Andrias Christian Evensen
Andrias Christian Evensen (born December 6, 1874 in Viðareiði , Faroe Islands , † October 21, 1917 in Copenhagen ) was a Faroese clergyman, politician, textbook author and linguist . Together with his friend Jákup Dahl , Andrias Evensen was one of the pioneers of the Faroese language at the turn of the century .
Family and youth
Andrias Evensen was born in 1874 to Anna Maria Nicolina, née Lützen, from Tórshavn and Jens Christian Evensen (1840–1904) from Hvalba . His father was a pastor and later provost of the Faroe Islands. His maternal grandfather was the businessman and teacher Andreas Christian Lützen (1813–1874).
Andrias married Cornelia Engelsted from Copenhagen and her second marriage was Kristina Maria Joensen from Skarvanes .
Evensen went to secondary school in Tórshavn and from 1890 to the Sorø Academy , where he graduated from high school in 1894. He then studied theology in Copenhagen, where he took his theological exam in 1901. In Sorø he got into a deep mental crisis in which he lost faith in God and people. In 1894 he wrote to his father that only his love for the Faroese language had brought him out of the crisis.
The linguist
From then on Evensen became a pioneer of the Faroese. So he courageously polemicized against his father's friend and colleague, Pastor Emil Bruun , who rejected Faroese as the church language and continued to prefer Danish:
“Pastor Bruun should really preach for us in English, which can now be called a world language. Understanding will by no means fail, as he assures us that "if you talk to foreigners about the things that belong to God's kingdom, that is how it works" "
He set to work to write a Faroese dictionary ( Føroysk orðabók ) and to translate the Bible . He did not complete the dictionary, but it formed one of the foundations for the first “real” Faroese-Danish dictionary by Mads Andreas Jacobsen and Christian Matras in 1928. His friend Jákup Dahl took over the translation of the Bible.
He also studied Old Norse and taught Faroese for Faroese in Copenhagen. In Copenhagen he belonged to the circle of friends of Janus Djurhuus and Jákup Dahl .
He turned against the Broyting spelling reform of the Faroese linguist Jakob Jakobsen , who wanted to distance himself from the etymologizing orthography of Hammershaimb , towards a more phonetic written language.
Evensen recognized early on that enforcing Faroese not only includes legal rights, but also the publication of Faroese texts for churches and schools. Therefore, he also dealt with the publication of reading books for mother tongue lessons - for children as well as adults and teachers.
In 1901 Evensen was together with Jákup Dahl, Janus Djurhuus founder and board member of the first Faroese student association Grani (after the horse of Sigurd the dragon slayer). At Evensen's initiative, the members engaged in translations of texts into the Faroese language in order to get used to it and "to make the language smoother". In fact, it became Grani's main concern to work on and with the Faroese language. Personalities such as Jakob Jakobsen, Fríðrikur Petersen and Poul Effersøe also took part in the meetings.
Evensen suggested that the association publish a magazine in the Faroese language. It appeared in 1902 under his direction for about a year and had the title Búreisingur "Siedler". Together with Sverri Patursson's Fuglaframi, these were the only magazines in the Faroe Islands in 1902 that appeared in the local language. The last issue of Fuglaframi appeared on July 8th 1902 and of Búreisingur on November 15th. Evensen wrote in the last issue that his position as pastor no longer allowed him to write more than half of the newspaper alone and that he was disappointed by those who promised him help but wrote nothing. As an exception, he named Rasmus Rasmussen .
The student association Grani was dissolved again in 1905, but its main work, the development of the Faroese language, was carried on by its protagonists in their "bourgeois life", namely Evensen, Jákup Dahl and Janus Djurhuus.
In 1906 Evensen was the successor to Rasmus Christoffer Effersøe and the last editor-in-chief of Føringatíðindi .
In 1908 Evensen and Rasmus Rasmussen founded Hitt føroyksa Bókmentafelagið , the Faroese Literary Society, which published some books but was dissolved again in 1912.
The clergyman
On March 8, 1902, Andrias Evensen was appointed pastor of Sandur and moved from Denmark back to the Faroe Islands in May of that year. He served in Sandur Church until 1917 .
So he suddenly got into the situation of marrying his friend Janus Djurhuus, who had rushed over from Denmark, to Anna Christiansen, who shortly before gave birth to Djurhuus' daughter Hjørdis.
In 1912 he was offered the prospect of becoming pastor of Südstreymoy , and thus Tórshavns . For his work with the Faroese language it would have been a practical advantage to live in the spiritual center of the country - but his equally qualified friend Jákup Dahl got the longed-for position.
Shortly before his death, he was appointed provost of the Faroe Islands, but died in October. His successor was Jákup Dahl.
