Åke Ohlmarks
Encyclopedia
Åke Joel Ohlmarks is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) was a Swedish author, translator and scholar of religion
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
.
He worked as a Lecturer at the University of Greifswald from 1941 to 1945. Together with the Deutsche Christen
German Christians
The Deutsche Christen were a pressure group and movement within German Protestantism aligned towards the antisemitic and Führerprinzip ideological principles of Nazism with the goal to align German Protestantism as a whole towards those principles...
Wilhelm Koepp he founded the institute for religious studies there in 1944.
His most notable contribution to the field is his 1939 study of Shamanism
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
.
As a translator, he is notable for his Swedish version of the Icelandic Edda
Edda
The term Edda applies to the Old Norse Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, both of which were written down in Iceland during the 13th century in Icelandic, although they contain material from earlier traditional sources, reaching into the Viking Age...
, of Shakespeare's works
Complete Works of Shakespeare
Complete Works of William Shakespeare is the standard name given to any volume containing all the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. Some editions include several works which were not completely of Shakespeare's authorship , such as The Two Noble Kinsmen, a collaboration with John Fletcher, as...
and of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and works by Dante
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
, Nostradamus
Nostradamus
Michel de Nostredame , usually Latinised to Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties , the first edition of which appeared in 1555...
and others.
Translation of Tolkien's works
Ohlmarks translation of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings was strongly disliked by the author, prompting him to compile his Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings. Ohlmark not just invented many expression of his own, but also took great liberties with the contents of Tolkien's work, both by shortening many parts of it and by inserting his own interpretations.Tolkien was also dissatisfied by the title Sagan om ringen, "The Saga
Saga
Sagas, are stories in Old Norse about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, etc.Saga may also refer to:Business*Saga DAB radio, a British radio station*Saga Airlines, a Turkish airline*Saga Falabella, a department store chain in Peru...
of the Ring".
As a result of the severe criticism directed against his translation of The Lord of the Rings, both by Tolkien himself and by Swedish Tolkien fandom
Tolkien fandom
Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle-earth legendarium which includes The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion...
, Ohlmarks in the late 1970s began to display hostility towards the "Tolkien phenomenon", and in 1982 published a book titled "Tolkien and Black Magic
Black magic
Black magic is the type of magic that draws on assumed malevolent powers or is used with the intention to kill, steal, injure, cause misfortune or destruction, or for personal gain without regard to harmful consequences. As a term, "black magic" is normally used by those that do not approve of its...
,"
expounding a conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
connecting Tolkien and Tolkien fandom with Nazi occultism.
Despite the criticism and controversy, Ohlmarks's translations remained the only Swedish-language translations of Tolkien's work until 2004.
Academic
- 1936, Isländska hov och gudahus, in: Bidrag till nordisk filologi tillägnade Emil Olson den 9 juni 1936, S.339-355.
- 1936, Totenerweckung in Eddaliedern, in: Arkiv för nordisk filologi 52, S 264-297.
- 1937, Heimdalls Horn und Odins Auge. Studien zur nordischen und vergleichenden Religionsgeschichte, Erstes Buch (I-II) Heimdallr und das Horn, LundLund-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...
. - 1939, Studien zum Problem des Schamanismus, Lund.
- 1939, Anmärkningar och genmäle angående Heimdall, in: Arkiv för nordisk filologi 54, S. 354-363.
- 1939, Arktischer Schamanismus und altnordischer Seiðr, in: Archiv für Religionswissenschaft 36, S. 171-180.
- 1941, Stellt die mythische Bifrost den Regenbogen oder die Milchstrasse dar? Eine textkritisch-religionshistorische Untersuchung zur mythographischen Arbeitsmethode Snorri Sturlusons, (Meddelande från Lunds astronomiska observatorium, Ser. II Nr. 110), Lund.
- 1941, Das Grabschiff. Studien zur vorgeschichtlichen nordischen Religionsgeschichte, i: Zeitschrift für systematische Theologie 18, S. 150-158.
- 1943, Studien zur altgermanischen Religionsgeschichte. 4 Aufsätze, Leipzig.
- 1943, Die klassischen Isländersagas und ihr Ehrbegriff, in: Grundmann, Walter (Hg.), Die völkische Gestalt des Glaubens, Leipzig, S. 157-220.
- with Lars Åkerberg (1944), Thomas ThorildThomas ThorildThomas Thorild , was a Swedish poet, critic, feminist and philosopher....
als Vorläufer der neuzeitlichen Religionswissenschaft, Greifswald. - 1944, Alt-Uppsala und Urnes. Untersuchung zur Entstehung der Dreischiffstabkirche und des ältesten germanisch-heidnischen Kulthauses, (Meddelande från Lunds astronomiska observatorium, Ser. II Nr. 115), Lund.
- 1944, Alt-Uppsala und Arkona, in: Vetenskapssocieteten i Lund, Årsbok 1943, Lund, S. 79-120.
- 1945, „Toalettredskapen“ och solreligionen under yngre bronsåldern, in: Fornvännen 40, S. 337-358.
- 1946, Gravskeppet. Studier i förhistorisk nordisk religionshistoria, Stockholm.
- 1963, Hällristningarnas gudar. En sammanställning och ett förklarningsförsök, Stockholm.
- 1979, Vårt nordiska arv. från 10.000 f.Kr. till medeltidens början, Stockholm.
Autobiographical
- I paradiset. Levnadsminnen I, Uddevalla (1965).
- Doktor i Lund. En bok om akademiska intriger, Stockholm (1980).
- Efter mig Syndafloden. Greifswald-Berlin-Hamburg 1941-1945, Köping (1980).
Literature
- Fritz Heinrich, (1997), Das religionswissenschaftliche Institut der Ernst Moritz Arndt-Universität Greifswald 1944-1945, in: Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft 5, S. 203-230.
- Fritz Heinrich, (2002), Die deutsche Religionswissenschaft und der Nationalsozialismus. Eine ideologiekritische und wissenschaftsgeschichtliche Untersuchung, Petersberg.
- Gunnar Jarring, (1992–1994), Ohlmarks, Åke Joel, in: Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon Bd. 28, Stockholm, S. 111-117.
- Anders Marell, (1998), Åke Ohlmarks – schwedischer Lektor, Nazimitläufer und/oder Geheimagent?, in: Germanisten 1-3 Jg. 3, S. 93-100.
See also
- Translations of The Lord of the RingsTranslations of The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien appeared 1954–55 in the original English. It has since been translated, with various degrees of success, into dozens of other languages. Tolkien, an expert in Germanic philology, scrutinized those that were under preparation during his lifetime, and...
- Translations of The Lord of the Rings into Swedish