Mor Sæther (born Anne Johansdatter Viker; 20 October 1793 in Grue,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

– 25 April 1851 in Christiania (Oslo)), was a Norwegian "" ("

cunning woman Cunning folk, also known as folk healers or wise folk, were practitioners of folk medicine, helpful folk magic and divination in Europe from the Middle Ages until the 20th century. Their practices were known as the cunning craft. Their services ...

"), that is, a

herbalist Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

. She is one of the best known within her profession in Norway.

Biography

Mor Sæther () was born in a rural area of Grue (present-day

Kongsvinger Municipality Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

) in

Hedmark Hedmark () was a Counties of Norway, county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmar ...

county. Her parents were the farmer Johan Eriksen Viker (b. 1757) and Bastine Guttormsdatter (b. 1768); they had 7 children. She married twice: first to a Mr. Sæther who appears to have worked as a handyman at the Anatomy School at Royal Frederick University (now

Oslo University The University of Oslo (; ) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick University, the university was established in 1811 as the de facto Norwegian conti ...

), and then in 1825 to a farmer, Lars Bastian Nielsen (1797–1861). At the anatomy school she was given lessons in anatomy by Dr. Jens Essendrop Knoph; he lent her books in return for menial work. Her second husband owned a farm in Pipervika with 20 cows. There is a story that Mor Sæther took butter to the King, Carl Johan, when he was in Oslo. Mor Sæther was active in Christiania (

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

) in about 1820–1851. She was several times tried for

quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or Ignorance, ignorant medicine, medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or public ...

under the ''kvakksalverloven'' () of 1794, and was sentenced to a diet of bread and water in prison in 1836, 1841, and 1844. On the last occasion, there was a popular outcry, supported by the nobleman

Severin Løvenskiold Severin Løvenskiold (7 February 1777 – 15 September 1856) was a Norwegian nobleman, politician and the prime minister of Norway. Family Severin Løvenskiold, the younger, was born in Porsgrunn in Telemark, Norway to Severin Løvenskiold, ...

, and she appealed to the supreme court (), which freed her. She was given official permission to practice medicine and was thereby made an officially licensed "cunning woman". Mor Sæther was praised by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

. He had been a tenant in her house for a short time in 1850. Mor Sæther was the object of a poem, ''Mulig Forvexling'' ("Possible Confusion"), by

Henrik Wergeland Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland (17 June 1808 – 12 July 1845) was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist. He is often described as a leading pioneer in the develop ...

, whom she famously nursed at his death bed. The poem contains the couplet :''Min Maane er gamle Mor Sæther'' (My moon is old Mother Saether) : ''i hennes snehvite Skaut.'' (in her snow white veil.)

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Fylke commune archive

Store Norske Leksikon: Anne Sæther

Arkivverket: Kvakksalveri
(Quack medicine, Mor Sæther) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saether, Mor 1793 births 1851 deaths Herbalists 19th-century Norwegian people Cunning folk 19th-century Norwegian women People from Grue, Norway