Ivar Mortensson-Egnund
Encyclopedia
Ivar Mortensson-Egnund (July 24, 1857 - 16 February 1934) was a Norwegian
author, journalist, theologian, researcher, translator, writer, philosopher and advocate of nynorsk
(the new Norwegian language). He was born in Alvdal
North Østerdal. His parents were Anne Petronelle Tangen, and Morten Mortensen Ogarden, a former parliament member for the Liberals, both from Tynset
. He studied theology in Christiania and was cand. theol. in 1883. However he did not practice as a priest before he became a diocese curate at Hamar
in 1909. In 1894 he married Karen Nilsen and they farmed at Einabu in Folldal
, a farm which his family had purchased in 1873.
and politically liberal home. He completed the examen artium
at Aars og Voss` school in Christiania
in 1875 and the cand. theol. in 1883.
.
In the 1870s, he was a friend and acquaintance of Moltke Moe, and through him met Arne Garborg
. In 1877 when Garborg started the magazine "Fedraheimen" Mortensson became an employee. It was also Ivar who helped Hulda
and Arne Garborg locate & rent a small cabin on the small farm "Kolbotnen", near the lake Savalen
in Alvdal
in 1887. When Garborg moved there, Mortensson followed. At this time these friends had little money and Garborg styled Mortenssonn as “Ivar Matlaus” (Ivar Foodless).
Mortensson-Egnund was also a poet, and in 1889 he published "Paa ymse gjerdom", followed by "Or duldo" in 1895. Later, he was best known for his setting the Draumkvedet
(1905) and the Poetic Edda
(1908) into modern Norwegian.
Ivar Mortensson-Egnund is often mentioned as a sponsor of and influence on Olav Aukrust
. After Aukrust had finished his three years of teacher’s education in Elverum
in 1906 and moved to Folldal
as a teacher, where he lived at Einabu the two years he was there. Helge Groth
wrote "Of all the Norwegian poets and authors, none more directly influenced Olav Aukrust than Ivar Mortensson-Egnund."
Mortensson-Egnund had built a poet’s retreat on the top of the ridge in the direction of Egnund chapel, sitting on the ridge of an esker
—a trace from the last ice age. Mortensson-Egnund worked there in the daytime during the summer, but used his farm Einabu for meals and lodging.
He lived at the Einabu farm with the poet’s retreat up along Norwegian Highway 29, near the Einunna river bridge, for much of his life. The main building from the 1870s stands still as it did in his time. Along the road there is a bust of Ivar Mortensson-Egnund carved by Trygve Dammen bust; it was unveiled on the 100-anniversary of his birth in 1957. The North Østerdal museum includes a display covering his history.
in support of Johan Sverdrup
, parliamentary reform and Nynorsk. He attempted to unify nationalism, anarchism, mysticism and religion in his poetry and his work.
In 1883 Mortensson-Egnund became editor of the paper “Fedraheimen”, where he served until 1889. Under Mortensson leadership the newspaper embraced the war against "the moneyed, ministers of state and imperialism". Mortensson called the magazine a "communist-anarchist organ for the country" and published extensive material from the international anarchist movement.
In 1888 Mortensson supported Garborg as Storting representative for Hedmark
; the campaign was unsuccessful. The following year he held a 17th of May independence celebration in Tynset
, where he argued against cowardliness of the members of the Norwegian Constitutional Assembly, but praised the French Revolution
. He concluded by singing La Marseillaise
for shocked farmers. He and Garborg resigned from the Liberals and formed a workers party for Tynset
and Røros
.
Fedraheimen ceased publication in 1891, two years after Mortensson-Egnund resigned as editor; his successor was Rasmus Steinsvik.
Mortensson-Egnund published the anarchist magazine Fridom (freedom) from 1896 to 1899, and corresponded with the well-known Russian Anarchist Pjotr Kropotkin
(1842-1921) whose concept of voluntary cooperation influenced him greatly. At this time Mortensson-Egnund developed a theory that the Norwegian farmers in prehistoric times had lived in anarchic groups who he called samnøyter.
. He received a Government stipend from 1929 forward.
Mortensson-Egnund’s friend Garborg had an interest in Theosophy
, and another of his closest friends, Marta Steinsvik
, joined Rudolf Steiner
’s Anthroposophy
movement. After Steiner in 1913, broke out of the Theosophical Society
and founded the Anthroposophical Society
, Mortensson-Egnund and his wife Karen were among Steiner's followers in Norwegian Vidar group. In 1915, when Vidar was the first magazine for Anthroposophy published in Norway, it opened with an article by Mortensson-Egnund that drew relationships with the mythological Víðarr.
