The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademin abbreviated KVHAA ( sv, Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien Historie och Antikvitets Akademien or or ) is the

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 ...

royal academy for the

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

. Its many publications include the archaeological and art historical journal ''

Fornvännen ''Fornvännen'' ("The Friend of the Distant Past"), ''Journal of Swedish Antiquarian Research'' is a Swedish academic journal in the fields of archaeology and Medieval art. It is published quarterly by the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History ...

'', published since 1906.

History

Now located in Rettigska house at Villa Street 3 in Stockholm, the Academy had origins in the early 1700s

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 c ...

. It was founded in 1753 by Queen Louisa Ulrica,

Queen of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument ...

and the mother of King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

and originally dedicated to literature. In 1786 when the Swedish Academy was founded it was reconstituted under its present name with new objectives, mainly dedicated to historical and antiquarian preservation. This included a close cooperation with the Swedish National Heritage Board (Swedish: "Riksantikvarieämbetet") whose director was, ex officio, the Academy's secretary.

Objectives

The Academy's purpose is "to promote research and other activities in the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

, religious studies,

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

and

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

disciplines and cultural heritage". This is done primarily through financial support and through vibrant publishing. Among the academy's writings are

. The Academy's responsibilities have grown to encompass the entire activity of the humanities field in the broad sense, including

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and social studies. At the request of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

or public authority, or on its own initiative, the Academy gives opinions on matters that affect its activity.

Cultural Heritage properties

The Academy owns and operates the Stjernsund Castle in

Närke Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwe ...

Skånelaholm Castle Skånelaholm Castle ( sv, Skånelaholms slott) is a castle in Sigtuna Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. History Skånelaholm lies in a very old cultural landscape and may have been a crown estate manor during the early Middle Ages. The estat ...

Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...

, Stensjö hamlet in Småland and

Borg The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. The Borg are cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a hive mind called "the Collective". The Borg co-opt the technology and knowledge ...

hamlet on the island of

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...

.''Heritage properties'' (Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien)
/ref> Vitterhetsakademi's library is included in the Swedish National Heritage Board and operates public scientific special interest libraries. It is open to the public.

Organization

Academy is composed of up to 30 executive members in each historical, antiquarian,

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

philological Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as t ...

class and up to ten honorary members. Swedish and foreign "corresponding members" are not limited in number. When a working member reaches 70 years they can choose a new member, while 70-year-olds remain in the Academy as emeritus or emerita. Therefore, the Academy currently has around 130 members.''About the Academy'' (Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien)
/ref>

Prizes

Diploma,

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

s and

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

s distributed by the Academy at a formal gathering which takes place annually on 20 March. Academy awards several prizes such as the Gad Rausing's prize for outstanding humanistic research, Ann-Kersti and Carl-Hakon Swenson's Swenson prize and Rettigska price. The Academy also awards several medals such as the Gustaf Adolf Medal by the King's consent, the Academy's

Medal of Merit Several countries award a military or civil medal called Medal of Merit: * Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) * Medal of Merit (Denmark) * Medal of Merit of the Dominican Woman * Medal of Merit of the National People's Army (East Germany) * Medal o ...

in gold, Academy token in gold, Antiquarian medal and silver medal inscriptions in silver.''Prizes'' (Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien)
/ref>

References

External links

{{authority control Sweden 1753 establishments in Sweden 1753 in Sweden Letters, History and Antiquities Cultural history of Sweden