Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.2007, Page 141

5.4 Activity in Sweden: the College of Antiquities
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1932-44: I, 121-122); though he never received any formal appoint-
ment, his office was nevertheless later expanded to include two helpers
when Martinus L. Aschaneus and Johan Axehialm were appointed as
archivists in 1629 (Schiick 1932—44: 1,127—133).62
In 1662 Olaus (Oluf) Rudbeck was rector at the University in Upp-
sala. He held office for only one year but used his time well. He sought
to establish a chair in antiquities and on 30 May Olaus Verelius was ap-
pointed as professor antiquitatum (Schiick 1932—44:1, 217). The grow-
ing interest in antiquities and steady improvement in the organisation
of research led to the establishment of the Royal College of Antiqui-
ties in 1666. Johan Hadorph, Olaus Rudbeck and Magnus Gabriel De
la Gardie were key forces behind this initiative. When it reached its
peak, seven people were working at the college (Johan Axehialm, Jo-
hannes Loccenius, Johannes Schefferus, Olaus Verelius, Magnus Cel-
sius, Johan Hadorph, and from 1670 Jacob Arrhenius) in addition to
assistants and craftsmen. The aim was to collect, study and publish
historical source material. The plans, however, were more ambitious
than the economic situation allowed, and employees who left were not
always replaced. Gradually the college took on more of the character
of a government office with the secretary, Johan Hadorph, as leader.
The transition was therefore not so dramatic when the college in 1691
was reorganised into an Archive of Antiquities with Hadorph as head
and relocated to Stockholm. Hadorph had moved there several years
earlier. He was an extremely active researcher who understood the im-
portance of collecting material systematically.
Help from Icelandic assistants was of fundamental importance to
philological work in the College of Antiquities. The first assistant was
62 Johan Henrichsson took the name Axehialm when he was raised to the nobility
in 1651 (Schiick 1932—44: I, 131). It is possible that his appointment as archivist
happened in 1630 and not in 1629.