Reduktionen som erfarenhet : Kris och hoppfullhet i 1680-talets aristokratiska hushåll
Wienberg, Asger LU
(2025)
In Scandia
91(1).
p.12-39
- Abstract
- A large body of scholarly work has been dedicated to the Swedish reduction in the early 1680s when fiefs granted to the nobility were revoked as the crown strengthened its position. However, this research has focused on political and economic developments from an elite perspective. Insufficient attention has been paid to the actions and lived realities of other groups, not least the servants of the struggling aristocratic households. The aim of this study is to examine how a servant of the aristocracy, the secretary and archivist Jonas Lorin in the household of Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, experienced the reduction and how his expectations for the future were shaped by contemporary cultural notions and literary forms. This endeavour... (More)
- A large body of scholarly work has been dedicated to the Swedish reduction in the early 1680s when fiefs granted to the nobility were revoked as the crown strengthened its position. However, this research has focused on political and economic developments from an elite perspective. Insufficient attention has been paid to the actions and lived realities of other groups, not least the servants of the struggling aristocratic households. The aim of this study is to examine how a servant of the aristocracy, the secretary and archivist Jonas Lorin in the household of Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, experienced the reduction and how his expectations for the future were shaped by contemporary cultural notions and literary forms. This endeavour is possible thanks to Lorin’s frequent and well-preserved letters to the count during these exceptional years. In terms of theory, the study utilises the concept of experience, which is viewed as an interpersonal, meaning-making everyday process. In order to study how Lorin’s personal driving forces were moulded in his own specific context, the ideas and genres that enabled and limited his experiences are analysed as part of a rhetorical repertoire.
The article concludes that Jonas Lorin’s expectations were formed through this repertoire in three distinct ways. First, the misfortunes and persistent suffering were interpreted in light of a world ravaged by evil and nearing its end, thus in line with widespread eschatological ideas. At the same time, there was hope that salvation would soon end all worldly struggles, while patience, constancy, and trust in God were highlighted as desirable virtues by way of biblical examples. Second, the reduction was experienced as a breakdown of the social order. Greed, intrigues, and duplicity raged, especially in Stockholm – in contrast to the count’s rural resort. However, Lorin observed signs of God’s reprisal, and his steady belief in God and the king as unfailing sources of grace, as well as his own loyalty, underpinned his expectations for a revived reciprocity throughout the social order. Third, Lorin lamented that the glorious De la Gardie family no longer received due praise now that the reduction had corrupted the connection between merit and high status. Still, his belief in rehabilitation and posthumous fame materialised in a concrete environment: the archive of the count’s family. Lorin’s persistent archival work thus sought to remedy the damage of the reduction. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Mycket forskarmöda har ägnats åt den stora reduktionen i början av 1680-talet, då den svenska adelns förläningar drogs in till kronan och maktbalansen skiftade till den enväldige kungens fördel. Denna forskning har framför allt behandlat den politiska och ekonomiska utvecklingen, ofta ur ett elitperspektiv. Andra gruppers agerande och levda verklighet har sällan blivit belysta, vilket inte minst gäller tjänstefolket i de illa tilltygade aristokratiska hushållen. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka hur en person anställd av aristokratin, närmare bestämt Magnus Gabriel De la Gardies sekreterare och arkivarie Jonas Lorin, erfor reduktionen och hur hans förväntningar på framtiden formades av kulturella föreställningar och litterära... (More)
- Mycket forskarmöda har ägnats åt den stora reduktionen i början av 1680-talet, då den svenska adelns förläningar drogs in till kronan och maktbalansen skiftade till den enväldige kungens fördel. Denna forskning har framför allt behandlat den politiska och ekonomiska utvecklingen, ofta ur ett elitperspektiv. Andra gruppers agerande och levda verklighet har sällan blivit belysta, vilket inte minst gäller tjänstefolket i de illa tilltygade aristokratiska hushållen. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka hur en person anställd av aristokratin, närmare bestämt Magnus Gabriel De la Gardies sekreterare och arkivarie Jonas Lorin, erfor reduktionen och hur hans förväntningar på framtiden formades av kulturella föreställningar och litterära former som var i omlopp i samtiden. En sådan analys är möjlig tack vare Lorins många och välbevarade brev till greven från dessa oroliga år. Teoretiskt utgår studien från erfarenhetsbegreppet, som här förstås som en vardaglig, mellanmänsklig och meningsskapande process. Med målet att utforska hur Lorins personliga drivkrafter formades i hans specifika situation analyseras de idéer och genrer som möjliggjorde respektive begränsade hans erfarenheter som delar av en retorisk repertoar.
