In this study I compare the donor portraits on wallpaintings in Scanian churches from the 12th and the 15th century and relate them to medieval society.I find that women were equally capable of owning and donating land during the entire period. The image of the ideal woman changed during the 14th century from a married woman to the unreachable mistress of the chivalrous culture and the holy virgin. Women had a natural place beside their husbands in 12th century donor portraits, while single male donors are more frequent in the 15th century. While 12th century donors were supposed to show their position in society by offering plentiful donations directly to God, donors in the 14th century instead strived to present themselves as humble and pious. The individualisation of late medieval society meant that people had to depend on themselves to achieve salvation..

The Anglo-Saxon trust is not a new phenomenon, but existed as early as in the Middle Ages. The concept is customary among common-law countries, such as England the US,but unfamiliar to civil-law countries like Sweden. The person who creates the trust is called a settlor, the one who holds and administer the property is a trustee and the person who benefits from the settlement is called a beneficiary.In Sweden there is no legislation of how the trust ought to be assessed, but the need to understand it has probably increased with the internationalization.The Swedish Supreme Administrative Court has had a few opportunities to elucidate some of the uncertainties regarding trusts, but chose to abstain. With this The Swedish Tax Panel has very limited guidance from the court when they receive an application of an advance notice.A trust is not a legal entity nor a tax subject. This differs the trust from a foundation and they can not be placed on an equality from a Swedish tax perspective.In an advance notice, 2010-03-23 (dnr 103-09/D) om Inkomstskatt: Inkomst av tjänst ? värdepappersförmån, the Swedish Tax Panel equalizes the trust property with shares when determining how to tax the assets.