Library of the written word, volume 125:1-2. / Library of the written word. The handpress world, volume 102:1-2. This book challenges earlier understandings of early modern dissertations as unimaginative academic exercises. It argues for their continuous importance in scholarly and scientific discourse, and describes the richness and diversity of their subjects and themes. The book contains a complete catalogue of the almost 20,000 Swedish dissertations defended in Uppsala, Lund and Åbo, 1600 to 1820. The catalogue includes longer comments and descriptions of a few thousand of these dissertations, and also gives an analysis of how different subjects have evolved over time. Contents: Acknowledgements; List of Figures and Tables; Part 1. Introduction (Early Swedish Dissertations; Subjects and Topics of Swedish Dissertations); Part 2. The Catalogue (Introduction to the Catalogue; the Catalogue); Appendix: Tables of Subjects; Bibliography; Index of Praeses; Index of Respondents; Index of Topics and Subjects.