Life in the 17th Century

Know your place. But everyone has their place in the hierarchy. Don’t let your body control you, but take care of it for the sake of your soul. Nature is above you, but learn to understand it so you don’t get hurt. No one cares what you are inside. What matters is that you play your part in society.

For the Swedes who lived some 400 years ago, in the age of great powers, their view of life was radically different from what it is today. But there are also things here that evoke an immediate and emotional sense of connection.

This book offers an accurate picture of what people in the 17th century thought about nature, the body, power, the individual, and the wider world. What did they know? What did they believe? What were the foundations of life? But it is also a fascinating example of how a historian can cleverly use unexpected sources, such as notices of stolen goods or letters attesting to illegitimate births.