Funded by Jan Wallanders and Tom Hedelius foundation and Tore Browaldhs foundation. Parts of the project funded by Ebbe Kock foundation, Gyllenstiernska Krapperupstiftelsen, and Olin foundation.
Project period: 2020-2026
Project team: Martin Dackling (Lund University, PI), Göran Ulväng (Uppsala University), Brita Planck (Lund University), and Magnus Bergman (Lund University).
This project starts from a paradox: why has Sweden—known as a pioneering country in both economic and gender equality—preserved the institution of entails (fideikommiss) into the twenty-first century? While this question serves as a point of departure, the project takes a broad perspective on the history of entails in Sweden over nearly four centuries, from 1643 to the present. It analyses the long-term social, economic, and political dimensions of this persistence, examining who established entails and under what inheritance principles; how they were managed and interacted with agricultural markets; and how they were debated and ultimately abolished. Combining legal, economic, and family-historical perspectives, the study draws on a wide range of archival sources and quantitative databases to illuminate how inherited property shaped inequality, power, and continuity within Swedish society.
Results from the project have so far been published as:
Dackling, Planck & Ulväng, “Entailed Dynasties. The establishment of fideikommiss in Sweden, 1686-1810”, Virtus: Journal of Nobility Studies (forthcoming)
Bergman & Dackling, “Between deporable anachronism and valuable heritage. The persistence of the Swedish fideikommiss institution, 1810-1963“, Scandinavian Journal of History 49:1 (2024)
Dackling, “Fideikommissens utbredning och avveckling. Tillägg till en skiss”, Vetenskapssocietetens i Lund årsbok (forthcoming)
Dackling & Bergman, “Gamla och nya testamenten. Sammanhållning och handlingsrum vid fideikommissens upphörande”, Bebyggelsehistorisk tidskrift 88 (2025)
Bergman, “Fideikompis som kulturarv. Argumentation vid förlängningar av fideikommiss, 1995-2006“, Historisk tidskrift 144:4 (2024)
Planck, “‘Gudsfruktan, dygd och ära och ett anständigt lefverne och uppförande’ – adlig ideologi i svenska fideikommissbrev 1686-1810“, RIG 2024:1
Bergman, Dackling, Planck & Ulväng, “Fideikommissens uppgång och fall – exemplet Färna bruk”, Bergslagshistoria 34 (2022)
Ulväng, “Fideikommissen i Sverige 1883-1974 i tabeller och diagram”, Herregårdshistorie 18 (2022)
Dackling & Plank, “Att styra från andra sidan graven. Christina Pipers fideikommiss”, Makt och skaparkraft: En antologi om den makalösa Christina Piper. Gröndahl, M. & Rietz, H. (eds.), 2021