An unknown field book belonging to Swedish King Karl XII has been discovered at Gothenburg University Library. Researcher Antoaneta Granber came across it by chance in the Hvitfeldska collection. The book, covering the years 1707 to 1717, contains unique illustrations and insights into the king's military thinking.
The 268-page field book, bound in worn leather with gilded script on the spine, was found by Antoaneta Granber, docent and university lecturer in Slavic languages at Gothenburg University. She was searching for writings in her research area when she discovered the book in the Hvitfeldska collection, donated to the library in 1967.
“My first reaction was that this is probably well-known—it's surely just me who doesn't know about it. But the field book is completely unknown, and no one knew it existed,” Granber tells Göteborgs-Posten.
The book spans from the summer of 1707 to the fall of 1717, the year before Karl XII's death. Several chapters were written ahead of the Battle of Poltava in the spring of 1709, but it does not mention the defeat or the subsequent capitulation at Perevolotjna. Instead, it portrays the king as a meticulous strategist with an “almost mythical relationship to order and structure,” according to Granber.
“The image he leaves in the book is not at all that of a bad strategist. Rather, someone emerges with an almost mythical relationship to order and structure,” she says.
The field book contains detailed illustrations such as drawings, figures, and troop formations. Some chapters are signed by the king with the signature 'Carolus' or 'L.S.', which stands for Locco Sigilli, meaning 'in place of seal.' Other signatures come from Carl Piper, the king's closest advisor, and Samuel Åkerhielm, who was responsible for the king's chancellery.
The discovery provides new insights into Karl XII's military planning during the Great Northern War, even though the book does not address the major setbacks.
