ABSTRACT
Erik's Law of Zealand, together with Valdemar's Law, is the least studied of the Danish provincial laws. This law was presumably written as a supplement to Valdemar's Law, since it repeats only a few of the decrees of the latter but expands and clarifies what is found in Valdemar's Law and adds new decrees, especially about the role of the king's official and procedural matters. The dating of the law is very uncertain, leading to a variety of suggestions. On the one hand, the law contains a large number of Low German loan words, which dissociates it stylistically from Valdemar's Law and points towards the middle of the thirteenth century or later. On the other hand, ordeal by hot iron is found twice in the law, both times in cases where the accused had repeatedly failed to appear at the assembly and claimed that he was not summoned properly.
