Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig
Encyclopedia
Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (September 8, 1783 – September 2, 1872) (ˈneɡolaɪ̯ˀ ˈfʁæˀðʁæɡ ˈsɛʋəʁin ˈɡʁɔndʋi), most often referred to as simply N. F. S. Grundtvig, was a Danish
pastor
, author
, poet
, philosopher, historian
, teacher
, and politician
. He was one of the most influential people in Danish history, as his philosophy gave rise to a new form of nationalism in the last half of the 19th century. He was married three times, the last time in his seventy-sixth year.
Grundtvig and his followers are credited with being very influential in the formulation of modern Danish national consciousness. It was steeped in the national literature and supported by deep spirituality.
romanticism
and the history of the Nordic countries
.
In 1791 he was sent to live at the house of a pastor in Jutland
, Laurids Feld, and studied at the Cathedral School of Aarhus
from 1798 until he graduated. He left for Copenhagen
in 1800 to study theology and was accepted to the University of Copenhagen
in 1801. At the close of his university life, Grundtvig began to study Icelandic
and the Icelandic Sagas.
. The next three years he used his free time to study writers Shakespeare
, Schiller
, Schelling
and Fichte. In 1802 his cousin, the philosopher Henrich Steffens, returned to Copenhagen
full of the teaching of Schelling. His lectures and the early poetry of Adam Oehlenschläger
opened Grundtvig's eyes to the new era in literature. His first work, On the Songs in the Edda, attracted no attention.
Returning to Copenhagen in 1808, Grundtvig achieved greater success with his Northern Mythology, and again in 1809 with a long drama, The Fall of the Heroic Life in the North. Grundtvig boldly denounced the clergy of the city in his first sermon in 1810. When Grundtvig published the sermon three weeks later it offended the ecclesiastical authorities, and they demanded him punished.
In 1810 Grundtvig underwent a religious crisis and converted to a strongly held Lutheranism
. He retired to his father's country parish in Udby as his chaplain. His new-found conviction was expressed in his The First World Chronicle of 1812, a presentation of European history in which he attempted to explain how God is throughout human history and in which he criticized the ideology of many prominent Danes. It won him notoriety among his peers and cost him several friends, notably the historian Christian Molbech
. Upon his father's death in 1813, Grundtvig applied to be his successor in the parish but was rejected.
In the following years his rate of publication was staggering: aside from a continuing stream of articles and poems, he wrote a number of books, including two more histories of the world (1814 and 1817); the long historical poem Roskilde-Riim (Rhyme of Roskilde) (1813); and a book-sized commentary, Roskilde Saga. From 1816 to 1819 he was editor of and almost sole contributor to a philosophical and polemical journal entitled Danne-Virke, which also published poetry.
From 1813 to 1815, he attempted to form a movement to support the Norwegians
against the Swedes. Later he preached on how the weakness of the Danish faith was the cause of the loss of Norway in 1814
. His sermon was met by an enthusiastic congregation in Copenhagen. Grundtvig withdrew from the pulpit because of lacking his own parish, and being barred by other churches. In 1821 he resumed preaching briefly when granted the country living of Præstø
, and returned to the capital the year after.
In 1825 Grundtvig published a pamphlet, The Church's Rejoinder (), a response to Henrik Nicolai Clausen
's work on the doctrines, rites and constitutions of Protestantism and Catholicism. A professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen, Clausen argued that although the Bible was the principal foundation of Christianity, it was in itself an inadequate expression of its full meaning. He described the church as a "community for the purpose of advancing general religiousness." In his reply, Grundtvig denounced Clausen as an anti-Christian teacher and argued that Christianity was not a theory to be derived from the Bible and elaborated by scholars. He questioned the right of theologians to interpret the Bible. Grundtvig was publicly prosecuted for libel and fined. The Lutheran Church forbade him to preach for seven years. During this time he published a collection of theological works, visited England three times (1829–31), and studied Anglo-Saxon
.
In 1832 Grundtvig obtained permission to preach again. In 1839 he was called as pastor of the workhouse church of Vartov hospital, Copenhagen, a post he held until his death. Between 1837 and 1841 he published Sang-Værk til den Danske Kirke (Song Work for the Danish Church), a rich collection of sacred poetry; in 1838 he brought out a selection of early Scandinavian verse; in 1840 he edited the Anglo-Saxon poem "The Phoenix", with a Danish translation. In 1843 he visited England for a fourth time.
