Eiliv Skard (19 October 1898 – 30 September 1978) was a Norwegian classical philologist.

Personal life

He was born in Levanger as a son of educators Matias Skard (1846–1927) and Gyda Christensen (1868–1916). The family moved to Kristiansand in 1901. He was a nephew of

Johannes Skar Johannes Skar (18 November 1837 – 3 February 1914) was a Norwegian educator and folklorist. Biography Skar was born at Øyer in Oppland, Norway. He was the son of Ole Torsteinsson Skar (1802-1886) and Mari Johannesdotter Lånke (1814-1 ...

and

Christopher Bruun Christopher Arndt Bruun (23 September 1839 – 17 July 1920) was a Norwegian priest and educator. Biography He was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was a son of jurist Johan Peter Bruun (1810–1843) and Line Stenersen (1816–1901). Af ...

, a brother of Bjarne and Sigmund Skard and a half-brother of Olav and Torfinn Skard. When Sigmund Skard married Åse Gruda Skard, Åsa became Eiliv's sister-in-law. In 1940 he married teacher Sigrid Nordang (1903–1988). They had met in Gudbrandsdalen in the same year.

Career

He finished his secondary education at Kristiansand Cathedral School in 1916, and graduated from the Royal Frederick University in 1922. He worked at the secondary schools in Hornnes from 1922 to 1924 and

Orkdal Orkdal is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Orkland Municipality. It was part of the Orkdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

1925 to 1929. He was a Latin teacher at the university from 1929, having specialized in classical philology during studies in Germany, Italy and Greece. He took the

dr.philos. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

degree in 1931 on the thesis ''Zwei religiös-politische Begriffe. Euergetes. Concordia''. When writing in Norwegian, he used the Nynorsk form. In 1934 he was promoted to professor of classical philology at the Royal Frederick University (from 1939: the University of Oslo). In the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

Skard marked himself as an opponent of Fascism, first and foremost as a follower of the Oxford Group. When Nazi Germany invaded Norway in 1940, Skard participated in the fighting in Gudbrandsdalen. Germany won, but one of many civil protests ensued when the Nazi authorities were about to change the rules for admission to the university in autumn 1943. In retaliation, the authorities arrested 11 staff, 60 male students and 10 female students. The staff

Johannes Andenæs Johannes Bratt Andenæs, often shortened to Johs. Andenæs (7 September 1912 – 3 July 2003) was a Norwegian jurist. He was a professor of jurisprudence at the University of Oslo from 1945 to 1982, and served as rector from 1970 to 1972. ...

Bjørn Føyn Bjørn Føyn (21 September 1898 – 8 January 1985) was a Norwegian zoologist, especially known for researching the genetics of algae. He was born in Trondhjem as a son of educator and major Anton Christian Føyn (1865–1940) and Olga Barth N ...

Johan Christian Schreiner Johan Christian Schreiner (25 May 1903 – 8 October 1967) was a Norwegian historian. He was a professor at the University of Oslo, and his speciality was the Middle Ages. Personal life He was born in Drøbak as a son of historian Kristia ...

Harald Krabbe Schjelderup Harald Krabbe Schjelderup (21 May 1895 – 19 August 1974) was a Norwegian physicist, philosopher and psychologist. He worked with all three subjects on university level, but is best remembered as Norway's first professor of psychology. He was ...

, Anatol Heintz, Odd Hassel, Ragnar Frisch,

Carl Jacob Arnholm Carl Jacob Arnholm (18 December 1899 – 15 September 1976) was a Norwegian jurist. He was born in Oslo as a son of civil servant Carsten Johannes Andersen (1865–1950) and Gunvor Henriksen (1866–1940). He finished his secondary education i ...

Endre Berner Endre Qvie Berner (24 September 1893 – 30 January 1983) was a Norwegian organic chemist, author and educator. Background He was born in Stavanger as a son of businessperson Endre Qvie Berner, Sr. (1853–1925) and his wife Anna Marie Gjemre ...

and Eiliv Skard were sent to Grini concentration camp. Skard was first incarcerated at

Bredtveit Bredtvet is a neighborhood in the borough of Bjerke in Oslo, Norway. The area is located on a ridge between the neighborhoods of Veitvet to the west and Kalbakken to the east. Its origin was as a farm of the same name. It is not mentioned in wr ...

from 15 October to 22 November, then at Berg until 8 December, then at Grini until 5 May 1945. An exception came in the last winter, when Skard spent a month at

Victoria Terrasse Victoria Terrasse is an historic building complex located in central Oslo, Norway. The complex now houses the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. History Victoria Terrasse was built between 1884 and 1890 as an apartment complex. It was desi ...

. After the war Skard returned as professor, and was dean of the Faculty of Humanities from 1947 to 1952. On 1 February 1948 he became professor of the history of ideas with emphasis on the

Antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

. He edited the journal ''Symbolae Osloenses'', and his most notable books were ''Filosofien i oldtiden'' (1951) and the three-volume anthology ''Vestens tenkere'' (1962) which he edited together with

Andreas Hofgaard Winsnes Andreas Hofgaard Winsnes (25 October 1889 – 9 July 1972) was a Norwegian literary historian and educator. Biography Winsnes was born in Nord-Odal, Norway. He was the son of Frederik Vilhelm Vinsnes (1837-1920) and Agnete Helweg (1850-1918 ...

. He died in September 1978 in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skard, Eiliv 1898 births 1978 deaths People from Levanger People from Kristiansand People educated at Kristiansand Cathedral School Norwegian philologists Classical philologists Norwegian Latinists Nynorsk-language writers University of Oslo alumni University of Oslo faculty Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian resistance members Bredtveit concentration camp survivors Berg concentration camp survivors Grini concentration camp survivors 20th-century philologists