Laurentius Andreae ( Swedish: Lars Andersson ) (c. 1470 – 14 April 1552) was a Swedish

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

clergyman and scholar who is acknowledged as one of his country's preeminent intellectual figures during the first half of the 16th century. In his time he was most renowned as one of the main proponents of the

Swedish reformation The Reformation in Sweden is generally regarded as having begun in 1527 during the reign of King Gustav I of Sweden, but the process was slow and was not definitively decided until the Uppsala Synod of 1593, in the wake of an attempted Counter-Re ...

of 1523-31.

Biography

Laurentius Andreae was born in the town of Strängnäs. As was the case with many 15th century personalities, the date of his birth remained unrecorded, although the year is generally assumed to have been in the early 1470s. During his youth he was a priest, and had travelled to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

as well as conducted studies abroad. In 1509, when he was in his mid- to late thirties, he received an appointment as deacon of his hometown of Strängnäs. In the intervening years he met

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

, converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and by the 1520s was promoted to

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

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 ...

. Along with Olaus Petri and his brother

Laurentius Laurentius is a Latin given name and surname that means "''From Laurentum''" (a city near Rome). It is possible that the place name ''Laurentum'' is derived from the Latin ''laurus'' (" laurel"). People with the name include: In Early Christiani ...

, Andreae completed the full translation of the Bible into Swedish, known as the " Gustav Vasa Bible" of 1541. He served as chancellor for King Gustav I Vasa and cherished by Laurentius Petri, the Archbishop, because they shared a strong Lutheran faith. In 1527, at the Diet of Västerås, he declared the King to be the head of 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 1540, he and Olaus Petri were sentenced to death. Historians differ in regard to the nature of the alleged transgressions, and whether the sentences were justified. All agree, however, that the verdicts were highly influenced by the King's personal opinions and disagreement with the men. After much pleading, the sentences were reduced to severe fines and both men were released. Laurentius Andreae later died in Strängnäs at the approximate age of 80.

References

Other sources

Article Laurentius Andreae

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 ...

, in Swedish {{DEFAULTSORT:Andreae, Laurentius 1470s births 1552 deaths People from Strängnäs Municipality 15th-century Swedish people 16th-century Swedish Lutheran priests Date of birth unknown Translators of the Bible into Swedish Swedish Reformation