William Brede Kristensen

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William Brede Kristensen

William Brede Kristensen (born June 21, 1867 in Kristiansand , † September 25, 1953 in Leiden ) was a Norwegian-Dutch church historian .

Life

William Brede was the son of pastor Kristen Nicolai Kristensen (1838-1916) and his wife Emilie Karoline Björnsen (1841-1929). He attended school in Kristiansand, as well as Holum and the grammar school in Oslo. In 1884 he moved to the University of Oslo to study theology, where he attended the philosophical faculty under Alf Torp (born September 27, 1853 in Stryn; † September 26, 1916 in Oslo) and Jens Lieblein (born December 23, 1827 in Oslo; † August 13, 1911 ibid.) Dedicated to the oriental languages ​​Hebrew, Sanskrit and Egyptian. On October 7, 1890, he continued his studies at the University of Leiden with Cornelis Petrus Tiele , Abraham Kuenen and Johan Hendrik Caspar Kern . In 1894 Kristensen moved to Paris for further studies .

After completing his theological exam in Oslo, he worked at the Museum in London in 1895 , where he completed further studies for his doctorate. Returned to Oslo, he received his doctorate in philosophy on June 18, 1896 with the thesis Aegypternes forestillinger on livet efter döden i forbindelse med Ra og Osiris . Then he stayed again in Paris, where a long-lasting friendship with Nathan Söderblom made . In 1897 he qualified as a lecturer in church history at the University of Oslo and was appointed professor of theology at the University of Leiden on April 6, 1901, where his teaching assignment included church history and phenomenology . He took on this task on September 23, 1901 with the introductory speech Het verband tussen godsdienst en de zucht naar zelfbehoud .

The focus of his research was on the ancient Egyptian religion, the ancient Greek and Roman religion. In the academy year 1915/16 he was the rector of the alma mater . In 1898 he became a member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences , in 1911 a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences , in 1914 he received an honorary theological doctorate from the University of Groningen and in 1929 he became a Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion . On April 2, 1937, he retired at the age of 70. He then held guest lectures at Uppsala University and in 1946 at Oslo University.

family

Kristensen was married twice. His first marriage was on October 27, 1896 in Lillehammer with Anna Lunde (born November 24, 1870 - February 21, 1897), the daughter of the businessman Thorstein Lunde (1835-1902) and the Karen Theoline Davidsdatter Onsum (1842-98 ). His second marriage was April 25, 1916 in Amsterdam with Jacoba Heldring (* May 23, 1892; † December 11, 1984 in Oosterbeek), the daughter of pastor Jan Lodewijk Heldring (1852-1923) and his wife Geertruid Margaretha Jacoba van Eeghen (1854-1911) a. There are three children from the second marriage. We know of these:

  • Ingvar Kristensen (born February 11, 1913 in Leiden; † March 24, 1996) became a biologist. Theodora Schweig (born November 29, 1906 - † February 2, 2005)
  • Grunhild Kristensen (April 6, 1919 in Leiden; † January 21, 2002 in Oosterbeek) was married to a glass painter. Johannes Volkenborn (born November 29, 1904, † January 7, 1987 in Caracas)
  • Bjarne Kristensen (* July 1921 in Leiden) became pastor, married. February 13, 1951 in Apeldoorn with Hannie Fransz

Works (selection)

  • Egyptian forestillinger on livet efter döden i forbindelse med Ra og Osiris . Kristiansund, 1896
  • Het association tusschen godsdienst en de zucht tot zelfbehoud . Leiden, 1901.
  • Live fra dozen . Oslo 1923, Dutch: Het leven uit den dood. Studiën over Egyptischen en Oud-Griekschen godsdienst . Haarlem 1926, 2nd edition 1949, English Life out of death . Leuven, 1992
  • Verzamelde Bijdragen tot kennis der antieke godsdiensten . Amsterdam, 1947
  • Symbool en werkelijkheid . Arnhem, 1954
  • Study of religious history . Oslo, 1954, Dutch: Inleiding tot de godsdienstgeschiedenis . Arnhem, 1955
  • Symbool en werkelijkheid. Een bundel godsdiensthistorische studiën , Arnhem, 1954
  • The Meaning of Religion, Lectures in the Phenomenology of Religion . The Hague, 1960, 1971 (translated by John B. Carman)

literature

  • A. de Buck: Levens report W. B Kristensen. In: Jaarboek van de Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam 1953-1954. Amsterdam, pp. 295–305 ( Online PDF )
  • HJ Ponsteen: Kristensen, William Brede. In: Biografisch Lexicon voor de Geschiedenis van het Nederlands protestantisme. 1998, Vol. 4, p. 266
  • Prof. Dr. WB Kristensen will be tomorrow 85 years. In: Nieuwe Leidsche Courant. June 20, 1952, p. 3 ( online )
  • Prof. WB Kristensen, Eervol ontslag as hoogleeraar te suffering. In: Leidsche Courant. April 5, 1937, p. 1 ( online )
  • Sigurd Hjelde: W Brede Kristensen. In: Norsk Biografisk Leksikon. ( Online )

Web links

Commons : William Brede Kristensen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Kristensen at the Dutch Literature Digital Library
  • Kristensen in the professorial catalog of the University of Leiden
  • Kristensen at the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences