Gabriel Scott (8 March 1874 – 9 July 1958) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, playwright and children's writer.

Personal life

Gabriel Scott Jensen was born in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

in Scotland as the son of sailors' priest Svend Holst Jensen and his wife writer and composer Caroline Mathilde Schytte. The name Scott was originally a first name, and he was named after both Scotland and the writer

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

. He moved to Norway when he was seven years old, his father being a parish priest in

Høvåg Høvåg (historically: ''Høvaag'') is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1865 until its dissolution in 1962. It was located in the southern part of the present-day municipality of Lill ...

. In 1901, Scott married Ellen Johansen (1871–1914), but this marriage was dissolved in 1912. In 1915, he married secondly Dagmar Marie Jensen, but in 1918 this marriage also ended in divorce. Finally, in 1918, he married Birgit Gabrielsen (1897–1981). He died in Arendal in 1958.

Career

Scott made his literary debut in 1894 with the poetry collection ''Digte'' ('Poems'), and followed up with a second collection, ''Dag'' ('Day') in 1895. In 1896 he published the love story ''Aftenrøde. Arkitekt Helmers optegnelser'', and the story collection ''Vester i Skjærene''. His 1904 novel ''Tante Pose'' ('Aunt Bag') was the basis of the film '' Tante Pose'', 1940. In 1905, he wrote the comedy ''Himmeluret''. His literary breakthrough was the novel ''Jernbyrden'' (1915), which was well received by the critics. His most famous book is the novel ''Kilden eller Brevet om fiskeren Markus'' ('The Source, or the Letter about Mark the Fisherman'), 1918, a story about the fisherman Mark living a simple life and presenting simple thoughts. In his book ''Det gyldne Evangelium'' ('The Golden Gospel'), 1921, the main characters are

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

and Our Lord, who are seen wandering and meeting people. His books on the Norwegian travelling people, ''Fant'' (1928) and ''Josefa'' (1930) became popular, and in 1937 ''Fant'' was made into a film by

Tancred Ibsen Tancred Ibsen (11 July 1893 – 4 December 1978) was a Norwegian military officer, aviator, film director and screenwriter. Background Ibsen was the son of Sigurd Ibsen and Bergljot Bjørnson. He was the grandson of both Henrik Ibsen and No ...

. The novel ''De vergeløse'' ('The Defenseless'), about a child taken from its mother by the authorities, was made into a film by Leif Sinding in 1939. Scott wrote several books for children, including ''Sølvfaks som reiste ut i den vide verden'' ('Sølvfaks Who Went out into the Wide World'), 1912, which has since gone into many editions, and ''Hellige tre konger'' ('We Three Kings'), 1900. Scott was awarded the

Gyldendal's Endowment Gyldendal's Endowment was a literature prize which was awarded in the period 1934–1995 by the Norwegian publisher Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. The prize was awarded to significant authors, regardless of which publisher the author was associated w ...

in 1936. During the 1930s, he was fundamentally pro-German, publishing articles praising both

Vidkun Quisling Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (, ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Nazi collaborator who nominally list of heads of government of Norway, headed the government of Norway during t ...

's National Gathering and

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. This stance was much debated, before, during and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. However, before the beginning of the war he had begun to distance himself from the German dictatorship, and during the war he wrote patriotic poetry. Scott and

Vilhelm Krag Vilhelm Krag (24 December 1871 – 10 July 1933) was a Norwegian poet, author, journalist and cultural personality. Known for coining the term Sørlandet to describe a region of Norway, he was the son of Peter Rasmus Krag and younger brother o ...

are now considered southern Norway's most important poets.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Gabriel 1874 births 1958 deaths 19th-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian novelists 19th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets Norwegian dramatists and playwrights Norwegian children's writers People from Leith Norwegian male novelists Norwegian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Norwegian male writers 20th-century Norwegian poets 20th-century Norwegian male writers