From 1844 until after the First Schleswig War, Grundtvig took a prominent part in politics, developing from a conservative into an absolute liberal. In 1861 he received the titular rank of bishop
, but without a see
. He continued to write and publish until his death, and preached in Vartov every Sunday until a few days before his death.
His preaching attracted large congregations, and he soon had a following. His hymn book effected a great change in Danish church services, substituting the hymn
s of the national poets for the slow measures of the orthodox
Lutherans. In all Grundtvig wrote or translated about 1500 hymns, including "God's Word Is Our Great Heritage
".
(1824–1883) collected and edited Danish ballads.
He was most notable for the latter thinking. He always called himself a pastor, not a theologian, reflecting the distance between his ideas and academic theology. The chief characteristic of his theology
was the substitution of the authority of the "living word" for the apostolic commentaries. He desired to see each congregation act as a practically independent community.
, though his own ideas on education had another focus. He advocated reforming the ailing Sorø Academy
into a popular school aiming at another form of higher education than what was common at the university. Rather than educating learned scholars, he believed the university should educate its students for active participation in society and popular life. Thus practical skills as well as national poetry and history should form an essential part of the instruction. This idea came very close to implementation during the reign of Christian VIII, whose wife Caroline Amalie was an ardent supporter of Grundtvig. The death of the monarch in 1848 and the dramatic political development in Denmark during this and the following years put an end to these plans. At the time, however, Kristen Kold, one of Grundtvig's followers, had already established the first folk high school.
Grundtvig's ambitions for school reform were not limited to the popular folk high school. He also dreamed of forming a Great Nordic University (the School for Passion) to be situated at the symbolic point of intersection between the three Scandinavian countries in Gothenburg
, Sweden. The two pillars of his school program, the School for Life (folk high school) and the School for Passion (university) were aimed at quite different horizons of life. The popular education should mainly be taught within a national and patriotic horizon of understanding, yet always keeping an open mind towards a broader cultural and intercultural outlook, while the university should work from a strictly universal, i.e. humane and scientific, outlook.
The common denominator of all Grundtvig's paedagogical efforts was to promote a spirit of freedom, poetry and disciplined creativity, within all branches of educational life. He promoted values such as wisdom, compassion, identification and equality. He opposed all compulsion, including exams, as deadening to the human soul. Instead Grundtvig advocated unleashing human creativity according to the universally creative order of life. Only willing hands make light work. Therefore a spirit of freedom, cooperation and discovery was to be kindled in individuals, in science, and in the civil society as a whole.
published the first edition of the Epic of Beowulf
titled De Danorum rebus gestis secul. III & IV : Poëma Danicum dialecto Anglosaxonica in a Latin translation. Despite his lack of knowledge of Anglo-Saxon literature
, Grundtvig quickly discovered a number of flaws in Thorkelin's rendering of the poems. After a heated debate with Thorkelin, Johan Bülow, who had sponsored Thorkelin's work, offered to support a new translation by Grundtvig - this time into Danish. The result, Bjovulfs Drape (1820), was the first modern language translation of Beowulf.
Grundtvig went on to explore the extensive literature of the Anglo-Saxons which survived in Old English and Latin. In both poetry and prose, it revealed the spirituality of the early Church in the North. Grundtvig was very influenced by these ancient models of Christian and historical thought (notably the 8th-century Bede's Ecclesiastical History, written in Latin). Using the resources of the Royal Library in Copenhagen and of the libraries of Exeter, Oxford and Cambridge in three successive summer visits to England (1829–31), he went on to make transcriptions of two of the four great codices of Anglo-Saxon poetry: the Exeter Book and the codex designated Junius 11 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Although he thought to publish them, this project was never realized. Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon literature continued to be a major source of inspiration to Grundtvig. It had a wide-ranging influence upon his work.
and he might also be compared to Emerson
. But his style of writing and fields of reference are not immediately accessible to a foreigner, thus his international importance does not match that of his contemporaries Hans Christian Andersen
and Søren Kierkegaard
.
The magnificent Grundtvig's Church
in the Copenhagen district of Bispebjerg
was designed by Danish architect Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint
as a memorial to Grundtvig. Built of yellow brick in a Neo-Gothic expressionist style, it was completed in 1940.
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
He is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA)
on September 8.
. The philological practice of this work, however, is not up to the standards of modern philology. His hymns have been collected in the philologically more stable five-volume edition Grundtvigs Sang-Værk.
The best overall collection of his writings is Holger Begtrup's 10 volume edition Udvalgte Skrifter. His enormous oeuvre is presented in Steen Johansen: Bibliografi over N.F.S. Grundtvigs Skrifter .
