Adolf Ivar Arwidsson
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Adolf Ivar Arwidsson (7 August 1791 – 21 June 1858) was a
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
political journalist, writer and historian. His writing was critical of Finland's status at the time as a
Grand Duchy A grand duchy is a sovereign state, country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was oft ...
under the
Russian Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
s. Its sharpness cost him his job as a
lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...
at
The Royal Academy of Turku The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...
and he had to emigrate to Sweden, where he continued his political activity. The Finnish national movement considered Arwidsson the mastermind of an independent Finland.


Life

Adolf Ivar Arwidsson was born in 1791 in
Padasjoki Padasjoki () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is from Padasjoki to Lahti and to Heinola. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area ...
in southern Finland. His father, a
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
, later moved the family to
Laukaa Laukaa (; sv, Laukas) is a municipality of Finland. It is located next to Jyväskylä and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ...
in mid-Finland. Laukaa was severely affected by the
Finnish war The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic ...
of 1808–1809, and Arwidsson was left facing life under the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, to which Finland now an belonged as an autonomous
Grand Duchy A grand duchy is a sovereign state, country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was oft ...
. In 1809, while still at high school in
Porvoo Porvoo (; sv, Borgå ; la, Borgoa) is a city and a municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland, situated on the southern coast about east of the city border of Helsinki and about from the city centre. Porvoo was one of the six medieval to ...
, Arwidsson was a representative at the
Diet of Porvoo The Diet of Porvoo ( fi, Porvoon maapäivät, or unhistorically ; sv, Borgå lantdag; russian: Боргоский сейм), was the summoned legislative assembly to establish the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 and the heir of the powers of the ...
, at which the Finnish estates swore
oaths of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...
to the Tsars. Enabling support from the Swedish speaking upper strata of the Finnish society for a separate Finnish identity was expressed by the university docent A. I. Arwidsson (1791–1858) in a phrase that, somewhat modified, became an often quoted Fennoman credo: "Swedes we are no longer, Russians we do not want to become, let us therefore be Finns." (Swedish form: "Svenskar äro vi icke längre, ryssar vilja vi icke bli, låt oss alltså vara finnar" Finnish form: "Ruotsalaisia emme enää ole, venäläisiksi emme tahdo tulla, olkaamme siis suomalaisia.") In 1814
the Royal Academy of Turku The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...
awarded him his
Magister degree A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from la, magister, "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the ...
in
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. In 1817 the same institution awarded him his
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
, and he became a
lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...
at the academy. Arwidsson's native language was
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
; all his works are in Swedish, though he was a fluent speaker of
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
. After his dissertation Arwidsson spent a year in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. During this time he made contact with the exiled Finns in
Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...
and
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. In 1820 after his return Arwidsson, who had so far written
lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...
, submitted for publication a political text whose sharp and radical tone soon ensured attention in the capital,
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. Finally, as a consequence, in 1822 he lost his position as a lecturer and was banished from the university. Cut off from his training in his chosen career, in 1823 Arwidsson emigrated to
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, where in 1825 he gained his civil rights, and found work as a
librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
in the royal library. In 1827 Arwidsson undertook a research trip to Finland, but was immediately deported back to Sweden by the authorities. This experience led to a further radicalisation of his political work, and as a result he participated in several public debates in Sweden, in each of which he represented the situation in Finland in a dark light, but at the same time tried to portray the Finnish-national identity positively. Apart from his political work, Arwidsson also produced several historical research works. In 1843 he was appointed director of the royal library. In the same year he was allowed to travel to Finland, but he only took advantage of this possibility in 1858, when he undertook a round trip through Finland. During this journey Arwidsson caught pneumonia, and died on 21 June in Viipuri. He was buried in his childhood home town of
Laukaa Laukaa (; sv, Laukas) is a municipality of Finland. It is located next to Jyväskylä and is part of the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The ...
. The following verses written by
Elias Lönnrot Elias Lönnrot (; 9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884) was a Finnish physician, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry. He is best known for creating the Finnish national epic, ''Kalevala'', (1835, enlarged 1849), from short b ...
were later carved onto his gravestone:


Academic works

*'' Svenska fornsånger'' ("Old Swedish Songs", 1834–42) *
Förteckning öfver Kongl. Bibliothekets i Stockholm Isländska Handskrifter
' ("Inventory of the Icelandic Manuscripts in the Royal Library of Stockholm", 1848)


Political works

The political works of Adolf Ivar Arwidssons form two main phases. The first is his time as a lecturer in Turku. The second period of intensive political activity followed after his emigration to Sweden, where Arwidsson participated intensively in the debate over the situation of his homeland.


References

* Liisa Castrén: ''Adolf Ivar Arwidsson – Nuori Arwidsson ja hänen ympäristönsä''. Otava, Helsinki 1944. * Liisa Castrén: ''Adolf Ivar Arwidsson isänmaallisena herättäjänä''. Suomen Historiallinen Seura, Helsinki 1951. * Olavi Junnila: ''Ruotsiin muuttanut Adolf Iwar Arwidsson ja Suomi''. Suomen Historiallinen Seura, Helsinki 1972. * Kari Tarkiainen: ''Adolf Ivar Arwidsson'', in Matti Klinge (Hrsg.): ''Suomen kansallisbiografia 1''. SKS, Helsinki 2003, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Arwidsson, Adolf Ivar 1791 births 1858 deaths People from Padasjoki Finnish emigrants to Sweden 19th-century Finnish politicians 19th-century Finnish journalists Finnish folk-song collectors Deaths from pneumonia in Finland 19th-century musicologists