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...
author, journalist, theologian, researcher, translator, writer, philosopher and advocate of 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...
(the new Norwegian language). He was born in Alvdal
Alvdal
Alvdal is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Alvdal....
North Østerdal. His parents were Anne Petronelle Tangen, and Morten Mortensen Ogarden, a former parliament member for the Liberals, both from Tynset
Tynset
Tynset is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tynset.-Name:...
. He studied theology in Christiania and was cand. theol. in 1883. However he did not practice as a priest before he became a diocese curate at Hamar
Hamar
is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. The municipality of Hamar was separated from Vang as a town and municipality of its own in 1849...
in 1909. In 1894 he married Karen Nilsen and they farmed at Einabu in Folldal
Folldal
Folldal is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Dovre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Folldal. The new municipality of Folldal was separated from Alvdal in 1914.-Name:...
, a farm which his family had purchased in 1873.
Childhood
Ivar Mortensson grew up in a religiously HaugianisticHans Nielsen Hauge
Hans Nielsen Hauge was a noted revivalist Norwegian lay minister who spoke up against the Church establishment in Norway. Hauge is considered an influential personality in the industrialization of Norway...
and politically liberal home. He completed the examen artium
Examen 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 Aars og Voss` school in Christiania
Oslo
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...
in 1875 and the cand. theol. in 1883.
Poet and supporter for Nynorsk
Mortensson-Egnund dedicated his life to the reconstruction of the Norwegian written language, working to free it from the Danish chancery language. Around the turn of the century he became a strong opponent of the riksmål supporter Bjørnstjerne BjørnsonBjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Bjørnson is considered as one of The Four Greats Norwegian writers; the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland...
.
In the 1870s, he was a friend and acquaintance of Moltke Moe, and through him met Arne Garborg
Arne Garborg
Arne Garborg, born Aadne Eivindsson Garborg was a Norwegian writer.Garborg championed the use of Landsmål , as a literary language; he translated the Odyssey into it...
. In 1877 when Garborg started the magazine "Fedraheimen" Mortensson became an employee. It was also Ivar who helped Hulda
Hulda Garborg
Hulda Garborg was a Norwegian writer, novelist, playwright, poet, folk dancer, and theatre instructor...
and Arne Garborg locate & rent a small cabin on the small farm "Kolbotnen", near the lake Savalen
Savalen
Savalen is a lake in Hedmark country, Norway, in the municipalities Tynset and Alvdal, about 18 square kilometres. The river Sivilla, which connects Savalen and Glomma, is regulated and exploited by the Savalen hydropower station . A tourist resort is located at the northern end of the lake, with...
in Alvdal
Alvdal
Alvdal is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Alvdal....
in 1887. When Garborg moved there, Mortensson followed. At this time these friends had little money and Garborg styled Mortenssonn as “Ivar Matlaus” (Ivar Foodless).
Mortensson-Egnund was also a poet, and in 1889 he published "Paa ymse gjerdom", followed by "Or duldo" in 1895. Later, he was best known for his setting the Draumkvedet
Draumkvedet
Draumkvedet is a Norwegian visionary poem, probably dated from the late medieval age. It is one of the best known medieval ballads in Norway. The first written versions are from Lårdal and Kviteseid in Telemark in the 1840s....
(1905) and the Poetic Edda
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...
(1908) into modern Norwegian.
Ivar Mortensson-Egnund is often mentioned as a sponsor of and influence on Olav Aukrust
Olav Aukrust
Olav Aukrust was a Norwegian poet and teacher. He was born in Lom and wrote poems with a renewed national romantic style. His use of rural dialect contributed to the growth of Nynorsk as a literary language.-Life:...
. After Aukrust had finished his three years of teacher’s education in Elverum
Elverum
is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Elverum...
in 1906 and moved to Folldal
Folldal
Folldal is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Dovre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Folldal. The new municipality of Folldal was separated from Alvdal in 1914.-Name:...
as a teacher, where he lived at Einabu the two years he was there. Helge Groth
Helge Groth
Helge Otto Aars Groth is a Norwegian literary historian and diplomat.He was born in Stavanger, and took the cand.philol. degree in 1938. He was a lecturer in European literature at the University of Oslo from 1939 to 1953, and also as held lectures on foreign affairs in Norwegian Broadcasting...
wrote "Of all the Norwegian poets and authors, none more directly influenced Olav Aukrust than Ivar Mortensson-Egnund."
