The Exemplary Lives of Christian Heroes as an Historical Construct

In English In this text I examine how leading theologians within the Church of Sweden during the latter half of the nineteenth century elaborated on historical men as heroes in public speeches and in their works on the history of Christianity. The Christian hero as a prototype for contemporary Christians was emphasised within an evolving nationalistic discourse. The historical hero was of crucial importance for the idea of society as an organism and the conception of history and its development which some of the leading theologians within the Church of Sweden fostered. By analysing the hero we can also elucidate the theologians’ view on manliness and masculin-ity. Thus the heroes could be found at the intersection of ecclesiology, historiography, nation-alism and gender.