Cort Aslakssøn (28 June 1564 – 7 February 1624) was a Norwegian astronomer, theologist and philosopher. He was the first Norwegian to become a professor at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

Biography

Aslakssøn was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, Norway. He was the son of Aslak Magnussøn and Christina Jacobsdatter. He attended

Bergen Cathedral School Bergen Cathedral School (Norwegian: ''Bergen Katedralskole'', Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Bergensis'', formerly known as Bergens lærdeskole and Bergen latinskole and colloquially known as Katten) is an upper secondary school in Bergen, Norway. Loc ...

and after the death of his parents came under the patronage of Jens Pederssøn Schielderup (1509–1582),

Bishop of Bergen The Catholic Diocese of Bergen or Diocese of Bjørgvin in Norway existed from the eleventh century to the Protestant Reformation (1537),

. In 1578, he was transferred to the Latin school in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

. In 1584, he was enrolled at the

. From 1590 to 1593 he worked as assistant for astronomer

Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe; generally called Tycho (14 December 154624 October 1601) was a Danish astronomer, known for his comprehensive astronomical observations, generally considered to be the most accurate of his time. He was k ...

. He subsequently embarked on a several-year study trip to various universities on the continent. He was appointed professor of

Pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

at the

from 1600. From 1600–1603 he served also as notary at the university with administrative duties. In 1605, he became dean of the Faculty of Arts. In 1606, he was appointed professor of

Hebrew Language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and from 1607 professor of

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He died in Copenhagen in 1624.

Selected works

Cort Aslakssøn published numerous writings in various topics. His main work, ''De natura cæli triplicis'', was published in 1597. Other notable works included ''Grammaticæ Hebrææ libri duo'' (1606), ''Physica et Ethica Mosaica'' (1613) and ''Historiske Beskriffuelse Om den Reformerede Religion'' (1622)

References

1564 births 1624 deaths Scientists from Bergen People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School University of Copenhagen alumni Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen Norwegian philosophers Norwegian astronomers 16th-century astronomers 17th-century Danish astronomers {{Norway-academic-bio-stub