Anne Holtsmark
Encyclopedia
Anne Elisabeth Holtsmark (21 June 1896 – 19 May 1974) was a Norwegian
philologist
.
, the second of five children of Gabriel Gabrielsen Holtsmark
(1867–1954) and Margrete Weisse (1871–1933), and grew up in Kristiania and Ås
. She was a maternal granddaughter of Johan Peter Weisse
, a paternal granddaughter of Bent Holtsmark
, a niece of Bernt
and Torger Holtsmark
, and a sister of Johan
and Karen Holtsmark
. She herself never married.
at Kristiania Cathedral School in 1917. In 1927, she graduated from the Royal Frederick University
with a cand.philol. degree in 1924. She majored in Norwegian and minored in French and history, and also worked part-time as a tutor and keeping accounts at the Oslo Commerce School
, where her father was the director.
Holtsmark became the first female professor in Old Norse
at the University of Oslo. She worked at the University Library of Oslo
until 1930, except for 1925–26, when she was a docent
in Norwegian at the University of Hamburg
for a year. In 1931 she was hired as a docent in Norse philology
at the University. She took the dr.philos. degree in 1936 with the thesis En islandsk scholasticus fra det 12. århundre, and in 1949 was promoted to professor, succeeding Magnus Olsen
.
She had to retire in 1960 because of multiple sclerosis
, which confined her to a wheelchair
from the 1950s onwards. She died in Oslo in May 1974.
into Norwegian: Heimskringla
(with Didrik Arup Seip
, two volumes, 1934); the Prose Edda
(1950); Helgisaga Óláfs konungs Haraldssonar
(1956); Sverris saga
(1961), Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar
(1964); and Orkneyinga saga
(1970). She wrote her master's thesis on the Glymdrápa
, and also published on the Haustlöng
. From 1938 to 1949 she led the Old Norse dictionary project Gammelnorsk ordboksverk.
She published numerous articles, including many contributions to the Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder. Her book on Norse mythology
, Norrøn mytologi: Tru og mytar i vikingtida (1970) was republished and translated several times.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
philologist
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
.
Personal life
She was born in KristianiaOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, the second of five children of Gabriel Gabrielsen Holtsmark
Gabriel Gabrielsen Holtsmark
Gabriel Gabrielsen Holtsmark was a Norwegian educator, physicist and actuary.-Personal life:He was born in Asker as a son of farmer and mayor Bent Holtsmark and his wife Anne Elisabeth Gabrielsen. He was a brother of Bernt, Torger and Wilhelm Holtsmark...
(1867–1954) and Margrete Weisse (1871–1933), and grew up in Kristiania and Ås
Ås
Ås is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Follo traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ås...
. She was a maternal granddaughter of Johan Peter Weisse
Johan Peter Weisse
-Personal life:He was born in Fluberg as a son of physician Joachim Frederik Weisse and his wife Grethe Fleischer. His grandfather had migrated to Norway from Brandenburg. The family moved to Trondhjem in 1833....
, a paternal granddaughter of Bent Holtsmark
Bent Holtsmark
Bent Holtsmark was a Norwegian agriculturalist and politician.He was born in Lier, but moved to Asker in 1849. He was a farmer at Tveter farm, and also owned the farms Berg, Vøien and Sem. He was decorated with the King Oscar II Medal for his work in agriculture, and was also mayor of Asker from...
, a niece of Bernt
Bernt Holtsmark
Bernt Holtsmark was a Norwegian farmer and politician for the Conservative Party and the Liberal Left Party. He was a four-term member of the Parliament of Norway, and served as Minister of Agriculture from 1910 to 1912...
and Torger Holtsmark
Torger Holtsmark
Torger Holtsmark was a Norwegian farmer and politician for the Conservative Party.He was born at Tveter farm in Asker as a son of Bent Holtsmark and his wife Anne Elisabeth Gabrielsen. He was a brother of Bernt and Wilhelm Holtsmark...
, and a sister of Johan
Johan Peter Holtsmark
Johan Peter Holtsmark was a Norwegian physicist, who studied spectral line broadening and electron scattering. In 1929, while at the Norwegian Institute of Technology , Holtsmark established acoustics research laboratories, focusing on architectural acoustics and sound insulation...
and Karen Holtsmark
Karen Holtsmark
-Personal life:She was born in Ås as a daughter of educator and physicist Gabriel Gabrielsen Holtsmark and his wife Margrete Weisse . She was a maternal granddaughter of philologist Johan Peter Weisse, and a paternal granddaughter of agriculturalist and politician Bent Holtsmark...
. She herself never married.
