Scandinavian American. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1945-1958, 1951-02-23
Introducing Scandinavia
Who's Who In Denmark

Oehlenschlaeger, Adam Q779-
1850. Poet. Received excellent
schooling as boy without, how
ever, qualifying for matriculatlon
at the university; went to the
stage, and was for two seasons
engaged by the Royal Theater.
Coached by the Oersted brothers
he obtained his Higher School Ger
tificate, matriculates and COM
mences studying Law while at the
same time writing various poems
which were published by different
periodicals. He gradually acquires
a name in literary circles, and mis-
Poems" = published in 1902, but
on the title-page dated 1903 -
among which figure, "The Golden
Horns" and "a Midsummer Nights
Play" and, not least, Poetic
Writings" in 1905, earn him a pub
lie grant, which enables him for
four years to travel abroad and
meet the greatest minds within
contemporary spiritual and intel
lectual life of Europe, from Goethe
to Madame de Stael. Whilst a.
broad he begins to write the trag-
edies which are among the great
est treasures of Danish literature
and which even today figure on the
repertory of the Royal Theatre;
Earl Haakon'; "Baldur the Good"
"Yrsa"; Shareholder; Eric and
Abel; ''Vaeringerne Miklagaard'
(The Vikings in Byzantium) :,
Queen Margareta'; "Hagbarth
and Signe," and many more. His
name will remain always as that
of the greatest poet of the So
called Golden Age" period of Dan
ish poetry.
Grundtvig, N. F. S. (17s3-1S72).
Clergyman, poet and educational
list. The oldfashioned religious
faith of his home impressed its
stamp upon his youth. After grad
uating in divinity, he worked for
a short time as a private teacher
on a great estate "Egelykke," and
was here subject to great tempta-
tons. The Bible, however, becomes
for him the Rock of Truth" and
he now judges everything and ev-
erybody from a biblical point of
view. Returns to Copenhagen but
falls out with the entire clergy
there because of his sharp crit
cism. Translates Saxo and Snorre
the sagas of Denmark and Ice
land-for the ordinary reader;
publishes Morse Mythology" and
a Manual of World History" Dur
ing study tour to England he
became possessed by the ideas
which were to lead to the creation
of the popular folk schools, 1.-THE
School for Life" Grundtvig was
a great awakener Of the people
and one of the greatest figures in
the Denmark Of the 10th century.
Rask, Rasmus (1787-1S32), Lin
guist. Initiated already while at
school his Independent linguistic
studies of Icelandic. and particul-
arly of Old-Icelandic. AS a stu
dent he made study tour of Ice
land and at his return was en-
gagged as assistant-editor for the
publication of Halldorson's Iceland
ic dictionary and Nyerup's trans
lation of The Younger Edda. On
extensive travels through Russia
and southwards via the Crimea to
Persia and India he copied in
scriptions of cuniform writing and
prepared treatise on the Zend
language and on the antiquity of
the Zend-Avesta. He attempted to
construe a system of phonetic
signs common to all languages. and
as a linquist was far ahead of his
contemporaries.
His motto was you owe your
fatherland ALL" and on the monu-
ment raised on his grave in Copen-
hagen this sentence is engraved IN
most, if not all the languages he
mastered.