Arnved Nedkvitne
Encyclopedia
Arnved Nedkvitne is a Norwegian mediæval historian. He is Professor Emeritus of Mediæval History at the University of Trondheim and the University of Oslo
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...

. He held the chair of Norwegian mediæval history at the University of Trondheim from 1991 to 1993 and at the University of Oslo from 1993 to 2009. Prof. Nedkvitne is the leading scholar in the field of Norwegian mediæval history. He is a member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters
Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters
The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters is a learned society based in Trondheim, Norway.-History:DKNVS was founded in 1760 by bishop of Nidaros Johan Ernst Gunnerus, headmaster at the Trondheim Cathedral School Gerhard Schøning and Councillor of State Peter Frederik Suhm under the name...

.

Career

He was born in Haugesund
Haugesund
is a town and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.-Location:Haugesund was separated from Torvastad as a town and municipality of its own in 1855. The rural municipality of Skåre was merged with Haugesund on January 1, 1958. Haugesund is a small municipality, only 73 km²...

. He obtained his cand.philol. degree in history at the University of Bergen
University of Bergen
The University of Bergen is located in Bergen, Norway. Although founded as late as 1946, academic activity had taken place at Bergen Museum as far back as 1825. The university today serves more than 14,500 students...

 in 1975, and his dr. philos. degree in 1983 on the thesis Utenrikshandelen fra det vestafjelske Norge. He was a professor of mediaeval history at the University of Trondheim from 1991 to 1993, and was appointed as professor of mediaeval history at the University of Oslo
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...

 in 1993. He has written several books, especially on mediaeval trade relations as well as literacy and beliefs in mediaeval Scandinavia.

According to historian Kåre Lunden
Kåre Lunden
Kåre Lunden is a Norwegian historian, and Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Oslo.He originally studied agronomy at the Norwegian College of Agriculture, graduating in 1957. He then worked six years as a civil servant in the Norwegian Ministry of Church Affairs and Education,...

, Nedkvitne has "authored several major works of Norwegian economic history. In recent years, he has been an important innovator, linked to the 'cultural turn' in the discipline".

Controversy

In February, 2009, Nedkvitne was fired from his job by the university board of the University of Oslo as the university claimed that he had harassed his co-workers and refused to be present in meetings called by his employer. Nedkvitne on his side claimed that he had merely criticized his co-workers and the administration of the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, as well as Trine Syvertsen, the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities.

The case caused concern among other Norwegian professors and academics (including Jan Helge Solbakk, Henning Jakhelln
Henning Jakhelln
Henning Jakhelln is a Norwegian legal academic, and Professor Emeritus of Law at the University of Oslo....

, Bernt Hagtvet
Bernt Hagtvet
Bernt Hagtvet is a Norwegian political scientist. He is a professor of political science at the University of Oslo. Among his areas of interest are European politics, extremist movements, and human rights. He was born in Oslo, and is married to historian Guri Hjeltnes. He is a member of the...

, Kristian Gundersen, Unni Wikan
Unni Wikan
Unni Wikan is a Norwegian professor of social anthropology at the University of Oslo and is the second wife of the well-known Norwegian social anthropologist Fredrik Barth...

, Arne Johan Vetlesen
Arne Johan Vetlesen
Arne Johan Vetlesen is a Norwegian professor of philosophy at the University of Oslo, who concentrates on the topic of ethics....

, Anine Kierulf
Anine Kierulf
Anine Kierulf is a Norwegian lawyer and research fellow at the University of Oslo Law School, Norway. Her research area is the evolution of national free speech doctrines through judicial review, with a focus on the constitutionalizing elements of the European Convention on Human Rights.Kierulf...

 and Jan Fridthjof Bernt
Jan Fridthjof Bernt
Jan Fridthjof Bernt is a Norwegian professor of law and former rector at the University of Bergen.He graduated with the cand.jur. degree from the University of Oslo in 1968, with the Master of Comparative Law from the University of Michigan in 1971 and took the dr.juris degree at the University...

