Conflict Or Cooperation? Old Age And Retirement In The Nordic Past

Abstract

This article analyzes the system of retirement in the Nordic countries in the past, particularly Finland. The intent is to show that the situation of the old has been grossly misrepresented in the widely cited work of David Gaunt. Contrary to his claims, the position of the old was legally speaking strong rather than weak. The notion that retirement contracts were used as insurance by parents against abuse by children will also be disputed by showing the historical, economic, and legal context of the emergence and increase in written contracts. The contract was a response to changes in legislation relating to inheritance and property transfer as well as a system of safeguarding landed property against fragmentation as demographic changes increased the pool of surviving children. It was also a way of guaranteeing a safe old age. Through examples of cases handled by church courts in seventeenth-century western Finland, the nature of intergenerational conflict is examined and measured against violence and abuse in the selfsame society between non–family members.