Erik Gustaf Geijer (12 January 1783 – 23 April 1847) was a Swedish writer,

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, poet, romantic critic of political economy, philosopher, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

. His writings served to promote Swedish

National Romanticism Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

. He was an influential advocate of

Liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostilit ...

Biography

Geijer was born at Geijersgården, his family's estate in

Ransäter Ransäter () is a smaller locality in Munkfors Municipality, Sweden. In 2010, it had a population of 114. Ransäter is the birthplace of Erik Gustaf Geijer, Sten Bergman, and Tage Erlander Tage Fritjof Erlander (; 13 June 1901 – 21 June ...

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...

. He was educated at the gymnasium of

Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 65,856 inhabitants in 2020 with 95,167 inhabita ...

and then attended the University of Uppsala, where he earned his master's degree in 1806. In 1803 he had competed successfully for an historical prize offered by the Academy of Sciences at Stockholm. In 1809, he traveled in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The year following, he became a lecturer in history at Uppsala, and in 1815 assistant to Eric Michael Fant. Succeeding Fant, Geijer was a professor of history from 1817 at Uppsala University where a statue now commemorates him. He was rector of Uppsala University during the years 1822, 1830, 1836 and 1843–1844. As a representative of the university, he was a member of the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

clergy in the

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates ( sv, Riksens ständer; informally sv, Ståndsriksdagen) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to t ...

in 1828–1830 and 1840–1841. He was a member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), 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 bes ...

(on seat 14) from 1824. He was a member of the education committee from 1825 to 1828. In 1830 he joined Pro Fide et Christianismo, a Christian education society. In 1835, he became a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...

. Geijer was also a founding member of the Geatish Society ( sv, Götiska förbundet). In the first issue of its periodical, ''Iduna'', appeared Geijer's most famous poem ''The Viking'', which described the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

s as the heroic

Norsemen The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the ...

that people might imagine today, and was a turning-point in the rehabilitation of Norse culture among the Swedish people. Geijer collaborated with Arvid August Afzelius, in the three volume collection of Swedish folk-songs, ''Svenska folk-visor från forntiden'' (Stockholm, 1814–1816). Geijer was a noted historian, although he did not complete any one of the vast undertakings which he planned. Of the ''Records of Sweden'' ( sv, Svea Rikes häfder), which were to have embraced the history of his native country from mythical ages to his own times, he finished only the introductory volume. His ''Svenska folkets historia'' (3 vols., 1832–36), which was intended to form one of the series of European histories edited by Leo and Ukert, was not carried beyond the abdication of Queen Christina (1654), the reason probably being the author's conversion to liberalism in history and politics. It has been suggested, however, that Geijer's declaring for liberalism was perhaps as much coming-out-of-the-closet as it was a true conversion. Incomplete as they are, these works are highly regarded contributions to Swedish history. His ''History of the Swedes down to Charles X'' was translated into English by Turner, with biographical introduction (London, 1845). Geijer was entrusted the task of examining and editing the papers which Gustavus III had bequeathed to the University of Uppsala, with the stipulation that they were not to be opened for fifty years after his death. In fulfillment of his charge, Geijer arranged these papers in a work which appeared in 1843-45 under the title of ''Gusstaf III's efterlemnade papper'', but they contained little or nothing of value. Although he rose to fame as a nationalist author, Geijer's views changed during his lifetime. During the last ten years of his life, he took an active part in politics, and began to advocate social reform and Liberalism. Although his political writings possess great merit, the very versatility of his powers diverted him from applying them methodically to the complete elaboration of any one subject. In 1846 increasing ill health forced him to resign his position as professor at Uppsala. He died in Stockholm. He left some personal memoirs, ''Minnen'' (Upsala, 1834). His collected works, ''Samlade Skrifter'', with a bibliographic treatise by Teodblad (8 vols.), appeared at Stockholm (1873–75).