) that academic freedom was not respected by the university administration. On March 11, 2009, it became known that Nedkvitne would bring the case to court with support from the Norwegian Association of Researchers.

The case commenced before Oslo City Court in January 2010. The city court found that the university was entitled to fire Nedkvitne, for the reasons state by the university. Nedkvitne first decided not to appeal to the High Court (Borgarting lagmannsrett) for economic reasons. The court's was criticized by several professors. In February 2010, the Board of the Norwegian Association of Researchers decided to support an appeal financially, due the "principal character" of his case. In March 2011 the High Court's decision upheld the City Court's decision, stating that the University of Oslo was entitled to fire Nedkvitne due to his behavior.

A golden parachute
Golden parachute
A golden parachute is an agreement between a company and an employee specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if employment is terminated. Sometimes, certain conditions, typically a change in company ownership, must be met, but often the cause of termination is...

 of 2 years pay had been offered to Nedkvitne, by the University of Oslo, if he would turn in his resignation
Resignation
A resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. It can also refer to the act of admitting defeat in a game like chess, indicated by the resigning player declaring "I resign", turning his king on its side, extending his hand, or stopping the chess clock...

.

Miscellaneous info

He is the only professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 to have lost his job for (alleged) reasons not relating to criminal matters, within the universities of Norway.

Selected publications

  • Utenrikshandelen fra det vestafjelske Norge 1100-1600, 1983 (dissertation, dr. philos.)
  • "Mens bønderne seilte og jægterne for" : nordnorsk og vestnorsk kystøkonomi 1500-1730, Oslo: Universitetsforlaget
    Universitetsforlaget
    Universitetsforlaget AS is a Norwegian academic publishing company, which publishes non-fiction literature and journals. Universitetsforlaget is the main academic press in Norway....

    , 1988
  • Människan och miljön, 1991 (with Kjell Haarstad and Lars J. Lundgren)
  • Byen under Eikaberg : fra byens oppkomst til 1536, 1991 (volume one of Oslo bys historie, with Per G. Norseng
    Per G. Norseng
    Per Gudbrand Norseng is a Norwegian historian.He was born in Oslo, and took the cand.philol. degree at the University of Oslo in 1983 with the paper Administrativ prisfastsettelse i det norske middelaldersamfunnet...

    )
    • Re-released in 2000 as Middelalderbyen ved Bjørvika, Oslo: Cappelen
      J.W. Cappelens Forlag
      J.W. Cappelens Forlag, usually referred to as Cappelen, was one of the oldest publishing houses of Norway. J.W. Cappelens Forlag was founded in 1829 by Jørgen Wright Cappelen, of the distinguished Cappelen family. Torger Baardseth was the director of Cappelen between 1904 and 1943. JW Cappelens...

  • Norwegen und die Hanse : wirtschaftliche und kulturelle Aspekte im europäischen Vergleich, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1994 (editor, with Volker Henn)
  • Møte med døden i norrøn middelalder, Oslo: Cappelen
    J.W. Cappelens Forlag
    J.W. Cappelens Forlag, usually referred to as Cappelen, was one of the oldest publishing houses of Norway. J.W. Cappelens Forlag was founded in 1829 by Jørgen Wright Cappelen, of the distinguished Cappelen family. Torger Baardseth was the director of Cappelen between 1904 and 1943. JW Cappelens...

    , 1997, published in Swedish 2004
  • The social consequences of literacy in medieval Scandinavia, Turnhout: Brepols
    Brepols
    Brepols was once one of the largest printing companies of the world and one of the main employers in Turnhout . Besides its printing business, Brepols is also active as a publisher...

    , 2004
  • Lay belief in Norse society 1000-1350, Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press
    Museum Tusculanum Press
    Museum Tusculanum Press is an academic press of the University of Copenhagen for the fields of humanities, social sciences and theology. It was founded in 1975 as a non-profit institution and publishes approximately 60 titles annually. Most of the authors are affiliated with the University of...

    , 2009
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