A noted Swedish humanist, Johannes Schefferus' account of Northern Scandinavia is one of the first in depth studies of the history and geography of the region. The book focuses primarily on the Sami people, their customs, religion, education and medicine. It was published in an attempt to combat German pamphlets which suggested that the success of Swedish military campaigns in the seventeenth century was a result of their use of Sami "magic". The book was very popular and quickly translated into a variety of languages, with the translation into Swedish not coming until 1956.