Artikeln framhåller tre sätt på vilka Jonas Lorins förväntningar formades genom repertoaren. För det första tolkades tidens olyckor och det myckna lidandet i ljuset av en ond värld på väg mot sitt slut, i linje med utbredda eskatologiska föreställningar. Samtidigt grodde ett hopp om att frälsningen snart skulle göra slut på de världsliga umbärandena, och jämnmod, ståndaktighet och förtröstan på Herren idealiserades med hjälp av bibliska förebilder. För det andra erfors reduktionen som en kris i den sociala ordningen. Girighet, intriger och falskhet bredde ut sig, inte minst i Stockholm – i kontrast till grevens lantliga vistelseort. Lorin kunde dock se tecken på gudomlig hämnd, vilket i kombination med hans egen fasta lojalitet och hans stadiga förtröstan Gud och kungen som källor till nåd låg till grund för förväntningar på en återställd ömsesidighet i den sociala världen. För det tredje sörjde Lorin att den berömvärda De la Gardieska familjen inte längre visades tillbörlig respekt sedan reduktionen brutit kopplingen mellan meriter och hög status. Likväl materialiserades hans tro på återupprättelse och postum berömmelse i en konkret miljö: det grevliga släktarkivet. Lorins ihärdiga arkivarbete var ett försök att mildra reduktionens skadeverkningar. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/b5e17842-6e82-45a9-b593-8614bde54d59
- author
- Wienberg, Asger
LU
- organization
- alternative title
- Experiencing the Reduction : Crisis and Hopefulness in Swedish Aristocratic Households in the 1680s
- publishing date
- 2025
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- eschatology, history of archives, history of experience, reduction, repertoire, servants
- in
- Scandia
- volume
- 91
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 28 pages
- publisher
- Statens Humanistiska Forskningsrad
- ISSN
- 0036-5483
- DOI
- 10.47868/scandia.v91i1.27987
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b5e17842-6e82-45a9-b593-8614bde54d59
- date added to LUP
- 2024-09-05 21:45:32
- date last changed
- 2025-06-10 14:54:06
@article{b5e17842-6e82-45a9-b593-8614bde54d59,
abstract = {{A large body of scholarly work has been dedicated to the Swedish reduction in the early 1680s when fiefs granted to the nobility were revoked as the crown strengthened its position. However, this research has focused on political and economic developments from an elite perspective. Insufficient attention has been paid to the actions and lived realities of other groups, not least the servants of the struggling aristocratic households. The aim of this study is to examine how a servant of the aristocracy, the secretary and archivist Jonas Lorin in the household of Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, experienced the reduction and how his expectations for the future were shaped by contemporary cultural notions and literary forms. This endeavour is possible thanks to Lorin’s frequent and well-preserved letters to the count during these exceptional years. In terms of theory, the study utilises the concept of experience, which is viewed as an interpersonal, meaning-making everyday process. In order to study how Lorin’s personal driving forces were moulded in his own specific context, the ideas and genres that enabled and limited his experiences are analysed as part of a rhetorical repertoire.<br/><br/>The article concludes that Jonas Lorin’s expectations were formed through this repertoire in three distinct ways. First, the misfortunes and persistent suffering were interpreted in light of a world ravaged by evil and nearing its end, thus in line with widespread eschatological ideas. At the same time, there was hope that salvation would soon end all worldly struggles, while patience, constancy, and trust in God were highlighted as desirable virtues by way of biblical examples. Second, the reduction was experienced as a breakdown of the social order. Greed, intrigues, and duplicity raged, especially in Stockholm – in contrast to the count’s rural resort. However, Lorin observed signs of God’s reprisal, and his steady belief in God and the king as unfailing sources of grace, as well as his own loyalty, underpinned his expectations for a revived reciprocity throughout the social order. Third, Lorin lamented that the glorious De la Gardie family no longer received due praise now that the reduction had corrupted the connection between merit and high status. Still, his belief in rehabilitation and posthumous fame materialised in a concrete environment: the archive of the count’s family. Lorin’s persistent archival work thus sought to remedy the damage of the reduction.}},
author = {{Wienberg, Asger}},
issn = {{0036-5483}},
keywords = {{eschatology; history of archives; history of experience; reduction; repertoire; servants}},
language = {{swe}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{12--39}},
publisher = {{Statens Humanistiska Forskningsrad}},
series = {{Scandia}},
title = {{Reduktionen som erfarenhet : Kris och hoppfullhet i 1680-talets aristokratiska hushåll}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/220904964/Wienberg_Reduktionen_som_erfarenhet.pdf}},
doi = {{10.47868/scandia.v91i1.27987}},
volume = {{91}},
year = {{2025}},
}