page_title: Swedish literature
section_title: Romanticism
hierarchical_section_title: Swedish literature / 19th century / Romanticism
caption_attribution_description: Title page of Fritiofs Saga (1876). Text by Esaias Tegnér, illustration by August Malmström
context_page_description: Swedish literature refers to literature written in the Swedish language or by writers from Sweden.
  The first literary text from Sweden is the Rök runestone, carved during the Viking Age circa 800 AD. With the conversion of the land to Christianity around 1100 AD, Sweden entered the Middle Ages, during which monastic writers preferred to use Latin. Therefore, there are only a few texts in the Old Swedish from that period. Swedish literature only flourished when the Swedish language was standardized in the 16th century, a standardization largely due to the full translation of the Bible into Swedish in 1541. This translation is the so-called Gustav Vasa Bible.
  With improved education and the freedom brought by secularisation, the 17th century saw several notable authors develop the Swedish language further. Some key figures include Georg Stiernhielm, who was the first to write classical poetry in Swedish; Johan Henric Kellgren, the first to write fluent Swedish prose; Carl Michael Bellman, the first writer of burlesque ballads; and August Strindberg, a socio-realistic writer and playwright who won worldwide fame.
context_section_description: In European history, the period circa 1805–1840 is known as Romanticism. It also made a strong impression on Sweden, due to German influences. During this relatively short period, there were so many great Swedish poets that the era is referred to as the Golden Age of Swedish poetry. The period started around 1810 when several periodicals were published which rejected the literature of the 18th century. An important society was the Gothic Society (1811), and their periodical Iduna, a romanticised look back towards  Gothicismus.
  One significant reason was that several poets for the first time worked towards a common direction. Four of the main romantic poets who made significant contributions to the movement were: the professor of history Erik Gustaf Geijer, the loner Erik Johan Stagnelius, the professor of Greek language Esaias Tegnér and the professor of aesthetics and philosophy P.D.A. Atterbom.
caption: Title illustration of Esaias Tegnér's Frithiof's Saga (1876 ed.)
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