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

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice 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 did not end definitively until the Uppsala Synod of 1593 and the following War against Sigismund, w ...

of 1523-31.

Biography

Laurentius Andreae was born in the town of

Strängnäs Strängnäs is a locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 15,363 inhabitants in 2020. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, one of the thirteen dioceses ...

. 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 , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

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, converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

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 churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of mo ...

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the ca ...

. 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 Christ ...

, 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 ( 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 ...

. 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 ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a 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. Despite their co ...

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