Eiliv Skard
Encyclopedia
Eiliv Skard was a Norwegian classical philologist
.
as a son of educators Matias Skard
(1846–1927) and Gyda Christensen (1868–1916). The family moved to Kristiansand
in 1901. He was a nephew of Johannes Skar
and Christopher Bruun
, a brother of Bjarne
and Sigmund Skard
and a half-brother of Olav
and Torfinn Skard
. When Sigmund Skard married Åse Gruda Skard
, Åsa became Eiliv's sister-in-law.
In 1940 he married teacher Sigrid Nordang (1903–1988). They had met in Gudbrandsdalen in the same year.
his secondary education at Kristiansand Cathedral School in 1916, and graduated from the Royal Frederick University
in 1922. He worked at the secondary schools in Hornnes
from 1922 to 1924 and Orkdal
1925 to 1929. He was a Latin teacher at the university from 1929, having specialized in classical philology
during studies in Germany, Italy and Greece. He took the dr.philos. degree in 1931 on the thesis Zwei religiös-politische Begriffe. Euergetes. Concordia. When writing in Norwegian, he used the Nynorsk
form. In 1934 he was promoted to professor of classical philology at the Royal Frederick University (from 1939: the University of Oslo).
In the interwar period
Skard marked himself as an opponent of Fascism
, first and foremost as a follower of the Oxford Group
. When Nazi Germany invaded Norway
in 1940, Skard participated in the fighting
in Gudbrandsdalen. Germany won, but one of many civil protests ensued when the Nazi authorities were about to change the rules for admission to the university in autumn 1943. In retaliation, the authorities arrested 11 staff, 60 male students and 10 female students. The staff Johannes Andenæs
, Bjørn Føyn
, Johan Christian Schreiner, Harald Krabbe Schjelderup, Anatol Heintz
, Odd Hassel
, Ragnar Frisch, Carl Jacob Arnholm
, Endre Berner
and Eiliv Skard were sent to Grini concentration camp. Skard was first incarcerated at Bredtveit from 15 October to 22 November, then at Berg
until 8 December, then at Grini until 5 May 1945. An exception came in the last winter, when Skard spent a month at Victoria Terrasse
.
After the war Skard returned as professor, and was dean of the Faculty of Humanities from 1947 to 1952. On 1 February 1948 he became professor of the history of ideas
with emphasis on the Antiquity
. He edited the journal Symbolae Osloenses, and his most notable books were Filosofien i oldtiden (1951) and the three-volume anthology Vestens tenkere (1962) which he edited together with Andreas Hofgaard Winsnes. He died in September 1978 in Oslo.
Classical philology
Classical philology is the study of ancient Greek and classical Latin. Classical philology has been defined as "the careful study of the literary and philosophical texts of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds." Greek and Latin literature and civilization have traditionally been considered...
.
Personal life
He was born in LevangerLevanger
Levanger is a town and municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherred region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Levanger...
as a son of educators Matias Skard
Matias Skard
Matias Skard was a Norwegian philologist, educator, psalmist, essayist and translator, a brother of folklorist Johannes Skar....
(1846–1927) and Gyda Christensen (1868–1916). The family moved to Kristiansand
Kristiansand
-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...
in 1901. He was a nephew of Johannes Skar
Johannes Skar
Johannes Skar was a Norwegian folklorist, a brother of educator Matias Skard. His main contribution is the work Gamalt or Sætesdal , a collection of eight volumes of folklore from the valley Setesdal.-References:...
and Christopher Bruun
Christopher Bruun
Christopher Arndt Bruun was a Norwegian priest and educator.-Early life:He was born in Christiania as a son of jurist Johan Peter Bruun and Line Stenersen . After his father died when Christopher was three years old, the family moved to Vang, Hedmark, then to Lillehammer in 1850...
, a brother of Bjarne
Bjarne Skard
-Personal life:He was born in Levanger as a son of educators Matias Skard and Gyda Christensen . The family moved to Kristiansand in 1901. He was a nephew of Johannes Skar and Christopher Bruun, a brother of Eiliv and Sigmund Skard and a half-brother of Olav and Torfinn Skard...
and Sigmund Skard
Sigmund Skard
Sigmund Skard was a Norwegian poet, essayist and professor of literature.He was born in Kristiansand as a son of educators Matias Skard and Gyda Christensen . He was a nephew of Johannes Skar and Christopher Bruun, a brother of Bjarne and Eiliv Skard and a half-brother of Olav and Torfinn...
and a half-brother of Olav
Olav Skard
-Personal life:He was born in Østre Gausdal as a son of educators Matias Skard and his first wife Marie Bø . He was a nephew of Johannes Skar and Per Bø and a half-brother of Torfinn, Bjarne, Eiliv and Sigmund Skard...
and Torfinn Skard
Torfinn Skard
-Personal life:He was born in Faaberg as a son of educator Matias Skard and his second wife Nilsine Kristiane Myhre . He was a nephew of Johannes Skar, Christopher Bruun and Per Bø and a half-brother of Olav Skard and Bjarne, Eiliv and Sigmund Skard...