No comprehensive foreign language edition of his work exists. A three-volume edition in German, however, is under preparation and projects for an English edition are in progress as well.
The most important editions are:
Important, too, are the numerous articles in English published in the yearbook Grundtvig-Studier (Grundtvig Studies) from 1948 and onwards. Danish is the main language of the journal, but the English articles are prominent and increasing in recent years.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, philosopher, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
, and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He was one of the most influential people in Danish history, as his philosophy gave rise to a new form of nationalism in the last half of the 19th century. He was married three times, the last time in his seventy-sixth year.
Grundtvig and his followers are credited with being very influential in the formulation of modern Danish national consciousness. It was steeped in the national literature and supported by deep spirituality.
Early life and education
Called Frederik rather than Nikolaj by those close to him, N. F. S. Grundtvig was the son of a Lutheran pastor, Johan Ottosen Grundtvig. He was brought up in a very religious atmosphere, although his mother also had great respect for old Norse legends and traditions. He was schooled in the tradition of the European Enlightenment, but his faith in reason was shaken by GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
and the history of the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
.
In 1791 he was sent to live at the house of a pastor in Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
, Laurids Feld, and studied at the Cathedral School of Aarhus
Aarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
from 1798 until he graduated. He left for Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
in 1800 to study theology and was accepted to the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
in 1801. At the close of his university life, Grundtvig began to study Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
and the Icelandic Sagas.
Career
In 1805 Grundtvig took a position of tutor in a house on the island of LangelandLangeland
Langeland is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km² and, as of 1 January 2010, has a population of 13,277. The island produces grain and is known as a recreational area. A bridge connects it to Tåsinge via Siø - a small island with a...
. The next three years he used his free time to study writers Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
, Schelling
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling , later von Schelling, was a German philosopher. Standard histories of philosophy make him the midpoint in the development of German idealism, situating him between Fichte, his mentor prior to 1800, and Hegel, his former university roommate and erstwhile friend...
and Fichte. In 1802 his cousin, the philosopher Henrich Steffens, returned to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
full of the teaching of Schelling. His lectures and the early poetry of Adam Oehlenschläger
Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger
Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger was a Danish poet and playwright. He introduced romanticism into Danish literature.-Biography:He was born in Vesterbro, then a suburb of Copenhagen, on 14 November 1779...
opened Grundtvig's eyes to the new era in literature. His first work, On the Songs in the Edda, attracted no attention.
Returning to Copenhagen in 1808, Grundtvig achieved greater success with his Northern Mythology, and again in 1809 with a long drama, The Fall of the Heroic Life in the North. Grundtvig boldly denounced the clergy of the city in his first sermon in 1810. When Grundtvig published the sermon three weeks later it offended the ecclesiastical authorities, and they demanded him punished.
In 1810 Grundtvig underwent a religious crisis and converted to a strongly held Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
. He retired to his father's country parish in Udby as his chaplain. His new-found conviction was expressed in his The First World Chronicle of 1812, a presentation of European history in which he attempted to explain how God is throughout human history and in which he criticized the ideology of many prominent Danes. It won him notoriety among his peers and cost him several friends, notably the historian Christian Molbech
Christian Molbech
Christian Molbech was a Danish historian, literary critic, writer and editor of historical sources.Christian Molbech was raised in Sorø and in 1802 he graduated from Sorø Academy. 1804 he was employed at Royal Danish Library and was thus never formally trained as an historian...
. Upon his father's death in 1813, Grundtvig applied to be his successor in the parish but was rejected.
In the following years his rate of publication was staggering: aside from a continuing stream of articles and poems, he wrote a number of books, including two more histories of the world (1814 and 1817); the long historical poem Roskilde-Riim (Rhyme of Roskilde) (1813); and a book-sized commentary, Roskilde Saga. From 1816 to 1819 he was editor of and almost sole contributor to a philosophical and polemical journal entitled Danne-Virke, which also published poetry.
From 1813 to 1815, he attempted to form a movement to support the Norwegians
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
against the Swedes. Later he preached on how the weakness of the Danish faith was the cause of the loss of Norway in 1814
Norway in 1814
1814 was a pivotal year in the history of Norway. It started with Norway in a union with the Kingdom of Denmark subject to a naval blockade being ceded to the king of Sweden. In May a constitutional convention declared Norway an independent kingdom. By the end of the year the Norwegian parliament...
