Olof von Dalin (29 August 1708 – 12 August 1763) was a Swedish
nobleman
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...
,
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...
,
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
and
courtier
A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official ...
Vinberg
Vinberg () is a locality and a parish situated in Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 592 inhabitants in 2010.
The parish is home to three villages: Vinberg, Vinbergs kyrkby and Tröingeberg, the latter being a suburb of Falk ...
in
Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömseb ...
. His father was the parish minister. His birth name prior to knighthood was Dahlin. Olof Dalin's father had taken his name from his hometown,
Dalstorp
Dalstorp is a locality
Locality may refer to:
* Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England
* Locality (linguistics)
* Locality (settlement)
* Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality ...
Bishop of Lund
List of (arch)bishops of Lund. Until the Danish Reformation the centre of a great Latin (arch)bishopric, Lund has been in Sweden since the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. The Diocese of Lund is now one of thirteen in the Church of Sweden.
Cath ...
, and he was sent at a very early age to be instructed by him.
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...
was one of his fellow-pupils.
Career
In 1723, while studying at
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion Svenska Argus'', on the model of
Joseph Addison
Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 June 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richar ...
's ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
'', writing anonymously till 1736. ''Svenska Argus'' was a champion of the Enlightenment and aimed to raise the level of culture in Sweden . His next work was ''Tankar öfver Critiquer'' (1736).
He became Royal Librarian (1737–39) and was later appointed Rikshistoriograf (National Historiographer) (1755–56). With the avowed purpose of enlarging the horizons of his cultivation and tastes, Dalin set off, in the company of his pupil, Baron Rålamb's son, on a tour through
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, in 1739-1740. Upon his return, the shifting political life at home caused him to write his famous satirical allegories, ''Sagan om Hästen'' and ''Aprilverk'' (1738), that were very popular and inspired countless imitations.
During the early part of his life, he was universally admitted to be ''facile princeps'' among the Swedish poets of his time. His dramas were also of interest, particularly his comedy of ''Den afvundsjuke'' (1738). He also wrote a tragedy, ''Brynilda'' (1759), and a pastoral in three scenes upon King Adolphus Frederick's return from
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 Bot ...
.
His didactic epos of ''Svenska Friheten'' appeared in 1742. Hitherto, Addison and
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
had been his models. In this work he draws his inspiration from Thomson, whose poem, ''Liberty'', he emulated. In 1742, he was made a member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
that year, and was tried for his life before the ''diet''. He was acquitted, but was forbidden to show himself at court on any pretense. This period of exile, lasting until 1761, Dalin spent in the preparation of the third volume of his great historical work, the ''Svea Rikes historia'', that related events up to the death of King
Charles IX of Sweden
Charles IX, also Carl ( sv, Karl IX; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I () and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric ...
in 1611. The first two volumes appeared in 1746-1750; the third, in two parts, in 1760-1762.
Dalin had been made a noble in 1751, and made privy councillor in 1753. In 1761, he once more took his place at court. During his exile, however, his spirit and his health had been broken. In a fit of panic, he had destroyed some manuscripts of his best unpublished works, and this he constantly brooded over. In 1763, he died at his house in Drottningholm.
Posthumous works
In the year 1767, his writings in ''belles lettres'' were issued in six volumes, edited by his half brother, J. C. Bökman. Amid an enormous mass of occasional verses, anagrams, epigrams, impromptus and the like, his
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...
s and serious poems were almost buried. But some of these former, even, are found to be songs of remarkable grace and delicacy, and many display a love of natural scenery, and a knowledge of its forms.
The Olof von Dalin Society was founded in 1995 at Dalin's native Vinberg near Falkenberg, Sweden. Its mission is to encourage the study, appreciation and understanding of Olof von Dalin, his works, his life and his times.
References
;Attribution
*
Other sources
* Carlsson, Ingemar ''Olof von Dalin - Samhällsdebattör, Historiker, Språkförnyare'' (CAL-förlaget. Falkenberg 1997)
* Carlsson, Ingemar ''Olof von Dalin som tecknare'' (Förlag Utsikten, Falkenberg 2003)
*Warburg, Karl Johan, ''Olof Dalin: Hans life och gerning: Litterturhistorisk Avhandling'' (Stockholm : Norstedt, 1884)
*Wikander, Ruth ''Studier över stil och språk i Dalins Argus'' (Uppsala : Appelberg, 1924)