Mathias Sigwardt (20 October 1770–8 October 1840) was

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

. Sigwardt was born in Borre in

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He was the son of vicar Søren Sigwardt (1729–1792) and his first wife Ulrikke Leonore, née Weinwich. He took his primary and secondary education under the tutoring of his father until he was 18 when he went to a school in Christiania where Herman Amberg taught him. Sigwardt enrolled as a student in 1791, and graduated with the

cand.theol. Candidatus theologiæ (male), Candidata theologiæ (female), abbreviated cand. theol. is an academic degree with a long tradition, awarded after a six-year higher education in theology in Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. In Norway, the title has re ...

degree in 1795.

Career

In 1796, Sigwardt became a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Vaale Vaale is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Sports The town has a football team, SV Vaalia Vaale, who play in the Kreisklasse A Westküste West. They were in 10th when the 2020–21 season was cancelled. ...

working under the parish priest

Frants Philip Hopstock Frants Philip Hopstock (15 November 1746 – 8 October 1824) was a Norwegian priest. Biography He was born in Kongsberg as a son of forester Andreas Christian Hopstock (1695-1751) and his wife Maren, née Hofmann Krogh. Both of his parents died w ...

(whose daughter he married in 1798). In 1799, he became a chaplain and inspector at the teacher's seminary in

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative ce ...

county. In 1804, he moved to Christiania to become the

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 ...

for the Christiania Hospital and the

Christiania Tugthus __NOTOC__ Christiania may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Christiania Bank, a former Norwegian bank * Christiania Theatre in Oslo, Norway * Christiania Spigerverk, a steel company which was founded in Oslo, Norway, in 1853 * Christiania ...

(prison). In 1816, he became the parish priest for Tune in

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...

county. In 1820, he was promoted to be the

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

for the Diocese of Christiania. Starting in 1825 he was working for the Court of the Royal Family. In 1832, he was appointed as the Bishop of the Diocese of Christianssand. He got sick during a trip to

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

in 1839, and he died in

Christianssand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...

on 8 October 1840.

Personal life

In 1798, he married Louise Juliane Catharine Hopstock, a daughter of the priest F. Hopstock. She died in November 1815, and in 1822 Sigwardt married the widow of

Nicolai Lumholtz Nicolai Lumholtz (19 September 1729 – 20 June 1819) was a Danish born, Norwegian clergyman. He served as acting bishop of the Diocese of Christiania. Biography He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark as a son of controller Niels Lumholtz (1688� ...

, Karine Lumholtz. Through his daughter Ulrike Eleonore, Mathias Sigwardt was a grandfather of physician

Mathias Sigwardt Greve Mathias Sigwardt Greve (17 September 1832 – 27 December 1912) was a Norwegian physician, best known as the director of Rikshospitalet from 1883 to 1911. Personal life He was born in Bergen as a son of curate Arent Wittendorph Greve and Ulrike El ...

and great-grandfather of the architect Bredo Greve and the weaver

Ulrikke Greve Ulrikke Eleonore Sigwardt Greve (1868–1951) was a leading Norwegian textile artist in the early 20th-century, excelling in tapestry work. In 1900, she was appointed director of the weaving school at the National Museum of Decorative Arts (Norden ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigwardt, Mathias 1770 births 1840 deaths People from Horten Bishops of Agder og Telemark 19th-century Lutheran bishops