Olaus Laurentii (died 25 June 1438) was a

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 ...

ecclesiastic and

archbishop of Uppsala The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until the early 20th century) has been the primate (bishop), primate of Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward un ...

Biography

Olaus Laurentii (who is known under the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

form of his Swedish name Olof Larsson) came from

Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...

and studied at the universities of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He was elected Dean of

Uppsala Cathedral Uppsala Cathedral ( sv, Uppsala domkyrka) is a cathedral located between the University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in the Lutheran tra ...

in 1417 and archbishop in 1432. He was ordained in Rome 18 May 1432. In the conflict between king

Eric of Pomerania Eric of Pomerania (1381 or 1382 – 24 September 1459) was the ruler of the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439, succeeding his grandaunt, Queen Margaret I. He is known as Eric III as King of Norway (1389–1442), Eric VII as King of Denmark (1396 ...

, the ruler of the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...

countries, and the archbishop Johannes Gerechini in 1419, Olaus acted on behalf of the king and as a diplomatic envoy to Rome in the negotiations to get Johannes Gerechini deposed and the Vadstena monk Johannes Haquini elected and ordained (1422) as new archbishop. When he died in 1432, the chapter elected Olaus new archbishop. Olaus had spent long periods in the previous years in Rome and was in good standing with the pope, but the king preferred bishop

Arnold of Bergen Arnold of Bergen ( no, Arend) (died 1434) was bishop of Bergen, Norway, and a non-ordained, short-lived Archbishop of Uppsala, Sweden. As Olaus Laurentii, in 1432, was elected by the Chapter to become Archbishop of Uppsala and Sweden, the King Eri ...

. After Arnold died, he was replaced by Torlav of Bergen. Olaus had been ordained by the pope already in 1432, but was accepted by the king only in 1435, during the rebellion of

Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson (1390s – 27 April/4 May 1436) was a Swedish nobleman, rebel leader and military boss of German ancestry. He was the leader of the Engelbrekt rebellion in 1434 against Eric of Pomerania, king of the Kalmar Union. Enge ...

. In 1436, Olaus and the

Privy Council of Sweden The Council of the Realm, or simply The Council ( sv, Riksrådet or sv, Rådet: sometimes in la, Senatus Regni Sueciae), was a cabinet of medieval origin, consisting of magnates ( sv, stormän) which advised, and at times co-ruled with, the Ki ...

, over which he presided, turned their back on the king and joined the rebellion. Olaus Laurentii is said to have died from poisoning by

almond milk Almond milk is a plant-based milk with a watery texture and nutty flavor manufactured from almonds, although some types or brands are flavored in imitation of cow's milk. It does not contain cholesterol or lactose and is low in saturated fat. ...

, and according to a later source the regent (later king) Karl Knutsson (Bonde) was responsible. In 1435, Olaus consecrated the new

which had been under construction for two centuries.

References

Beata Losman Wendela Beata Losman (née Hammarskjöld, b. 27 November 1938) is a Swedish historian and archivist. Biography Beata Hammarskjöld, later Losman through marriage, was born 27 November 1938 in Malmö. She is the daughter of the physician Sven Ham ...

, "Olaus Laurentii", ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'', vol. 28, pp. 134–136. 1438 deaths Roman Catholic archbishops of Uppsala 15th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Sweden Deaths from food poisoning Year of birth unknown {{Sweden-RC-archbishop-stub