Erik Lönnroth was one of the most notable Swedish historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

s of the 20th century. He was a life member of the Swedish Academy

Swedish Academy

The Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...

 from 1962 and member of various faculties.

Background

Nils Erik Magnus Lönnroth was born in Gothenburg

Gothenburg

Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...

 and obtained a PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in history at Gothenburg University College in 1934 at 24 years of age. His thesis treated Thomas Simonsson

Thomas Simonsson

Thomas Simonsson was a Swedish theologian and poet and the Bishop of Diocese of Strängnäs 1429 – 1443, in the Church of Sweden. He is of unknown origin....

, the medieval Swedish theologian and Bishop of the Diocese of Strängnäs

Diocese of Strängnäs

The Diocese of Strängnäs is a part of the Church of Sweden and has its seat in Strängnäs Cathedral in Strängnäs, south of Lake Mälaren. The diocese is made up of the two provinces Närke and Södermanland .The diocese was first a suffragan of the Diocese of Lund, which in 1104 was elevated to...

. He was professor at Uppsala University

Uppsala University

Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...

 between 1942-1953 and then at Gothenburg University between 1953-1977.

Career

Lönnroth was an influential author. The subjects he did historical research includes the Kalmar Union

Kalmar Union

The Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population...

, Lawrence of Arabia, King Gustav III of Sweden

Gustav III of Sweden

Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....

 and the rebel leader Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson

Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson

Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson was a Swedish rebel leader and later statesman. He was the leader of the Engelbrekt rebellion in 1434 against Eric of Pomerania, king of the Kalmar Union.-Biography:...

. Lönnroth took the history subject to a new level in Sweden. He developed and refined the critical

Historical method

Historical method comprises the techniques and guidelines by which historians use primary sources and other evidence to research and then to write histories in the form of accounts of the past. The question of the nature, and even the possibility, of a sound historical method is raised in the...

 theory of historiography that his mentor, Curt Weibull

Curt Weibull

Curt Weibull was a Swedish historian, educator and author.-Biography:Curt Hugo Johannes Weibull was born in Lund, Sweden. He was a member of the noted Swedish Weibull family. He was the son of history professor Martin Weibull and the brother of Lauritz Weibull, Alexander Weibull, Julius Oscar...

, had introduced. He also did pioneering work on the medieval economical history of Sweden and on psychohistory

Psychohistory

Psychohistory is the study of the psychological motivations of historical events. It attempts to combine the insights of psychotherapy with the research methodology of the social sciences to understand the emotional origin of the social and political behavior of groups and nations, past and present...

.

Personal life

Erik Lönnroth was the son of Magnus Lönnroth, District Secretary of Swedish State Railways in Gothenburg, and Gerda (Kjellberg) Lönnroth . He married in 1934 to Ebba Lagercrantz. They were the parents of Swedish literary critic, Lars Lönnroth and Swedish politician Johan Lönnroth, as well as Louise Lönnroth, Ivar Lönnroth, and Peter Lönnroth.

Honours

Lönnroth became a life member of the Swedish Academy

Swedish Academy

The Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...

 in 1962. In 1999, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Greifswald's Faculty of Arts

University of Greifswald Faculty of Arts

The Faculty of Philosophy of Greifswald University is one of five faculties anf the founding faculty of the university which is located in Greifswald, Germany....

.

Selected works

• Sverige och Kalmarunionen: 1397–1457 (1934)
• Statsmakt och statsfinans i det medeltida Sverige (1940)
• En annan uppfattning: Essayer (1949)
• Lawrence of Arabia: An Historical Appreciation (1956)
• Statsmakt och statsfinans i det medeltida Sverige: Studier over skattevasen och lansforvaltning (1984)
• Scandinavians: Selected historical essays (1977)
• Den stora rollen: Kung Gustaf III spelad av honom själv (1986)
• Tidens flykt: Stora historiska forandringar och manniskor som har levat i dem (1998)