Early Modern Sweden Research Articles

Lessons in Collections and on Collecting

Abstract Carl Bäck was the son of Carolus Linnaeus’s best friend Abraham Bäck. Bäck senior and Linnaeus bonded over natural history; between them they owned the two biggest herbariums in Sweden. Unsurprisingly, they wanted to communicate their passion to the next generation. The first aim of this article is to explore how collections were used to teach natural history, drawing on the case of Carl Bäck. As we shall see, young Bäck learned both the behaviours and more hands-on technologies from Linnaean naturalists. The second aim is to situate Bäck’s education within a history of teaching natural history in early-modern Sweden, showing the extent to which we need to consider both institutional and informal and private education in order to understand how this knowledge was reproduced, and the central role Linnaeus and his many students played in this process.

Bollspelen i Johannes Schefferus Lappland. Fragment av nordiskt tidigmodernt idrottsliv med utblickar mot Island och de brittiska öarna

Sports historians have argued that the type of ball games commonin the British Isles, which were practiced by two teams andin which the ball was driven with sticks towards predeterminedgoals – i.e., hurling, shinty, bandy and hockey – were never playedin early modern Sweden. By highlighting descriptions of ballgames in Johannes Schefferus’s The History of Lapland (1674), asource previously ignored by sports historians, this article challengessuch a claim. One of the games described by Schefferus hassome similarities with the violent stick-and-ball game known inIcelandic sagas as knattleikr. Even greater similarities (such as thestart of the game with a face-off and the goals consisting of lineson the short edges) emerge when the game is compared with theScottish game of shinty. Thus, pre-modern Scandinavia does notappear to have been as isolated in terms of sports and games ashas been suggested by Swedish sports historians.

Swedish income inequality in 1613

AbstractIn this paper we present the first estimate of the full income distribution in pre‐industrial Sweden (including present‐day Finland). We draw on the schedule and the individual assessments devised by the authorities to distribute the 1613 Älvsborg ransom taxation to estimate income inequality, as well as the income shares of the top quantiles and of various social groups. We find that Sweden was relatively equal compared with other early modern European societies, for two main reasons: first, because the nobility, the clergy, the burghers, and other middle‐rank social groups all held relatively small shares of the total income, and second, because the landless groups were less numerous in Sweden than in other societies. This resulted in a large share of the total income going to the relatively homogeneous group of landed peasants, who made up the majority of the population. Our study thus speaks to the political historiography of early modern Sweden, within which negotiation and collaboration between the landed peasantry and the state has been seen as pivotal to the state formation process.

Voices of the forests. Eviction, control, and the birth of the ‘Parish Lapp’ system in early modern Sweden

ABSTRACT This paper examines the birth of the exploitative sockenlappssystemet (the ‘Parish Lapp’ system) in central Sweden during the early eighteenth century. Based on a foundation of control and eviction instituted in earlier laws, the 1720s saw a forceful rise in royal concern over the existence of nomadic Sámi in central Sweden. His Majesty King Fredrik I specifically expressed fear of damage to the resources of the forests through Sámi hunting, especially bird hunting. The period between 1720 and 1730 saw King Fredrik corresponding with the Royal Council, the county governors, and some groups of Sámi agents. The council sought to evict the Sámi and move them or have them move to the lappmarker. The Sámi agents claimed birth right and asserted that Sámi in central Sweden had no relationship to either the land or the Sámi in the northern part of the realm. This paper uses a historical anthropological perspective, based on a wide set of sources, including historical archaeology, history, and ethnography, in order to paint a bigger picture of the conflicted situation that led to the founding of the unique system of forced indenture: the so-called Parish Lapp system.

