Jacob Mortenssøn Maschius (c.1630 – 12 August 1678) was a Norwegian clergyman, poet and copperplate engraver. He is most remembered for the poetry book, ''Norwegia religiosa'' (1661).

Life

Maschius attended

Bergen Cathedral School Bergen Cathedral School (Norwegian: ''Bergen Katedralskole'', Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Bergensis'', formerly known as Bergens lærdeskole and Bergen latinskole and colloquially known as Katten) is an upper secondary school in Bergen, Norway. Loc ...

in 1651. He subsequently traveled to

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 ...

and studied there for some years, returning to Norway in 1659. He received a commission to serve as a draftsman during the construction of a fortification on

Munkholmen Munkholmen ( no, Monk's islet) is an islet in the municipality of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island sits in the Trondheimsfjord about northwest of the island of Brattøra and the mouth of the river Nidelva in the center of the ...

, an islet located north of Trondheim. Construction of the fortress began in 1658 and was completed in 1661. From 1668 to 1669, he worked for

Johan Frederik von Marschalck Johan Frederik von Marschalck (26 November 1618 – 16 March 1679) was a German-born, Norwegian government official and landowner. He served as the last Chancellor of Norway, ending a tradition that had lasted for over 400 years. He was born i ...

, commander 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 ...

located in the entrance to the harbor 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 of ...

. After a visit to the

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral ( no, Nidarosdomen / Nidaros Domkirke) is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II (c. 995–1030, reigned 1015–102 ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

approximately 1660, he wrote a poetry book entitled ''Norwegia religiosa''. It contained illustrations of the cathedral, one set from the north, the second of the western front. These later formed the basis for discussions regarding subsequent restoration of the cathedral which was initiated in 1869. In 1676, he was appointed priest in the parish of

Jølster Jølster is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre was the village of Skei. Other villages in the municipality included Helgheim, Ålhus, Vass ...

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...

county. He became engaged in May 1678 with Maren Finde, who was his predecessors widow. They were married in June 1678. He continued to serve as parish priest until the time of his death on 12 August 1678.

References

Other sources

*Bakken, Arne (1997) ''Nidarosdomen – en Pilegrimsvandring'' (Oslo:Aschehoug) *Danbolt, Gunnar (1997) ''Nidarosdomen, fra Kristkirke til nasjonalmonument'' (Oslo: Andresen og Butenschøn) *Ekroll, Øystein (2006) ''Nidarosdomen - Vestfrontens skulpturer'' (Trondheim: Nidaros Domkirkes Restaureringsarbeiders forlag) Year of birth unknown 1678 deaths 17th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy 17th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets Norwegian engravers 17th-century engravers Year of birth uncertain 17th-century male writers {{norway-reli-bio-stub