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De värjde sin rätt : senmedeltida bondemotstånd i Skåne och Småland

Cederholm, Mathias LU (2007) In Studia Historica Lundensia 14.
Abstract
"They defended their Right: late medieval Peasant Resistance in Scania and Småland."



The aim of this thesis is to explore in what ways peasants could resist and protest against authorities during the final decades of the Nordic late middle ages, the years 1490-1525. It consists of a comparison between the Danish province of (Scania) Skåne and the Swedish province of Småland. The study is performed in three stages. First I do a survey of what conflicts took place between peasants and the different forms of authorities; the Crown and its officials, the Church, and the landlords. This survey also shed lights on what resources were more or less systematically disputed during the period. Important questions were for example... (More)
"They defended their Right: late medieval Peasant Resistance in Scania and Småland."



The aim of this thesis is to explore in what ways peasants could resist and protest against authorities during the final decades of the Nordic late middle ages, the years 1490-1525. It consists of a comparison between the Danish province of (Scania) Skåne and the Swedish province of Småland. The study is performed in three stages. First I do a survey of what conflicts took place between peasants and the different forms of authorities; the Crown and its officials, the Church, and the landlords. This survey also shed lights on what resources were more or less systematically disputed during the period. Important questions were for example the costs of the Kalmar union wars, and the peasants rights to armament or protection, but also ? especially in Scania ? rights to woods and other resources, which were very contested during the period. Then follows an analysis of which forms of protest and interaction, and which arenas, the peasants could use in these conflicts. Finally there is a survey over which political arguments, norms and values, the peasants used in their written communications as well as in meetings and in other forms of practice. These arguments are also analyzed in relation to the surrounding political culture of the society in large.



The study makes use of several approaches in recent research regarding peasant protests. Important is the research concept of political culture, which is discussed and elaborated in the study, and which supports the aim of the study to show the variety of means of protest, resistance and political action the peasants actually had. We meet forms of action as supplications, local negotiations, legal action, feuds, collective oath-making and uprisings. The analysis also benefits from recent focus on different types of alliances between peasants and lords and other social groups, which often made conflicts multi-levelled and complicated. I stress how the turbulent conditions in the society had the function of reproducing several of the most important norms and values in the political culture. Concepts and social functions which had an important role in the political culture but which also were disputed and contested, were peace and protection, reciprocity, liberty, law/justice and customary law, public good, reasonable subsistence, harmony/concord and consent, right of resistance. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

Syftet med denna undersökning är att undersöka på vilka sätt bönder kunde göra motstånd och protestera mot överheten under de avslutande decennierna av nordisk senmedeltid, åren 1490-1525, som också utgjorde Kalmarunionens slutskede. Undersökningen består av en komparation mellan det danska Skåne och det svenska Småland, och utförs i tre steg. Först görs en genomgång över vilka konflikter som utspelade sig mellan bönder och de olika formerna av överhet; kronan och dess ämbetsmän, kyrkan, samt jordherrarna. Denna genomgång belyser samtidigt vilka resurser som var mer eller mindre systematiskt omstridda vid denna tid. Centrala frågor var exempelvis krigskostnader och bönders rätt till beväpning... (More)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

Syftet med denna undersökning är att undersöka på vilka sätt bönder kunde göra motstånd och protestera mot överheten under de avslutande decennierna av nordisk senmedeltid, åren 1490-1525, som också utgjorde Kalmarunionens slutskede. Undersökningen består av en komparation mellan det danska Skåne och det svenska Småland, och utförs i tre steg. Först görs en genomgång över vilka konflikter som utspelade sig mellan bönder och de olika formerna av överhet; kronan och dess ämbetsmän, kyrkan, samt jordherrarna. Denna genomgång belyser samtidigt vilka resurser som var mer eller mindre systematiskt omstridda vid denna tid. Centrala frågor var exempelvis krigskostnader och bönders rätt till beväpning eller beskydd, men också i synnerhet i Skåne rättigheter till skog och andra resurser som det utspelade sig stora konflikter kring. Därefter följer en analys av vilka protest- och interaktionsformer, samt vilka arenor, bönderna kunde använda sig av. Slutligen följer en genomgång av vilka politiska argument, normer och värderingar, som bönderna använde i sina skriftliga kommunikationer såväl som i mötesförhandlingar och i annan praxis. Dessa argument analyseras i anslutning till den omgivande politiska kulturen i samhället i sin helhet.



