Introduction

In this chapter, I will explore medical ideas in the context of royal instruction in Sweden during the seventeenth century. In particular, I will look at the young Charles XI, well known as the king who introduced absolutism in Sweden during the latter part of his reign, which lasted for thirty-seven years (1660–1697). Long before that, while the country was still ruled by a regency government during his minority, the boy king Charles struggled with learning how to read. This chapter will examine how the king's teacher tried to explain Charles's difficulties by using the medical and pedagogical concepts of the period. Emund Figrelius Gripenhielm (1622–1675) had been chosen as Charles's tutor by the king's father, who had already employed Figrelius for other important tasks. Figrelius was appointed by Charles X on his deathbed, and was ennobled under the name Gripenhielm when he became the young king's teacher. Prior to that, Figrelius had been a university professor, but also an active diplomat and secretary in the royal chancery. Already as a student at Uppsala, Figrelius had worked as a tutor to a young aristocrat. Together with his student, he had undertaken a five-year grand tour of Europe. This provided ample experience as a private teacher.