Grave_of_professor_Carl_Johan_Schlyter_lund_sweden

Carl Johan Schlyter (29 January 1795 – 29 December 1888) was a Swedish jurist and law publisher. He is known for publishing scholarly editions of the medieval Swedish laws in 13 volumes, a process which took over 50 years.

Biography

Background and education

Schlyter was born in

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...

Blekinge Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Schlyter belonged to an originally Northern German family that immigrated to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, while Scania belonged to this kingdom. His father was Admiralty Chamberlain and later General

War Commissary A war commissary or armed forces commissary (German: ''Kriegskommissar'', French:''commissaire des armées'') is a military official responsible for supplying military arms and provisions, and sometimes in charge of the military budget and conscri ...

Carl Johan Schlyter and his mother was Lovisa Maria Hjelm. He received a private education and after graduating in 1807, Schlyter continued his studies at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Carl Adolph Agardh Carl Adolph Agardh (23 January 1785 in Båstad, Sweden – 28 January 1859 in Karlstad) was a Swedish botanist specializing in algae, who was eventually appointed bishop of Karlstad. Biography In 1807 he was appointed teacher of mathematics a ...

in algebra and

Esaias Tegnér Esaias Tegnér (; – ) was a Swedish writer, professor of the Greek language, and bishop. He was during the 19th century regarded as the father of modern poetry in Sweden, mainly through the national romantic epic ''Frithjof's Saga''. He has be ...

in Swedish. He took the preliminary examination () in 1811, the examination for the court clerkship () in 1812 and the chancellery examination () in 1813. In 1814, he received his

magister degree A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from la, magister, "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the ...

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

, Germany, and in 1816 he was appointed by Professor (and mentor) as

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion In 1818 he received his '' juris utriusque'' there, received his licentiate in law in 1820 and doctorate in law in the same year (a rare degree at the time, in which Schlyter and were the first to take the ''juris doktor'' there from the founding of Lund University until the end of the 19th century). He was a notary and honorary member of Blekingska student nation at Lund University.

Career

In order to pursue a career in the civil service, Schlyter moved to Stockholm the same year, where he served in the

Chancellor of Justice The Chancellor of Justice is a government official found in some northern European countries, broadly responsible for supervising the lawfulness of government actions. History In 1713, the Swedish King Charles XII, preoccupied with fighting the ...

's Office and the

Svea Court of Appeal Svea Court of Appeal ( sv, Svea hovrätt), located in Stockholm, is one of six appellate courts in the Swedish legal system. It is located in the Wrangel Palace, on Riddarholmen islet in Gamla Stan, the old town of Stockholm. History The Svea Co ...

from 1820 to 1822. In 1822 a new field opened up for him, when, with the encouragement of Johan Gabriel Richert, he was awarded the

Royal Majesty King in Council, or Royal Majesty, (most formally ''Konungen i Statsrådet'', but a term for it most often used in legal documents was Kunglig Majestät or short form Kungl.Maj:t or K.M:t. in Swedish) was a term of constitutional importance tha ...

's commission to publish Sweden's old laws together with Collin. In conjunction with this assignment, Schlyter applied for and was granted an unpaid professorship at Lund University in 1822, a position he held until 1835. He and Collin published the first volume, '' Vestgötalagen'', in 1827, complete with a

stemma Stemma (plural stemmata) may refer to: * In stemmatics, an approach to textual criticism, a stemma or stemma codicum is a diagram showing the relationships of the various versions of a text to earlier versions or manuscripts * Tree-like diagrams ...

of the

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

– potentially the first stemma. In 1835, when he received the title of professor ('), he was appointed to a new professorship in law history in Uppsala, but by 1838 he had moved back to Lund, where he was appointed to the professorship in general legal experience. He was rector of Lund University in 1839–1840, succeeding

Johan Henrik Thomander Johan Henrik Thomander (16 June 1798 – 9 July 1865) was a Swedish professor, bishop, translator and author. He received his doctorate in theology in 1836 and was elected to the eighteenth chair of the Swedish Academy in 1856. After his father's ...

. In 1840 he exchanged his professorship position for the professorship of general legal history, which he held until 23 November 1852. From this time until 1876, when he was dismissed, he enjoyed a permanent leave of absence for the publication of the ancient provincial laws. Schlyter continued the work alone after Collin's death (1833), successfully completing it in 1877. Regarding the project, he is said to have stated, "it would be better to delay this for another 50 years than for such an important work to fall into unskilled hands". Offered a position on the () in 1844, Schlyter accepted it unhesitatingly. Its main task was to draft new civil and criminal legislation, which he approached from a conservative perspective. He remained on the committee until 1848.

