Ole Andreas Øverland

Ole Andreas Øverland (born March 17, 1855 in Trondheim , † June 20, 1911 in Kristiania ) was a Norwegian historian.

Family and youth

His parents were the tobacco worker and businessman Ole Andreas Øverland (1819–1871) and his wife Gjertine Birgitte Moe (1818–1881). His first marriage was on January 24, 1884 in Kristiania Charlotte Louise Weltzin (January 24, 1864– April 28, 1900), daughter of the representative and major of the vigilante Ludvig Joachim Weltzin (* 1828) and his wife Karen Judithe Jakobine Tausan (* 1832). In his second marriage on March 17, 1902, he married the former special education teacher Oline Regine Brun (December 31, 1858– December 25, 1913), daughter of the businessman Ole Christian Brun (* 1829) and his wife Anne Størvold (* 1832).

Øverland grew up in Trondheim. He first went to a secondary school, then to the cathedral school in Trondheim. In 1873 he passed the exam artium. Two years later he passed the Examen philosophicum. He then worked as an assistant teacher in Trondheim. In 1878 he moved to Christiania, where he perfected his philosophical and historical knowledge. But he had been in poor health all his life, which is why he did not take a state examination. He's also had success with his historical work.

His historical work

Book cover for Illustreret Norges Historie from 1893.

His first work Armfeldts Tog Nordenfjelds 1718 appeared in 1879. From 1879 to 1885 he was employed in the Reichsarchiv, where he repeatedly discovered new material that he used in his later works. In 1880 he received a grant from the legacy of Peter Andreas Munch , which gave him greater financial independence. From 1885 to 1895 his seven-volume Illustreret Norges Historie was published , which covers the events up to 1814. The project was suggested by Jacob B. Bull because nobody had tackled this task before. The work was initially published in monthly supplements to the Folkebladet , in which Bull was editor-in-chief. Some well-known historians under the leadership of Ernst Sars applied for financial support for the work in Storting, which was also approved, so that Øverland could work on it full time. Norges Historien was also published as a magnificent 12-volume illustrated edition, of which 20,000 copies were sold.

Øverland worked hard and was extremely productive. He also edited a seven-volume edition of Norges historiske fortællinger (Historical Tales of Norway), then wrote Norges historie 1814–1902 , Da vort kongepar kom and Utvalgte historiske fortællinger . He also wrote special literature : Vikingtog og Vinlandsfærder , Korstogenes Historie and De norske bygdemagasiner (The Norwegian municipal storage magazines ). As part of the history of workers, he wrote a fundamental work on the abstinence movement, as well as a series of biographies and genealogies. But he also did research in the field of sociology. So he worked on the witch trials. In addition, he wrote textbooks and was a sought-after speaker, especially for continuing education courses for teachers.

Øverland is one of Norway's most prolific historians, both in terms of the scope of his work and the quality.

Works

• "Armfeldts Tog Nordenfjelds 1718". In: Historiske Tidskrift series 2, volume 2. 1880, pp. 193-259
• Huset Bernadotte . 1882
• Professor Dr. Ludvig Daae. En biografisk Skisse . 1884
• Illustreret Norges Historie , 5 volumes in 7, 1885–95 (popular edition in 12 volumes 1887–1898) Volume I up to the year 1019
• Lærebog i Norges nyeste historie . 1886
• Together with OG Lundh Norske Rigs-registranter . Volume 9 (1648-1649). 1887
• Lærebog i Norges historie for folkeskolerne , 2 volumes 1887–1888
• Fra en svunden tid . Sagn and optegnelser. 1888
• Kristiania Arbeidersamfunds Virksomhed i Tidsrummet 1864–1889. Tilbageblik og Oversigt . 1889
• “Holbergiana”, special print by Bogvennen No. 7/1895
• Norske historiske Fortællinger . 7 volumes. 1895–1898 (published in notebooks - 33 notebooks, four of which were not written by him. ( Fortællingen om Ravnkel Freysgode (Fortællinger No. 6); Sagaen om Torstein Hvite (Fortællinger No. 28).
• Vikingtog and Vinlandsfærder . 1896
• Af Sagnet og Historien , 1897
• Borgerne paa Fredrikshald. Skildringer fra krigen aar 1716 . 1897
• Korstogenes history . 1900
• Colonel Hans Helgesen . 1903
• Thraniterbevægelsen . 1903
• Since before the congregation com. Mindeblad from Norges nyeste historie . 1906
• Det Kgl. Selskap for Norges Vels Historie gjennem hundre Aar 1809–1909 . 1909
• The norske bogtrykkerforening 1884–1909, med træk af boghaandverkets historie og arbeidskaar i Norge. Et festskrift . 1909
• De norske bygdemagasiner , (posthumously) 1913

Remarks

1. ↑ The "Examen artium" was the regular entrance examination to the university, in this case the University of Copenhagen, which required knowledge of Latin and Greek. So it corresponded to the Abitur, but was accepted by the university until 1883.
2. ↑ The Examen philosophicum was the completion of the Studium Generale and a prerequisite for further studies in a certain subject.
3. ↑ The Swedish general Carl Gustaf Armfelt started a badly prepared and unsuccessful campaign against Trondheim in 1717. On the march the troops ran into a snowstorm in which ² / ₃ died of soldiers.

literature

• Terje Bratberg: Article “Ole Andreas Øverland” in: Norsk biografisk leksikon . Retrieved February 13, 2010.