Magnus Olsen

Magnus Olsen
Magnus Olsen
Born	November 28, 1878; Arendal, Norway
Died	January 16, 1963 (aged 84); Oslo, Norway
Nationality	Norwegian
Spouse(s)	Gjertrud Mathilde Kjær (m. 1912)
Awards	Order of St. Olav; Grand Knight's Cross of the Order of the Falcon; Knight of the Order of the Polar Star;
Academic background
Alma mater	Royal Frederick University;
Academic advisors	Sophus Bugge; Oluf Rygh;
Academic work
Discipline	Old Norse philology;
Institutions	Royal Frederick University (later named the University of Oslo);
Notable students	Didrik Arup Seip
Main interests	Old Norse literature; Old Norse religion; Old Norse toponymy; Runology;
Notable works	Hedenske Kultminder i Norske Stedsnavne (1915); Ættegård og Helligdom (1926);

Magnus Bernhard Olsen (28 November 1878 – 16 January 1963) was a Norwegian philologist who specialized in Old Norse studies.

Born and raised in Arendal, Olsen received his degrees in philology at Royal Frederick University in Kristiania, where he became a protége of Sophus Bugge. Following the death of Bugge, Olsen succeeded him in 1908 as Professor of Old Norwegian and Icelandic Literature at Royal Frederick University. In this capacity, Olsen taught generations of Norwegian academics and teachers. His field of research cented on runology and Old Norse toponomy. Olsen was particularly interested in using evidence from runes and toponomy for the study of Old Norse religion. Olsen published a number of works on these subjects, which have been highly influential. He also edited a number of works, including the journal Maal og Minne, which was founded by him.

During the German occupation of Norway in World War II, Olsen served as dean at his university and was involved with the Norwegian resistance movement. In his later years, Olsen's research centered on the Eddas and Skaldic poetry, on which he authored a number of influential works. He is widely considered the foremost Norwegian philologist of his time.

Early life and education

Magnus Olsen was born in Arendal, Norway on 28 November 1878, the son of merchant Ole Christian Olsen (1834–1887) and Therese Evine Olsen (1843–1926). He grew up in Arendal, where he gained his examen artium in 1896. Olsen subsequently studied philology at Royal Frederick University in Kristiania, where he took courses in Latin, Greek, German and Norwegian.[1]

Since 1899, Olsen worked as a teaching assistant at Royal Frederick University. He came under the influence of the archaeologist and toponymist Oluf Rygh, and particularly the philologist Sophus Bugge.[1][2] Bugge was widely considered Norway's greatest philologist at the time, but was in the process of losing his eyesight, and Olsen served as his assistant since 1902. By this time, Bugge was preparing him to become his successor at the University. Olsen received his cand.philol. degree at the head of his class in 1903.[1]

Photograph of Sophus Bugge, who was Olsen's mentor and predecessor as Professor of Old Norwegian and Icelandic Literature at Royal Frederick University in Kristiania.

Upon graduating, Olsen was employed as a researcher at his university, where he became involved in the teaching of students.[3] In 1905–1906 he was in Copenhagen working on the publication of a critical edition of the Vǫlsunga saga and Ragnars saga loðbrókar.[2]

University professor

Following the death of Bugge, Olsen succeeded him in 1908 as Professor of Old Norwegian and Icelandic Literature at Royal Frederick University. He saw philology as the key to understanding life in the past, particularly the Viking Age. Olsen became widely regarded as the foremost Norwegian philologist of his time. He advocated an interdiciplinary approach to this subject. His main fields of interest were Old Norse literature, runology, and toponomy. Olsen was known for the boldness of this interpretations, and believed, like his mentor Bugge, that making an interpretation rooted in sound methodology was better than making no interpretation at all. At the University, he was considered brilliant teacher but feared examinator. He saw is teaching and research as the best way he could serve his fatherland.[1] Olsen ensured that students of high ability had their works published.[3] He also ensured that a fund was established to make help students from poor families gain a university education. Olsen supervised the education of generations of Norwegian academics and teachers.[3] Together with scholars such as Carl Marstrander, Olsen developed Royal Frederick University into one the world's leading institutions on Germanic philology. Among the students who took courses under Olsen are Lee M. Hollander.[4]

In 1909, Olsen founded the journal Maal og Minne, which he personally edited for forty years. The first issue included his inaugural lecture on the Skírnismál, in which he presented parallels between Njörðr of Norse mythology and Nerthus mentioned by Tacitus.[2] Olsen married Gjertrud Mathilde Kjær, daughter of university librarian Johan Albert Julius Kjær (1852–1941) and Johanne Marie Torp (1863–1948), on 28 June 1912.[1] Between 1910 and 1924, Olsen authored three volumes of the monumental Norske Gaardnavne, which examined the toponomy of Norwegian farms.[1] The third volume was authored by Olsen together with Just Knud Qvigstad.[5] Olsen eventually assumed responsibility for the publication of this series, and had assisted its prior publisher Oluf Rygh.[5] Two of his best known publications are Hedenske kultminder i norske stedsnavne (1915) and Ættegård og helligdom (1926), which used toponymic evidence to examine Old Norse religion. These pioneering works made significant contributions to scholarship.[1] Notably, the evidence presented by Olsen showed that the Norse gods were venerated not only as creatures from another world, but as powers intertwined with the environment of the people. His Ættegård og helligdom was eventually translated into English and published under the title Farms and Fanes of Ancient Norway (1928).[2] Gabriel Turville-Petre mentions Olsen along with Georges Dumézil and Jan de Vries as one of the most influential scholars on Old Norse religion.[6]

