i sager om frarøvelse af liv og betydeligt mere begrænset ved seksualforbrydelser.
This thesis investigates the punishment of women for the crimes of violence, murder, homicide, property crimes, and sexual offences in Stockholm during the period 1474-1500, based on judgments and indictments from the city’s court records. It is investigated whether sentencing practices aligned with legalisation and what this reveal about women’s legal position. The analysis of 2.034 court cases demonstrates, that women’s legal status cannot be reduced to a simple dichotomy of legal object or subject. Instead, women appear as semisubjects, who were legally accountable but with agency contingent on their gender, marital status, and social position. The thesis concludes that women generally held the greatest legal capacity in cases of assault and theft, where punishment aligned with those of men. In homicide and sexual offences, their legal position was significantly more restricted. Particularly in cases of fornication, women operated within informal legal spheres governed by custom rather than formal law and courts. The thesis concludes that women’s legal status was nuanced and dependent on context. Sentencing practices sought to maintain social order while pragmatically adjusting punishment based on type of crime and circumstance, upholding patriarchal norms but allowing room for situational flexibility.
Emneord
Middelalder ; Køn ; Kvinder ; Strafferet ; Sverige ; Kriminalitet ; Straf ; Senmiddelalder