Paul Botten-Hansen

Paul Botten-Hansen

Paul Botten-Hansen (born December 26, 1824 in Sel ; † July 7, 1869 in Christiania ) was a Norwegian literary critic, bibliographer and librarian.

He was the illegitimate child of the hiking school teacher Hans Paulsen (1802–?) And the Ragnhild Johannesdatter Botten (1802–1845) and grew up with their parents. On October 27, 1861, he married Johanne Evine Karine Elisabeth Sang (February 27, 1833–1917), daughter of the pastor in Romsdal Ole Christian Sang and his wife Petronelle Elisabeth Kreutz.

youth

At the age of fifteen he came to Lillehammer in 1839 , where he carried out some office work and was also preparing for the examen artium and was well-read. In 1847 he went to Christiania , where he passed his exams and began studying. He also worked as a tutor in Valdres and taught at a private school in Christiania. Here he soon met the philologist and textbook author Jakob Løkke and the later philologist and teacher Michael Birkeland . They belonged to the student generation from 1848. The same generation included the lawyer Ole Andreas Bachke , Sophus Bugge , the theologian Erik Frederik Barth Horn and the theologians Peter Blessing , Arnoldus Hille , Ole Holck and Ole Irgens , who came from the Bergensschule and who were close friends with each other used. He was also friends with Aasmund Olavsson Vinje and Henrik Ibsen . At the beginning of the 1950s he formed a group of young intellectuals who came to be known as “ Det lærde Holland ”. This group dealt mainly with contemporary literature in Norway, but also in Denmark.

journalism

In 1851 his dramatic poem Huldrebrylluppet (Demon Wedding) appeared in Andhrimner , a political-satirical newspaper published by him, Ibsen and Vinje. The work received little attention, which depressed him so much that he did not want to tackle any further poetry, although friends like Ibsen encouraged him to do so. It was his job to comment on other people's poetry and not to produce his own. In the autumn of 1851 the weekly newspaper Illustreret Nyhetsblad was founded by the Pole Dzwonkowski on the model of London Illustrated News , L'illustration and Illustrirte Zeitung , and Botten-Hansen was editor-in-chief until 1865. The paper abstained from commenting on political and personal disputes; rather, it aimed for simplicity and comprehensibility, including on scientific topics. The main topics were the fatherland, its history, people and nature. The first issue discussed Henrik Wergeland's collected writings and Peter Andreas Munch's Det norske Folks Historie , both of which had just appeared. The paper soon became the highest authority on literature. Many important authors often contributed to the paper without paying a fee. Much of Løkke's and Daae's earliest work appeared in Nyhetsbladet . Also Oluf Rygh and Michael Birkeland began there her literary career. Ibsen published his poetry from the time of his second stay in Christiania here. Contributions by Henrik Jørgen Huitfeldt-Kaas appeared around 1860 . Botten-Hansen's acquaintance with Erich Christian Werlauff led to many contributions from this Danish scholar in his paper, which thereby also gained greater attention in Copenhagen. In 1854 Botten-Hansen moved into the house Rådhusgata, at that time No. 28 at the corner of Kongens gate. Dzwonkowski moved to France in 1854, and Botten-Hansen managed to find an interest group for the publication from 1855 to 1856. Nevertheless, the paper now seemed to be dying, even though it had around 1,000 subscribers. Even so, the costs exceeded the income. But Johan Sebastian Welhaven , Peter Christen Asbjørnsen , Marcus Jacob Monrad , Ole Jacob Broch , Munch and Wergeland's doctor Frederik Christian Schübler promised support. In return, Botten-Hansen offered a larger space in his newspaper for literary articles. He asked the publishers to send him a copy of new works as soon as possible for announcement and discussion, against payment, because he feared that otherwise he would be made dependent on the publishers. From 1857 the sheet was published by HJ Jensen. At the end of 1861 Jonas Lie took over ³ ⁄ _{4 of} the sheet. He attached great importance to the economic aspect and ensured that no political articles, apart from colorless overview articles, were included, not a word about the introduction of the jury in the criminal process and the consular conflict with Sweden. But this literary orientation missed the interests of the subscribers. They wanted news and illustrations. In March 1864, Botten-Hansen resigned from the editorial office after he became a university librarian. Changed conditions meant that the numerous authors who were friends with Botten-Hansen gradually withdrew from the paper. In 1865 he was again responsible for the literature page, but in 1866 the publication was discontinued for financial reasons.

career

In 1856 he became an assistant in the Reichsarchiv and in 1860 an assistant in the university library. In 1864 he became a university librarian. His main activity as a librarian was now bibliography. Together with Sigw. Petersen published the Norsk bokfortegnelse (Norwegian book directory) from 1848-1865 . For the Paris World's Fair he wrote the handbook La Norvège littéraire on Norwegian literature of the 19th century. He was a manic book collector and had the largest private library of his time in the country.

He died of lung disease at the age of 45.

Remarks

The article is essentially taken from the Norsk biografisk leksikon . Any other information is shown separately.

1. ↑ Wanderlehrer (omgangsskolelærer) was a teacher who taught in several schools.
2. ↑ Entrance exam for admission to studies, corresponds to the Abitur, but was accepted by the university.
3. ↑ Ording p. 5.
4. ↑ Ording, p. 46.
5. ↑ Ording, p. 47.
6. ↑ Ording, p. 49.
7. ↑ Ording p. 50.
8. ↑ Ording p. 51.
9. ↑ Ording, p. 53.
10. ↑ Ording p. 94.
11. ↑ Ording, p. 96.

literature

• Sigurd Aa. Aarnes: Article “Paul Botten-Hansen” in Norsk biografisk leksikon, accessed on October 8, 2009.
• Ording: Henrik Ibsens vennekreds Det lærde Holland. Et chapter av norsk kulturkiv. Grøndahl, Oslo 1927 ( Historisk Tidsskrift 1927, 3, 4, ISSN  0018-263X ).