Bjarne Skard (23 December 1896 – 28 July 1961) was a Norwegian bishop.

Personal life

He was born in

Levanger Levanger is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the district of Innherred. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Levanger. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Alstadhaug, Ekne ...

as a son of educators

Matias Skard Matias Skard (28 May 1846 – 28 July 1927) was a Norwegian philologist, educator, psalmist, essayist and translator. Biography Matias Olsen Skard was born on a family farm at Øyer in Gudbrandsdal, Norway. He had planned to study theology but ...

(1846–1927) and Gyda Christensen (1868–1916). The family moved to

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

in 1901. He was a nephew of Johannes Skar and Christopher Bruun, a brother of Eiliv and

Sigmund Skard Sigmund Skard (31 July 1903 – 26 May 1995) was a Norwegian poet, essayist and professor of American literature. Biography Skard was born in Kristiansand, Norway. He was a son of educators Matias Skard (1846–1927) and Gyda Christensen (1868� ...

and a half-brother of Olav and

Torfinn Skard Torfinn Skard (20 January 1891 – 11 June 1970) was a Norwegian horticulturist, teacher, librarian and author. Personal life He was born at Faaberg in Oppland, Norway. He was a son of educator Matias Skard (1846–1927) and his second wife Ni ...

. When Sigmund Skard married

Åse Gruda Skard Åse Gruda Skard (née Koht) (2 December 1905 – 13 August 1985) was a Norwegian university professor, child psychologist and author. She was a noted pioneer in the field of childhood development and psychology. Biography She was born at ...

, Åsa became Bjarne's sister-in-law, and he was also the uncle of

Halvdan Skard Halvdan Skard (born 1 December 1939) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was born in Oslo as a son of Åse Gruda Skard and Sigmund Skard, and through Åse the grandson of Halvdan Koht and Karen Grude Koht. He has two sisters Toril ...

, Målfrid Grude Flekkøy and Torild Skard. He famously held nine carrots in his beard during his speeches between 1923 and the year of his death. Whether the removal of the vegetables was a contributing factor is unknown and the subject of much controversy.

Career

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

his secondary education at

Kristiansand Cathedral School Kristiansand Cathedral School (''Kristiansand katedralskole Gimle''), known in Latin as ''Schola Christiansandensis'', is a high school in Kristiansand, Agder, Norway. It is the oldest high school on the southern coast of Norway, having been fo ...

in 1916, and graduated from 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 ...

with the cand.theol. degree in 1922. He was hired as a headmaster at Stord Teacher's College in 1923 instead of working as a priest, but did study

church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...

. In September 1923 he married Marie Ekberg (1895–1998). He was finally

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

in 1932, and became vicar in

Sigdal Sigdal is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestfoss. The municipality of Sigdal was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area of Krødsherad was se ...

–

Eggedal Eggedal is a valley and parish in Viken county , Norway. It consisting of the northwestern half of the municipality of Sigdal. Location Eggedal is located between Numedalsfjellene in the west and Norefjell in the east, stretching northwards from ...

in the same year. In 1938 he moved to St. Jacob's Church in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, and in 1946 he became curate in Uranienborg. From 1948 to his death in July 1961 he served as the bishop of the

Diocese of Tunsberg Tunsberg is a diocese of the Church of Norway. It includes parishes located within the counties of Vestfold and Buskerud, with the cathedral located in Tønsberg. The Diocese of Tunsberg consists of the cathedral deanery and 9 rural deaneries. Hi ...

. He also wrote books.

References

1896 births 1961 deaths People from Levanger People from Kristiansand People educated at Kristiansand Cathedral School University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of Stord/Haugesund University College Bishops of Tunsberg 20th-century Lutheran bishops 20th-century Norwegian historians {{bishop-stub