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Magnus, John or Jonas

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Magnus, Olaus

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a noted Swedish prelate, was born at Linkopinig March 19, 1488, of noble parentage. When only eighteen years old he obtained a canonicate at his native place; later he continued his theological studies at Louvain, afterwards in several universities of Germany and Italy, and resided several years at Rome, where he gained the favor of the papal court. In 1520 Perusa honored him with the doctorate of theology. A short time after, probably in 1523 (the year of Vasa's ascension to the throne), he was dispatched to his native country by pope Adrian VI to stem the inroads of the reformed doctrines in that northern country. Gustavus Vasa received Magnus kindly, and elevated him to the archbishopric of Upsal; but later, when Gustavus Vasa himself inclined towards Protestantism, Magnus made himself unpopular, and was finally obliged to quit the country, after Lutheranism and religious liberty had been established in Sweden (1527). Several later attempts to stem the progress of the reformed doctrines proved unsuccessful, and he returned disheartened to Rome in 1541. He died at Rome March 22, 1544. One of his works deserves our notice, Historia Metropolitana seu episcoporum et archiepiscoporum Upsaliensium (Rome, 1557,1560, fol.). See Niceron, Memoires, 35, s.v.; Chauffepid, Diction. Hist. s.v.; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, 32:732.