Mortensson-Egnund had built a poet’s retreat on the top of the ridge in the direction of Egnund chapel, sitting on the ridge of an esker
Esker
An esker is a long winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America...
—a trace from the last ice age. Mortensson-Egnund worked there in the daytime during the summer, but used his farm Einabu for meals and lodging.
He lived at the Einabu farm with the poet’s retreat up along Norwegian Highway 29, near the Einunna river bridge, for much of his life. The main building from the 1870s stands still as it did in his time. Along the road there is a bust of Ivar Mortensson-Egnund carved by Trygve Dammen bust; it was unveiled on the 100-anniversary of his birth in 1957. The North Østerdal museum includes a display covering his history.
Revolutionary
Mortensson-Egnund was a powerful and intense revolutionary – he was arrested in 1881 when he led a rebellion in SkienSkien
' is a city and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Skien. Skien is also the administrative centre of Telemark county....
in support of Johan Sverdrup
Johan Sverdrup
Johan Sverdrup was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party. He was the first Prime Minister of Norway after the introduction of parliamentarism. Sverdrup was Prime Minister from 1884 to 1889.- Early years :...
, parliamentary reform and Nynorsk. He attempted to unify nationalism, anarchism, mysticism and religion in his poetry and his work.
In 1883 Mortensson-Egnund became editor of the paper “Fedraheimen”, where he served until 1889. Under Mortensson leadership the newspaper embraced the war against "the moneyed, ministers of state and imperialism". Mortensson called the magazine a "communist-anarchist organ for the country" and published extensive material from the international anarchist movement.
In 1888 Mortensson supported Garborg as Storting representative for Hedmark
Hedmark
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. The county administration is in Hamar.Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It includes a long part of the borderline with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The...
; the campaign was unsuccessful. The following year he held a 17th of May independence celebration in Tynset
Tynset
Tynset is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tynset.-Name:...
, where he argued against cowardliness of the members of the Norwegian Constitutional Assembly, but praised the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. He concluded by singing La Marseillaise
La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song, originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" was written and composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792. The French National Convention adopted it as the Republic's anthem in 1795...
for shocked farmers. He and Garborg resigned from the Liberals and formed a workers party for Tynset
Tynset
Tynset is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tynset.-Name:...
and Røros
Røros
is a town and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Røros. Other villages include Brekken, Glåmos, Feragen, Galåa, and Hitterdalen....
.
Fedraheimen ceased publication in 1891, two years after Mortensson-Egnund resigned as editor; his successor was Rasmus Steinsvik.
Mortensson-Egnund published the anarchist magazine Fridom (freedom) from 1896 to 1899, and corresponded with the well-known Russian Anarchist Pjotr Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin
Prince Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin was a Russian zoologist, evolutionary theorist, philosopher, economist, geographer, author and one of the world's foremost anarcho-communists. Kropotkin advocated a communist society free from central government and based on voluntary associations between...
(1842-1921) whose concept of voluntary cooperation influenced him greatly. At this time Mortensson-Egnund developed a theory that the Norwegian farmers in prehistoric times had lived in anarchic groups who he called samnøyter.
Priest
In 1909 Mortensson-Egnund was diocese curate in Hamar, and he was ordained as a priest in Norway the following year. Beginning in 1919 he was involved in translating the Bible into landsmålLandsmål
Landsmål, meaning "language of the land/country", was the name Ivar Aasen gave the Norwegian orthography he created in the 19th century. In 1885 it was adopted as an official language in Norway alongside Danish. In 1929, Landsmål was renamed Nynorsk...
. He received a Government stipend from 1929 forward.
Mortensson-Egnund’s friend Garborg had an interest in Theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
, and another of his closest friends, Marta Steinsvik
Marta Steinsvik
Marta Steinsvik was a Norwegian author and translator. She was a champion of women's rights and promoter of the use of Nynorsk. She was the first female to graduate from the Norwegian School of Theology.-Biography:...
, joined Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher...
’s Anthroposophy
Anthroposophy
Anthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development...
movement. After Steiner in 1913, broke out of the Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
and founded the Anthroposophical Society
Goetheanum
The Goetheanum, located in Dornach , Switzerland, is the world center for the anthroposophical movement. Named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the center includes two performance halls , gallery and lecture spaces, a library, a bookstore, and administrative spaces for the Anthroposophical...
, Mortensson-Egnund and his wife Karen were among Steiner's followers in Norwegian Vidar group. In 1915, when Vidar was the first magazine for Anthroposophy published in Norway, it opened with an article by Mortensson-Egnund that drew relationships with the mythological Víðarr.