Erik Benzelius the Elder
Who was Erik Benzelius the Elder?
Swedish bishop
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Erik Benzelius the Elder (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Erik Benzelius the Elder (16 December 1632 – 17 February 1709) was a Swedish theologian and Archbishop of Uppsala and a key figure in Lutheran orthodoxy in Sweden during the seventeenth century. He was born at the Bentseby farm in Luleå parish in northern Sweden, the son of a farmer and lay assessor named Henrik Jakobsson. Instead of using a traditional Swedish patronymic surname, he created a family name from his birthplace, setting a trend for the Benzelius family for years to come. After moving to Uppsala and living with a merchant relative, he studied at Uppsala University, where he earned his filosofie magister degree in 1661.
While still a student, Benzelius worked for the influential nobleman Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie as a tutor for his sons in 1660. He traveled with one of De la Gardie's sons on a grand European tour from 1663 to 1665, visiting Copenhagen, prominent German universities, and later Paris, London, Oxford, and Leiden. This experience broadened his knowledge but did not sway him from being a staunch defender of Lutheran theology on his return to Sweden.
His career at Uppsala advanced quickly. In 1665, he became a professor extraordinary of history and moral philosophy, then shifted to theology the next year, and by 1670, he was a full professor of theology at Uppsala University. Known for being a careful and orthodox theologian, he played a key role in important church projects of the time. He served on committees for drafting the Church Law of 1686, revising the Psalm Book of 1695, and creating a new Swedish Bible translation. In the Bible translation committee led by Jesper Swedberg, Benzelius promoted a conservative approach, ensuring the new version, nicknamed Charles XII's Bible, was a revision rather than a new translation.
He rose to the highest church office, becoming Bishop of Strängnäs in 1687 and in 1700 succeeded Olov Svebilius as Archbishop of Uppsala, the top position in the Swedish Lutheran Church. He married Anna Mackeij, and they had seven sons, with a notably productive family: three sons became archbishops of Uppsala themselves, making the Benzelius family highly prominent in Swedish church history. Benzelius passed away on 17 February 1709 at the Uppsala Cathedral Assembly.
Before Fame
Erik Benzelius was born in a humble area in the far north of Sweden, in the Luleå parish, where his father worked the land and was a local lay assessor. His life changed significantly when a relative, a merchant in Uppsala, took him in and provided him with access to the education available in the city. This support allowed Benzelius to attend Uppsala University, Sweden's top institution for higher education, where he showed himself to be a capable student.
His rise to prominence was boosted by Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, a powerful aristocrat in seventeenth-century Sweden. By becoming a tutor in De la Gardie's household and traveling throughout Europe with one of De la Gardie's sons, Benzelius was exposed to the great universities and intellectual hubs of the continent at a critical time in his career. This blend of rigorous theological training at Uppsala and direct experience with European scholarship prepared him well for a notable academic and church career when he returned.
Key Achievements
- Appointed Archbishop of Uppsala in 1700, the highest office in the Swedish Lutheran Church
- Served as ordinary professor of theology at Uppsala University from 1670
- Played a central role in producing the Swedish Church Law of 1686, the Psalm Book of 1695, and the Charles XII's Bible
- Authored theological and church-historical works that served as university textbooks for roughly a century
- Consecrated Bishop of Strängnäs in 1687, marking his rise to senior ecclesiastical leadership
Did You Know?
- 01.Benzelius chose to derive his family surname from his birthplace, Bentseby farm, rather than follow the common Swedish peasant custom of using a patronymic, making 'Benzelius' a wholly invented scholarly name.
- 02.His European tour of 1663–1665, funded through his role as a tutor to the De la Gardie family, took him to London, Oxford, Paris, Leiden, Copenhagen, and several major German university towns in a single extended journey.
- 03.Three of his seven sons were appointed archbishops of Uppsala, making the Benzelius family one of the most ecclesiastically dominant dynasties in Swedish Lutheran history.
- 04.His conservative stance in the Bible translation committee meant that the Charles XII's Bible, despite being produced in the early eighteenth century, was structured as a revision of the sixteenth-century Swedish Reformation Bible rather than an independent new translation.
- 05.His work on church history was adopted as a university textbook and remained in use for roughly a century after his death, giving his scholarship a lifespan far exceeding his own era.