Knowing How: Estate Management, Practical Knowledge, and Agency among Aristocratic Women in Early Modern Sweden

Knowing How: Estate Management, Practical Knowledge, and Agency among Aristocratic Women in Early Modern Sweden

Cool Nature

In this essay, an interdisciplinary group of researchers sets out to address the period 1780–1840 in Sweden in a new way, by placing nature at its centre. With the help of ecocritical and transcultural theory, combined with renewed attention to the Swedish fine arts, learned discourses, and practices, we suggest a new approach to these revolutionary decades. The perceived dissonance, the interplay between climatic conditions and cultural template in early modern and modern Sweden, has not been fully addressed in current research, despite the fact that the relationship between humankind and the environment is a central issue in contemporary society and scholarship. Representations of nature situate the nation, they negotiate the relationship between a sensed reality and an ideal, between human and more-than-human beings. We suggest a focus on the unpredictable space created by negotiations of nature in Swedish representations during this crucial period, and, furthermore, on the ways in which this creative space is charged with utopian possibilities in the early Anthropocene. This is the background and the driving force of the planned research project ‘Cool Nature: Utopian Landscapes in Sweden 1780–1840’.

The introduction of the turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in early modern Sweden – historical and zooarchaeological evidence of husbandry and consumption

SUMMARY In this paper we describe how and why turkeys were introduced to Sweden during the 16th century, and how the bird spread to different social groups in the 17th century. We present data from unpublished financial records and provide a compilation of all archaeological findings of turkeys from the geographical area of present-day Sweden. The results show that turkeys, first imported by Duke Karl of Sweden in the 1580s, had spread to the Swedish nobility by the 1610s. During the first decades of turkey husbandry in Sweden, turkeys were items of conspicuous consumption, used to show off during elite dinners and as gifts to peers and subsequently also to subordinates. During the 17th century, the bird was adopted by the urban upper middle class. Early modern Swedish turkeys were small, and likely less affected by selective breeding when compared to modern heritage-breed turkeys.

Experiencing the dis/abled body in Early Modern Sweden: an exploration of perspectives

Experiencing the dis/abled body in Early Modern Sweden: an exploration of perspectives

Sweden, Inc.: Temporal Sovereignty of the Realm and People from the Middle Ages to Modernity

Sweden, Inc.: Temporal Sovereignty of the Realm and People from the Middle Ages to Modernity

The First Russian Interpreters in Early Modern Sweden

The article reconstructs lives of several Russian-language interpreters acting in Sweden during the reign of Gustav I Vasa (1523–1560) on the basis of Swedish and Russian archival sources. The socio-professional group of Russian-language interpreters (ryssetolkar) has been well known in Sweden since late 16th century, and its best times (mainly in the 17th century) are thoroughly studied by the Finnish historian Kari Tarkiainen. The authors suggest that the origins of this group should be sought in late 1530s — early 1540s, and that the Hanseatic environment might have played a part in this process at its earliest stage because the first interpreters known to us by names, Albrecht Tolck and Larens van Värnen, seem to have been of German origin, although we know very little of them. Three other ryssetolkar — Michel Andersson, Hans Larsson Skalm, and especially Bertil Jöransson (Jörensson, Göransson) — ar somewhat better known. The authors conclude that close connections to Finland, especially to the castle of Viborg (Fin. Viipuri, Rus. Vyborg), were typical of the members of this socio-professional group at the very initial phase already. In addition, the sources of the period in question show that prospective interpreters could go to Russia to study Russian and that they sometimes were bound by family ties. The two latter features were not so prominent in the first half of the 16th century, but they would become very typical of the ryssetolkar community later on.

Administering Empire. Business Diplomacy in Early Modern Sweden: The Cases of Abraham Cabiljau and the Gothenburg Company

The article illustrates the importance of business diplomacy practised by free agents, who navigated and negotiated between northern European empires for widespread commercial, legal and administrative developments. Abraham Cabiljau’s career is an example from the early modern Swedish empire, which stands on the threshold of a new era. In the Swedish empire, Cabiljau was involved in several different sectors, from military recruitment to the development of state accounting and administration of international trade. He represents the Swedish empire’s vast economic relationships with international merchant networks operating in a broad spectrum of military and commercial arenas. The Swedish empire was economically dependent on the financial resources of the merchants in Amsterdam, and economic prosperity was not the sole contribution of these merchants. The education, knowledge and connections provided by Cabiljau greatly enhanced the administration and organisation of Sweden’s international trade by importing a new legal mindset and organisational culture. In return, northern mining resources and Baltic commerce were alluring for Dutch merchants. We argue that the modelling of international organisations was an essential part of Swedish economic development. However, the first Swedish trading companies remained an experimental attempt to transplant the Dutch East India Company (VOC) model to Sweden. Individuals like Cabiljau represent key actors who ignited, taught and promoted commercial law development in Sweden, on which international commerce was later built upon, with long-lasting impacts.

