ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the historiographical development in Sweden concerning research on the eighteenth-century Age of Liberty. The chapter outlines the emergence of some research directions during the late nineteenth century, primarily the dominant Geijer tradition and its state idealist followers. The chapter also deals with the legacy of the historiographical outsider Anders Fryxell, who likewise contributed to modern scholarly trends within this field. Furthermore, the chapter outlines the development of the conservative state idealist direction and the clash between these historians and the political science scholar Fredrik Lagerroth, whose 1915 doctoral dissertation reshaped the understanding of the Age of Liberty in Sweden. The constitutional interpretations of Lagerroth led to the rise of a new liberal idealistic and positive narrative that challenged the legacy of the state idealists and their damning depiction of the period. The chapter highlights how this historiographical development in Sweden created a series of narratives, separate from the historiographical progression in Finland. There was no establishment of liberal idealist and positive narratives in contemporary Finnish historiography. Finally, the chapter describes later twentieth-century directions, including a discussion about the contributions of the influential historian Sten Carlsson and the breakthrough of social history.
