Alexander Bugge (30 December 1870, Christiania – 24 December 1929,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

historian.Alexander Bugge biography
from ''

Nordisk familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...

'' He was professor at the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

from 1903–1912, and his main fields of interest were culture and society in the

Viking era The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

and the development of trade and cities in Norway during the Middle Ages.

Personal life

Alexander Bugge was son of the Norwegian

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

and historian

Sophus Bugge Elseus Sophus Bugge (5 January 1833 – 8 July 1907) was a Norwegian philologist and linguist. His scholarly work was directed to the study of runic inscriptions and Norse philology. Bugge is best known for his theories and his work on the runic ...

and Karen Sophie, née Schreiner. On 16 December 1903 he married Marie Magdalene Graff.

Career

In the biography written for ''

Norsk biografisk leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. The first edition (NBL1) was issued between 1921 and 1983, including 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. It was published by Aschehoug with economic support from the state. bought the rights to ...

'',

Claus Krag Claus Krag (born April 21, 1943) is a Norwegian educator, historian, and writer. He is a noted specialist in Old Norse philology and medieval Norwegian history. Krag earned his Cand.philol. in 1969. He is Professor of History at Telemark Univers ...

described Bugge as having "an open and restlessly seeking mind", a trait he shared with his father who according to Krag was "one of the few genuine scholars of genius in Norwegian science". After passing his university exams in language and history in 1894, Bugge obtained a university scholarship the following year. In 1898, at the age of 28, he became a member of

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...

. In 1899 he published his

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

''Studier over de norske byers selvstyre og handel før Hanseaternes tid'' ("Studies Concerning the Norwegian Cities' Autonomy and Trade Before the Time of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

"), and obtained his dr.philos. degree. Bugge won an essay competition sponsored by the

Nansen Foundation Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...

in 1903 on the question "How or to which extend have the Norse, and particularly the Norwegians, culture, way of living and society been influenced from the Western Countries .e. the British Isles. During his work with this he learned the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

and did extensive studies of archives in

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and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Bugge succeeded

Gustav Storm Gustav Storm (18 June 1845 – 23 February 1903) was a Norwegian historian, a professor at the Royal Frederick University in Christiania from 1877. He was a driving force in the research of Scandinavian history and literature of the Middle ...

as professor of history at the Royal Frederick University in the summer of 1903. He published numerous scientific articles, his main sources being the early development of Norwegian cities and trade as well the cultural relations in the time of the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

s. He also edited and translated into English the complex Irish tract ''

Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil ''Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil'' ("The Victorious Career of Cellachán of Cashel")Donnchadh Ó Corráin writes that this title "was first given it by Eugene O'Curry in his transcript of the text. It has no title in the earliest copy, that in th ...

'' (''The Victorious Career of Cellachán of Cashel''), published in 1905. In addition to these scholarly works, he also contributed several popularly adapted works on history, such as his two volume work ''Vikingerne'' ("The Vikings") from 1905–06 and part of

Aschehoug H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard), commonly known as Aschehoug,() is one of the largest independent publishing companies in Norway, founded in 1872. Headquartered in Oslo, the publishing house has 480 employees. The Aschehoug group also comprises ot ...

's ''Norges historie'' ("History of Norway"), published 1910–12 concerning the time before the

Battle of Stiklestad The Battle of Stiklestad ( no, Slaget på Stiklestad, non, Stiklarstaðir) in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle, King Olaf II of Norway () was killed. During the pontificate of Pope Alexander III, ...

in 1030. Despite recognition as an excellent scholar and popular author, Bugge was not comfortable with his work as professor. According to

Halvdan Koht Halvdan Koht (7 July 1873 – 12 December 1965) was a Norwegian historian and politician representing the Labour Party. Born in the north of Norway to a fairly distinguished family, he soon became interested in politics and history. Star ...

, "being a teacher cost him uggeunspeakable hardships... ...in the end making him sick"Full quote in Norwegian: ''"Det kosta han eit useieleg strev å vere lærar, han kunde ikkje sleppe seg laus og gje seg fritt og friskt inn i arbeide med studentane, katetre vart beint fram ein redsel for han, så han til slutt vart reint sjuk"'' According to

, he also in suffered periods of serious problems related to alcohol. Bugge resigned his professorship in 1912. He remained a scholar and writer, giving lectures and publishing popular works on Norwegian history. Among other works, he published ''Illustreret verdenshistorie for hjemmet'' ("Illustrated World History for the Home"), in 9 volumes with more than 4000 pages, in the period 1920–29. Bugge was killed in an accident in Copenhagen on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

1929, at the age of 59 years.

Selected works

*
Vikingerne
' (1905–06) * "Bidrag til det sidste Afsnit af Nordboernes Historie i Irland", in
Aarbøger for nordisk oldkyndighed og historie, II
'. (Kongelige Nordiske oldskrift-selskab). Copenhagen: H. H. Thirles Bogtrykkeri. (1904) pp. 248–315 *

Duald Mac Firbis Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (), also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius (fl. 1643 – January 1671) was an Irish scribe, translator, historia ...

,
On the Fomorians and the Norsemen
'. Christiania: J. Chr. Gundersens Bogtrykkeri. (1905) *
Caithreim Cellachain Caisil
'. Christiania: J. Chr. Gundersens Bogtrykkeri. (1905) *''Norges historie fremstillet for det norske folk'' (1909–16) *''Der Untergang der norwegischen Schiffart im Mittelalter'' (1914) *''Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte'' (1914) *''Den norske sjøfarts historie'' (1923) *''Den norske trælasthandels historie'' (1925–28) *''Illustreret verdenshistorie for hjemmet'' (1920-29)

References and notes

;References ;Notes

External links

Alexander Bugge biografi (Heimskringla)

'' Alexander Bugge'' (lokalhistoriewiki.no)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bugge, Alexander 1870 births 1929 deaths Writers from Oslo Norwegian medievalists University of Oslo alumni University of Oslo faculty Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters