Johan Ekeblad - Kulturskridning, mentalitet, genre
(2012) ILHM04 20121Division of History of Ideas and Sciences
- Abstract
- Johan Ekeblad was a Swedish diplomat and nobleman during the period of the Swedish Empire in the 17th century who is mostly known for his letters, written in an impressionistic and highly modern style. This paper aims to treat Johan Ekeblad and his writing as a representative of a new form of mentality that emerged amongst Swedes when Sweden due to its new power reemerged on the European scene. This new mentality is not, however, uniquely Swedish in its utterances but was rather shaped by European ideals and manners of the time and was rooted in the French (Renaissance) ideal of the honnête homme. What is clear, is that this mentality had not previously been expressed amongst Swedes before the time in which Johan Ekeblad lived. In Ekeblad... (More)
- Johan Ekeblad was a Swedish diplomat and nobleman during the period of the Swedish Empire in the 17th century who is mostly known for his letters, written in an impressionistic and highly modern style. This paper aims to treat Johan Ekeblad and his writing as a representative of a new form of mentality that emerged amongst Swedes when Sweden due to its new power reemerged on the European scene. This new mentality is not, however, uniquely Swedish in its utterances but was rather shaped by European ideals and manners of the time and was rooted in the French (Renaissance) ideal of the honnête homme. What is clear, is that this mentality had not previously been expressed amongst Swedes before the time in which Johan Ekeblad lived. In Ekeblad then, perhaps for the first time in Swedish history, is embodied all those traits that would come to characterize an intellectual cosmopolitan and gentleman. Johan Ekeblad is one of the first representatives of this mentality in Sweden.
This paper thus investigates all those things that affected, influenced and shaped Johan Ekeblad: His experiences with cultural exchanges and travels abroad, his exploration of litterature, both contemporary and older, his opportunities to take part in a stimulating intellectual environment and a more open Swedish cultural climate with diplomatic contacts and improved postal services. Further, Johan Ekeblads style of writing and expressing himself is analyzed through comparisons with then contemporary French tendencies in the letter writing genre, as well as with the essay genre developed by Michel de Montaigne. By analyzing Johan Ekeblads writing, we find he expresses – both consciously and unconsciously – those traits and ideals that prevailed among noblemen in Europe in the 17th century. By thereafter making a comparative study of Johan Ekeblad and his father, Christoffer Ekeblad, the point is made that Johan Ekeblads mentality is in fact new. His mentality and view of the world differs substantially from that of his father. The shift of mindset between father and son suggests the underlying shift in Swedens political and cultural status and position. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/3519863
- author
- Wållgren, Ingrid LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- ILHM04 20121
- year
- 2012
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Johan Ekeblad, mentalitet, kulturskridning, genre, Stormakt, brev, essäer, konversation, Christoffer Ekeblad
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 3519863
- date added to LUP
- 2013-05-15 08:44:18
- date last changed
- 2013-05-15 08:44:18
@misc{3519863,
abstract = {{Johan Ekeblad was a Swedish diplomat and nobleman during the period of the Swedish Empire in the 17th century who is mostly known for his letters, written in an impressionistic and highly modern style. This paper aims to treat Johan Ekeblad and his writing as a representative of a new form of mentality that emerged amongst Swedes when Sweden due to its new power reemerged on the European scene. This new mentality is not, however, uniquely Swedish in its utterances but was rather shaped by European ideals and manners of the time and was rooted in the French (Renaissance) ideal of the honnête homme. What is clear, is that this mentality had not previously been expressed amongst Swedes before the time in which Johan Ekeblad lived. In Ekeblad then, perhaps for the first time in Swedish history, is embodied all those traits that would come to characterize an intellectual cosmopolitan and gentleman. Johan Ekeblad is one of the first representatives of this mentality in Sweden.
This paper thus investigates all those things that affected, influenced and shaped Johan Ekeblad: His experiences with cultural exchanges and travels abroad, his exploration of litterature, both contemporary and older, his opportunities to take part in a stimulating intellectual environment and a more open Swedish cultural climate with diplomatic contacts and improved postal services. Further, Johan Ekeblads style of writing and expressing himself is analyzed through comparisons with then contemporary French tendencies in the letter writing genre, as well as with the essay genre developed by Michel de Montaigne. By analyzing Johan Ekeblads writing, we find he expresses – both consciously and unconsciously – those traits and ideals that prevailed among noblemen in Europe in the 17th century. By thereafter making a comparative study of Johan Ekeblad and his father, Christoffer Ekeblad, the point is made that Johan Ekeblads mentality is in fact new. His mentality and view of the world differs substantially from that of his father. The shift of mindset between father and son suggests the underlying shift in Swedens political and cultural status and position.}},
author = {{Wållgren, Ingrid}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Johan Ekeblad - Kulturskridning, mentalitet, genre}},
year = {{2012}},
}