''Swenske songer eller wisor nw på nytt prentade / forökade / och under en annan skick än tilförenna utsatte'', often abbreviated as just ''Swenske songer eller wisor 1536'', is the first preserved

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chr ...

published in the Swedish language and was released in 1536. It consists of 47 songs or hymns, all of which have been issued anonymously.

Olaus Petri Olof Persson, sometimes Petersson (6 January 1493 – 19 April 1552), better known under the Latin form of his name, Olaus Petri (or less commonly, Olavus Petri), was a clergyman, writer, judge, and major contributor to the Protestant Reformatio ...

, a major contributor to the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

in Sweden, is however believed to have authored most of them, with contributions from

Ericus Olai Ericus Olai (ca. 1420-1486) was a Swedish theologian and historian. He served as a professor of theology at Uppsala University and dean at Uppsala Cathedral. Ericus Olai was the author of the chronicle ''Chronica regni Gothorum'' and was an earl ...

and

Laurentius Petri Laurentius Petri Nericius (1499 – 27 October 1573) was a Swedish clergyman and the first Evangelical Lutheran Archbishop of Sweden. He and his brother Olaus Petri are, together with the King Gustav Vasa, regarded as the main Lutheran reformer ...

. A large amount are translations of Latin and German hymns. The hymnal is presumably the fourth edition of the ''Swenske songer eller wisor'' series. The first edition is believed to have been released in 1526, but no preserved copy of it exists. Only a fragment of the second edition has been preserved, and no copy of the third edition has survived. The creation of ''Swenske songer eller wisor'' was ordered by the then

King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument ...

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

. During his reign,

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

was introduced in the country and he wanted to give the Swedish people a hymnal in their own language that they could understand—much like

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

did when he translated the Bible. Prior to the Protestant Reformation, most hymns were sung in Latin. In the sixteenth century, the majority of the Swedish population was unable to read and write and therefore had to memorize the hymns. This could be one of the reasons that only a few copies of ''Swenske songer eller wisor 1536'' were made. Another reason is that printing techniques at the time were not sufficiently developed to produce an affordable hymnal for widespread distribution. Only two copies of ''Swenske songer eller wisor 1536'' are available today, one of which was printed later than the other with several adjustments. These two copies are both located at the

National Library of Sweden The National Library of Sweden ( sv, Kungliga biblioteket, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish ...

. The hymns featured in ''Swenske songer eller wisor 1536'' and the other editions of the series were reprinted several times until ''Uppsalapsalmboken'' (English: ''The Uppsala Hymnal'') was published in 1645. ''Uppsalapsalmboken'' was recognized by the Swedish government as the country's first official hymnal.

References

{{Lutheran hymnody Lutheran hymnals 1536 books Swedish Reformation 1536 in Christianity

See also

References