In 1906 a national spelling reform, aimed at simplifying the rules for spelling, was decided by the Swedish minister for ecclesiastical affairs, Fridtjuv Berg. The reform had been preceded by decades of discussions among public school teachers who practically unanimously approved of the reform, but outside the world of schooling the question was highly controversial with significant resistance against the idea of changing spelling. The reform was to a large extent based on pedagogical motives: it was aimed at making it easier for teachers to teach children to spell correctly. For some opponents, this was a provocation in itself, since it implied that simplification, rather than hard work, was how learning could be accomplished. Even more provocative was the fact that the reform encompassed not only school-language but language in general. Everybody was affected by the spelling reform which critics described as an attack on Swedish culture, comparable to flag mutilation. Among public school teachers, in contrast, the spelling reform was held to be of major pedagogical value, since it made it much easier to teach children to write.

This ortographic war can be used as a case study to discuss questions of who has the power over education and what that power is used for. I will use it to discuss how the role of teachers in educational policy as well as the role of the minister for ecclesiastical affairs changed around the turn of the last century. Drawing on theories of professions I will address the question of why a spelling reform was considered so important by representatives of the public school teachers, and how we can explain why a spelling reform was thinkable as well as accomplished in 1906. What does that say about the ways that teachers organised themselves and perceived themselves? In connection to this, I will also discuss the role of the minister Fridtjuv Berg. As a minister responsible for schools he was historically unique in that he himself had a background as a public teacher.  In discussing the role of the profession and the minister I will also elaborate on the particular kind of community which representatives of the public school teachers tried to create. Drawing on theories of national identity I will discuss to which extent the professional community exhibited similar characteristics as national identities, and to which extent this professional community can explain the will to fight old spelling rules.  

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