The complete Bjärköarätten, the Trading Town Law, of medieval Sweden, exists only in one manuscript, written about 1345. Originally composed for Stockholm in the late 13th century, this version might be amended for the city of Lødose, or it may be a direct copy of the Stockholm law, of which there is no other extant copy. This is the first English translation of the Bjärköarätten. Each chapter of the law is presented first in semi-normalised Old Swedish based on the original manuscript, then in a modern English translation. Footnotes provide key legal and linguistic commentary. The law’s focus is on criminal, maritime, and commercial law; the importance of the bailiff and council, witnesses and oaths, and compensatory fines are evident throughout. This law is historically significant, as it was strongly influenced by the earlier Visby city law, and was itself a basis for Magnus Erikssons Stadslag, the Swedish city law that would hold for the next 400 years. This translation places the Trading Town Law in its historical and cultural context and will serve as a vital source for scholars of medieval Scandinavian history, law, and language.
Tamara Bootsma is a graduate of Indiana University with Bachelor of Arts degrees in French and Art History. Her dual fascinations with linguistics and history brought her to study Germanic Philology with a focus on Old Norse. She resides in her native Canada, where she enjoys voracious reading, fast walking, forests, rocky shores, and dogs, especially her own dog Molly.
