From Disputation Hall to High Office: Swedish Students’ Legal Dissertations at German and Dutch Universities in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

Abstract

Swedish students commonly studied abroad, especially during the seventeenth century. This was true also for those studying law. This article examines the legal dissertations that Swedish students defended during their visits to foreign universities in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The universities of Greifswald and Leiden produced the most dissertations with Swedish respondents. After discussing the practice of written dissertations and Swedes as respondents more generally, the dissertations of some Swedish students are examined in more detail. This analysis showed that many Swedes probably wrote the dissertations themselves, or at least actively participated, as references to Swedish law were common. By reflecting these dissertations with developments in early modern Sweden, the article provides new insight into the educational level of the slowly emerging Swedish legal profession of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It shows how dissertations defended abroad were a good way to highlight one’s expertise in a country like Sweden, which was still in dire need of legal professionals.