Bero Magni de Ludosia or Björn Magnusson from Lödöse (died 1465) was a Swedish-born scholar, active at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. He was the owner of the largest private library in medieval Sweden. An ink portrait of him preserved in the

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

is also the oldest known depiction of a Swedish scholar.

Biography

He was born in

Lödöse Lödöse (), also known as Gamla Lödöse is a locality situated in Lilla Edet Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It is situated 40 kilometers northeast of Gothenburg and is considered the precursor to modern-day Gothenburg. Gaml ...

, probably at the beginning of the 15th century. In 1429 he was enrolled as a student at the

, in the Saxon

nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...

. In 1433 he obtained the degree of

regent master Regent master (''Magister regens'') was a title conferred in the medieval universities upon a student who had acquired a master's degree. The degree meant simply the right to teach, the ''Licentia docendi'', a right which could be granted, in the ...

, entitled to give lectures at the university. He stayed as a teacher at the university until 1464. Most of his activity at the university was connected with the faculty of philosophy, and he gave lectures on logic, moral philosophy, natural sciences, geometry and mathematics, all subjects which at the time were taught at the faculty of philosophy. A particular interest in the philosophy of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

appears evident from his lectures; other lectures are on the works of

Johannes de Sacrobosco Johannes de Sacrobosco, also written Ioannes de Sacro Bosco, later called John of Holywood or John of Holybush ( 1195 – 1256), was a scholar, Catholic monk, and astronomer who taught at the University of Paris. He wrote a short introductio ...

and

Peter of Spain __NOTOC__ Peter of Hispania (; Portuguese and ; century) was the author of the ', later known as the ', an important medieval university textbook on Aristotelian logic. As the Latin ''Hispania'' was considered to include the entire Iberian Peni ...

. In addition, he began studying

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

during the 1430s, but abandoned these studies after a conflict within the university in 1442. Despite not finishing his theological studies, he apparently upheld an interest in the field and occasionally taught at the faculty of theology. In 1449 he was also made a titular

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

at the

Diocese of Skara The Diocese of Skara () is the oldest existing diocese in Sweden. It was originally a Latin bishopric of the Roman Catholic church, but since the Protestant Reformation has been a Lutheran diocese within the Church of Sweden, with its seat in S ...

in his native Sweden, a purely formal position but which entailed a higher salary. His position there was questioned by

Kort Rogge Kort Rogge ( 1425 — 5 April 1501), also known as Rogge Kyle, Konrad Rogge, Cort Rogge, Conradus Roggo gothus and Conradus Roggo de Holmis, was a Swedish bishop, member of the Privy Council of Sweden, and Renaissance humanist. Background and s ...

but apparently without any success. He was also made a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna in 1464. In 1460, he was elected

Bishop of Skara The Diocese of Skara () is the oldest existing diocese in Sweden. It was originally a Latin bishopric of the Roman Catholic church, but since the Protestant Reformation has been a Lutheran diocese within the Church of Sweden, with its seat in S ...

, but he never left Vienna and did not take up his position at

Skara Cathedral Skara Cathedral () is a church (building), church in the town of Skara, Sweden. The cathedral is the seat for the bishop of the Diocese of Skara of the Church of Sweden . History Its history is traced from the 10th century, but its current app ...

. The election was annulled in 1465. He died in Vienna the same year.

Legacy and library

Bero was remembered as a scholar in his native country and is mentioned by

Olaus Magnus Olaus Magnus (born Olof Månsson; October 1490 – 1 August 1557) was a Swedish writer, cartographer, and Catholic clergyman. Biography Olaus Magnus (a Latin translation of his Swedish birth name Olof Månsson) was born in Linköping in Octo ...

. An ink drawing depicting him, made by one of his students, is preserved in a manuscript containing works by him today in the

and is the oldest known depiction of a Swedish scholar. Following the wishes in his last will, his book collection was donated to the Diocese of Skara after his death. The books remained in Vienna until 1472 due to an ongoing war in Sweden. A catalogue of the works donated, probably made in Vienna some time after his death, has been preserved. The book collection contained an estimated 138 works, with a focus on

scholasticism Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and Ca ...

. The single author represented with most works in the library is

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

. His library is the largest medieval book collection known to have been owned by a person connected to Sweden. There was no comparable private book collection in medieval Sweden; by European standards the collection was sizeable.

References

Works cited

* * * *

Biography

Legacy and library

References

Works cited

Further reading