25 Facts About Mikael Agricola

Mikael Agricola is often called the "father of literary Finnish".

Mikael Agricola continued the reform of the Finnish church along Lutheran lines.

Mikael Agricola translated the New Testament into Finnish and produced the prayer book and hymns used in Finland's new Lutheran Church.

Mikael Agricola died of sudden illness while returning from a trip during which he assisted in negotiating the Treaty of Novgorod with the Tsardom of Russia.

Michael Olaui or Mikael Olofsson was born in c 1510 in the village of Torsby in Perna, Nyland, in what now is part of Finland but then was part of Sweden.

Mikael Agricola was named after the patron saint of Perna's church.

Mikael Agricola's family was a quite wealthy gentry family according to the local bailiff's accounting.

Mikael Agricola had three sisters, but their names are not known.

In 1528 Mikael Agricola followed his teacher to Turku, then the center of the Finnish side of the Swedish realm and the capital of the bishopric.

Sarkilahti died in 1529, and it was up to Mikael Agricola to continue Sarkilahti's work.

Mikael Agricola was ordained for priesthood sometime in the early 1530s.

Mikael Agricola concentrated on the lectures of Philipp Melanchthon, who was an expert in Greek, the original language of the New Testament.

Mikael Agricola got recommendations to Swedish King Gustav Vasa from both of the reformers.

Mikael Agricola sent two letters to Gustav, asking for a confirmation for a stipend.

In 1539 Mikael Agricola returned to Turku and ended up as the rector of Turku School.

Mikael Agricola did not like his job, calling his students "untamed animals".

In 1544 Mikael Agricola received an order from the crown to send several talented young men to Stockholm's taxing offices.

For some reason, Mikael Agricola did not obey until the order was sent again the next year, with a more menacing tone.

In 1546 Mikael Agricola lost his home and school in the Fire of Turku.

Mikael Agricola was not a particularly strict or dedicated reformer, although he did remove the Canon of the Mass.

Mikael Agricola was probably buried inside Viipuri's church, but the exact location of the grave is not known.

Mikael Agricola had thought about translating the New Testament in his early years of study.

Mikael Agricola's first book, Abckiria, which isadays known as the "ABC-kirja" or ABC book, was a primer for reading and a catechism.

At the beginning of the book, Mikael Agricola wrote about many topics concerning all-round education and the Reformation's effects in Finland.

Mikael Agricola's sources include the works of Luther, Melanchthon, and Erasmus.