Matthias Norberg (1747–1826) was a Swedish professor of Greek and Oriental languages at
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion Nätra,
Ångermanland
Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland.
The name is derived from the O ...
in northern
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 ...
.
Matthias Norberg belonged to a very wealthy northern farming family descended from his grandfather Mats Isaksson in Norrtjärn in Nätra parish in Ångermanland. Matthias Norberg's father Matthias Matsson Norberg (1694–1764) was the crown sheriff and director of the linen industry in the North.
He died on 11 January 1826 in
Uppsala, Sweden
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 ...
.
Career
Norberg became a student in
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 ...
in 1768, receiving his Master of Arts in 1773 and became an associate professor of the Greek language in 1774. In 1777 he undertook, with royal support, a trip through Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, England, France and Italy.
It was in Paris he encountered the Mandaean religion record books, as well as several
Syriac Syriac may refer to:
*Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic
*Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region
* Syriac alphabet
** Syriac (Unicode block)
** Syriac Supplement
* Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
manuscripts. This stoked his interest in oriental studies.
In 1780, he was appointed a professor of Oriental languages and Greek at Lund University.
Norberg was elected in 1821 as a member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...