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 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 the daughter of physician Christopher Pavels Munthe (1816–1884) and Christine Margrethe Pavels Aabel (1827–1887). She was a younger sister of historian and military officer Hartvig Andreas Munthe, 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 ...

and older sister of officer

Carl Oscar Munthe Carl Oscar Munthe (12 December 1861 – 20 December 1952) was a Norwegian military officer and historian. Personal life He was born in Elverum as a son of physician Christopher Pavels Munthe (1816–1884). He was a younger brother of historian an ...

. She was also a niece of historian and cartographer

and an aunt 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 ...

, 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 Kristiania (now Oslo) as the son of ...

and painter Lagertha Munthe. Through her mother she was a first cousin of Hauk Aabel, niece of Andreas Leigh Aabel and Oluf Andreas Aabel.

Career

Munthe attended

Hartvig Nissen Ole Hartvig Nissen (17 April 1815 – 4 February 1874) was a Norwegian philologist and educator. He founded Nissen's Girls' School in Christiania in 1849. In 1865 he became director-general in the Ministry of Education, while remaining one of t ...

's school for girls in Christiania (''Nissens Pigeskole''), and graduated with a middle school exam (') in 1879. She worked as a governess at her home place for one year, and was then running a private school in

Langesund is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bamble, Norway. The town of Langesund was established as a municipality 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was merged with Bamble 1 January 1964. In the early days, Langesund was ...

. She passed a higher degree for female teachers in 1883. She was appointed as a teacher at the

Vaterland Vaterland means "Fatherland" in German. It may also refer to: *Vaterland, Norway, a neighborhood in Oslo *The ocean liner SS ''Vaterland'', later known as SS ''Leviathan'' *''Liechtensteiner Vaterland'', largest daily newspaper in Liechtenstein ...

primary school in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

from 1888 to 1893, and again from 1895. From 1902 to 1920 she worked at the Bolteløkka primary school. She wrote a large number of song texts to folk melodies and psalm melodies, many of which are still popular today. Among her classical songs are "Hurra for deg som fyller ditt år!", "På låven sitter nissen" ( en, The nisse in the barn has got his Christmas treat), "Å jeg vet en seter", "Da klokken klang", "Nei, nei gutt", "Tulla" and "Jeg snører min sekk". She published the songbooks ''Kom, skal vi synge'' (three collections, from 1905 to 1918). She wrote the fairytale comedy ''Aase Fiskerjente'', published as a book in 1912 with illustrations by Andreas Bloch. Among her other comedies for children are ''Askepot'', ''Den nysgjerrige kone'' and ''Prinsessen og det halve rike''.

Legacy

Singer

Wenche Myhre Wenche Synnøve Myhre (born 15 February 1947), known in some countries as Wencke Myhre, is a Norwegian singer who has had a great number of hit songs since the 1960s in the Norwegian, Danish, German and Swedish markets and languages. Early caree ...

, accompanied by

Sigurd Jansen Sigurd Jansen (born 4 March 1932) is a Norwegian composer, pianist and conductor. Biography Sigurd Alf Jansen was born in Horten, in Vestfold county, Norway. He studied classical music at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. He was a teacher o ...

's orchestra, included several songs by Munthe on her album series ''Sanger fra dengang mor var liten'' (1967, 1976 and 1981), with songs such as "Å jeg strever så med mine små du" and "Kjære Gud, jeg har det godt".

Åse Thoresen Åse may refer to: People * Tone Åse (born 1965), Norwegian singer Given name * Åse Birkrem, Norwegian handball player * Åse Fosli, Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party * Åse Hedstrøm, Norwegian composer based in Stockholm, Sw ...

and

Ingebrigt Davik Ingebrigt Davik (14 April 1925 – 29 January 1991) was a Norwegian teacher, children's writer, broadcasting personality, singer and songwriter. Biography Davik was from the island Fjørtofta in Haram municipality on Sunnmøre. He was the so ...

issued two albums with her songs, ''Kom skal vi synge'' from 1972, and ''Kjære kom og dans med meg'' from 1974. During the 1960s and 1970s Munthe's children's songs were heavily criticized for being too moralizing, but from the 1990s they were again accepted, as relics from a strange and ancient world.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munthe, Margrethe 1860 births 1931 deaths 20th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian songwriters Norwegian children's writers Norwegian dramatists and playwrights People from Elverum Norwegian women poets Children's songwriters 20th-century Norwegian women writers