Building on Foreign Expertise. Military and Agricultural Experts and the Eastward Expansion of Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Sweden

In the second half of the sixteenth and the first half of the seventeenth century, the Kingdom of Sweden was almost constantly engaged in armed conflicts with neighbouring kingdoms. Both offensive and defensive wars were characteristic of the Swedish foreign policy from 1550s to 1650s. The same period witnessed the emergence of the Swedish Empire because, due to these conflicts, Sweden was able to acquire new domains in the Baltic region and to expand its territories in both east and south. These geopolitical realities pushed all Vasa kings into multiple projects aiming to rationalise Sweden’s army and its military strategy as well as to develop the acquired areas in various ways. Our article presents two development project examples of this emerging empire (1) Scottish officers (the Swedish Crown acknowledged the military expertise of Scottish troops as well as their officers and tried to harness this experience for Sweden), and (2) the planned modernisation of Ingria through German and Dutch colonisation and agricultural development. The article examines the needs and expertise expectations that the Swedish Crown directed towards these foreign groups. The emergence of Sweden as a European empire did not occur in a geopolitical vacuum. International contacts and the influx of European expertise into Sweden were important factors in the building of the Swedish dominion in the Baltic region. By focusing on these foreign expert groups, one operating in the military world and the other in the agricultural sphere, this article illustrates the functions and roles that the Swedish Crown expected foreign experts to have on the eastern frontier of early modern Sweden.

From Disputation Hall to High Office: Swedish Students’ Legal Dissertations at German and Dutch Universities in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

Abstract Swedish students commonly studied abroad, especially during the seventeenth century. This was true also for those studying law. This article examines the legal dissertations that Swedish students defended during their visits to foreign universities in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The universities of Greifswald and Leiden produced the most dissertations with Swedish respondents. After discussing the practice of written dissertations and Swedes as respondents more generally, the dissertations of some Swedish students are examined in more detail. This analysis showed that many Swedes probably wrote the dissertations themselves, or at least actively participated, as references to Swedish law were common. By reflecting these dissertations with developments in early modern Sweden, the article provides new insight into the educational level of the slowly emerging Swedish legal profession of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It shows how dissertations defended abroad were a good way to highlight one’s expertise in a country like Sweden, which was still in dire need of legal professionals.

Schooling and State Formation in Early Modern Sweden by Bengt Sandin

Schooling and State Formation in Early Modern Sweden by Bengt Sandin

Managing legal pluralism: the negotiations on the re-acquisition of crown land in the Livonian Diet (1681) as a matter of securitisation and imperial integration

The emergence of empires during the early modern period led to a shift of territorial borders and social as well as economic and political boundaries. This is also true for early modern Sweden and especially for Livonia, being one of the eastern border provinces of the Swedish empire. The plans for withdrawing alienated possessions of the Swedish Crown there, i.e. a reduktion, make this particularly clear. This article examines the discussion of the year 1681 between the Swedish Crown and the Livonian knighthood and nobility in the Livonian Diet on the retake of crown lands as an example of how early modern empires dealt with legal pluralism. Combining the concepts of securitisation and integration will show that these deliberations should be understood less as a struggle for or against re-acquisitions of crown lands than as negotiations about Swedish rule in Livonia, and its normative foundations and functions, and thus about the Swedish empire.

