Eva Margareta Frölich (c. 1650 – September 1692 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

), was a Swedish mystic,

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

visionary A visionary, defined broadly, is one who can envision the future. For some groups, visioning can involve the supernatural. Though visionaries may face accusations of hallucinating, people may succeed in reaching a visionary state via medita ...

and

Pietistic Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life. Although the movement is aligned with Luth ...

writer.

Biography

Frölich was born the daughter of colonel Hans Christoffer Frölich and Elisabet von Plessen. The location and exact date are unknown. Her brother, Carl Gustaf Frölich, was an ennobled count; she became the aunt of

Charlotta Frölich Charlotta Frölich (28 November 1698 – 21 July 1770) was a Swedish writer, historian, agronomist and poet. She sometimes used the pseudonym Lotta Triven. She published poems, stories, and work about political and scientific subjects. She was t ...

. She was married in

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Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, then a Swedish province, to Johann Henning Neumeijer, colonel in the Swedish army, whom she abandoned in 1684, when she arrived in

in Sweden in the company of the goldsmith Berendt Doerchmann and made herself known as a prophet and a preacher. She was received by King

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

, where she predicted that he was to be the founder of the thousand-year kingdom of Christ and rule over all of Christianity. The same year, she was sentenced to exile and traveled to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, where she published her work about

millennialism Millennialism () or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent) is a belief which is held by some religious denominations. According to this belief, a Messianic Age will be established on Earth prior to the Last Judgment and the future permanent s ...

and the seven congregations in the Bible, which caused her banishment from the city. She then settled in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, where she published many of her works and continued to be active as a prophet and a preacher, still assisted by Berendt Doerchmann. One of her opinions was that women should be allowed to preach.

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She returned to Stockholm in 1692, where she held speeches against the priests "almost worse than before" and tried to publish her work. She was arrested and put in jail, where she died the same year. Her theology has been described as a mix between

spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...

pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

, orthodoxy and the punishment ideology from the Old Testament. She was a Lutheran, but attacked the literary version of the priests.Ellen Hagen, artikel i ''Svenska män och kvinnor'', del 2, Albert Bonniers förlag 1944, s.637

References

Sources

Nordisk familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. The public domain edit ...

Biography

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See also

References

Sources

Further reading