I undersökningen används flera angreppssätt från senare tids forskning rörande bondeprotester. Centralt är forskningsbegreppet politisk kultur, som diskuteras och problematiseras i arbetet, och som används med målsättningen att visa på variationen i de medel bönder faktiskt hade för att protestera, göra motstånd och agera politiskt. Vi möter aktionsformer som suppliker, lokala förhandlingar, rättsprocesser, fejder, kollektiva eder och resningar. Analysen drar nytta av senare tids fokus på olika former av allianser mellan bönder och herrar samt andra sociala grupper, vilket medförde att konflikter ofta utspelade sig på flera nivåer och i komplexa former. I studien betonas hur de dåtidens turbulenta förhållanden medförde att flera av de centrala normerna och värderingarna i samhället kunde reproduceras. Begrepp och sociala funktioner som var viktiga i den politiska kulturen, men som också kan visas ha varit omtvistade och ämne för tolkningsstrider, var fred och beskydd, ömsesidighet, frihet, lag/rättvisa och sedvänja, allmännytta, husnödtorft, harmoni/endräkt och samtycke, motståndsrätt. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Prof. Lindkvist, Thomas, Göteborg University
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Medeltidens historia, Social and economic history, Medieval history, Social conflicts, Political culture, Peasant resistance, Ekonomisk och social historia
in
Studia Historica Lundensia
volume
14
pages
579 pages
publisher
Department of History, Lund university
defense location
Department of history, Magle stora kyrkogata 12 A, Lund. Sal 3.
defense date
2007-06-02 10:15:00
ISSN
1650-755X
ISBN
978-91-628-7135-2
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
bc781073-ab7a-4464-89e4-45e83f4316be (old id 26841)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 17:06:53
date last changed
2019-05-24 08:30:25
@phdthesis{bc781073-ab7a-4464-89e4-45e83f4316be,
  abstract     = {{"They defended their Right: late medieval Peasant Resistance in Scania and Småland."<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The aim of this thesis is to explore in what ways peasants could resist and protest against authorities during the final decades of the Nordic late middle ages, the years 1490-1525. It consists of a comparison between the Danish province of (Scania) Skåne and the Swedish province of Småland. The study is performed in three stages. First I do a survey of what conflicts took place between peasants and the different forms of authorities; the Crown and its officials, the Church, and the landlords. This survey also shed lights on what resources were more or less systematically disputed during the period. Important questions were for example the costs of the Kalmar union wars, and the peasants rights to armament or protection, but also ? especially in Scania ? rights to woods and other resources, which were very contested during the period. Then follows an analysis of which forms of protest and interaction, and which arenas, the peasants could use in these conflicts. Finally there is a survey over which political arguments, norms and values, the peasants used in their written communications as well as in meetings and in other forms of practice. These arguments are also analyzed in relation to the surrounding political culture of the society in large.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The study makes use of several approaches in recent research regarding peasant protests. Important is the research concept of political culture, which is discussed and elaborated in the study, and which supports the aim of the study to show the variety of means of protest, resistance and political action the peasants actually had. We meet forms of action as supplications, local negotiations, legal action, feuds, collective oath-making and uprisings. The analysis also benefits from recent focus on different types of alliances between peasants and lords and other social groups, which often made conflicts multi-levelled and complicated. I stress how the turbulent conditions in the society had the function of reproducing several of the most important norms and values in the political culture. Concepts and social functions which had an important role in the political culture but which also were disputed and contested, were peace and protection, reciprocity, liberty, law/justice and customary law, public good, reasonable subsistence, harmony/concord and consent, right of resistance.}},
  author       = {{Cederholm, Mathias}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-628-7135-2}},
  issn         = {{1650-755X}},
  keywords     = {{Medeltidens historia; Social and economic history; Medieval history; Social conflicts; Political culture; Peasant resistance; Ekonomisk och social historia}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  publisher    = {{Department of History, Lund university}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  series       = {{Studia Historica Lundensia}},
  title        = {{De värjde sin rätt : senmedeltida bondemotstånd i Skåne och Småland}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/4878898/26842.pdf}},
  volume       = {{14}},
  year         = {{2007}},
}