Johannes Schefferus (February 2, 1621 – March 26, 1679) was one of the most important

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 ...

humanists Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanis ...

of his time. He was also known as Angelus and is remembered for writing hymns.See the link below "German Classics" Schefferus was born in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, then part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. He came from the patrician family ( Scheffer), studied at university there and briefly in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

, and was in 1648 made professor Skytteanus of eloquence and government at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

, a chair he held until his death in 1679. Schefferus also spent time on philological and archaeological studies. His ''De orbibus tribus aureis'' became the first publication on Swedish archaeology. The story of the

Sami people Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

, ''

Lapponia Lapponia may refer to: * Laponia (historical province), a historical Swedish province * ''Lapponia'' (book), a 1673 ethnographic account of the region by Johannes Schefferus * Lapponia (train) The ''Lapponia'' was an express passenger train operate ...

'' (1673) became popular around Europe but was not translated into Swedish (as ''Lappland'') until 1956. His posthumous publication, ''Suecia literata'' ("The Learned Sweden") (1680) is a Swedish

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal. Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...

bibliography. Schefferus was later in life involved in an intellectual dispute, particularly with

Olof Verelius Olaus or Olof Verelius (12 February 1618 – 3 January 1682) was a Swedish scholar of Northern antiquities who published the first edition of a saga and the first Old Norse-Swedish dictionary and is held to have been the founder of the Hyperb ...

(1618–1682) over the location of the Temple at Uppsala. He argued that the temple should be found near the current location of ''Helga Trefaldighets kyrka'' (Church of the Holy Trinity) in Uppsala. It is today known that his opponents usually used forgery to meet his argumentation. This was presumably the reason that parts of the largest surviving Gothic text, Codex Argenteus, were retouched. In 1648, Schefferus married Regina Loccenia, the daughter of a previous (1628–1642) professor skytteanus,

Johannes Loccenius Johannes Loccenius (Johan Locken) (13 March 1598 – 27 July 1677) was a German jurist and historian, known as an academic in Sweden. Life He was born at Itzehoe, Holstein, the son of a tradesman, and educated at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneum ...

, and had two sons (see Scheffer).

Publications (selected)

''German Classics'' by William Cleaver Wilkinson Published 1900 by Funk & Wagnalls Company in New York, London p. 146
*''Upsalia'' (1666) *''De re vehiculari veterum'' ("Of the vehicles of the ancients", 1671) *''Svecia literata'' ("Learned Sweden", 1680) *''Lapponia'' (1673)

manuscript page from Johannes Schefferus’s work De Antiquis Verisque Regni Sueciae Insignibus Liber Singularis. Clicking on the thumbnail will give you the full image and information concerning it. 1621 births 1679 deaths Alsatian-German people Writers from Strasbourg Swedish people of German descent Renaissance humanists {{Sweden-academic-bio-stub