During the Middle Ages, the status and rights of women varied between different parts of the country, as the local county laws applied different laws in different counties.
The first attempt of a national law was Magnus Erikssons landslag from 1350, which established one law for the country side, and one Stadslagen (City Law) for the city, a system which was kept by the Kristofers landslag from 1442.
From 1350 onward, the civil status of women were generally the same in both the county law and the city law: an unmarried woman was under the coverture of her closest male relative, and a wife under the coverture of her husband, while a widow was of legal majority.

In 1608, the law texts of the Old Testament from the bible were introduced in the law by amendments, which at least formally significantly worsened women's status.
There was, however, a gap between law and practice: despite the fact that unmarried women were legal minors and only widows had the right to represent themselves in court, unmarried women were still in practice allowed to give testimony, sue and represent themselves in court matters, to such a degree that a law reform granted them this right in 1686 to legalize what was already common procedure.
During the Middle Ages, the status and rights of women varied between different parts of the country, as the local county laws applied different laws in different counties. The first attempt of a national law was Magnus Erikssons landslag from 1350, which established one law for the country side, and one Stadslagen (City Law) for the city, a system which was kept by the Kristofers landslag from 1442. From 1350 onward, the civil status of women were generally the same in both the county law and the city law: an unmarried woman was under the coverture of her closest male relative, and a wife under the coverture of her husband, while a widow was of legal majority.
In 1608, the law texts of the Old Testament from the bible were introduced in the law by amendments, which at least formally significantly worsened women's status. There was, however, a gap between law and practice: despite the fact that unmarried women were legal minors and only widows had the right to represent themselves in court, unmarried women were still in practice allowed to give testimony, sue and represent themselves in court matters, to such a degree that a law reform granted them this right in 1686 to legalize what was already common procedure.
Women in Sweden