Johan Storm Munch

Johan Storm Munch.

Johan Storm Munch (born August 31, 1778 in Vågå , Oppland , † January 26, 1832 in Kristiansand ) was a Norwegian Lutheran bishop and writer.

Life

His parents were pastor Peter Munch (1740–1802) and his wife Christine Sophie Storm (1746–1825).

He belonged to the last generation of clergymen of the Enlightenment movement in Norway and with his open sympathy for Sweden became the favorite of this government after 1814.

career

He was first taught by his father, then went to the University of Copenhagen, where he passed the exams with flying colors, but did not take the theological state examination as expected. 1800–1805 he was tutor to the Løvenskiold family at Løvenborg Manor on Sjælland . So he came together with the highest social classes in what was then the Danish-Norwegian Empire. In 1805 he became a resident chaplain in Skjeberg and lived with Marcus Rosenkrantz on his country estate in Hafslund. There he met the governor Prince Christian August . In 1808 he appointed him chaplain in the 1808/1809 campaign, but when he went to the field again in 1810, Munch was without a position. On March 9, 1810, he married Else Petronelle Hofgaard (* July 15, 1790 - June 10, 1879), daughter of the pastor and later farmer Andreas Hofgaard (1756-1826) and his wife Mette Abigael Petersen (1770-1853). Then he was given the task of teaching at the “ Prinds Christian Augusts Minde ” foundation for a year . Then he was tutor and writer in Christiania. Count Herman Wedel Jarlsberg gave him the pastor's post in Sande in 1813 and in 1817 he became pastor in Aker and chaplain in Akershus . Without government approval, he was appointed bishop in Kristiansand in 1823. He immediately fought against certain grievances that had arisen through the Enlightenment movement. The clergy in this movement had taken a lot of liberties in liturgy, attire and administration. He was also strongly committed to combating alcohol abuse. He was also a firm opponent of the mission and lay movement. Non-ordained preachers traveling around were prosecuted and clergymen who sympathized with the Moravians , for example , had to justify themselves publicly. In this context, his manifold conflicts with Pastor Gabriel Kielland on Finnøy became known .

Literary activity

Munch left no theological writings. In 1804 he published a translation of Virgil's Aeneid . In 1810 he wrote several eulogies for Christian August. Other translations were added later, for example Don Carlos von Schiller . These translations were very much appreciated by contemporaries. He also tried his hand at being an independent poet, inspired by Goethe , Schiller and last but not least by Adam Oehlenschläger . He was the first literary figure in Norway to be enthusiastic about Danish and German romanticism. His anthology Feldblomster appeared in 1813 and the national lyric play Præsten i Hallingdal in 1825 . In his works he proved himself to be a Norwegian patriot who extolled Norway's nature and history. 1816-1820 he published the magazine Saga . Here he and others translated pieces from saga literature. He tried to show the connection between the old Norwegian and contemporary Norwegian dialects. This is reflected in these translations in which he uses words inspired by Old Norse and dialects. This generated a great deal of debate and Munch was accused of wanting to make the Norwegian peasant language the Norwegian written language.

Honors

Johan Storm Munch was a member of " Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab " from 1823 . He received the Borgerdåds medal in gold in 1821, became a clerical member of the Swedish Nordstjärne Order in 1819 and received its commander's cross two days after his death.

Works (selection)

• Forsøg til en metrisk Oversættelse af Virgils Æneide . Copenhagen 1804
• Norges Farvel to Hans Kgl. Højhed Prinds Christian August Svearigets Kronprinds . 1810
• Mindetale over Christian August . 1810
• Translation by Don Karlos, Infant af Spain. Af Friedrich Schiller . 1812
• Fjeldblomster . 1813
• Saga . A quarterly journal 1–3, 1816–1820
• Farvel to Aggershuus-Slots and Aggers Menigheder . 1823
• Presten i Hallingdal eller: Hævnen . Kristiansand 1825
• Nogle titled Ord om Nødvendigheden af ​​at Indskrænke Brændevinets Misbrug , Kristiansand 1827

literature

The article is essentially based on the Norsk biografisk leksikon. Other information is specially marked.

• Arne Bugge Amundsen: Johan Storm Munch . In: Norsk biografisk leksikon
• Andreas Elviken: The Development of Norwegian Nationalism . Berlin 1930.
• E. Kavlan, C. Brinchmann: Munch, Johan Storm . In: Christian Blangstrup (Ed.): Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon . 2nd Edition. tape 17 : Mielck – Nordland . JH Schultz Forlag, Copenhagen 1924, p. 405 (Danish, runeberg.org ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Permanent chaplain in contrast to the traveling chaplains.
2. ^ "Prinds Christian Augusts Minde" was a foundation set up in 1809 to employ the poor.
3. ↑ Elviken p. 95.