Västgötalagen

Västgötalagen or the Westrogothic law is the oldest Swedish text written in Latin script and the oldest of all Swedish provincial laws. It was compiled in the early 13th century and is known to have been the code of law used in the province of Västergötland (Westrogothland) during the latter half of that century. The earliest complete text is dated 1281. Small fragments of an older text have been dated 1250.

This legal code exists in two versions, Äldre Västgötalagen and Yngre Västgötalagen (the Elder and Younger Westrogothic law, respectively). A first printing in modern times was published by Hans Samuel Collin and Carl Johan Schylter in 1827, and a new edition by Gösta Holm in 1976.

A contemporarily current list of Christian Swedish kings, added as an appendix to Äldre Västgötalagen, was written by a priest called Laurentius in Vedum (same province) around 1325, his source being unknown. It begins with Olof Skötkonung and ends with Johan Sverkersson.^[1]

• Äldre Västgötalagen from the National Library of Sweden
• Old Swedish and old Icelandic manuscripts from the National Library of Sweden

Swedish Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Äldre Västgötalagen

• Geats
• Götalagarna
• Stones of Mora

• Den äldre västgötalagen
• Collín, H. S. and C. J. Schlyter (eds), Corpus iuris Sueo-Gotorum antiqui: Samling af Sweriges gamla lagar, på Kongl. Maj:ts. nådigste befallning, 13 vols (Stockholm: Haeggström, 1827--77), vol. 1 at [1]