The figure of the "professional" looms large in our contemporary society as an ideal for economic activity and socio-political inclusion, and even as a model for individual self-development. But how and when did this figure arise? And what has led professional activity to become such an essential part of our personal, social, moral, economic, and political life? While Max Weber and others have famously addressed these questions, this book reveals a more nuanced history of the concept of "profession" and "professional duty," and offers the first comprehensive study of the discourse of...

The overarching goal of the book is to examine the relations between Lutheran majority traditions and the development of secular law in the Nordic region in the early modern period, from the 16th to the 18th century. The early modern Nordic region included the kingdoms of Denmark/Norway and Sweden - with the Finnish diocese Ã…bo as part of the Swedish realm. Both kingdoms were consolidated as Lutheran countries after the reformation. While this change occurred in a determined and radical way in Denmark, in Sweden the transformation was more hesitant. Due to its mixed Protestant...