Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - III. Constitution and Administration. Introd. by E. Hildebrand - 1. Constitution. By E. Hildebrand
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
CONSTITUTION.
191
Norway (1397): during that period the interests of Sweden were slighted by
the rulers of the three united countries, and at times the country was left
without a government at all. This produced, in the early part of the fifteenth
century (1434), a vigorous national movement that was specially characterized
by the part taken in it by the rural population (the small freeholders or peasants)
under the leadership of the gentry or lower nobility. At the same time there
appeared alongside older forms of representation (the Council of the Realm,
assemblies of nobility) general assemblies, to which representatives of the
market-towns as well as of the peasantry were invited, and thus arose the Swedish Diet
(Riksdag).
Interior (Konseljsalen) Royal Palace, Stockholm.
To defend itself from the evil effects of the union, the nation for long periods
placed at the head of the government a "Protector of the Realm"
(Riksföreståndare). This confused state of affairs, however, rendered impossible any normal
development of the body politic. At the close of the Middle Ages, therefore,
matters stood about where they were at the beginning of the fourteenth century.
At length, the union with Denmark was for ever brought to an end by
Gustavus Vasa (1523 — 60). A powerful monarchy once more came into being, the
Church in Sweden underwent many alterations in doctrine and government and
especially became much more dependant on the King, the independence of the
provinces was destroyed, hereditary succession to the crown was introduced (1544),
and the unity of the State as such became a reality. The kings of the Vasa Line
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
