Incest in Sweden, 1680-1940: A History of Forbidden Relations - Hardcover

by Bonnie Clementsson (Author)

This study explores the radical shift in notions of incest in Sweden from 1680 to 1940, a period in which the country went from having the strictest laws in Europe to some of the most liberal. It reveals the norms underpinning this shift and situates them in a European context.

Back Jacket

Three hundred years ago in Sweden, if a man and his late wife's sister had sex they ran the risk of being executed. The relationship was defined as an incestuous one, and reprieves were rare. Today, Swedish legislation is among the most liberal in the world. How can such a radical change be accounted for?

The earliest prohibitions against incest came from the Bible, which is why biological kinship and kinship based on marriage were held to be equivalent. Consequently, incest prohibitions around 1700 covered many more relationship categories than exist today. Right up to the late nineteenth century, most incest crimes corresponded to voluntary unions between two adults who were not related by blood. Analysing both incest crimes and applications for dispensation to marry from 1680 to 1940, this book reveals the norms underpinning Swedish society's shifting attitudes to incestuous relations, while considering developments in relation to other European countries.

Making a remarkable contribution to social and legal history, Incest in Sweden reveals that, while the debate on incest has historically been dominated by religious, moral and - in due course - medical notions, the values that actually determined the outcome of incest cases were frequently of a quite different character.

Author Biography

Bonnie Clementsson is a researcher at Lund University