Richard Dybeck (1 September 1811 – 28 July 1877) was a Swedish jurist,

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

, and lyricist. He is mainly remembered as the author of the lyrics to what is now the de facto Swedish

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

, ''

Du gamla, Du fria (), is the ''de facto'' national anthem of Sweden. Originally titled (), its lyrics were written in 1844 by Swedish antiquarian Richard Dybeck, who set them to a variation of the old Swedish folk music, folk melody ''Kärestans död'' ()''.'' ...

''.

Biography

Dybeck was born in the rectory of Odensvi parish, just outside the town of

Köping ''Köping'' was a Swedish denomination for a market town since the Middle Ages, derived from the Old Norse word '' kaupang''. The designation was officially abolished with the municipal reform of 1971, when Sweden was subdivided into the Munic ...

Västmanland Västmanland ( or ) is a historical Swedish province, or , in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "West Man Land" or, less literally, "The Land of the Western Men", where the "we ...

, Sweden. He was the son of a clergyman, went to gymnasium in

Västerås Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 mo ...

, and later matriculated at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

in 1831 with a law degree. He completed his civil service degree in law () in 1834 and entered the Svea Court of Appeal (). He held a number of positions in the court system during the following years, but eventually began to spend all his time on his antiquarian and historical research, not least in the field of

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic alphabet, runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition of erecting runestones as a memorial to dead men began in the 4th centur ...

s. Dybeck wrote many poems. He was also known to have a keen interest in

Asian culture The culture of Asia encompasses the collective and diverse customs and traditions of art, architecture, music, literature, lifestyle, philosophy, food, politics and religion that have been practiced and maintained by the numerous ethnic g ...

, as was seen by his collection of historic prints and lithographs which originated from places such as

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Dybeck died in 1877 at Södertälje and was buried at

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Burial Place" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Th ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. At Dybecksgården in Odensvi, Richard Dybeck's bust is in bronze by Signe Ehrenborg-Lorichs, which was unveiled by Prince Wilhelm in 1937.Dybeck med nationalsången fyller 150 år. Signe Ehrenborg-Lorichs vid sin byst av Richard Dybeck, Den står framför skaldens födelsegård i Odensvi, Sörmlandsspel 1961-06-02.
År 1961 firades ''Västmanlands Fornminnesförening'' 100-årsjubileum och samtidigt passade man på att högtidlighålla 150-årsminnet av fornforskaren Richard Dybecks födelse. De fyra landshövdingar som väntas till Dybecksfesten är nuvarande Västeråshövdingen Gustav Cederwall, landshövding i Västmanlands län 1961–1980, och de förutvarande Bernhard Gärde (August Bernhard "Abe" Gärde), landshövding i Västmanlands län 1937–1943, Conrad Jonsson (Per Conrad "Conke" Jonsson), landshövding i Västmanlands län 1943–1952, och Ragnar Casparsson, landshövding i Västmanlands län 1952–1960. Och går allt i lås, kommer det fyra riksantikvarier och fyra landsantikvarier också.

References

1811 births 1877 deaths People from Köping Municipality Uppsala University alumni Swedish male poets Swedish jurists National anthem writers 19th-century Swedish poets 19th-century Swedish male writers Swedish antiquarians 19th-century antiquarians {{Sweden-writer-stub Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen