Frans Michael Franzén (9 February 1772 – 14 August 1847) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

poet and clergyman. He served as the Bishop of the

Diocese of Härnösand The Diocese of Härnösand ( sv, Härnösands stift) is a division in the Church of Sweden in Västernorrland County. The Cathedral is located at Trädgårdsgatan in Härnösand. History The diocese was established in 1647. In 1904, the diocese o ...

Biography

Franzén was born in

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

( sv, Uleåborg),

Northern Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia ( fi, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa; sv, Norra Österbotten) is a region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland, Kainuu, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of Karelia. T ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

(now part of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

). At thirteen he entered the

Royal Academy of Turku The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...

, where he attended the lectures of

Henrik Gabriel Porthan Henrik Gabriel Porthan (1739 in Viitasaari – 1804 in Turku) was a professor and rector at the Royal Academy of Turku. He was a scholar sometimes known as ''The Father of Finnish History''. Biography He was born at Viitasaari in Tavastland, ...

(1739–1804), a pioneer in the study of Finnish history and folklore. He graduated in 1789, and became ''eloquentiae docens'' in 1792. Three years later he started on a tour through

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

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 b ...

, returning in 1796 to accept the office of university librarian at

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

in Finland. In 1801 he became professor of history and ethics, in 1808 he was elected a member of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...

and in 1815 a member of the

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

. He was a member of

Pro Fide et Christianismo (full name , ) is a Christian association within the Church of Sweden. The organization was an "informal or semi-official national school board" prior to the founding of Sweden's public education system and made a significant impact on Sweden's ...

, a Christian education society. Finland was ceded by Sweden to Russia in 1809 after the

Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic ...

, and Franzén relocated to

Kumla Kumla is a locality and the seat of Kumla Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with a population of 21,640 as of 2018. Geography Kumla is situated roughly 15 kilometres south of neighbouring city Örebro, and is connected to its much larger neig ...

, Sweden, where he was appointed parish priest in the

diocese of Strängnäs The Diocese of Strängnäs ( sv, Strängnäs stift) is a part of the Lutheran Church of Sweden and has its seat in Strängnäs Cathedral in Strängnäs, south of Lake Mälaren. The diocese is made up of the two provinces Närke and Södermanland ...

(1810), minister of the

Klara Church The Church of Saint Clare or Klara Church ( sv, Klara kyrka) is a church in central Stockholm. Since 1989, the Swedish Evangelical Mission is responsible for its activities. The Church of Saint Clare is located on Klara Västra Kyrkogata in the ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

(1824) and

Bishop of Härnösand A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(1831). In Härnösand, he got to know

Carl Olof Rosenius Carl Olof Rosenius (February 3, 1816 – February 24, 1868) was a Swedish lay preacher, author and editor of the monthly ''Pietisten'' (The Pietist) from 1842 to 1868.''Twice-Born Hymns'' by J. Irving Erickson, (Chicago: Covenant Press, 1976) ...

, seeing him as a promising preacher. Revivalist preacher Pehr Brandell worked as Franzén's assistant and after his death was defended by Franzén. Franzén died in 1847 in

Härnösand Härnösand () is a locality and the seat of Härnösand Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 17,556 inhabitants in 2010. It is called "the gate to the High Coast" because of the world heritage landscape just a few miles north of H� ...

, Sweden.

Personal life

Franzén was married three times; in 1799 to Margareta Elisabet Roos, in 1807 to Sophia Christina Wester, in 1831 to Christina Elisabeth Arvedsson. Franzén's son-in-law poet and historian

Anders Abraham Grafström Anders Abraham Grafström (10 January 1790 – 24 July 1870) was a Swedish historian, priest and poet. Life Grafström was born in Sundsvall in Västernorrland County, Sweden. He studied at Uppsala University, where he was enrolled in 180 ...

(1790–1870) served alongside him in the Swedish Academy and was Franzén's biographer. Franzén died in the parish of Säbrå in Västernorrland.

Works

From the autumn of 1793, when his ''Till en ung Flicka and Menniskans anlete'' were inserted by Kellgren in the ''Stockholmspost'', Franzén grew in popular favour by means of many minor poems of singular simplicity and truth, such as ''Till Selma'', ''Den gamle knekten'', ''Riddar St Göran'', ''De Små blommorna'', ''Modren vid vaggan'', ''Nyårsmorgonen'' and ''Stjernhimmelen''. His songs ''Goda gasse glaset töm'', ''Sörj ej den gryende dagen förut'', ''Champagnevinet'' and ''Beväringssång'' were widely sung, and in 1797 he won the prize of the Swedish Academy by his ''Sång öfver grefve Filip Creutz''. After 1797, his muse, touched with the academic spirit, grew more reflective and didactic. His longer works, as ''Emili eller en afton i Lappland'', and the epics ''Svante Sture eller mötet vid Alvastra'', ''Kolumbus eller Amerikas upptäckt'' and ''Gustaf Adolf i Tyskland'' (the last two incomplete), though rich in beauties of detail, are far inferior to his shorter pieces.Frans Michael Franzén
375 humanists – 18 May 2015. Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki

Editions

The poetical works of Franzén are collected under the title ''Skaldestycken'' (7 vols., 1824–1861); new ed., ''Samlade dikter'', with a biography by A. A. Grafström (1867–1869); also a selection (''Valda dikter'') in 2 vols. (1871). His prose writings, ''Om svenska drostniningar'' (Åbo, 1798; Örebro, 1823), ''Skrifter i obunden stil'', vol. i. (1835), ''Predikningar'' (5 vols., 1841–1845) and ''Minnesteckningar'', prepared for the Academy (3 vols., 1848–1860), are marked by faithful portraiture and purity of style.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Franzen, Frans Michael 1772 births 1847 deaths People from Oulu Swedish-speaking Finns Writers from Northern Ostrobothnia Swedish poets Swedish male writers Finnish poets in Swedish Members of the Swedish Academy Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Bishops of Härnösand Swedish Lutheran hymnwriters 19th-century Swedish writers 19th-century Finnish poets Finnish Lutheran hymnwriters 19th-century male writers Finnish emigrants to Sweden