Career
Holtsmark was educated in business schools and worked at the Christiania Sparebank from 1913 to 1915 before taking the examen artiumExamen artium
Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1630...
at Kristiania Cathedral School in 1917. In 1927, she graduated from the Royal Frederick University
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
with a cand.philol. degree in 1924. She majored in Norwegian and minored in French and history, and also worked part-time as a tutor and keeping accounts at the Oslo Commerce School
Oslo Commerce School
Oslo Commerce School is a public high school in Oslo, Norway, specialized to teach financial and business management....
, where her father was the director.
Holtsmark became the first female professor in Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
at the University of Oslo. She worked at the University Library of Oslo
University Library of Oslo
The University Library of Oslo is a library connected to the University of Oslo.Like the University, it was established in 1811 with Georg Sverdrup as the first head librarian. It originally doubled as the Norwegian national library, and was located at the old University of Oslo campus.In 1913 the...
until 1930, except for 1925–26, when she was a docent
Docent
Docent is a title at some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks below professor . Docent is also used at some universities generically for a person who has the right to teach...
in Norwegian at the University of Hamburg
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...
for a year. In 1931 she was hired as a docent in Norse philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
at the University. She took the dr.philos. degree in 1936 with the thesis En islandsk scholasticus fra det 12. århundre, and in 1949 was promoted to professor, succeeding Magnus Olsen
Magnus Olsen
Magnus Bernhard Olsen was a Norwegian linguist and a professor in Norse philology at the University of Oslo from 1908 to 1948...
.
She had to retire in 1960 because of multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
, which confined her to a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
from the 1950s onwards. She died in Oslo in May 1974.
Publications
Holtsmark published several translations from Old NorseOld Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
into Norwegian: Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
(with Didrik Arup Seip
Didrik Arup Seip
Didrik Arup Seip was Professor of North Germanic languages at the University of Oslo.He earned his doctorate in 1916 and was appointed professor the same year, retiring in 1954. Together with Herman Jæger, he edited and published the collected works of Henrik Wergeland in 23 volumes...
, two volumes, 1934); the Prose Edda
Prose Edda
The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...
(1950); Helgisaga Óláfs konungs Haraldssonar
Legendary Saga of St. Olaf
The Legendary Saga of St. Olaf or Helgisaga Óláfs konungs Haraldssonar is one of the kings' sagas, a 13th century biography of the 11th century Saint Olaf II of Norway. It is based heavily on the largely lost Oldest Saga of St. Olaf. The composition is primitive and clumsy and the saga essentially...
(1956); Sverris saga
Sverris saga
Sverris saga is one of the kings' sagas. Its subject is King Sverre Sigurdsson of Norway and it is the main source for this period of Norwegian history. As the foreword tells us, the saga in its final form consists of more than one part. Work first began in 1185 under the king’s direct supervision...
(1961), Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar
Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar
Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar is an Old Norse kings' saga, telling the story of the life and reign of King Haakon Haakonarson of Norway. The saga was written by the Icelandic historian and chieftain Sturla Þórðarson, in the 1260s...
(1964); and Orkneyinga saga
Orkneyinga saga
The Orkneyinga saga is a historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200...
(1970). She wrote her master's thesis on the Glymdrápa
Glymdrápa
Glymdrápa is a skaldic poem composed by Þorbjörn hornklofi toward the end of the 9th century. It recounts several battles waged by Haraldr hárfagri , mostly as he was subduing Norway....
, and also published on the Haustlöng
Haustlöng
Haustlöng is a skaldic poem composed around the beginning of the 10th century. The poem is preserved in the 13th century Prose Edda, which quotes two groups of stanzas from it, and is attributed to the Norwegian skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir. The poem describes mythological scenes painted on a shield...
. From 1938 to 1949 she led the Old Norse dictionary project Gammelnorsk ordboksverk.
She published numerous articles, including many contributions to the Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder. Her book on Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
, Norrøn mytologi: Tru og mytar i vikingtida (1970) was republished and translated several times.
Honours
- Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and LettersNorwegian Academy of Science and LettersThe Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway.-History:The University of Oslo was established in 1811. The idea of a learned society in Christiania surfaced for the first time in 1841. The city of Throndhjem had no university, but had a learned...
(from 1941)
- Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav (Knight 1st Class) (1958)
- Honorary doctorate from the University of IcelandUniversity of IcelandThe University of Iceland is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland, and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' school to a modern comprehensive university, providing instruction for about...
(1961)
External links
- Works by and about Anne Holtsmark at OCLC WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...
- "Anne Holtsmark 75 år", Aftenposten 19 June 1971, p. 9
- "Minneord om Anne Holtsmark", Aftenposten 22 May 1974, p. 23 (Obituary)