Abstract – Noblesse oblige: a roleplaying game During the 17th-century the Swedish nobility was forced to deal with a number of new challenges. They reached the height of their power, but also began their downfall. How did the nobility’s ideal come to be in the face of this? Can we in these ideals find the duties and obligations of the nobility? And if we can, how can a roleplaying game be made out of the historical facts? A roleplaying game meant for educational means, well suited for the classroom and teachers, capable of stimulating the young minds and offering them an in depth understanding of how the nobility’s minds moved. In this study it will show, with the help of a qualitative method along with the theory of Mark Edward Motley and a look at social sanctions from the time. We shall find that the nobility indeed held obligations and duties both.

This study examines patterns of consumption during the 1780s in Öjaby and Virestad parishes. I have examined the clothes and jewelry in estate inventories using the concept of status. Then I have used Pierre Bourdieu's theories to understand fashion mechanisms. I have identified five different groups, each distinguished by their formal wear. Men have similar clothes but in Virestad they have more items and more silver. Four people were divergent, they choose other materials and models. The women in the various parishes had differed significantly. In Öjaby women had more modern clothing and less jewelry in comparison, with Virestad. It is clearly visible that the people in the probate area in Virestad were spending more money compared to what they owned to be able to maintain a certain level of status. Status indications in clothes and jewelry were important in Virestad. Here is a more peasant-dominated culture which apparently made clothing more conservative. In both parishes people with a smaller percentage of balance spend more to maintain a certain standard. In Virestad women spent more than men on clothes in Öjaby it is the opposite. Dressing nicely seems important, after first set of clothing more expensive were purchased. Silver, number of clothes, expensive clothes, different material and color are factors that are available when the people created their wardrobe. Those with a high balance had several expensive items to show off their status with. Interesting is also that people continued to renew their wardrobe throughout their working life.

Diss. Göteborg : University.

Diss. Lund : Universit́e, 2001.

Diss. Umeå : Univ., 2003.

Diss. Umeå : Univ., 2001.

Diss. Göteborg : University, 2003.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.

Diss. Stockholm : Stockholms universitet, 2006.

Diss. Stockholm : Univ., 2003.