. His sermon was met by an enthusiastic congregation in Copenhagen. Grundtvig withdrew from the pulpit because of lacking his own parish, and being barred by other churches. In 1821 he resumed preaching briefly when granted the country living of Præstø
Præstø
Præstø is a town with a population of 3,884 and a former municipality in Vordingborg Municipality in Region Sjælland on the east coast of the island of Zealand near its southwestern tip in south Denmark. The former Præstø municipality included the islands of Maderne, Storeholm, and Lilleholm...
, and returned to the capital the year after.
In 1825 Grundtvig published a pamphlet, The Church's Rejoinder (), a response to Henrik Nicolai Clausen
Henrik Nicolai Clausen
Henrik Nicolai Clausen was a Danish theologian and national liberal statesman.-Biography:Henrik Nicolai Clausen was born in the island of Lolland...
's work on the doctrines, rites and constitutions of Protestantism and Catholicism. A professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen, Clausen argued that although the Bible was the principal foundation of Christianity, it was in itself an inadequate expression of its full meaning. He described the church as a "community for the purpose of advancing general religiousness." In his reply, Grundtvig denounced Clausen as an anti-Christian teacher and argued that Christianity was not a theory to be derived from the Bible and elaborated by scholars. He questioned the right of theologians to interpret the Bible. Grundtvig was publicly prosecuted for libel and fined. The Lutheran Church forbade him to preach for seven years. During this time he published a collection of theological works, visited England three times (1829–31), and studied Anglo-Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
.
In 1832 Grundtvig obtained permission to preach again. In 1839 he was called as pastor of the workhouse church of Vartov hospital, Copenhagen, a post he held until his death. Between 1837 and 1841 he published Sang-Værk til den Danske Kirke (Song Work for the Danish Church), a rich collection of sacred poetry; in 1838 he brought out a selection of early Scandinavian verse; in 1840 he edited the Anglo-Saxon poem "The Phoenix", with a Danish translation. In 1843 he visited England for a fourth time.
From 1844 until after the First Schleswig War, Grundtvig took a prominent part in politics, developing from a conservative into an absolute liberal. In 1861 he received the titular rank of bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, but without a see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
. He continued to write and publish until his death, and preached in Vartov every Sunday until a few days before his death.
His preaching attracted large congregations, and he soon had a following. His hymn book effected a great change in Danish church services, substituting the hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s of the national poets for the slow measures of the orthodox
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
Lutherans. In all Grundtvig wrote or translated about 1500 hymns, including "God's Word Is Our Great Heritage
God's Word Is Our Great Heritage
God's Word Is Our Great Heritage, is the title of a popular hymn sung in many churches, especially the Lutheran Church. This hymn was inspired by Psalm 16:6: "...yea, I have a goodly heritage." KJV- History :...
".
Marriage and family
He was married three times, the last time in his seventy-sixth year. His son Svend GrundtvigSvend Grundtvig
Svend Hersleb Grundtvig was a Danish literary historian and ethnographer. He was one of the first systematic collectors of Danish traditional music, and he was especially interested in Danish folk songs. He began the large project of editing Danish ballads. He also co-edited Icelandic ballads. He...
(1824–1883) collected and edited Danish ballads.
Christian thinking
Grundtvig's theological development continued over his lifetime, and took a number of important turns. He moved from his "Christian awakening" of 1810 to believing in a congregational and sacramental Christianity in later years.He was most notable for the latter thinking. He always called himself a pastor, not a theologian, reflecting the distance between his ideas and academic theology. The chief characteristic of his theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
was the substitution of the authority of the "living word" for the apostolic commentaries. He desired to see each congregation act as a practically independent community.
Thinking on education
Grundtvig is the ideological father of the folk high schoolFolk high school
Folk high schools are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal...
, though his own ideas on education had another focus. He advocated reforming the ailing Sorø Academy
Sorø Academy
Sorø Academy is a boarding school and public gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated by the Crown after the Reformation, and ever since, on and off, it has served...
into a popular school aiming at another form of higher education than what was common at the university. Rather than educating learned scholars, he believed the university should educate its students for active participation in society and popular life. Thus practical skills as well as national poetry and history should form an essential part of the instruction. This idea came very close to implementation during the reign of Christian VIII, whose wife Caroline Amalie was an ardent supporter of Grundtvig. The death of the monarch in 1848 and the dramatic political development in Denmark during this and the following years put an end to these plans. At the time, however, Kristen Kold, one of Grundtvig's followers, had already established the first folk high school.
