During the Middle Ages Finland was part of the Swedish kingdom and subject of the same laws as the rest of the country. During the 15th century, King Magnus Eriksson’s Country law was in use in Finland, replacing previous local county laws.
Legal issues were dealt with in the parish court (ting), which was subordinate to the judicial districts. The Åboland archipelago parishes were divided by three districts, Pikkis, Wirmo and Halikko. The church also had the right to punish crimes that concerned church discipline.
There was no custodial sentencing, it was common to be sentenced to fines and various forms of corporal punishment and shame. In ordinary criminal cases, reconciliation of the parties was preferred. A sentenced person who could not pay fines had to endure corporal punishment. Killings could be compensated with heavy fines, but the usual sentencing for robbery was death. Persons caught of adultery were usually sentenced to shame punishment. The mildest form of shame punishment was to sit on the footstool or be chained to the shame pole.
In extreme cases such as murder, the culprit was quartered by first beheading and then nailing parts of the body to a pole. The body of and executed person could not be buried on church grounds. Häxberget by Hästsundet is the old execution site in Pargas. A whipping pole used to be on a hill by Kalkholmen where the lime quarry is now located.
In Pargas, fines were mainly imposed for unattended roads, faulty fences and non-draining ditches. There were also cases of tax frauds, disputes over land and defamation. Quarreling neighbors have also killed each other’s pigs. Fights arose between fishermen competing for popular fishing spots. In 1556, Mickel Limberg beat a maid belonging to the household of Påvel and was sentenced to compensate her the maid with 20 marks. The yearly alary of a maid was 8 marks.
