Summary:

Tero Anttila, The Early Development of “the Hyperborean Theory” in the 17th century Swedish Historiography – from the Perspective of Personal Relations and Friendship.

At the centre of this article is the development of a particular research tradition with a very important role in 17th century Swedish historiography. It has been designated as Hyperborean – due to the fact that the classical Greek myth of the Hyperboreans played a significant part in the background of this research tradition. The Hyperborean research tradition has been regarded as part of the so-called Geatic view of history, a patriotic trend dominating 16th and 17th century Swedish historiography. This trend was characterized by great enthusiasm for the ancient history of Sweden and the Swedes.

In this article, the early development of the Hyperborean research tradition will be studied through the person of polyhistor Johannes Bureus (1568–1652). This scholar has been considered to be the first in Sweden to pay more careful attention to the myth of the Hyperboreans in the context of Swedish historiography. In particular, this article examines the significance of friendship and personal relationships in the background of the development of the Hyperborean research tradition.

This article shows that Bureus was tightly bound to the establishment of the early 17th century Sweden. He knew personally and was in attendance with the kings Carl IX and Gustavus Adolphus. They were both quite interested in supporting the research of the ancient history of Sweden. From the perspective of the emergence of the Hyperborean research tradition, his personal relationship with King Carl IX was especially significant.

A considerable number of 17th century aristocrats were also openly supporting the research of the ancient history of Sweden. Bureus knew many of them personally, and he was friends with Johan Skytte, who could be regarded as his “patronus”. As a historian, Bureus appears to be a somewhat exceptional personality, if we compare him to some other scholars of the time. He established close relations with the ruling class of the Sweden of the 17th century.

This article proves that Bureus was contemplating the usefulness of the myth of the Hyperboreans along with other scholars of the early 17th century, such as his cousin Andreas Bureus and his colleague, historian Johannes Messenius. However, his disciple, polyhistor Georg Stiernhielm was the most notable person from the viewpoint of the later development of the Hyperborean research tradition. He inherited the ideas of Bureus and, in many respects, passed them on to the historians of the next generation.