The Tjängvide image stone depicts the Old Norse god Odin entering Valhalla on his horse Sleipnir. Old Norse religion and runology was of particular interest to Olsen's research.

His research on runology was significant. Following the death of Bugge, Olsen succeeded him as the publisher of Norges innskrifter med de ældre runer volumes (Norwegian Runic Inscriptions in the Older Runes), which examined Elder Futhark inscriptions in Norway. By 1924, it had been published in five volumes. Between 1941 and 1960, he published his subsequent Norges innskrifter med de yngre runer (Norwegian Inscriptions in the younger Runes) in five volumes. This work examined Younger Futhark inscriptions in Norway. Vols. 3–5 were published in cooperation with Aslak Liestøl.[2] Olsen was convinced that runes were not merely used as an instrument for communication, but that they were also believed to have magical purposes.[1]

World War II

During the German occupation of Norway in World War II, Olsen distinguished himself as a fierce opponent of Nazism, and was close to the resistance movement at the University. He was among the professors at the University of Oslo who on 15 May 1941 issued a public protest against the crimes of Josef Terboven against the Norwegian people.[3] Upon the arrest of Francis Bull by the German authorities, Olsen replaced him as acting dean at the University of Oslo.[1] On 15 October 1943, he was arrested by the German occupation authorities and interned at Bredtveit internment camp. Olsen was however quickly released, and continued his involvement with the resistance.[3]

Later career

Olsen retired from his professorship upon reaching the age limit in 1948, but continued to write and research.[5] He was appointed a Commander of the Order of St. Olav in 1945. He was also a recipient of the Grand Knight's Cross of the Order of the Falcon and the Knight of the Order of the Polar Star, and a recipient of honorary doctorates from several universities. Olsen was a member of a large number of scholarly societies, including the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, and a corresponding member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities.[1][2]

During his last years, Olsen made important contributions to the field of Eddaic studies.[2][3] His Edda- og skaldekvad. Forarbeider til kommentar, published in seven volumes between 1960 and 1964, examined the Eddas and Skaldic poetry. It contributed to the development of a relative chronology for these works.[2] Throughout his career, he authored hundreds of scholarly books and articles.[1] Olsen died on Oslo, Norway on 16 January 1963.[1]

Selected publications

Norges innskrifter med de ældre runer volumes 1 – 4. Oslo 1891–1924. with Sophus Bugge.
Völsunga saga ok Ragnars saga loðbrókar, Copenhagen 1906–1908. Samfund til udgivelse af gammel nordisk litteratur 36.
(editor) Oluf Rygh. Søndre Bergenhus Amt. Norske gaardnavne 11. Oslo 1910.
Hedenske Kultminder i Norske Stedsnavne. Kristiania 1915.
(editor) Oluf Rygh. Stavanger Amt. Norske gaardnavne 10, Oslo 1915.
(editor with Just Knud Qvigstad) Oluf Rygh. Finmarkens Amt. Norske gaardnavne 18. Oslo 1924.
Ættegård og Helligdom, Norske Stednavn Sosialt og Religionshistorisk Belyst. Oslo 1926, 2nd ed. Oslo 1978.
Norrøne studier, Oslo 1938.
Farms and Fanes of Ancient Norway: The Place-Names of a Country Discussed in Their Bearings on Social and Religious History. Tr. Th. Gleditsch. Oslo 1928.
Hva Våre Stedsnavn Lærer Oss. Oslo 1934, 2nd ed. Oslo 1971, 1973.
Norges innskrifter med de yngre runer volumes 1 – 5. Oslo 1941, 1951, 1954, 1957, 1960. — Volumes 3 – 5 with Aslak Liestøl.

References

Rindal, Magnus (13 February 2009). "Magnus Olsen". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
Fjeld Halvorsen, E. (2002). "Olsen". Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. 21. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 97–100. ISBN 3-11-017351-4.
Seip, Didrik Arup (18 January 1963). "Magnus Olsen død" [Magnus Olsen is dead]. Aftenposten. p. 3.
Schulz-Berend, George; Lehmann, Winfred P.; Miller, David L.; Wilson, A. Leslie (1976). "In Memoriam: Lee M. Hollander" (PDF). University of Texas at Austin. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2003. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
"Magnus Olsen". Great Norwegian Encyclopedia. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
Turville-Petre 1964, p. IX.