The politician
As a political person, Andrias Evensen was a member of the Føroyingafelag , the "Faroese Association", during his time in Copenhagen . From 1896 to 1901 he sat on the board and from 1896 to 1899 he was chairman.
At home he was a member of the Faroese Løgting from 1908 to 1917 , including a member of the nationalist Sjálvstýrisflokkurin until 1914 . As early as 1912, he was increasingly at odds with the party line, which for him was too dependent on the ultimate goal of Faroese independence, instead of simultaneously striving for improvements.
The last few years
With his Lesibók , Evensen created his last and most important reading book in 1912, in which authors such as Janus and Hans Andrias Djurhuus and Jóannes Patursson are represented. But the year was marked by precipitation:
- He could never get over the fact that he did not get the parish office in Tórshavn.
- He was at odds with his party, so that in 1914 he left disaffected.
- He could no longer stand up for the literary society with his fortune,
- and there was also an old back ailment that worsened so much that he went to Denmark for treatment in 1914/15. From there he returned “just as sick as he came”.
For the Løgtings elections in 1916 Evensen ran as a non-party in his constituency Sandoy . Since it became known shortly after the New Year that he was going to compete, his old companion Kristin í Geil threatened to publicize an affair about an unclear fatherhood of a girl in Vágur who the real father Janus Djurhuus thought was Evensen's child. Evensen turned the tables and published Kristin í Geil's letter in the newspaper Dimmalætting .
On election day, February 28, 1916, Andrias Evensen was re-elected, and it also became apparent that his participation in the election would not have changed the feared stalemate between Sjálvstýrisflokkurin and Sambandsflokkurin . However, since the letter was published, a public campaign against Evensen that has lasted about nine months has been waged. Djurhuus stayed out of the scandal, which led to all kinds of speculation about the extent to which he would have let down his old Grani friend.
After the provost Fríðrikur Petersen died on April 26, 1917, his previous vicar Andrias Evensen was appointed his successor on July 19. But Evensen's health deteriorated rapidly and he had to return to Denmark for treatment in late summer or early autumn. It was found there that he suffered from a serious stomach disease in addition to his back pain. After three operations, he died on October 21, 1917.
He was buried on October 26, 1917 at Vestre Kirkegård in Copenhagen.
On May 19, 2008 AC Evensen will be honored with a stamp from Postverk Føroya .
Works
- Skálkaleikur. Mortansmessuteiti . 1900 (cabaret, written either by Jákup Dahl or Evensen)
- Búreisingur , tíðarrit, 1902 ("Siedler" magazine, read online )
- Føroysk orðabók , 1. – 10.hft., 1905–06 (Faroese dictionary)
- Føroysk lesibók fyri eldri børn , 1906 (Faroese reading book for older children)
- Stavingarbók , 1907 (Reader for first language acquisition)
- Stavingarbók og lesibók fyri yngri børn , 1907 ( reader for first language acquisition and reader for younger children)
-
Lesibók fyri yngri børn , 1908 (reading book for younger children)
- Harubókin 1963 (fourth revised edition)
- Savn til Føroya søgu í 16. øld 1908–14 (collection on Faroese history in the 16th century)
- Kvæðabók I , 1910 (ballad book)
- Lesibók , 1911 (reader)
- Lesibók til læraraskúlan , 1912 ( reader for the teachers' seminar)
literature
- Hanus Kamban : JHO Djurhuus . En litteraer biografi. Odense Universitetsforlag, Odense 2001 ( Odense University studies in Scandiavian language and literature ; 46th - 2 volumes, I .: 1881–1922, II .: 1922–1948. In Danish)
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kamban I., 132
- ^ Translation from Danish. Kamban 2001 I., 362, note 15
- ^ Christian Matras: Føroysk-donsk orðabók . 1961 (Formæli (preface))
- ↑ Janus Djurhuus: Hitt føroyska studentafelagið í Keypmannahavn 25 ár. Copenhagen 1935 (Kamban I., 136)
- ↑ Búreisingur No. 6 of November 15, 1902, 18
- ↑ Kamban I., 185
- ↑ Kamban I., 297
- ↑ Janus Djurhuus in a letter to his wife Anna, May 10, 1915 (Kamban I., 297)
- ↑ Kamban I., 306
- ↑ Kamban I., 308 (he writes that the biographies of AC Evensen and Kristin í Geil still have to be written in order to come to a judgment here)
- ↑ Kamban I., 134 f.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Evensen, Andrias Christian |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Evensen, AC |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Faroese linguist, provost and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 6, 1874 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Viðareiði , Faroe Islands |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 21, 1917 |
| Place of death | Copenhagen |