Hans Christensen Sthen

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Sthen's emblem  - a rooster with a trumpet - and motto : Sic et non aliter  - "So and not otherwise"

Hans Christensen Sthen (born November 25, 1544 in Roskilde ; † April or May 1610 in Malmö , then Kingdom of Denmark ) was a Danish Lutheran pastor , writer of edification and hymn poet . He is considered the "founder of the national Danish hymn poetry".

Life

Sthen's parents died early. There are no sources about his school and university days, but there is much to suggest that he studied in Copenhagen and Germany.

In 1565 he became rector of the Latin school in Helsingør , and the following year he was preacher at St. Olai Church . In 1567 he married for the first time. The name of his first wife († 1602) is not known. From 1570 he was both pastor and school principal and also headed the choir of the Latin school. In 1581 he received his master's degree from the University of Copenhagen.

In 1583 he followed a call from Malmö City Council. He became pastor at the town church of St. Petri and provost for the administrative district of Oxie Herrad . The office was well endowed . Sthen became one of the wealthiest citizens, lived in a prestigious town house and owned a valuable library.

Sthen's dominant administration earned him opposition. In 1600 the city council tried unsuccessfully to move him. In 1602 he married Elline Olufsdatter († 1607). In 1607 he resigned from his offices. His final years were overshadowed by litigation with his children from his first marriage. After his death in 1610 he was buried in the St. Petri Church.

Publications

Sthen's publications are largely translations of German Lutheran edification writings. His main works are:

  • In liden Haandbog, som indeholder allehonde nyttige Øffuelser vdi Gudelighed oc smucke comfortably Bøner oc Loffsange, som mand kand daglige bruge (1578) ( digitized )
  • En liden Vandrebog: Indeholdendis atskillige smucke Bøner oc comfortably Sange, met nogle nyttige Lifs Regle i artige Rijm befattede (1589) ( full text )

He has had an after-effect primarily through his songs, some of which are based on German models, some of which are original creations. However, he was forgotten as the author and was not rediscovered until the middle of the 19th century. The current Danish hymnbook contains 16 songs by him. In the Evangelical Hymnbook (regional editions Lower Saxony-Bremen and Northern Elbia) you can find Wilhelm Thomas' transmission The day shine extinguished is his evening song Den lyse dag he went forward .

literature

  • Jens Lyster: Johannes Avenarius (Habermann), Johannes Mathesius and Nicolaus Selnecker as role models for the Danish theologian and song writer Hans Christensen Sthen (lecture 1999). In: Yearbook for Liturgy and Hymnology 2012, pages 222–233 ( partial digitization )

Web links

Commons : Hans Christensen Sthen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Den Danske Salmebog online
  2. ^ Evangelical hymn book, edition for the Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Lower Saxony and for the Evangelical Church in Bremen, No. 957
personal data
SURNAME Sthen, Hans Christensen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish Lutheran pastor, writer of edification and hymn poet
DATE OF BIRTH November 25, 1544
PLACE OF BIRTH Roskilde
DATE OF DEATH April 1610 or May 1610
Place of death Malmo