Von Beskow´s Secretariat

The composition of the Swedish Academy had undergone major changes during its first half-century, and more than half of the chairs had changed occupant at least twice. In 1836, its members included three ‘gentlemen’, and there were more ‘learned men’ than fifty years earlier, with the number of priests having more than doubled to no fewer than seven. Among its members, the Academy could also count most of the great Swedish poets of the early nineteenth century: Johan Olof Wallin, Esaias Tegnér, Frans Michael Franzén and Erik Gustaf Geijer.

One of the new secretary’s first duties was to organise a ceremony marking the Academy’s fiftieth anniversary on 5 April 1836. The grand memorial celebration was von Beskow’s own idea, its purpose being to enhance the Academy’s reputation among the public by showing them exactly what it was capable of delivering. The programme was suitably impressive: a speech by Wallin, a historical review of the Academy by von Beskow himself and a poem by Franzén entitled ‘Gustav III and the First Eighteen of the Swedish Academy: Conversations in Immortality’. But the showpiece, saved for last, was Tegnér’s memorial poem ‘Song on the Fifth of April, 1836’, of which several lines are regularly quoted to this day.

By the mid-nineteenth century, the era of the great Academy poets was largely over, with scholars instead gaining greater representation. Among those elected during von Beskow’s secretarial tenure were a number of linguists, literary scholars and historians. Public officials and politicians also featured prominently during this time.

It quickly became apparent that the Academy had a secretary who was more resourceful and dynamic than his predecessors. One of von Beskow’s most important contributions was his straightening out of the Academy’s finances, which were not in the best condition. He also tidied up all the older documents in the Academy’s possession and can therefore be regarded as the true founder of the Academy archives that are so valuable today. The new secretary also made an energetic attempt to revive work on the dictionary, which had reached something of an impasse.

Von Beskow was also a courtier, which benefitted the Academy in various ways. He was able to encourage an interest in the Academy on the part of Charles XIV John (r. 1818–44), with the King’s goodwill being expressed, for instance, through donations and the founding of the Royal Prize.

In 1835–41, the Academy ceded its publication rights to the government, which then made Post- och Inrikes Tidningar its official organ. While the Academy had previously been apolitical, its journal was now being used by the government as a counter-balance to the opposition press, and among its foremost writers was the Academy’s own permanent secretary, von Beskow. As a result, the Liberal Party came to regard the Swedish Academy as a bastion of conservatism, and the Academy was subjected to fierce attacks both in the Riksdag and in the liberal press.

The latter part of von Beskow’s tenure was a calmer period in the history of the Academy, with the heated polemics from the liberal press having all but dried up. The Academy was no longer considered a ‘political’ institution, and relations with the Riksdag improved significantly. Good relations with the royal family from the days of Charles XIV John continued into the reigns of Oscar I (1844–59) and Charles XV (1859–72). Even among the general public, the Academy seems to have regained some of its popularity.

The everyday work of the Academy was carried out in fairly basic conditions. There were still no permanent premises for private meetings, which continued to be held in various rooms around the Palace. The members subsequently took to gathering in von Beskow’s home instead. Chief among the Academy’s activities were work on the dictionary and the reviewing of competition submissions.

Von Beskow died in October 1868, having being of great service to the Academy in so many ways. After his death, one of the members wrote in a letter: ‘The death of such a secretary and member is a blow to the heart of the Academy. Not only is von Beskow’s life no more, but an era has come to an end’.