Kung söker fru : En mentalitetshistorisk studie av en dagbok från 1620.

Sammanfattning: The main source material in this essay is a diary written by the Swedish nobleman Johan Hand in the year of 1620. Johan Hand had the opportunity to accompany the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus on a secret journey to Germany. The ultimate goal of this journey was the king's proposal to Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg and the diary depicts these events. Using the principles of History of mentalities, the purpose of this study is to examine Johan Hand's and the travel companion's world of thought and view of society, their attitude towards the proposal and why the king chose to be anonymous during the trip. The analysis shows that there were probably both political and economic reasons for the king's anonymity. Furthermore, the noble group of travelers showed a strong belief in a society composed of four hierarchically separated estates – the nobility, the burghers, the peasantry and the clergy. They also expressed a typical of the time, noble attitude towards virtue and etiquette. Finally, Johan Hand's and especially the king's emotional expressions surrounding the proposal, show that it was not the emotionless, political affair that it first seemed to be.