Magdalene Sophie Buchholm (15 March 1758 – 12 August 1825) was an 18th-century Norwegian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. She was the only acknowledged female Norwegian writer of her time, and the only female in the academic society Det Norske Selskab.

Biography

Magdalene Buchholm was born in Skien in

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

, Norway. She was the daughter of

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Mogens Bentsen (1715–70) and Sophie Hellesdatter (1720–98). After his father's death in 1770, she lived for several years at

Buskerud Manor Buskerud Manor ( no, Buskerud hovedgård or ''Buskerud gård på Modum'') was a former estate (land), estate and manor located on a large farm in Buskerud, Norway. The modern county of Buskerud is named for the estate. History The farm was located o ...

(''Buskerud Hovedgård'') with her cousin Johanne Henrikke Ancher (1750–1812), who was the second wife of the owner Peter Collett (1740–86). She married

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Peter Leganger Castberg (1752–1784) in 1777. In 1781 her husband was appointed parish priest in Flekkefjord, where he died three years later. After his death, she married the merchant and custom inspector Joachim Frederik Buchholm (1762–1834) in 1785. Her second spouse became a custom inspector in

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

in 1798 and

Kragerø Kragerø () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. ...

in 1806. The couple became centers of these towns' society life. She made frequent and long-term trips to Copenhagen. In 1778, she was inducted in the academic society Det Norske Selskab becoming the first member of her sex in the society. In 1783, she was awarded by Det Norske Selskab for her poetry. Her work was included in a publication by the academy and she was given the name "''

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

of the North''". She published a collection of almost all of her works in 1793.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchholm, Magdalene Sophie 1758 births 1825 deaths 18th-century Norwegian poets 18th-century Norwegian women writers 18th-century Norwegian writers Place of birth missing 19th-century Norwegian people Norwegian women poets People from Skien