For nearly 30 years the work of the Swedish Lutheran pastor and pioneering social historian Egil Johansson astonished the international scholarly world. Working initially with parish registers, especially examination registers, from northern Sweden, Johansson discovered the extraordinary usefulness [...]

When Sweden became a literate country during the 18th century, the population was thoroughly christianized via instruction in Martin Luther's Small Catechism. This alphabetization of the Swedish people was documented in detail in the parish examination registers, where individual proficiency in read[...]

Swedish education before the era of compulsory schooling provides a fascinating panorama of different actors, objectives and curricula. In the latter part of the 17th century, primary and secondary education were organised in two distinct systems. The state-supported Latin school system prepared stu[...]