Esaias Tegnér was born in the village of Tegnaby to parents who were peasants before his family entered Lund University. He grew up in this rural setting before pursuing higher education at the university.
The epic poem Frithjof's saga became the best known Swedish production ever created during the nineteenth century. It appeared in fragments starting in 1820 and reached its complete form by 1825, earning praise from Goethe and translations into every European language.
Esaias Tegnér died on the 2nd of November 1846 in Växjö after suffering a stroke of apoplexy in 1843. His final years included periods of insanity treated in an asylum in Schleswig before his return to Växjö.
Esaias Tegnér accepted the bishopric because he was poor and anxious to leave Lund following the publication of Frithjof's saga. The move marked the first breakdown of his previously excellent health and coincided with a moral crisis involving Euphrosyne Palm.