Om någon icke vill arbeta, så skall han icke heller äta - En rättshistorisk studie av arbetslöshet från medeltiden till 1885

Sammanfattning: During the Middle Ages the poor had a special place in society and were viewed upon as a means for others to reach salvation. This picture changed during the Reformation and poverty was seen both with aversion and suspicion and the Lutheran work ethic was predominant. At this time poverty was not considered to be a social phenomenon, but rather a moral defect, and most poor people were regarded to be both workshy and lazy. The lower class had to be controlled and alms were only offered to the worthy poor as children, elderly, sick and disabled. The undeserving poor were those who could work and they had to work to earn their keep. During the 19th century the view on the landless was hard and negative and the landless were considered to be a threat to society by having a predisposition for laziness and crime. During the 16th century the state and the ruling classes needed servants and the lower class therefor was forced to work. For those who did not find a master to serve the penalty was either being a soldier in the army or work at castles, fortresses, or mines. In the 1600s a house of correction was built in Stockholm with primarily the Dutch and German workhouses as role models; during the centuries to come more workhouses were built at a modest level in Sweden. In the 1600s the many wars in combination with several years of famine led to an increase in the number of beggars and vagrants, and more detailed regulations concerning the unemployed were issued in so called legohjonsstadgor. These regulations were to have a resilient period over time and the last regulation on unemployed and vagrants was issued in 1846 and was applicable until 1885 when a new law was issued on vagrancy.