Jakob Ulvsson

Who was Jakob Ulvsson?

Jakob Ulvsson was Archbishop of Uppsala, Sweden, 1469–1515 and the founder of Uppsala University.

Jakob Ulvsson came from a noble family background in Uppland and studied at the universities in Rostock and Paris.

He spent the years 1465–1470 in Rome and was meanwhile appointed Canon of Uppsala in 1465 and Archdeacon of Växjö in 1468. Despite King Karl Knutsson wanting to make one of his own relatives Archbishop of Uppsala, Jakob Ulvsson was appointed achbishop by the pope in 1469 and ordained in Rome in 1470, after which he returned to Uppsala.

In the conflicts between the Danish king Christian I of Denmark and the Swedish regent Sten Sture, Jakob took a mediating position, trying as far as possible to avoid open warfare, especially in Uppland. After Sten Sture's victory in the Battle at Brunkeberg in 1471, the situation stabilized and Jakob participated in the work of the privy council. He is usually regarded is the main initiator of the university in Uppsala, which was founded after having received papal approval in the form of a bull of Sixtus IV dated February 27, 1477. Jakob Ulvsson was also appointed first chancellor of the university.