The Materiality of Odors: Experiencing Church Burials and the Urban Environment in Early Modern Northern Sweden

Archaeological material from early modern Sweden reveals that material and social meaning was intertwined in townscape odors; that is, odors and their association with unhygienic conditions affected the physical structure of the town, its material culture, and different traditions in the use of “townspace.” During the latter half of the 18th century, the town of Oulu suffered from unpleasant smells related to ponds and wet areas, and the odor of decomposing flesh from under-floor church burials greeted church visitors, despite the tradition of placing fragrant plants inside coffins. In the 18th century the town underwent deliberate changes: the ponds were drained and filled, burials under the church floor were prohibited, and one of the first graveyards located outside the town and separate from the church was constructed. These actions to change the town’s “smellscape” reflect emergent notions of regularity and cleanliness related to the Age of Enlightenment.

The elusive Finn: ethnic identities, source criticism and the early history of Northern Sweden in seventeenth-century Swedish historiography

ABSTRACT The earliest history of the Swedish Realm’s northern regions has long been contested in historiography. This article primarily analyses views in seventeenth-century Swedish historiography concerning the origins of Finns in this region, in terms of source usage and ethnic identities. Gothicist views, emphasizing Swedish greatness were based on biblical notions of a postdiluvial settlement, linking sources from classical antiquity to Sweden via etymological comparisons. Combined with a reliance on Icelandic sagas and the uncritical use of secondary sources, these notions gave rise, among others, to the idea of an ancient, partially Finnish, Amazon warrior realm in Ostrobothnia. Conceptions surrounding the origins of Birkarl tax collectors were mostly based on traditions collected in the early 1600s, and later that century, they became associated with a migration of Finns to the north thought to have taken place in the late 13th century. Finns were given a role in the region’s history even within Gothicist historiography too. The ethnicity of these early settlements does not seem to have been overly emphasized though – indeed the boundary between Finns and Swedes was seen more as something fluid – indicating that ethnosymbolist theories of nationalism overstate the importance of ethnic identity in early modern Sweden.

A societal history of potato knowledge in Sweden c. 1650–1800

ABSTRACT This article concerns the societal history of potato knowledge in early modern Sweden. Focusing on the communication process, it analyses when, how, why, and which type of knowledge of the potato was communicated and ultimately experienced a societal breakthrough in early modern Sweden. The article shows that knowledge of the potato was transformed as it crossed social, spatial, and media boundaries. The breakthrough – which only came in 1749–50 – was not the result of a linear, cumulative diffusion process dating from the initial knowledge intervention in the 1650s; instead, it was the result of a particular knowledge network, long devoted to promoting the potato, finally gaining influence over important knowledge institutions, thus making mass communication possible. In the 1720s and 1730s, this network had redefined the potato in the context of agriculture and especially in relation to the phenomenon of famine and crop failure. In the subsequent period, this revised knowledge became increasingly relevant to Swedish society, as the elite became ever more concerned with food security, population policy, and agricultural and fiscal reforms. Finally, following a severe crop failure in the 1740s, political support for a broad knowledge intervention was secured.

Diseases in Early Modern Sweden

In early modern Scandinavia, the population’s sensitivity to disease and food supply shortages was great. Researchers have long been interested in the crises caused by these conditions, and the dominant causes of death have been well documented in Sweden since the late eighteenth century. But for the seventeenth and early eighteenth century, in the mortality regime preceding the initial stage of the demographic transition, our understanding of the infectious diseases is significantly limited. Through an analysis of causes of death and tithe levels, this article gives new insight regarding mortality rates, harvests and, above all, diseases in a parish located in a Swedish forested area during the mid- and late seventeenth century and first half of the eighteenth century. It presents new research about which diagnoses were most common, how often the more prevalent diseases of fevers, smallpox, and dysentery broke out, and the varying role of diseases on mortality rates during bad harvest years. The inhabitants in this parish presumably had a food supply buffer in their summer farm system, yet they remained vulnerable to bad harvests, and people in the area were just as susceptible to the common infectious diseases as the inhabitants in more tightly populated areas.

Facing Otherness in Early Modern Sweden: Travel, Migration and Material Transformations, 1500–1800, ed. Magdalena Naum and Fredrik Ekengren

Facing Otherness in Early Modern Sweden: Travel, Migration and Material Transformations, 1500–1800, ed. Magdalena Naum and Fredrik Ekengren