designed to enable the priest to test and develop the religious
knowledge of his parishioners by methods of catechism. It was
formerly enjoined upon the clergy to visit parishioners for this
purpose, and the system is still maintained in the form of meetings,
which have in some cases, however, acquired a character mainly
devotional. The parishes number 2556, but one living may include
more than one parish. In the sparsely inhabited districts of the
north the parish is sometimes of enormous extent, thus that of
Gellivara has an area of about 6500 sq. m. In such cases the priest
often makes protracted journeys from farm to farm through his
parish, and on certain occasions the congregation at his church will
include many, both Swedes and Lapps, who have travelled perhaps
for several days in order to be present. Dissenters are bound to
contribute to the maintenance of the Swedish Church, in consideration
of the secular duties of the priests.
Education.—The connexion between the church and education is so close that the control of both, is vested in a single department of the government. Primary education is carried on in common schools of different grades, under both local and state inspection, the parish being the school district. Seminaries are maintained for common school teachers, with a four years’ course. At Haparanda and Mattisudden in Norbotten there are special institutions for teachers for the Finnish and Lapp population respectively. Wide attention was attracted to Swedish educational methods principally by the introduction of the system of Sloyd (slöjd), initiated at the Nääs seminary near Gothenburg, and concerned with the teaching of manual occupations, both for boys and for girls. The higher education of the people is provided by people’s high schools in the rural districts, especially for the peasantry, maintained by the county councils, agricultural societies and the state, and providing a two years’ course both in general education and in special practical subjects according to local needs. The men’s course is held in winter; and a women’s course, in some instances, in summer. The workmen’s institutes in the towns have a similar object. A system of university extension has been developed on the English pattern, summer courses being held at Upsala and Lund. In connexion with the army reform of 1901 a system of army high schools was proposed for conscripts while serving. Technical education is provided in higher schools at Stockholm, Gothenburg and certain other large industrial centres; and in lower schools distributed throughout the country, in which special attention is given to the prevailing local industries. The agricultural and forest schools have been mentioned in the paragraphs on these subjects. Public schools for boys are provided by the state, each bishop being superintendent (eforus) of those in his diocese. In the three lowest classes (out of a total of nine) a single system of instruction is practised; thereafter there are classical and scientific sides. Greek is taught only in a section of the upper classical classes. Of modern languages, German is taught throughout; English in all classes of the scientific side, and the upper classical classes. Much attention is paid to singing, drill and gymnastics. The school terms together occupy 34½ weeks in the year. At the schools examinations are held for entrance to the universities and certain higher special schools. Owing to the high development of state public schools, private schools for boys are few; but higher schools For girls are all private, excepting the higher seminary for teachers and the state normal school at Stockholm. The state universities are at Upsala and Lund, and with these ranks the Caroline Medical Institution at Stockholm. There are universities (founded by private individual benefactions, but under state control) at Stockholm and Gothenburg. The faculties at Upsala and Lund are theology, law, medicine and philosophy (including both art and science). The courses are long, ranging from six to nine years; and the degrees are those of candidate, licentiate and doctor. The students, who are distinguished by their white caps, are divided for social purposes into “nations” (landskap) of ancient origin, based upon the distinctions between natives of different parts.
Scientific Institutions.—Among the scientific and literary societies are to be noted the Swedish Academy, consisting of 18 members, which was instituted in 1786 by Gustavus III., after the pattern of the Académie Française, for the cultivation of the Swedish language and literature; and the Academy of Science, founded in 1739 by Linnaeus and others for the promotion of the natural sciences. The first distributes one and the second two of the prizes of the Nobel Foundation. A fourth prize is distributed by the Caroline Institution at Stockholm. There may be mentioned further the Royal Academies of Literature, History and Antiquities (1786), of Agriculture (1811), of Arts (1735) and of Music (1771). The principal museums and art and other collections are in Stockholm, Upsala and Lund, and Gothenburg. The Royal Library in the Humlegard Park at Stockholm, and the university libraries at Upsala and Lund are entitled to receive a copy of every publication printed in the kingdom. Certain of the large towns have excellent public libraries, and parish libraries are widely distributed.
