following formula of an oath, in the
West Gothic law: _Sva se mer gud hull_ (So help me the gods). In lieu
of a missing literature of sagas and poetry, these provincial laws
give a good insight into the character, morals, customs, and culture
of the heathen and early Christian times of Sweden. From the point
of philology they are also of great value, besides forming the
solid basis of later Swedish law. How the laws could pass from one
generation to another, without any codification, depends upon the
fact that they were recited from memory by the justice (_lag-man_
or _domare_), and that this dignity generally was inherited for
centuries, being carried by the descendants of one and the same
family.[a]

CHAPTER II

NORWAY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

As early as 1790 negotiations took place between Count Armfeldt on
behalf of Gustavus III of Sweden and various patriotic and influential
Norwegians with a view to effecting a union between Norway and Sweden
on equal terms, but the Norwegian negotiators expressed themselves
unwilling to accept for Norway the government prevailing in Sweden. A
minority of the patriots thought that the Danish yoke could only be
broken by means of a union with Sweden, while a majority aimed at
nothing less than absolute independence at any cost.

Such was the condition of Norway when by the treaty of Kiel (Jan.
14, 1814) the allies compelled the king of Denmark to cede Norway to
Sweden and made Charles John Bernadotte crown prince of Sweden and
Norway. The Norwegians denied the right of Denmark to Norway, refused
to recognize the treaty of Kiel as having any binding force on them,
as they were not parties to it, and invited Prince Christian Frederick
of Denmark to accept the Norwegian throne from its people and to
govern pursuant to a constitution adopted at Eidsvold, May 17, 1814.
Among the provisions of this instrument are the following: That Norway
should be a limited hereditary monarchy, independent and indivisible,
whose ruler should be called a king; that all legislative power
should reside in and be exercised by the people through their
representatives; that all taxes should be levied by the legislative
authority; that the legislative and judicial authority should
be distinct departments; that the right of free press should be
maintained; that no personal or hereditary distinction shall hereafter
be granted to any one.

The election of a king and adoption of an independent