Rasmus Rasmussen (August 13, 1871 – October 5, 1962), also known as Regin í Líð and Rasmus á Háskúlanum, was a Faroese

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;'' ...

teacher, writer, and independence activist.

Life

Rasmussen was born in

Miðvágur Miðvágur ( da, Midvåg), is a village in the Faroe Islands on Vágar. It has been a municipality until 1 January 2009 when it fused with Sandavágur into Vága kommuna. Located on the south coast of the island of Vágar, Miðvágur is the ...

Føroya Fólkaháskúli: R. Rasmussen og kona.
/ref> in 1871, the son of Johannes Rasmussen and Ata Haraldsdatter. Growing up was no different than it was for most children in the Faroes at the time, and he was engaged in odd jobs while not attending school. He studied under Jacob Jacobsen from Tórshavn, and he was a member of the first graduating class of the

Faroese Teachers School The Faroese Teachers School ( fo, Føroya Læraraskúli) is a college in Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands, which became part of the University of the Faroe Islands on 1 August 2008. Since 2008 it has offered bachelor's degrees in general and specia ...

( fo, Føroya Læraraskúli), after having also spent an academic year at a

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. Jacobsen's wife, Anna Kjelnæs, had also attended a folk high school in Denmark, and this is where Rasmussen first became familiar with the folk high school movement. His urge to attend such a school was so strong that in 1892 he left the family farm, which he had allodial rights to, and started attending the crafts department at

Vallekilde Folk High School Vallekilde Folk High School ( da, Vallekilde Højskole) is a Danish institution of adult education in the folk high school tradition. The school is located in the village of Vallekilde in Odsherred municipality on the island of Zealand. History ...

. He remained there for two academic years, working as a carpenter in the summers. During the 1896/97 academic year he attended Askov Folk High School, where he made the acquaintance of his compatriot

Símun av Skarði Símun av Skarði (3 May 1872 – 9 October 1942) was a Faroese poet, politician, and teacher. Biography Símun was born in the village of Skarð on Kunoy. In 1893, he entered the seminary in Tórshavn, which he graduated from as a teacher ...

. In 1904, Rasmussen married Símun's sister, Anna Suffía av Skarði, and he remained Símun's close friend and coworker. Rasmussen also attended the State Teachers School ( da, Statens Lærerhøjskole) in Copenhagen, where his main study area was science. Rasmussen's wife, Anna Suffía, served as superintendent after Símun av Skarði and Rasmus Rasmussen founded the Faroese Folk High School ( fo, Føroya Fólkaháskúli) in

Klaksvík Klaksvík is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands behind Tórshavn. The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands (the Norðoyar). It is the administrative centre of Klaksvík municipality. History The first se ...

in 1899. This is still the only Faroese folk high school, and it became the first school to teach in Faroese. The school was relocated to Tórshavn in 1909, and Rasmussen served as a teacher at the school until he retired in 1947. His teacher's position there was the source of his Faroese epithet ''Rasmus á Háskúlanum'' (literally, 'Rasmus at the high school'). Rasmussen died in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

Politician

Rasmussen was a clear proponent of

Faroese independence The Faroese independence movement ( fo, Føroyska Tjóðskaparrørslan), or the Faroese national movement (), is a political movement which seeks the establishment of the Faroe Islands as a sovereign state outside Denmark. Reasons for complete ...

and he served in the

Løgting The Løgting (pronounced ; da, Lagtinget) is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm. The name literally means "''Law Thing''"—that is, a law assembly—and derives from Old Norse ''l ...

as a representative from

Norðoyar The six islands in the northeast of the Faroe Islands are together referred to as Norðoyar, i.e. the Northern Isles ( da, Norderøerne). These Islands from west to east are Kalsoy, Kunoy, Borðoy, Viðoy, Svínoy and Fugloy. Klaksvík Klak ...

from 1914 to 1928 as a member of the Home Rule Party ( fo, Sjálvstýrisflokkurin). He viewed work with the folk high school as part of the effort to cultivate the minds of Faroese young people, which was essential in working for Faroese autonomy. Rasmussen was also among the founders of the

Faroese Fishing Union Faroese ( ) or Faroish ( ) may refer to anything pertaining to the Faroe Islands, e.g.: *the Faroese language * the Faroese people Faroese people or Faroe Islanders ( fo, føroyingar; da, færinger) are a North Germanic peoples, North Germanic ...

( fo, Føroya Fiskimannafelag) together with

Símun Pauli úr Konoy Símun (or Simon), was, around the year 1350, lawman of the Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Den ...

in 1911, was the union's first secretary, and served as its director until 1947.

Author

Rasmussen published the first Faroese novel, ''Babelstornið'' (The Tower of Babel), in 1909. In 1910, he published the first Faroese botany textbook.Hnsen, Zakaris Svabo, et al. 2003. Faroese. In: Ana Deumert & Wim Vandenbussche (eds.), ''Germanic Standardizations: Past to Present'', pp. 157–192. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, p. 177.

Bibliography

* 1909: ''Bábelstornið'' (The Tower of Babel) * 1910:
Plantulæra
' (Botany) * 1912: ''Glámlýsi'' (Dazzling Light) * 1922–1923: '' Voluspá'' (Prophecy of the Seeress), translation * 1928: ''Høvdingar hittast'' (Heroes Meet), play * 1936: ''Føroya Flora'' (Faroese Flora) * 1942: ''Tvær fornsøgur'' (Two Old Stories) * 1943: ''Tvær skaldsøgur'' (Two Novels) * 1945: ''Fornmálasagnir og fornmálaljóð'' (Legends and Poems in the Old Language) * 1945: ''

Hávamál ''Hávamál'' ( ; Old Norse: ,Unnormalised spelling in the :Title: Final stanza: ../ref> classical pron. , Modern Icelandic pron. , ‘Words of he High One��) is presented as a single poem in the Icelandic , a collection of Old Norse poems fr ...

'' (Sayings of the High One), translation * 1946: ''Gróðrarnýtsla fyrr í tíðini'' (Cultivation in Old Times) * 1949: ''Sær er siður á landi'' (Every Country Has its Own Customs), memoirs * 1950: ''Føroysk Plantunøvn'' (Faroese Plant Names) * 1951: ''Yvirlit yvir Føroya søgu'' (Overview of Faroese History) * 1952: ''Gróður og gróðrarvánir'' (Growth and Growing Conditions) * 2001: ''Rakul – og aðrar søgur'' (Rakul and Other Stories), also

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

Life

Politician

Author

Bibliography

References

Further reading