Arnold Johan Messenius (1607 – 22 December 1651) was a Swedish

enfant terrible ''Enfant terrible'' (; ; "terrible child") is a French expression, traditionally referring to a child who is terrifyingly candid by saying embarrassing things to parents or others. However, the expression has drawn multiple usage in careers of ...

and

rikshistoriograf The position of ''rikshistoriograf'' (Swedish language, Swedish, known in Latin as ''historiographus regni'', i.e. ''Historiographer of the Realm'' or ''Royal Historiographer''), existed in Sweden from the early 17th century until 1834. The first a ...

(historiographer of the realm, or royal historiographer) who was condemned to death and executed under the reign of Queen Christina.

Early life

Arnold was born at

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

, the son of the historian

Johannes Messenius Johannes Messenius (1579–1636) was a Swedish historian, dramatist and university professor. He was born in the village of Freberga, in Stenby parish in Östergötland, and died in Oulu, in modern-day Finland. Childhood He was the son of a mill ...

and Lucia Grothusen, daughter of

Arnold Grothusen Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia Uni ...

. The Grothusens were members of the old Livonian nobility. Arnold Johan spent much of his youth in the fortress of Kajaneborg in Arctic

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, where his father had been imprisoned on suspicion of being a Catholic and collaborating with the king of Poland

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

and the Jesuits. His father was sentenced to death in July 1616, but the king changed the sentence to prison, probably for life. During his imprisonment, Johannes Messenius wrote the ''Scandia illustrata'', a history of the Nordic countries in 14 volumes. The work treated Sweden's history from the

Genesis flood narrative The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the micro ...

to Messenius' own time. When Messenius suspected that the government wanted to publish this work in its own name, he demanded freedom for his son, Arnold, who was also imprisoned, and free passage for himself to wherever he wished. Shortly after Johannes Messenius died, the government offered his widow, Lucia Grothusen, 500

Swedish riksdaler The svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thaler ...

for ''Scandia illustrata''. However, she left the kingdom with the manuscripts. Arnold had a restless adolescence. In 1621, at the age of 14, the Swedish authorities locked him up 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 ...

in a boarding school run by

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

. He was forced to flee in 1623 after being accused of what seems to be the accidental killing of a classmate during a dispute. After an adventurous escape through Norway and Denmark, he arrived in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

where he was welcomed by his mother's family. In October 1623 he was accepted at the prestigious Jesuit

Collegium Hosianum The Collegium Hosianum was the Jesuit collegium founded in 1565, 1566 by Polish Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius in Braunsberg (Braniewo), Kingdom of Poland. The town was then part of the Polish Prince-Bishopric of Warmia under rule of Cardinal Hosius ...

Braunsberg Braniewo () (german: Braunsberg in Ostpreußen, la, Brunsberga, Old Prussian: ''Brus'', lt, Prūsa), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital of ...

(Poland), where his father also had studied, but, undisciplined, he left shortly afterwards. After wandering in Prussia, Poland,

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

and Austria, he returned to Sweden in July 1624 in the wake of

Krzysztof Radziwiłł Prince Krzysztof Radziwiłł (Christopher Radvila, lt, Kristupas Radvila) (22 March 1585, Biržai – 19 November 1640) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish–Lithuanian Nobility, noble (szlachcic), and a notable magnate, politicia ...

, a noble

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

Protestant and opponent of

Gustav II Adolf of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...

In Sweden, at the age of about 17, he was brought to trial on charges of spying for Poland. The process, during which he was accused of defending his father, ended with the

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

of Arnold Johan, as a traitor. He was pardoned by King

Gustav II Adolf Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 to ...

and in 1626 sent to

Kexholm Priozersk (russian: Приозе́рск; fi, Käkisalmi; sv, Kexholm) is a town and the administrative center of Priozersky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the northwestern shore of Lake Ladoga, at the estuary of the northern a ...

as a prisoner.

Career

He was pardoned 14 years later, in 1640 through Count Per Brahe, the governor of

Swedish Finland In Swedish and Finnish history, Finland under Swedish rule is the historical period when the bulk of the area that later came to constitute Finland was an integral part of Sweden. The starting point of Swedish rule is uncertain and controversi ...

. He then went to Stockholm to obtain employment in government service. In August 1640, Messenius was arrested at the Danish border and put in Stockholm jail. The councils instructed him to go to Poland and find the manuscript ''Scandia illustrata'', left there by his mother after his father's death. Messenius was able to fulfill this mission, and found a number of curious Swedish documents. Arnold Johan was instructed to write an official history of Sigismund and Charles IX's reign and won the generous patronage of the admiral

Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm Baron Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm (4 March 1574 – 17 March 1650) was a Swedish soldier and politician. He was made a baron (''friherre'') in 1615, appointed Field Marshal in 1616, Privy Councilor in 1617, Governor General of Ingria in 1617 a ...

. In 1645 he was appointed royal historian by Queen Christina, and raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

. However, he had not the talent of his father for history, nor his critical instinct, nor the qualities of perseverance and willingness to do hard work. When Christina ordered him, after a scandal, to supply his sister with some of his

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

s, their animosity began. Subsequently, in 1649 and 1650 he made connections with opposition leaders known as the "Messen conspiracy", and Swedish noblemen were alarmed.

Death

Messenius wrote some satires on

Axel Oxenstierna Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre (; 1583–1654), Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a c ...

and accused Christina of serious misbehavior and being a

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

, for which he was beheaded in

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 ...

, together with his 17-year-old son.Henry Woodhead, ''Memoirs of Christina, Queen of Sweden'', 2 voll., London: Hurst and Blackett, 1863, Vol. II, pp. 86-97
Google books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messenius, Arnold Johan 17th-century Swedish historians Swedish satirists Writers from Gdańsk 1607 births 1651 deaths People executed by Sweden by decapitation 17th-century executions by Sweden 17th-century Swedish writers 17th-century male writers Executed Swedish people People of the Swedish Empire Christina, Queen of Sweden