See Sweden, its People and its Industry, a government publication (ed. G. Sundbärg) dealing with the land and people in every aspect (Eng. vers., Stockholm, 1904); Bidrag till Sveriges officiela statistik (Stockholm, 1857 seq.); Statistisk Tidskrift, periodically from 1862; Publications (year-book, guides, &c.) of the Svenska Turistföreningen (Swedish Touring Club) Stockholm; periodical Bulletin of the Geological Institute of Upsala University, in which may be noted K. Ahlenius, Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Seenkettenregion in Schwedisch-Lappland, No. v. (1900); Also Dahlman, Inledning til Sveriges physikalska geografi (Stockholm, 1857); Statistiskt Lexicon ofrer Sverige (Stockholm, 1859–1870); M. Höjer, Konungariket Sverige (Stockholm, 1875–1883); C. Almqvist, La Suède, ses progrès sociaux (Stockholm, 1879); P. B. Du Chaillu, The Land of the Midnight Sun (London, 1881); C. M. Rosenberg, Geografiskt-statistiskt handlexicon öfrer Sverige (Stockholm, 1882–1883); W. W. Thomas, Sweden and the Swedes (Chicago and New York, 1891); Healey, Educational Systems of Sweden, Norway and Denmark (London, 1893); Nystrom, Handbok Sveriges geografi (Stockholm, 1895), and Sveriges rike (Stockholm, 1902); G. Andersson, Geschichte der Vegetation Schwedens (Leipzig, 1896); K. Ahlenius, Sverige, geografisk, topografisk, statistisk beskrifning (Stockholm); and for geology, A. G. Nathorst, Sveriges geologi (Stockholm). For more detailed accounts of the various districts see the publications of the Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning, and also the volumes of the Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar. (O. J. R. H.)
History
Remains dating from the Stone Age are found scattered over the southern half of Sweden, but it is only along the south coast and in the districts bordering on the Cattegat that they occur in any considerable quantity. The antiquities of the Bronze Age are much more widely distributed and reach as far as the north of Helsingland. It is evident that the country must at this time have been fairly populous. So far as can be judged from the human remains found the population in general in both the Stone and Bronze Ages seems to have been similar in type to that of the present day, and there is no clear evidence for the advent of a new race. The Iron Age probably began in the south of Sweden at any rate some three or four centuries before the beginning of the Christian era. (See further Scandinavian Civilization.)
The first historical notice relating to Sweden is contained in
Tacitus, Germania, cap. 44. This book was probably published
in A.D. 98 or 99 and in the passage mentioned we find the
name of the chief people of the peninsula, the
Swedes proper, Suiones (O. N. Sviar, Swed. Svear, A. S. Sweon), who eventually gave their
Early Races
and Divisions.
name to the whole country. According to Tacitus they were
governed by a king whose power was absolute and comprehensive,
and possessed a strong fleet which secured them from the
fear of hostile incursions. Hence arms were not borne in times
of peace but stored away under charge of a slave, and Tacitus
suggests in explanation that the royal policy did not commit this
trust to noble, freeman or freedman. Their original territories
lay on both sides of the Mälar, in the provinces later known as
Upland, Södermanland and Westmanland. Tacitus mentions
another tribe, the Sitones, which he places next to the Suiones,
but they have not been identified, and it is not clear from his
description whether they lived within the peninsula or not.
The only information he gives about them is that they were
ruled over by a woman. Other early Roman writers, Mela and
Pliny, mention the country under the name Scandinavia
(Skåne), a name which in native records seems always to have
been confined to the southernmost district in the peninsula.
Little information, however, is given by these authorities
with regard to the inhabitants.
The people next in importance to the Suiones in the peninsula (Swed. Götar, O. N. Gautar, A. S. Geatas) are first mentioned by Ptolemy (under the form Goutai for Gautoi), together with a number of other tribal names, most of which unfortunately cannot be identified, owing to the corrupt state of the text. Ptolemy puts the Götar in the southern part of the country, and from the earliest historical times their name has been given to the whole region between the Cattegat and the Baltic, exclusive of the provinces of Halland and Skåne which down to the 17th century always belonged to Denmark. The coast of the Cattegat north of the Göta Elv was reckoned in Norway. Götaland consisted of the provinces of Vestergötland and Östergötland divided from one another by Lake Vetter, together with Småland. In early times Vestergötland seems to have been by far the most important.
Vermland, the district to the north of Lake Vener and the
