Sophia Elisabet Brenner
Encyclopedia
Sophia Elisabet Brenner (née Weber) (29 April 1659 – 14 September 1730) was a Swedish
writer
, poet
, feminist and salon
hostess, and was regarded in her country as a pioneer in each of these fields.
. There, she was the first and only girl in the school, and learned six languages well enough to compose poetry in all of them. She was not, however, the first female student in Sweden; Ursula Agricola and Maria Jonae Palmgren had studied in the private School of Visingsö in 1644 and 1645 respectively.
In 1680, she married the miniaturist painter
Elias Brenner and became the first Swedish salon hostess; in her salon, there gathered the Swedish elite such as Aurora Königsmarck, the painter Anna Maria Ehrenstrahl
, the poet Johan Runius and Urban Hjärne (who brought to an end the legal persecution of witches).
She became the first notable female poet as well as the first notable feminist in Sweden when she published "The justified defense of the female sex" in 1693, believed to be inspired by her friendship with Aurora Köningsmarck. In 1713 she published a collected edition of all her poems. She was called the "second Sappho
", the "Tenth muse
" and was regarded as Sweden's answer to other well known female scholars of her time.
One of her works was a poem of admiration to the painter Anna Maria Ehrenstrahl
, which also mentions her own activity as an artist and both of them as female artists:
If I of inborn instinct rimes for my pleasure,
Your inclination is made clear by your work.
Though art may sometimes cost us hours,
There is no better way to be remembered by.
Let envy grine against us, let death tense his bow,
For neither scare your pencil, nor my pen.
In the national Swedish portrait gallery of Gripsholm, which was opened in the 1820s, she was one of the first six women of the Swedish history who was given a portrait in the collection, alongside with Bridget of Sweden
, Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht
, Barbro Stigsdotter (Svinhufvud), Sophia Rosenhane and Vendela Skytte
.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, feminist and salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
hostess, and was regarded in her country as a pioneer in each of these fields.
Biography
A daughter of the builder, Niklas Weber, and Kristina Spoor, she received an unusually fine education in her childhood, as her father obtained special permission for her to attend the German School for Boys in StockholmStockholm
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...
. There, she was the first and only girl in the school, and learned six languages well enough to compose poetry in all of them. She was not, however, the first female student in Sweden; Ursula Agricola and Maria Jonae Palmgren had studied in the private School of Visingsö in 1644 and 1645 respectively.
In 1680, she married the miniaturist painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
Elias Brenner and became the first Swedish salon hostess; in her salon, there gathered the Swedish elite such as Aurora Königsmarck, the painter Anna Maria Ehrenstrahl
Anna Maria Ehrenstrahl
Anna Maria Ehrenstrahl, as married Wattrang, , was a Swedish painter, the leading female painter in her country. She was a baroque-artist and painted allegorical works, portraits and group portraits in the style of the Baroque.- Biography :...
, the poet Johan Runius and Urban Hjärne (who brought to an end the legal persecution of witches).
She became the first notable female poet as well as the first notable feminist in Sweden when she published "The justified defense of the female sex" in 1693, believed to be inspired by her friendship with Aurora Köningsmarck. In 1713 she published a collected edition of all her poems. She was called the "second Sappho
Sappho
Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
", the "Tenth muse
Muse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
" and was regarded as Sweden's answer to other well known female scholars of her time.
One of her works was a poem of admiration to the painter Anna Maria Ehrenstrahl
Anna Maria Ehrenstrahl
Anna Maria Ehrenstrahl, as married Wattrang, , was a Swedish painter, the leading female painter in her country. She was a baroque-artist and painted allegorical works, portraits and group portraits in the style of the Baroque.- Biography :...
, which also mentions her own activity as an artist and both of them as female artists:
If I of inborn instinct rimes for my pleasure,
Your inclination is made clear by your work.
Though art may sometimes cost us hours,
There is no better way to be remembered by.
Let envy grine against us, let death tense his bow,
For neither scare your pencil, nor my pen.
In the national Swedish portrait gallery of Gripsholm, which was opened in the 1820s, she was one of the first six women of the Swedish history who was given a portrait in the collection, alongside with Bridget of Sweden
Bridget of Sweden
Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden (1303 – 23 July 1373; also Birgitta of Vadstena, Saint Birgitta , was a mystic and saint, and founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after the death of her husband of twenty years...
, Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht
Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht
Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht was a Swedish poet, feminist and salon hostess...
, Barbro Stigsdotter (Svinhufvud), Sophia Rosenhane and Vendela Skytte
Vendela Skytte
Vendela Skytte was a Swedish noblewoman, salonist and writer, Poet and Lady of Letters. She has been used as an example in history to describe an ideal of a well educated woman.- Biography :...
.
See also
- Catharina AhlgrenCatharina AhlgrenCatharina Ahlgren was a Swedish feminist writer, poet, translator, managing editor, and one of the first identifiable female journalists in Sweden. She is also known for her correspondance with Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht. Ahlgren was a leading person in the "Female literary world of the 1750-...
- Hedvig Charlotta NordenflychtHedvig Charlotta NordenflychtHedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht was a Swedish poet, feminist and salon hostess...
- Johanna Eleonora De la GardieJohanna Eleonora De la GardieJohanna Eleonora De la Gardie , was a Swedish writer, poet, lady-in-waiting and noble.Daughter of Pontus Fredrik De la Gardie and Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck...
- Charlotta Liljeroth
- Hedvig Catharina LiljeHedvig Catharina LiljeHedvig Catharina Lillie, also called Lilje, as married Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie, , was a Swedish noble and salonist. She was politically active during the age of liberty in favour of the Hats and a pro-French policy through her connections and a known political figure of her time...
External links
- http://lu-research.lub.lu.se/php/gateway.php?who=lr&method=getfile&file=archive/00027329/
- http://www.coronetbooks.com/books/new/lett1574.html
- http://www.sophiabrenner.se/