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156 IV. THE ROMANIZED CHURCH (A.D. 13891520).
who was rejected everywhere, except in Gotland. It is
characteristic of the times and of the man that for a number
of years Eric lived there on the proceeds of piracy, exer
cised at the expense of his former subjects. He was, how
ever, at last rejected even there, and died in Pomerania in
1459. King Christopher s coronation took place in 1440.
Though his administration was weak, he was not un
popular, and his reign was memorable for improvements at
least in the form of legislation both in Church and State.
The bishops now gave their consent (in 1442) to the pro
mulgation of the land s-law for the whole of Sweden, which
their predecessors had successfully resisted in 1337 in the
days of Magnus Ericsson. The law of Christopher was
very much the same as that of Magnus, and, in fact, so like
it as to mislead many copyists. But, strange to say, it did
not even now include the Kyrko-balk or Church code,
although the bishops seem to have intended that it should
do so ;
and such a section is generally found in the earlier
provincial laws on which the land s-law was founded.9
The land s-law, I may remark, was sufficiently complete to
remain in use with more or less revision up to 1734, although
for more than half that period it remained unprinted. The
first edition of it was published by the authority of Charles
IX. in 1608, who introduced a few modifications into it,
besides the obvious one in the interest of his family declar
ing that the crown devolved
"
iure successions," and not
"
iure electionis."
10
9
There is an interesting introduction to the early history of
Swedish law by a French professor, Ludovic Beauchet : Loi de
Vestrogothie, Paris, 1894. See pp. 97 foil, for various opinions
as to what took place in 1347. For information as to the
Kyrko-balk see p. 102, and for Christopher s land s-law see
pp. 1 08 foil.
10
1 quote from the convenient, if not wholly accurate, version
of Loccenius :
Leges provinciales regni Suecice, Lund, 1675.
The student who wishes to go deeper must consult the great
collection of Schlyter :
Corpus iuris Sveo-gothorum antiqui
(Lund, 1838-1877). Instead of the old tit. I., de Rege, ch. 3 :
"
Ad Regnum Sueciae Rex eligendus est, et non jure suc-
cessionis assumendus." Charles wrote:
"
Ad regnum Svecias
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