Olaf Skavlan (25 January 1838 – 30 May 1891) was a Norwegian literary historian and playwright.

Personal life

He was born as Ole Skavlan in

Stranda Stranda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Stranda. Stranda consists of three smaller villages and one larger central villag ...

as a son of vicar and politician

Aage Schavland Aage Schavland (6 November 1806 – 20 March 1876) was a Norwegian priest and Member of Parliament. Aage Schavland was born in Strand in Rogaland. He took his entrance examination in 1826 and was granted his Theology degree in 1829. In 1834, b ...

(1806–1876) and his wife Gerhardine Pauline Bergh (1817–1884). He was a brother of

Sigvald Skavlan Sigvald Skavlan (27 December 18394 November 1912) was a Norwegian priest, psalmist and educator. He was born at the vicarage in Stranda in Møre og Romsdal. He was the son of Aage Schavland (1806–1876) and Gerhardine Pauline Bergh (1817–188 ...

, Einar Skavlan, Sr., Aage Skavlan and Harald Skavlan. In August 1879 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 ...

he married Dagmar Kielland (1855–1931). Through this marriage he was a son-in-law of

Jens Zetlitz Kielland Jens Zetlitz Kielland (Jan 05, 1816–Jan 07, 1881) was a Norwegian consul and artist. He is known as the father of novelist Alexander Kielland. Family Jens Kielland was a member of the prominent family of Kielland. He was born in Stavanger to ...

, a brother-in-law of

Ludvig Daae Ludvig Daae may refer to: * Ludvig Daae (priest) (1723–1786), Norwegian priest and landowner *Ludvig Kristensen Daa (1809–1877), Norwegian historian and politician *Ludvig Daae (politician) (1829–1893), Norwegian politician *Ludvig Ludvigsen ...

, Elling Holst,

Kitty Lange Kielland Kitty Lange Kielland (8 October 1843 – 1 October 1914) was a Norwegian landscape painter. Early life and training Kielland was born to an affluent family in Stavanger, the older sister of Alexander Kielland. Kielland's interactions with her b ...

Alexander Kielland Alexander Lange Kielland (; 18 February 1849 – 6 April 1906) was a Norwegian realistic writer of the 19th century. He is one of the so-called "The Four Greats" of Norwegian literature, along with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and ...

, Jacob Kielland and

Tycho Kielland Tycho Kielland (25 March 1854 – 3 May 1904) was a Norwegian jurist and journalist. He was born in Stavanger to Jens Zetlitz Kielland (1816-1881) and his wife Christine (1820–1862), née Lange. His grandfather was Jacob Kielland, and an uncle ...

. He was the father of

Einar Skavlan Einar Kielland Skavlan (30 July 1882 – 16 August 1954) was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor, theatre critic and theatre director. Biography Skavlan was born in Frogn. His father, Olaf Skavlan, was writer, literary historian and prof ...

, father-in-law of

Arnstein Arneberg Arnstein Rynning Arneberg (6 July 1882 – 9 June 1961) was a Norwegian architect. He was active professionally for 50 years and is often considered the leading architect in Norway of his time. Personal life Arnstein Rynning Arneberg was b ...

and grandfather of

Merete Skavlan Merete Skavlan (25 July 1920 – 2 November 2018) was a Norwegian actress, theater instructor and director. She was born in Kristiania as a daughter of newspaper editor and theatre director Einar Skavlan and music educator Margrethe Bartholdy. Sh ...

Career

He debuted as a fiction writer as a student. In 1871 he took the doctorate on the thesis ''Holberg som Komedieforfatter'', about Ludvig Holberg as a comedy writer. In the periodical ''Nyt norsk Tidsskrift'' he published a study of

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 ...

's work ''Skabelsen, Mennesket og Messias''. This contributed to an understanding of Wergeland as a liberal political figure, not following the politically conservative tradition that branded Wergelenad as an apolitical wordsmith. Skavlan was appointed as a professor at the Royal Frederick University in 1877. He also co-founded and edited the satirical magazine ''

Vikingen ''Vikingen'' (meaning ''The Viking'' in English) is a former Norwegian satirical magazine, published from 1862 to 1947. Among the contributors were the satirical illustrators Olaf Krohn, Andreas Bloch, Gustav Lærum and Olaf Gulbransson. Histo ...

'', and published the periodical ''

Nyt tidsskrift ''Nyt Tidsskrift'' is a former Norwegian language, Norwegian literary, cultural and political periodical issued from 1882 to 1887, and with a second series from 1892 to 1895. The periodical had contributions from several of the leading intellectuals ...

'', between 1882 and 1887 and together with

Ernst Sars Johan Ernst Welhaven Sars (11 October 1835 – 27 January 1917) was a Norwegian professor, historian, author and editor. His main work was ''Udsigt over den norske Historie'', four volumes issued from 1873 to 1891. He co-edited the magazines ...

. In 1884 he was a co-founder of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights, and he was a member of its first board of directors.Indbydelse til at indtræde i Norsk Kvindesags-Forening stiftet den 28de Juni 1884
" ''

Bergens Tidende ''Bergens Tidende'' is Norway's fifth-largest newspaper, and the country's largest newspaper outside Oslo. ''Bergens Tidende'' is owned by the public company Schibsted ASA. Norwegian owners held a mere 42% of the shares in Schibsted at the end ...

'', 18 November 1884 Skavlan died in May 1891 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skavlan, Olaf 1838 births 1891 deaths Norwegian literary historians University of Oslo faculty Norwegian magazine editors Norwegian biographers Male biographers People from Møre og Romsdal People from Stranda 19th-century journalists Male journalists 19th-century Norwegian dramatists and playwrights Norwegian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Norwegian male writers Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people