Kring krigsbönböcker och korum. Om bön i den svenska armén 1611–1721

Abstract

In Swedish Church history the 17th and early 18th centuries are commonly referred to as the Lutheran orthodoxy. During this period rules for regimental services and prayers where prescribed in the military regulations. From 1611 to 1648 six prayer books for the Swedish army were published; three designed for common use in regimental prayers, and three for soldiers’ personal reading. It is remarkable that no prayer books for the army were published from 1649 to 1721 – a period when Sweden was engaged in several wars. This, I mean, is primarily due to the emergence of prayers for army use in other sources, most important being the military articles of 1683 and the hymn book of 1695. Descriptions of regimental prayers and soldiers’ reading are scarce in the historical sources. One officer briefly describes how regimental prayers were conducted on the eve of battle on two occasions. Another officer mentions how troopers read their own prayer books shortly after the battle of Poltava in 1709. The most interesting source is a detailed instruction from 1715 on how regimental prayers were to be conducted. This consisted primarily of the saying of several prayers, added only by singing of hymns and a concluding blessing. These findings underline the great importance of prayer during the Lutheran orthodoxy.