# Gustav Vasa Bible (1541)

URL: https://allhistories.com/sweden/timeline/1541-gustav-vasa-bible
Location: Uppsala, Uppland
Themes: Religion

In 1541 the first complete Bible in Swedish was printed at Uppsala. Known as the Gustav Vasa Bible, it was a large folio volume richly illustrated with woodcuts, produced under royal authority with a copy intended for every church in the kingdom. The translation was prepared by a group of scholars led by Archbishop Laurentius Petri, with contributions from his brother Olaus Petri and others. It built on the 1526 New Testament and drew heavily on Luther's German Bible. The king supervised the project closely and financed it partly with church revenues, while parishes were expected to pay for their own copies. The Gustav Vasa Bible fixed the spelling and grammar of written Swedish for generations and remained the basis of Swedish Bible editions until 1917. Its language became the model for sermons, laws and literature, making it one of the most influential books in the country's history.

## Why it matters
The first complete Swedish Bible standardised the written language and embedded the Lutheran Reformation in parish life.

Ruler at the Time: [Gustav I Vasa](https://allhistories.com/sweden/rulers/gustav-i-vasa)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Bible translations into Swedish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_translations_into_Swedish)
- [Wikipedia — Laurentius Petri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurentius_Petri)
- [Wikipedia — Olaus Petri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaus_Petri)
- [Wikipedia — Reformation in Sweden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation_in_Sweden)
- [Wikipedia — Vasa Era & Reformation (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Vasa_era)