Schering Rosenhanes kärleksvisa

En herdes väg från Seine till Sverige

Abstract

The Swedish diplomat and nobleman Schering Rosenhane (1609–1663) is here identified as the author of a song in 13 rhymed strophes (preserved in the Manuscript department of Uppsala university library), in which the author persona, called Sylvander, complains about his unhappy love for Fillis, who does not return his affection. The song was most probably written to Rosenhane’s beloved, Beata Sparre, in 1635 (they married the following year). The article presents a contextual and contentual analysis of the song, which turns out to have been partly inspired by the poem ”Hirtenlied” (1624) by Martin Opitz, which in turn was modelled on Daniel Heinsius’ ”Pastorael” (1616). Further influences came from the French courtly Air de cour-tradition of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The article shows how Schering Rosenhane on his study trip to England and France in 1629–1631 not only studied Italian and French poetry, such as Petrarch’s Canzoniere and Théophile de Viau’s poems, but also was included in a network of French poets in Paris. A possible connection with Balthazar Baro, pastoral poet and Honoré d’Urfé’s secretary, is also discussed. In conclusion, Schering Rosenhane’s poetical activities is placed in connection with the Swedish 17th-century poet-pseudonym Skogekär Bergbo, for which Rosenhane has been suggested as a possible candidate by earlier research.