ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the ways in which early seventeenth-century Swedish student theatre was used to educate pupils in civic virtues. The period was characterized by major changes in the educational system as a result of the Reformation, but the pedagogical ideas of the Jesuits were also of central importance in Sweden, despite the confessional divide. Using theatre for educational purposes was an old tradition, which was put to novel uses in fostering Christian virtues as well as practising concrete skills such as rhetoric. The chapter investigates the historical drama of Johannes Messenius (1579-1636) in particular. His plays used ancient (mythical) Swedish history for the purpose of inculcating the virtues of governance during a crucial period of state-building.
