Sweden, or the Kingdom of the Swedes

and arduous affairs of the Republic, and weigh what would be most advisable for both himself and the Kingdom: These were always chosen from the most select nobility of the entire kingdom of Sweden, among whom those were always in the greatest authority who, above others, bore the burdens of the Republic, namely these three: the Drotset, the Marsk, and the Chancellor of the Kingdom. Drotset signifies almost a Viceroy, whence even to this very day the appellation of the Queen remains Drotning: it was once the duty of this Drotset—whom, by a not sufficiently apt term, they call the Arch-Steward—to admonish the King if he should err in any matter against the laws of the fatherland and the constitutions of the Kingdom, and to urge amendment, as may be seen from histories and that union which had been established between these northern kingdoms two hundred and thirty years ago. This was indeed a very hard province, which often cast them into extreme dangers; today, however, he presides over the Parliament or the supreme royal court, which they call Hoffretten or Konungznämd, and he hears and judges causes devolved thither by appeal together with the Vice-President and the other assessors, from whom indeed it is not permitted to appeal, yet it is granted in grave controversies