Gustaf Philip Creutz
Encyclopedia
Anjala
Anjala was a town in Southern Finland, which merged in 1975 with Sippola to form Anjalankoski, later further merged into Kouvola.Anjala is remembered historically in connection with the 18th Century event known as the Anjala Conspiracy....
, now a part of Kouvola
Kouvola
Kouvola is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located northeast of the capital, Helsinki.The city has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
– 30 October 1785 in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
), was a Swedish statesman, diplomat and poet. He was born in Finland
Sweden-Finland
Sweden–Finland is an outdated Finnish historiographical term referring to the Swedish Kingdom from the Kalmar Union to the Napoleonic wars, or the period from the 14th to the 18th century. In 1809 the realm was split and the eastern half came to constitute the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, in...
and after concluding his studies at the Royal Academy of Turku he received a post in the Privy Council Chancery
Privy Council of Sweden
The High Council of Sweden or Council of the Realm consisted originally of those men of noble, common and clergical background, that the king saw fit for advisory service...
at Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
in 1751. Here he met Count Gyllenborg
Gustaf Fredrik Gyllenborg
Count Gustaf Fredrik Gyllenborg was a Swedish writer. Gustaf Fredrik Gyllenborg was born in Suinstad, Östergötland and died in Stockholm....
, with whom his name is indissolubly connected. They were closely allied with Mrs. Nordenflycht
Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht
Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht was a Swedish poet, feminist and salon hostess...
, and their works were published in common; to their own generation they seemed equal in fame, but posterity has given the palm of genius to Creutz.
His greatest work is contained in the 1762 volume, the idyll of Atis och Camilla; the exquisite little pastoral
Pastoral
The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
entitled Daphne was published at the same time, and Gyllenborg was the first to proclaim the supremacy of his friend.
In 1763 Creutz practically closed his poetical career; he went to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
as ambassador, and after three years to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the same capacity, and it was during this time that Creutz met with the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
resident
Resident (title)
A Resident, or in full Resident Minister, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indirect rule....
in Paris at the time, Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
. So, as faith would have it, Sweden was the first country (after the UK) who recognized the young American republic, and Creutz and Franklin drafted the first Treaty of Amity and Commerce
Treaty of Amity and Commerce
There have been several treaties named the Treaty of Amity and Commerce:* 1778 – Treaty of Amity and Commerce * 1782 – Treaty of Amity and Commerce...
between the two nations.
In 1783 Gustav III
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....
recalled him and heaped honours upon him, but he died soon after. In 1784, he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
.
Atis och Camilla was long the most admired poem in the Swedish language
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
; it is written in a spirit of pastoral which is now to some degree faded, but in comparison with most of the other productions of the time it is freshness itself. Creutz introduced a melody and grace into the Swedish tongue which it lacked before, and he has been styled the last artificer of the language.
See Creutz och Gyllenborgs Vitterhetsarbeten (Stockholm, 1795).