Talking in private – and keeping it private: Protecting conversations from exposure in Swedish Pietism investigations, 1723–1728

Abstract

From private talk to public investigationAt a wedding reception in Stockholm, in June 1723, a clergyman and a state secretary began to argue about the translation of the recent edition of the Swedish bible, which dated from 1703. 1 A series of judicial documents about their conversation, recorded in a royal commission from the following year, provides us with more details about the issues at stake. 2 The documents also inform us as to why their conversation would be reported to and discussed within the context of a state commission. First, one of the parties, the clergyman Jonas Alroth, referred to this specific dialogue as a clear example of how the other party, the state secretary Elias von Wolker (1660-1733), had been talking 'against the pure doctrine' . 3 Secondly, Wolker accused Alroth of 'shouting out' a distorted version of their conversation 'from a public pulpit' . 4 The further investigation revealed that Alroth had indeed mentioned the conversation with Wolker in one of his sermons, citing it as an alarming example of how Pietist ideas were circulating in the Swedish capital. As one of the first townsmen in Stockholm who had opened up his home for spiritual gatherings inspired by German Pietists, Wolker stated that the clergyman, out of aversion for such spiritual practices, exaggerated what he had heard Wolker say at the wedding reception. Both accusations were examined carefully by the seven appointed committee members, comprising three public officials and four clergymen, of whom two sympathized with Pietism while the other two were openly critical of Pietism. 5 This example illustrates how specific face-to-face conversations were raised as topics of discussion and given significance in the context of one of the three royal commissions set up to investigate so-called 'Pietist activities' in Sweden between 1723 and 1728. These commissions functioned in Swedish political culture as a tool for communication between state and subject. By talking to a commission, the people concerned had an opportunity to communicate directly to representatives of the state. 6 The first two commissions targeted Pietist activities in cities of a rather different 3