Emanuel Swedenborg

Annalisa Volpone (Università di Perugia)

Ed. by Susan Brantly, University of Wisconsin
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.6: Swedish Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

Born 29 Jan 1688
Died 29 Mar 1772
Activity 1708-1772

Places

Born in Sweden
Active in Sweden

Activities

Primary

Mystic
Religious writer

Resources

Swedenborg's Works

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Emanuel Swedenborg was born in Sweden on 29 January, 1688. He was the third child of Jesper Swedberg (1653-1735), a pastor of the Lutheran Church, and of Sara Behm (1666-1696), the daughter of a rich mine owner. In 1719, after being ennobled by Queen Ulrika Eleonora, his family, with the exception of his father, changed the original name into “Swedenborg”, as an evidence of the recipient’s advancement of social status.

Jesper Swedberg was a prolific writer of hymns and sermons, a professor of theology at the University of Uppsala and, in 1702, was made bishop of Skara, a position he would retain until his death, in 1735. From his father, Swedenborg inherited the belief in the presence of angels and devils in everyday life, and his fecundity as a writer.

Jesper Swedberg was a prolific…

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2497 words

Citation: Volpone, Annalisa. "Emanuel Swedenborg". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 December 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4294, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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