Grundtvig's ambitions for school reform were not limited to the popular folk high school. He also dreamed of forming a Great Nordic University (the School for Passion) to be situated at the symbolic point of intersection between the three Scandinavian countries in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden. The two pillars of his school program, the School for Life (folk high school) and the School for Passion (university) were aimed at quite different horizons of life. The popular education should mainly be taught within a national and patriotic horizon of understanding, yet always keeping an open mind towards a broader cultural and intercultural outlook, while the university should work from a strictly universal, i.e. humane and scientific, outlook.
The common denominator of all Grundtvig's paedagogical efforts was to promote a spirit of freedom, poetry and disciplined creativity, within all branches of educational life. He promoted values such as wisdom, compassion, identification and equality. He opposed all compulsion, including exams, as deadening to the human soul. Instead Grundtvig advocated unleashing human creativity according to the universally creative order of life. Only willing hands make light work. Therefore a spirit of freedom, cooperation and discovery was to be kindled in individuals, in science, and in the civil society as a whole.
Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon literature
In 1815 Grímur Jónsson ThorkelinGrímur Jónsson Thorkelin
Grímur Jónsson Thorkelín was an Icelandic -Danish scholar, who became the National Archivist of Denmark and Professor of Antiquities at Copenhagen University....
published the first edition of the Epic of Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
titled De Danorum rebus gestis secul. III & IV : Poëma Danicum dialecto Anglosaxonica in a Latin translation. Despite his lack of knowledge of Anglo-Saxon literature
Anglo-Saxon literature
Old English literature encompasses literature written in Old English in Anglo-Saxon England, in the period from the 7th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. These works include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others...
, Grundtvig quickly discovered a number of flaws in Thorkelin's rendering of the poems. After a heated debate with Thorkelin, Johan Bülow, who had sponsored Thorkelin's work, offered to support a new translation by Grundtvig - this time into Danish. The result, Bjovulfs Drape (1820), was the first modern language translation of Beowulf.
Grundtvig went on to explore the extensive literature of the Anglo-Saxons which survived in Old English and Latin. In both poetry and prose, it revealed the spirituality of the early Church in the North. Grundtvig was very influenced by these ancient models of Christian and historical thought (notably the 8th-century Bede's Ecclesiastical History, written in Latin). Using the resources of the Royal Library in Copenhagen and of the libraries of Exeter, Oxford and Cambridge in three successive summer visits to England (1829–31), he went on to make transcriptions of two of the four great codices of Anglo-Saxon poetry: the Exeter Book and the codex designated Junius 11 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Although he thought to publish them, this project was never realized. Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon literature continued to be a major source of inspiration to Grundtvig. It had a wide-ranging influence upon his work.
Legacy
Grundtvig holds a unique position in the cultural history of his country; he has been styled the Danish CarlyleThomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
and he might also be compared to Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
. But his style of writing and fields of reference are not immediately accessible to a foreigner, thus his international importance does not match that of his contemporaries Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
and Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish Christian philosopher, theologian and religious author. He was a critic of idealist intellectuals and philosophers of his time, such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel...
.
The magnificent Grundtvig's Church
Grundtvig's Church
Grundtvig's Church is located in the Bispebjerg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a rare example of expressionist church architecture. Due to its unusual appearance, it is one of the best known churches in the city.- History :...
in the Copenhagen district of Bispebjerg
Bispebjerg
Bispebjerg is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It lies on the north border of the municipality. It covers an area of 5.39 km², has a population of 40,033, and a population density of 7,389 per km²....
was designed by Danish architect Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint
Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint
Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint was a Danish architect, designer, painter and architectural theorist, best known for designing Grundtvig's Church in Copenhagen, generally considered to be one of the most important Danish architectural works of the time...
as a memorial to Grundtvig. Built of yellow brick in a Neo-Gothic expressionist style, it was completed in 1940.
Veneration
Grundtvig is commemorated on September 2 as a bishop and a renewer of the church in the Calendar of SaintsCalendar of Saints (Lutheran)
The Lutheran Calendar of Saints is a listing which details the primary annual festivals and events that are celebrated liturgically by some Lutheran Churches in the United States. The calendars of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod are from the...
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
He is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA)
Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)
The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term "saint" is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Those in the Anglo-Catholic tradition may...
on September 8.
Editions
Grundtvig's secular poetical works were published in a nine-volume edition, the first seven volumes by his second son, the philologist Svend Hersleb GrundtvigSvend Grundtvig
Svend Hersleb Grundtvig was a Danish literary historian and ethnographer. He was one of the first systematic collectors of Danish traditional music, and he was especially interested in Danish folk songs. He began the large project of editing Danish ballads. He also co-edited Icelandic ballads. He...
. The philological practice of this work, however, is not up to the standards of modern philology. His hymns have been collected in the philologically more stable five-volume edition Grundtvigs Sang-Værk.
The best overall collection of his writings is Holger Begtrup's 10 volume edition Udvalgte Skrifter. His enormous oeuvre is presented in Steen Johansen: Bibliografi over N.F.S. Grundtvigs Skrifter .
No comprehensive foreign language edition of his work exists. A three-volume edition in German, however, is under preparation and projects for an English edition are in progress as well.
The most important editions are:
- Grundtvigs Sang-Værk 1-6. Magnus Stevns (and others, editors). Copenhagen: Det danske Forlag. 1948-1964.
- Poetiske Skrifter 1-9. Udgivet af Svend Grundtvig (and others, editors). Copenhagen: Karl Schönberg og Hyldendal. 1880-1930.
- Udvalgte Skrifter 1-10. Holger Begtrup (editor). Copenhagen: Gyldendal. 1904-1909.
- Værker i Udvalg 1-10. Hal Koch and Georg Christensen (editors). Copenhagen: Gyldendal. 1940-1946.
In English
- A. M. Allchin (1998). N.F.S. Grundtvig. An Introduction to his Life and Work. afterword by N. O. Lossky London: Darton, Longman and Todd. ISBN 87-7288-656-0. The single most important work on Grundtvig in English.
- A. M. Allchin, ed. Heritage and Prophecy: Grundtvig and the English-Speaking World. ISBN 1-85311-085-X. Essays by leading international Grundtvig scholars.
- S. A. J. Bradley, tr., ed. (2008). N. F. S. Grundtvig: A Life Recalled. An Anthology of Biographical Source-Texts. Aarhus University Press. ISBN 978-87-7288-969-6. Very extensive Index documents the broad context of Grundtvig's life and work. Complementary to Allchin (1998).
Important, too, are the numerous articles in English published in the yearbook Grundtvig-Studier (Grundtvig Studies) from 1948 and onwards. Danish is the main language of the journal, but the English articles are prominent and increasing in recent years.
In other languages
The most important works on Grundtvig are a series of dissertations published since the founding of Grundtvig-selskabet (The Grundtvig Society). All of them contain summaries in major languages, most of them in English. This series includes:- Aarnes, Sigurd Aa. (1960). Historieskrivning og livssyn hos Grundtvig. Oslo: Universitetforlaget.
- Auken, Sune (2005). Sagas spejl. Mytologi, historie og kristendom hos N.F.S. Grundtvig. Copenhagen: Gyldendal. ISBN 87-02-03757-2
- Bugge, Knud Eyvin (1965). Skolen for livet. Copenhagen: GAD.
- Christensen, Bent (1998). Omkring Grundtvigs Vidskab. Copenhagen: GAD. ISBN 87-12-03246-8
- Grell, Helge (1980). Skaberånd og folkeånd. Copenhagen: Grundtvig-Selskabet. ISBN 87-7457-072-2
- Grell, Helge (1987). Skaberordet og billedordet. Aarhus: Anis. ISBN 87-981073-0-5
- Heggem, Synnøve Sakura (2005): Kjærlighetens makt, maskerade og mosaikk. En lesning av N. F. S. Grundtvigs "Sang-Værk til den Danske Kirke". Oslo.
- Høirup, Henning (1949). Grundtvigs Syn på Tro og Erkendelse. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
- Lundgreen-Nielsen, Flemming (1980). Det handlende ord. Copenhagen: GAD. ISBN 87-503-3464-6
- Michelsen, William (1954). Tilblivelsen af Grundtvigs Historiesyn. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
- Thaning, Kaj (1963). Menneske først — Grundtvigs opgør med sig selv. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
- Toldberg, Helge (1950). Grundtvigs symbolverden. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
- Vind, Ole (1999). Grundtvigs historiefilosofi. Copenhagen: Gyldendal. ISBN 87-00-37308-7
External links
- Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig page at National-Louis UniversityNational-Louis UniversityNational–Louis University is a private non-profit American university. NLU has campuses in and near Chicago, Illinois, as well as in Wisconsin, Florida, and Nowy Sącz, Poland. Many NLU courses and programs are also offered at-a-distance. The university practices multi-campus, at-a-distance, and...
- Center for Grundtvigstudier
- GRUNDTVIG, EU programme for adult education
- Bishop grundtvig and the people's high school in Denmark (1912)