Finnish Law Students in Europe in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Abstract
This article examines the study journeys of Finnish law students in the 17th and 18th centuries in light of the matriculation records of the Academy of Turku, which was founded in 1640. European universities had attracted Finnish students already early on, but these study visits, peregrinations, continued even after the founding of an own university in Turku. I shall study the lives and careers of two Finnish students, Ernst Johan Creutz and Johan Henrik Hochschild, studying in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries and use them to show the main trends and turning points in the development of these study journeys. Another focal point will be the universities of Leiden and Greifswald which were the most popular foreign universities among the law students from the Academy of Turku. The developments will be put into context with the judicial, administrative and social changes and renewals of that time.
According to the matriculation records 129 Finnish law students matriculated in European universities, mainly in Western and Northern Europe. The students are identified as law students based on their future careers. Most of the students went on their journeys during the 17th century. Towards the end of the 18th century the number of students at foreign universities decreased drastically. Also the characteristics of the journeys changed.
Ernst Johan Creutz was a young nobleman from the 17th century. At the age of 14, he left Finland to go on a long study tour through Europe. He visited a number ofEuropean universities and was taught a variety of subjects. After his extensive tour he returned home to build a career as a state official with various posts in the administration and judiciary. His career steps were closely related to power struggles of the state and different noble families. Johan Henrik Hochschild was a bourgeois young man who lived a century later. His father was a German merchant settled in Porvoo.
At the age of 20, Hochschild went to study in Greifswald where he was respondent in a dissertation written under the law professor Helvegius. After his return, he followed a career in the courts.