Geijersgården

Geijersgården is a historic mansion in the centre of Uppsala, north of the University library. Geijersgården is named after Erik Gustaf Geijer, who lived there from 1837 to 1846. The main building was built between 1737 and 1738. The estate gained its present appearance around 1850. In 1934, the estate was taken over by Uppsala University and since 1965 has housed the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation (''Hammarskjöldfonden''). The building was restored in the 1983 after a fire in which the building's western parts were badly damaged. The buildings are classified as historic properties under the Swedish Cultural Monuments Act (''Kulturminneslagen'').

Selected works

*''Om falsk och sann upplysning med avseende på religionen'' (1811) *''Thorild: Tillika en filosofisk eller ofilosofisk bekännelse'' (1820) *''Svea rikes häfder'' (1825) *''Svenska folkets historia, I-III'', 1832–36 *''Minnen'' (1834) *''Freedom in Sweden: Selected works of Erik Gustaf Geijer'' (2017)

Musical works

Chamber music

*Violin Sonata in G minor, 1819 *Violin Sonata in D minor *Violin Sonata in F *Violin Sonata in A♭ *Sonatine for cello and piano, 1838? *Piano trio in A♭ *Piano Quartet in E minor, 1825, published 1865 *Piano Quintet in F minor, 1823 *String Quartet in F, 1830s *String Quartet in B, 1846–47

Piano

*Piano sonata in G minor, 1810 *Fantasi in F minor, 1810 *Divertimento, 1824 *Midnattsfantasi, 1833 *Scherzo, 1838 *Aftonstunder for piano, 1840 *Double sonata E♭ for four-hands, one piano, 1819 *Double sonata F minor for four-hands, one piano, published 1820.

Songs

(to his own words unless otherwise stated) *Sångstycken med ackompagnement för Piano-forte (1834) **Söderländskan i Norden ; I en ung flickas album ; Blomplockerskan ; Bilden ; Tonerna ; De små (duet) ; Höstvisa (duet) ; Soldatflickorna (duet) *Nya sånger med ackompanjement för piano-forte (1836) **Vårsång (trio) ; Den första sommarfläkten (trio) ; I dansen (duett) ; På sjön (a cappella choir) ; Avsked med eko (a cappella choir) ; Aftonkänsla (a cappella choir) ; Skärsliparegossen ; Reseda ; Ur dansen *Nyare sånger till forte-piano (1837) **Barndomsminnen ; Min hustrus visa ; Gräl och allt väl ; Min music ; Vallflickans aftonvisa ; Första aftonen i det nya hemmet ("Jag vet en hälsning mera kär") ; Husarbrudarna (duet) ; Marsch ("För Gud och sanning") (men's chorus) *Gammalt och nytt. Sånger för forte-piano. (1838) **Spinnerskorna (duet) ; På nyårsdagen ; Den lilla kolargossen (The Little Charcoal-burner) ; Riddar Toggenborg ; Anderöst (

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) ; From Lidner's Medea (I) and (II) ( Bengt Lidner) ; Den slumrande lilla flickan (

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) *Sånger till forte-piano. 5:e häftet. (1839) **Vår och saknad (duet) ; Kom! Farväl! (duet) ; Anna (duet) ; Den femtiosjätte födelsedagen ; Kommer ej våren ; Salongen och skogen ; Sångerskan ; Flicktankar ; Gondolieren *Sånger till forte-piano. 6:e häftet. (1840) **Aftonklockan ; Natthimmelen (The Night Sky) ; Höstsädet ; Min politik (My politics) ; Tal och tystnad (Speech and Silence, 1838); På vattnet ; Studentsång ("Fädernesland, vars härliga minnen") (men's chorus) ; Aftonbetraktelse (mixed choir) (

