Mikael Agricola

Who was Mikael Agricola?

Mikael Agricola was a clergyman who became the de facto founder of literary Finnish and a prominent proponent of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden including at the time Swedish territory Finland. He is often called the "father of literary Finnish". Agricola was consecrated as the bishop of Turku in 1554, without papal approval. As a result, he began a reform of the Finnish church along Lutheran lines. He translated the New Testament into Finnish and also produced the prayer book and hymns used in Finland's new Lutheran Church. This work set the rules of orthography that are the basis of modern Finnish spelling. His thorough work is particularly remarkable in that he accomplished it in only three years. He died suddenly while returning from a trip during which he negotiated a treaty with the Russians.