Stig Axel Folke Ström (15 October 1907 – 20 January 1996) was a Swedish religious studies scholar who specialized in the study of

Germanic religion Germanic religion may refer to: * Germanic paganism * Germanic Christianity * Heathenry (new religious movement) * Neopaganism in German-speaking Europe Since its emergence in the 1970s, Neopaganism (') in German-speaking Europe has diversified ...

Biography

Folke Ström was born in

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has ...

, Sweden on 15 October 1907. the son of politician Fredrik Ström and author Tua Ström. He grew up 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 ...

. After graduating from high school, Ström studied ethnography,

Nordic languages The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...

and

religious history The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BC). The prehistory of religion involves th ...

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

. Among his teachers were

Elias Wessén Elias Wessén (15 April 1889 – 30 January 1981) was a prominent Swedish linguist and a professor of Scandinavian languages The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-Eu ...

Tor Andræ Tor Julius Efraim Andræ (; 9 July 1885 – 24 February 1947) was a Swedish clergyman, professor and scholar of comparative religion who served as Bishop of the Diocese of Linköping. Biography Andræ was born at Vena parish in Hultsfred M ...

and . He gained his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1936, and his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in 1942. His doctoral thesis, ''On the Sacred Origin of the Germanic Death Penalties'' (1942). Ström's thesis was praised upon publication, and he was appointed a

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...

at Stockholm University in 1943. He was offered the position of professor at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

. Ström specialized in the study of

, particularly

Old Norse religion Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is the most common name for a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic peop ...

. He wrote numerous influential studies on this subjects. Ström retired in 1972. Ström died in Gothenburg, Sweden on 20 January 1996.

Selected works

* ''On the Sacral Origin of the Germanic Death Penalties'', 1942 * ''Den döendes makt och Odin i trädet'', 1947 * ''Den egna kraftens män. En studie i forntida irreligiositet'', 1948 * ''Diser, nornor, valkyrjor. Fruktbarhetskult och sakralt kungadöme i Norden'', 1954 * ''Loki. Ein mythologisches problem'', 1956 * ''Nordisk hedendom: tro och sed i förkristen tid'', 1961

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ström, Folke 1907 births 1996 deaths Germanic studies scholars Academic staff of Lund University Old Norse studies scholars Stockholm University alumni Academic staff of Stockholm University Writers on Germanic paganism Members of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy

Biography

Selected works

See also

Sources