Johannes Schefferus facts for kids
Johannes Schefferus (born February 2, 1621 – died March 26, 1679) was a very important Swedish scholar. He was known for studying ancient cultures and ideas. People also called him Angelus, and he wrote hymns, which are religious songs.
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Early Life and Education
Johannes Schefferus was born in Strasbourg. At that time, Strasbourg was part of the Holy Roman Empire. He came from a well-known family called Scheffer.
He went to university in Strasbourg. He also studied for a short time at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
A Career at Uppsala University
In 1648, Schefferus became a professor at Uppsala University in Sweden. His special job was called "professor Skytteanus." This meant he taught about speaking well (eloquence) and how governments work.
He kept this important teaching job until he passed away in 1679.
Important Studies and Books
Johannes Schefferus was also very interested in languages and old things (archaeology). He wrote the first book about Swedish archaeology. It was called De orbibus tribus aureis.
He also wrote a famous book about the Sami people called Lapponia. This book came out in 1673 and became very popular across Europe. However, it wasn't translated into Swedish until 1956.
After he died, another one of his books was published. It was called Suecia literata, which means "The Learned Sweden." This book listed many important scientific works from Sweden's history.
A Scholarly Disagreement
Later in his life, Schefferus was part of a big argument among scholars. He disagreed with another professor, Olof Verelius, about where the ancient Temple at Uppsala was located.
Schefferus believed the temple was near the Helga Trefaldighets kyrka (Church of the Holy Trinity) in Uppsala. We now know that his opponents sometimes used fake information to argue against him. This might even be why parts of an old text called Codex Argenteus were changed.
Family Life
In 1648, Johannes Schefferus married Regina Loccenia. Her father, Johannes Loccenius, had also been a "professor Skytteanus" before Schefferus. Johannes and Regina had two sons.
Publications (Selected)
- Upsalia (1666)
- De re vehiculari veterum ("Of the vehicles of the ancients", 1671)
- Lapponia (1673)
- Svecia literata ("Learned Sweden", 1680)
