Nils Wohlin och frågan om arvssedvänjor

Nils Wohlin and the question of inheritance patterns
It has long been assumed that inheritance patterns varied strongly between
different regions. In the early 20th century statistician Nils Wohlin made a
famous account of Swedish inheritance patterns, claiming significant differences between Swedish provinces, especially between eastern and western Sweden. Newer studies of inheritance patterns have also stressed the
differences between studied areas. In this article I will test Wohlin’s thesis
against his own material and point out some of the difficulties in determining
inheritance patterns.
A more detailed investigation shows that there is no reason to stress that
inheritance patterns varied from region to region. I put forward three arguments. First, the concepts used to describe inheritance patterns are unclear.
Terms like ”impartible” and ”partible” inheritance could e.g. refer to different
parts in the inheritance process. Second, a compilation of the results from
studies of Swedish inheritance patterns shows more similarities than differences between the studied areas. In almost all studies the variations within
the studied areas seem to have been at least as extensive as the variations
between the studied areas. Third, a closer investigation of the inquiry material
that Nils Wohlin used in his famous study shows that Wohlin exaggerated
in stressing significant differences between the provinces in his material. The
inquiry material points to more similarities than differences, but also that the
conditions within the areas could be diverse. With the exception of the upper
part of Dalarna, where the estate generally was divided between the heirs,
the inquiry material gives no reason to emphasize great differences between
different areas.
The problem of determining inheritance patterns seems to endure regardless
of the size of the studied areas. Instead of stressing the differences between
areas, there is reason to discuss the differences within the areas. I argue that
one of the reasons for the variation was that the solution to the inheritance
problem depended on the economic status of the family. Generally the real
estate was passed on to one heir, often a son, but in families with large estates
it was common to divide the real estate among the heirs, thus practising a
kind of ”partible inheritance”.