Carl Oscar Munthe (12 December 1861 – 20 December 1952) was a Norwegian military officer and historian.

Personal life

He was born in

Elverum is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Elverum. Other settlements in the municipality include Heradsbygd, Sørskog ...

as a son of physician Christopher Pavels Munthe (1816–1884). He was a younger brother of historian and military officer

Hartvig Andreas Munthe Hartvig Andreas Munthe (9 December 1845 – 17 June 1905) was a Norwegian military officer, engineer and genealogist. Personal life He was born in Elverum as a son of physician Christopher Pavels Munthe (1816–1884). He was an older brother of p ...

, painter

Gerhard Munthe Gerhard Peter Frantz Munthe (19 July 1849 in Elverum, Hedmark – 15 January 1929 in Lysaker, Bærum) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. Background Munthe was born in Elverum to physician Christopher Pavels Munthe (1816–1884) and his wif ...

and writer

Margrethe Munthe Margrethe Aabel Munthe (27 May 1860 – 20 January 1931) was a Norwegian teacher, children's writer, songwriter and playwright. Personal life Margrethe Munthe was born in Elverum as the daughter of physician Christopher Pavels Munthe (1816–1884 ...

. He was also a nephew of historian and cartographer

and an uncle of genealogist

Christopher Morgenstierne Munthe Christopher Morgenstierne Munthe 14 July 1875 – 21 December 1939) was a Norwegian civil servant, military officer and genealogist. Biography He was a born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of colonel and historian Hartvig Andreas M ...

, librarian

Wilhelm Munthe Abraham Wilhelm Støren Munthe (20 October 1883 – 18 December 1965) was a Norwegian librarian and author. He worked at the University Library of Oslo from 1903 to 1953. Personal life Munthe was born in Oslo, Kristiania (now Oslo) as the son ...

and painter

Lagertha Munthe Lagertha Munthe (16 March 1888 – 25 March 1984) was a Norwegian painter. She was born in Kristiania as a daughter of Olaf Andreas Jens Wilhelm Munthe (1851–1914). She was a grandniece of historian and cartographer Gerhard Munthe, a niece of h ...

. Through his mother he was a nephew of

Andreas Leigh Aabel Morten Andreas Leigh Aabel (10 February 1830 – 9 May 1901) was a Norwegian physician and poet. Biography He was born at Sogndal in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. His father, Peter Pavels Aabel (1795-1869), was the vicar and senior priest in Sogndal ...

and

Oluf Andreas Aabel Oluf Andreas Aabel (9 October 1825 – 24 December 1895) was a Norwegian priest and writer. He was born in Sogndal as the son of priest Peter Pavels Aabel. He was a brother of Morten Andreas Leigh Aabel, and an uncle of Hauk Aabel. He finished h ...

, and a first cousin of

Hauk Aabel Hauk Erlendssøn Aabel (21 April 1869 – 12 December 1961) was a popular Norwegian comedian and actor in Norwegian and Swedish silent film. Career Aabel made his début on stage on 11 October 1897 at the Christiania Theatre in Oslo, and was ...

. In September 1893 he married Valborg Bøgh (1862–1925).

Career

His main career was with the military. He rose through the ranks; becoming premier lieutenant in 1886, captain in 1894, major in 1910, lieutenant colonel in 1911 and colonel in 1912. He was a teacher at the

Norwegian Military Academy The Norwegian Military Academy (), in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army and serves as the King's Royal Guard. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway. History The Commander- ...

from 1902 to 1916. He was then the commander of

Fredrikstad Fortress Fredrikstad fortress (''Fredrikstad festning'') was a fortification in Fredrikstad, Norway. It was the base of the Østfold Regiment, with defence related responsibilities for the east side of Oslofjord. History Fredrikstad Fortress was construct ...

from 1916 to 1924 and of

Bergenhus Fortress Bergenhus fortress ( no, Bergenhus festning) is a fortress located in Bergen, Norway. Located at the entrance of Bergen harbour, the castle is one of the oldest and best preserved stone fortifications in Norway. History The fortress contains ...

from 1924 to 1929. His first major work on military history was released in 1897, and several followed, except in the years when he was a fortress commander. The first work pertained to military officer Peder von Todderud and the chronicles he wrote during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

. In 1901 came a work about the

Hannibal War The Torstenson war, Hannibal controversy or Hannibal War ( no, Hannibalsfeiden) was a short period of conflict between Sweden and Denmark–Norway from 1643 to 1645 towards the end of the Thirty Years' War. The names refer to Swedish general Le ...

. The older history of the fortresses

Frederikshald Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...

and Frederikssten followed in 1906. In 1909 he biographed Johan Georg Ræder, a lieutenant colonel who lived from 1751 to 1808. After retiring as a commander, Munthe drifted away from military history, and instead drew his book topics from Medieval Norway themes. Munthe resided at Fantoft for the latter years of his life. He had an engagement in the Regional State Archive of Bergen from 1934. He was also associated with the

Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority The Norwegian Mapping Authority (NMA) ( no, Statens kartverk or Kartverket) is Norway's national mapping agency, dealing with land surveying, geodesy, hydrographic surveying, cadastre and cartography. The current director is Johnny Welle. Its ...

(then known as ''Norges Geografiske Oppmåling'') during his career, and contributed to newspapers, periodicals as well as the encyclopedias '' Dansk biografisk lexikon'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''Aschehougs konversationsleksikon''. He died in 1952.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munthe, Carl Oscar 1861 births 1952 deaths People from Elverum Norwegian Army generals Norwegian military historians Norwegian biographers Norwegian male writers Male biographers Academic staff of the Norwegian Military Academy