. When Sigmund Skard married Åse Gruda Skard
Åse Gruda Skard
Åse Gruda Skard was a Norwegian psychologist, and a pioneer in the field of the bringing up of children. She lectured at the University of Oslo from 1947 to 1973. She edited the magazine Norsk Pedagogisk Tidsskrift from 1936 to 1970. She wrote 24 books and almost 2,000 journal articles...
, Åsa became Eiliv's sister-in-law.
In 1940 he married teacher Sigrid Nordang (1903–1988). They had met in Gudbrandsdalen in the same year.
Career
He finishedExamen 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...
his secondary education at Kristiansand Cathedral School in 1916, and 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...
in 1922. He worked at the secondary schools in Hornnes
Hornnes
Hornnes is a village and a former municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. Hornnes is located in the present-day municipality of Evje og Hornnes in the traditional district of Setesdal...
from 1922 to 1924 and Orkdal
Orkdal
Orkdal is a municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Orkdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Orkanger. Other villages in the municipality include Kjøra, Geitastrand, Gjølme, Thamshavn, Fannrem, Vormstad, Svorkmo, and...
1925 to 1929. He was a Latin teacher at the university from 1929, having specialized in classical philology
Classical philology
Classical philology is the study of ancient Greek and classical Latin. Classical philology has been defined as "the careful study of the literary and philosophical texts of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds." Greek and Latin literature and civilization have traditionally been considered...
during studies in Germany, Italy and Greece. He took the dr.philos. degree in 1931 on the thesis Zwei religiös-politische Begriffe. Euergetes. Concordia. When writing in Norwegian, he used the Nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...
form. In 1934 he was promoted to professor of classical philology at the Royal Frederick University (from 1939: the University of Oslo).
In the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
Skard marked himself as an opponent of Fascism
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
, first and foremost as a follower of the Oxford Group
Oxford Group
The Oxford Group was a Christian movement that had a following in Europe, China, Africa, Australia, Scandinavia and America in the 1920s and 30s. It was initiated by an American Lutheran pastor, Frank Buchman, who was of Swiss descent...
. When Nazi Germany invaded Norway
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
in 1940, Skard participated in the fighting
Norwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
in Gudbrandsdalen. Germany won, but one of many civil protests ensued when the Nazi authorities were about to change the rules for admission to the university in autumn 1943. In retaliation, the authorities arrested 11 staff, 60 male students and 10 female students. The staff Johannes Andenæs
Johannes Andenæs
Johannes Bratt Andenæs, often shortened to Johs. Andenæs was a Norwegian jurist. He was a professor of jurisprudence at the University of Oslo from 1945 to 1982, and served as rector from 1970 to 1972....
, Bjørn Føyn
Bjørn Føyn
Bjørn Føyn was a Norwegian zoologist, especially known for researching the genetics of algae.He was born in Trondhjem as a son of educator and major Anton Christian Føyn and Olga Barth Nielsen...
, Johan Christian Schreiner, Harald Krabbe Schjelderup, Anatol Heintz
Anatol Heintz
Anatol Heintz was a Norwegian palaeontologist.He was born in Petrograd to the geophysicist Yevgeniy Alfredovich Heintz and Olga Fyodorovna Hoffmann . He had two older siblings. In 1919 the family fled to Norway...
, Odd Hassel
Odd Hassel
Odd Hassel was a Norwegian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate.-Biography:Born in Kristiania, his parents were Ernst Hassel, a gynaecologist, and Mathilde Klaveness. In 1915, he entered the University of Oslo where he studied mathematics, physics and chemistry, and graduated in 1920...
, Ragnar Frisch, Carl Jacob Arnholm
Carl Jacob Arnholm
Carl Jacob Arnholm was a Norwegian jurist.He was born in Oslo as a son of civil servant Carsten Johannes Andersen and Gunvor Henriksen . He finished his secondary education in Kristiania in 1917, and graduated with the cand.jur. degree in 1921. After one year as deputy judge he worked as a junior...
, Endre Berner
Endre Berner
Endre Qvie Berner was a Norwegian chemist.He was born in Stavanger as a son of businessperson Endre Qvie Berner, Sr. and his wife Anna Marie Gjemre...
and Eiliv Skard were sent to Grini concentration camp. Skard was first incarcerated at Bredtveit from 15 October to 22 November, then at Berg
Berg concentration camp
Berg was a concentration camp near Tønsberg in Norway that served as an internment and transit center for political prisoners and Jews during the Nazi occupation of Norway.-Establishment:...
until 8 December, then at Grini until 5 May 1945. An exception came in the last winter, when Skard spent a month at Victoria Terrasse
Victoria Terrasse
Victoria Terrasse is a building complex in central Oslo, Norway.Built in the 1880s, it was taken over the by Norwegian government in 1913 and put to use by the police and various political departments....
.
After the war Skard returned as professor, and was dean of the Faculty of Humanities from 1947 to 1952. On 1 February 1948 he became professor of the history of ideas
History of ideas
The history of ideas is a field of research in history that deals with the expression, preservation, and change of human ideas over time. The history of ideas is a sister-discipline to, or a particular approach within, intellectual history...
with emphasis on the Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
. He edited the journal Symbolae Osloenses, and his most notable books were Filosofien i oldtiden (1951) and the three-volume anthology Vestens tenkere (1962) which he edited together with Andreas Hofgaard Winsnes. He died in September 1978 in Oslo.