The Early Nineteenth Century

Following the coup d’état of 1809 by which Gustav IV Adolf was deposed, the throne was assumed by Duke Charles who, fourteen years earlier, had been instrumental in suspending the Academy. However, the Duke’s accession to the throne as King Charles XIII did not bring about any major changes for the Academy. The King’s interest in its activities remained slight, and he did not attend either its public or private meetings. The Crown Prince and future king Charles XIV John showed greater interest despite the difficulties he, as a born Frenchman, encountered with the Swedish language.

The submissions that won prizes in Academy competitions were representative of a style that was largely unaffected by the prevailing literary fashions of Sweden and Europe. The Academy’s position as the supreme arbiter of taste was therefore perceived by the neo-romanticists – ‘the New School’ – as an obstacle to the development of Swedish literature.

During the 1810–20 debate between the new and old schools, fought out in newspapers and pamphlets, the Academy and some of its members were, on several occasions, subjected to harsh attacks. The Academy itself chose not to respond, and hardly any of its members were inclined to defend themselves. Eventually, the battle subsided with the New School having prevailed, and its supporters could therefore claim to have gained ground even in the Swedish Academy.

Nils von Rosenstein had served as the Academy’s secretary since its foundation, having been appointed by Gustav III himself. Although his faculties had diminished over the years, he had been reluctant to hand over his secretarial work to anyone else. When he eventually passed away in 1824, he had held the post for all of thirty-eight years.

Frans Michael Franzén (elected 1808) was appointed as the new secretary. While he was a prominent poet and generally well-liked, he was rather helpless and impractical and wholly unsuitable for the post. The situation called for an enterprising, dynamic secretary, someone who could raise the Academy from the trough in which it found itself.

In 1831, Franzén was appointed bishop of Härnösand and a new permanent secretary was required. At the election of 1834, Bernhard von Beskow (elected 1828) was appointed to the role, a man who had all the qualities required to make him the leader the Academy so desperately needed.