Awards

Schlyter, who was awarded a

jubilee doctor {{no footnotes, date=April 2014 A jubilee doctor ( sv, jubeldoktor, fi, riemutohtori, la, doctor jubilaris) or golden doctor (german: Goldene Doktor) is in some countries a person who has held a doctorate for 50 years or more. When 50 years have ...

in philosophy (1865) and law (1870, both in Lund), also earned membership in the

Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademin abbreviated KVHAA ( sv, Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien Historie och Antikvitets Akademien or or ) is the Swedish royal ...

(1837), the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

(1856) and several other learned societies, among other scientific honors. In 1838 the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...

awarded him the Royal Prize "for merits in literature and language" and in 1860 unanimously called him to membership, a call which Schlyter did not accept, mainly because he, at the age of 66, considered that he needed all his remaining time and energy for the completion, if possible, of the great work of law. In 1864 he was awarded the Letterstedt Award for Excellent Work by the Academy of Sciences. From 1869 Schlyter was also a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music ( sv, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. At the time of its foundation, only one of its co-founder was a professional musician, Ferdin ...

, in recognition of his outstanding talent as a pianist. When the Swedish Academy celebrated its centenary in 1886, it awarded Schlyter one of two major gold medals minted for the occasion (the other went to

Zachris Topelius Zachris Topelius (, ; 14 January 181812 March 1898) was a Finnish author, poet, journalist, historian, and rector of the University of Helsinki who wrote novels related to Finnish history. Given name Zacharias is his baptismal name, and this ...

Religion

Schlyter was deeply religious. His family's religious background includes , a prominent

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

priest during the 1500s. Along with Holmbergson, he belonged to influential provost

Henric Schartau Henric Schartau (27 September 1757 – 3 February 1825) was a Swedish Lutheran pietistic priest. His theology, including his characteristic teachings on the "order of grace", influenced a revivalist movement known as Schartauanism. Biograp ...

's circles. He published Schartau's theological writings and sermons after Schartau's death as well as translating the works of theologian Heinrich Wilhelm Rinck. Schlyter also wrote on religious topics: he wrote and published ('On the Bible Commission's Revised Translation of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

') in 1878 and a children's catechism in 1880. Schlyter made a religious dedication in the final volume of his legal work, stating, "If the question has to be raised whether somebody should be honored for this work, the honor belongs to Him, Him alone, who is mighty in the weak and who has given courage and force to its realization".

Family

Schlyter married Carolina Christina Liljeschöld in Uppsala in 1835. They had six children: Carl Oscar Schlyter (1836–1907), Johan Vilhelm Schlyter (1837–1885), Anna Maria Helena Thyrén née Schlyter (1839–1914), Svanhild Augusta Erichsson née Schlyter (1841–1920), Hildegard Amalia Gadde née Schlyter (1843–1892), and (1845–1927). Veterinarian

Hjalmar Kinberg Johan Gustaf Hjalmar Kinberg (13 May 1820 – 29 August 1908) was a Swedish zoologist, physician and veterinarian who was born in Grönby, near Trelleborg, Skåne County and who died in St. Matthew's Parish, Stockholm. Family Hjalmar Kinberg's ...

was his nephew, and his grandson,

Karl Schlyter Karl Schlyter (21 December 1879 – 25 December 1959) was a Swedish lawyer. He also served as the minister of justice in the period 1932–1936. He is known for his contributions in the revisions of the procedural part of the Code of 1734 and in ...

(son of Gustaf Ragnar), was a lawyer and

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

Death

Schlyter died in Lund in 1888. He is buried in the monastery cemetery in Lund.

Memorials and legacy

In 1889, the Swedish Academy struck a memorial medal and, at its annual celebration on 20 December the same year, held a memorial service for him. The Academy of Sciences followed suit in both respects on 31 March 1894. Schlyter's literary importance is closely connected with his publication of the , in Latin , published 1827–1877, which, in 13 volumes, the last eleven published by Schlyter alone, constitutes a monumental work.

Works

* (1816) * (1819) * * Appendices to Johan Christofer Lindblad's thesis (1832) * (1835) * * * * ** Several academic programs as well as minor papers in, among others, . ** Published almost all of the works left by provost Henric Schartau.

Awards

* 1838 – Royal Prize * 1873 – Commander Grand Cross,

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

References

Notes

Sources

External links

1795 births 1888 deaths 19th-century jurists Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Rectors of Lund University People from Karlskrona Legal history of Sweden {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlyter, Carl Johan