) *Sånger till forte-piano. 7:e häftet. (1841) **Flickorna (duet) ; På dagen av mitt silverbröllop (duet) ; Afton på sjön (duet) ; På en väns födelsedag (duet) ; På en resa i hembygden ; Vallgossens visa ; Juldagen 1840 ; Vad jag älskar ; Stjärnglansen *Sånger till forte-piano. 8:e häftet. (1842) **Det fordna hemmet ; Mod och försakelse (1839, for

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) ; Till min dotter ; Sparvens visa ; Vid en väns tillfrisknande ; Den sörjandes morgon ; Avskedet ; Han ; Det sextionde året (duet) ; Aftonen (trio) ; Solens nedgång i havet (mixed choir) *Sånger till forte-piano. 9:e häftet. (1846) **Den enfaldiga visan ; Arbetarens visa ; Skridskovisa ; Den nalkande stormen ; Två sånger utan ord (piano)

Other vocal works

*Musik för sång och för fortepiano (with Adolf Fredrik Lindblad (1824) **Thekla. Eine Geisterstimme. (

Friedrich von Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...

) **Till en liten flicka med en guldkjed **Svanhvits sång (

) **Nya märkvärdigheter (after

) (men's choir) **Nähe des Geliebten (

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

) *Aftonstunder vid piano-forte tillegnade min dotter (1840) **Tillegnan *Bragurmannen (songs by Geijer, Adolf Fredrik Lindblad and Johan Erik Nordblom) (1845) **Tålamod **Harmoniens makt (duet) *Other songs **Vikingen (The Viking, 1811) ; Odalbonden ; Den siste skalden ; Aftonbön på Ransberg ; Majbetraktelser ; Emma ( Johan Olof Wallin) ; Förgät mig ej (possibly Geijer's last song, 1846, published in ''Nordstjernan'', 1847) ; Skaldens farväl ; Mignon *Other duets **Berg och dal ; Slädfarten ; Vid en väns tillfrisknande (duet version) ; Kärleken på resan genom lifvet *Other trios **Mor och dotter ; Natt-tankar (1841) ; Afskedssång (1846) ; Schneiderschreck (

)

Other works for mixed choir

*Minne och hopp *Var lyckan bor *1841 *Varning, hopp och bön *Serenad (Serenata)

Other works for men's choir

*Svanhvits sång *Studentmarsch ("Att älska Gud, kung, Fädernesland") *Till mina vänner *Vandrar du än

References

Other sources

Brief biographical treatises were written by Malmstroem (Upsala, 1848), Fries (Stockholm, 1849), and Carlson (Stockholm, 1870). * Andræ, Carl Goran (1983) ''Siare och nationalmonument: Historikern Erik Gustaf Geijer, 1783-1847'' (Almqvist & Wiksell) * Ehnmark, Anders (1999) ''Minnets hemlighet: En bok om Erik Gustaf Geijer'' (Norstedts) * Erdmann, Nils Axel Fredrik (2010) ''Erik Gustaf Geijer: En Minnesteckning'' (Nabu Press) * Lönnroth, Lars (2019) ''Geijerarvet. En släkthistoria om dikt och galenskap'' (Atlantis) * Olsson, Bernt and Ingemar Algulin (1991) ''Litteraturens historia i Sverige'' (Stockholm) * Thorsoe, Alexander (2010) ''Erik Gustaf Geijers Forelaesninger Over Menniskans Historia'' (Kessinger Publishing)

External links

*
Geijer websiteHammarskjöldfonden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geijer, Erik Gustaf 1783 births 1847 deaths 19th-century classical composers People from Munkfors Municipality Writers from Värmland Swedish classical composers Swedish male classical composers Swedish educators Swedish folk-song collectors Swedish-language writers Swedish philosophers Swedish male poets Swedish male writers Romantic composers Uppsala University alumni Members of the Swedish Academy Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 19th-century Swedish historians 19th-century Swedish poets 19th-century male writers Burials at Uppsala old cemetery Swedish translators English–Swedish translators 19th-century male musicians 19th-century translators Romantic critics of political economy Members of the Riksdag of the Estates Erik Gustaf