International Egodocumental Network Seminar 1/2026 (5)

The first on-line seminar of the International Egodocumental Network in 2026 will take place on 16 June at 17.00 (Warsaw Time). The lecture “Egodocuments in Legal History Research: Possibilities or Threats?” will be presented by Prof. Mia Korpiola from the University of Turku. We warmly invite you to join the meeting. If you are interested, please contact us via email: egodocuments@umk.pl.

Abstract: Egodocuments have hitherto been underused sources in legal history research. The presentation asks why this is so, and why some researchers view egodocuments – autobiographical texts, memoirs, diaries and private letters – with scepticism. The presentation argues that this is to some extent a caused by a tendency to perceive the focus of legal history to be norms and texts that are supposedly neutral, and often written by officials.

Lawyers are trained how to approach and analyse legal sources, while egodocuments can seem scary and unscientific. Focusing on practices, experiences and “lived law” may seem irrelevant for understanding the “history of law” (as different from legal history more broadly), whereas egodocuments may give the impression of being too subjective and flimsy in comparison to lawbooks, court decisions and stacks of legal commentaries.

Then, the presentation will look at how legal historians have used egodocuments so far. Finally, the potential of egodocuments is discussed through some examples as a means of enriching our knowledge of the nexus of people and the law in the past.

 Prof. Mia Korpiola is a professor of Legal History at the University of Turku in Finland. In 2024, she hosted a workshop dedicated to egodocuments in Legal history. Her research focuses mainly on the legal history of Sweden and Finland in a comparative perspective. She has written especially on family law, criminal law and the legal profession since the Middle Ages, as well as legal takes on historical notions of privacy.