Dorothe Engelbretsdatter (16 January 163419 February 1716) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

author. She principally wrote hymns and poems which were strongly religious. She has been characterized as

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 the ...

's first recognized female author as well as Norway's first feminist before

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

became a recognized concept.

Background

Dorothe Engelbretsdatter was born in Bergen, Norway. She was the daughter of Rector and Vicar, Engelbret Jørgenssøn (1592–1659) and Anna Wrangel. Her father was originally head of Bergen Cathedral School, and later dean of Bergen Cathedral. In her youth, Dorothe spent some time in Copenhagen. In 1652, she married Ambrosius Hardenbeck (1621–1683), a

theological 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 s ...

writer famous for his flowery funeral sermons, who succeeded her father at the Cathedral in 1659. They had five sons and four daughters.

Career

Tittelkobberet på førsteutgaven av Dorothe Engelbretsdatters bok Taare-Offer, 1685

Dorothe Engelbretsdotter by Ambrosia Tonnesen

In 1678 her first volume appeared, '' Siælens Sang-Offer'' published at

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. This volume of

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s and

devotion Devotion or Devotions may refer to: Religion * Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept * Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians * Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance * Cat ...

al pieces, very modestly brought out, had an unparalleled success. The first verses of Dorothe Engelbretsdatter are commonly believed to have been her best. The fortunate poet was invited to

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, and on her arrival at Copenhagen was presented at court. She was also introduced to

Thomas Hansen Kingo Thomas Hansen Kingo (15 December 1634 – 14 October 1703 Odense) was a Danish bishop, poet and hymn-writer born at Slangerup, near Copenhagen. His work marked the high point of Danish baroque poetry. His father was a weaver of modest mean ...

, the father of Danish poetry. The two greeted one another with improvised couplets, which have been preserved and of which Engelbretsdatter's reply "is incomparably the neater". King Christian V of Denmark granted her full tax freedom for life. Her ''Taare-Offer'' (1685) was dedicated to Queen Charlotte Amalia, the wife of King Christian V. Her first work, ''Siælens Sang-Offer'' was published 1678. In the midst of her troubles appeared her second work, the ''Taare-Offer'', published for the first time in 1685. It is a continuous religious poem in four books. This was combined with ''Siælens Sang-Offer''. In 1698 she brought out a third volume of sacred verse, ''Et kristeligt Valet fra Verden''. In 1683, her husband died. She had nine children, but seven of them died young and her two adult sons lived far away from Bergen. She lost her house in the great fire in 1702 in which 90 percent of the city of Bergen was destroyed. Her re-placement house was not available until 1712. Her sorrow is evident in examples such as the poem ''Afften Psalme''. She died on 19 February 1716.

Collected works

Her collected works were published in two volumes (1955-1956) * Volume 1 (1955) * Volume 2 (1956) New edition was released in 1999.

References

Attribution

Bibliography

*Engelbretsdotter, Dorothe; ed. by K. Valkner (1999) ''Samlede skrifter'' (Oslo: Aschehoug) *Akslen, Laila (1998) ''Norsk barokk: Dorothe Engelbrettsdatter og Petter Dass i retorisk tradisjon'' (Oslo: Cappelen) *Akslen, Laila (1970) ''Feminin barokk: Dorothe Engelbretsdotters liv og diktning'' (Oslo: Cappelen)

External links

Dorothe Engelbretsdatter
i Dagbladet Forfatter
Dorothe Engelbretsdatter
i NRK Forfatter
Dorothe Engelbretsdatter
Digitalarkivet.no {{DEFAULTSORT:Engelbretsdatter, Dorothe 1634 births 1713 deaths Norwegian Lutheran hymnwriters Women religious writers Norwegian women poets Writers from Bergen 17th-century Norwegian poets 17th-century Norwegian women writers 18th-century Norwegian poets 18th-century Norwegian women writers 18th-century Norwegian writers Women hymnwriters