Johan Börjesson (30 August 1790 – 6 May 1866) was a Swedish

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

, poet, and dramatist, associated with the Swedish phosphorist and

romanticist Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

movements. He was holder of chair 3 of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

Biography

Johan Börjesson was born in Tanum,

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

, in 1790 to Börje Hansson and Agneta Wingård. His uncle was Bishop Johan Wingård, his cousin Archbishop

Carl Fredrik af Wingård Carl Fredrik af Wingård (born 26 September 1781 in Stockholm, died 19 September 1851) was a Sweden, Swedish Lutheran archbishop of the Church of Sweden, Professor at Uppsala University, and politician. He served as Archbishop of Uppsala 1839&nda ...

. He enrolled at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () 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 operation. Initially fou ...

in 1808, graduated in 1815, and was ordinated priest in the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

in 1816. While in Uppsala, Börjesson was admitted to the

society ''Aurora'', where he initiated his poetic endeavours, although he never quite embraced the movement's ideals. Johan Börjesson married Fredrika Gustava Fock, the daughter of

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

:sv:Berndt Wilhelm Fock, in 1823. They had two daughters, of which one survived into adulthood, the artist

Agnes Börjesson Agnes Fredrika Börjesson, sometimes called Agneta (1 May 1827, Uppsala – 26 January 1900, Alassio, Italy), was a Swedish painter who specialized in Genre art, genre and historical scenes. Biography Her father, Johan Börjesson, was a pas ...

, who became one of the four first women admitted to the

Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...

. Later in life, in the early 1860s, his

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

was visited by the British novelist Horace Marryat who subsequently published a travelogue, ''One year in Sweden'' (published 1862; Swedish translation 1863), based in his impressions and findings while staying with the family.''Kungs-Husby i Trögd Kungsgård, kyrka och socken'', Studier till Det Medeltida Sverige 6, RAÄ After a long time on the countryside, towards the last few months of his life he returned to

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital 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 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

Presbytariate

Following his ordination into priesthood, he was designated in Uppsala parish,

Archdiocese of Uppsala The Archdiocese of Uppsala () is one of the thirteen dioceses of the Church of Sweden and the only one having the status of an archdiocese. Lutheran archdiocese Uppsala is the seat of the Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala. The diocese, which has it ...

, and in 1820 its attorney. His preaching gained reputation, and in 1821 he was admitted as preacher at the

Royal Court of Sweden The Royal Court () is the official name for the organisation ( royal households) that supports the monarch and the royal house. The incumbent monarch, King Carl XVI Gustaf, is head of the Royal Court. Organizational structure The Royal Court is d ...

. He was appointed

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

in three parishes in the Archdiocese of Uppsala in 1828, whereafter elevated to

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

in 1840. At the time of the

Coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

of King

Oscar I of Sweden Oscar I (born Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte; 4 July 1799 – 8 July 1859) was King of Sweden and List of Norwegian monarchs, Norway from 8 March 1844 until his death. He was the second monarch of the House of Bernadotte. The only child of Ki ...

in 1844, he was promoted to

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

Literature

Already in 1814 he won the Grand Prize of the

Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg The Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg (, abbreviated KVVS and often known simply as ''Samhället'') is a Swedish Royal Academy. Its predecessor was founded in Gothenburg in 1773 and the academy took its present name in 1778. The sam ...

, its highest prize, for the work ''Aphrodite''. The same year, he was admitted to the ''Poetisk Kalender'' of

Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom (19 January 1790 in Åsbo, Östergötland – 21 July 1855) was a Swedish romantic poet, and a member of the Swedish Academy. Life He was the son of a country parson, born in the province of Ostergotland on 19 Janu ...

. Around the time of his initiation to the presbytariate, he published ''Skapelsen i sånger'' (1820), which however was not well met by the critics. In 1846 he published the historic play ''Erik den fjortonde'', reportedly the first modern historical play in Sweden, which was set up on scene with pleased reviews. After this followed plays like ''Erik den fjortondes son'' (1847), ''Solen sjunker, Gustaf I:s sista dagar'' (1856), ''Ur Karl XII:s ungdom'' (1858), ''Brödraskulden'', and ''Erik den Fjortonde, senare avdelningen'' (1861). He also resumed his lyrical writings; in 1849 ''Kärlek och poesi'' was anonymously published, in 1854 ''Blommor och tårar på en dotters grav'', the latter after the death of his daughter Amanda. Börjesson had just finished another play, ''En sammansvärjning i Rom'', including his very last poem ''Afsked till publiken och kritiken'', when he died in the spring of 1866.

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *
Flera bidrag i Poetisk kalender dateen 1815–1819 i fulltext på Litteraturbanken.
'

Writings in selection

* ** **

Distinctions

* Chair 3 of the

(1859) * Grand Prize of the

(1856) *

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

(1856) * Member of the

(1823) * Grand Prize of the

(1814)

References

External links

Börjesson, Johan
profile at

(Swedish)
Johan Börjesson
by

Sven Stolpe Sven Stolpe (24 August 1905 – 26 August 1996) was a Swedish writer, translator, journalist, literary scholar and critic, who was active in Swedish literary and intellectual discussion for most of his life. In the early 1930s, he argued for i ...

in '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' (Swedish)
Börjesson, Johan
biography in ''

Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon ''Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon'' () is a compact Sweden, Swedish dictionary of biography first published in 1873–1876 by the physician and antiquarian Herman Hofberg (1823–1883). The second, updated edition was published in 1906, under th ...

'' (Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Borjesson, Johan 1790 births 1866 deaths People from Tanum Municipality Writers from Västra Götaland County Swedish male poets Swedish male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Swedish poets 19th-century Swedish male writers Romantic poets 19th-century Swedish dramatists and playwrights Members of the Swedish Academy Members of the Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Uppsala University alumni 19th-century Swedish Lutheran priests