Jonas Rein (30 January 1760 – 21 November 1821) was a Norwegian priest, poet and member of the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised t ...

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information ...

in 1814.

Background

He was born at Øksendal in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. He was the son of parish priest Ole Rein (1729–1792) and his wife Margretha Hansdatter Ross. She died two weeks after Jonas' birth. In 1763 the family moved to

Jevnaker Jevnaker is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Jevnaker with a population of 4,302. The parish of ''Jævnaker'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see forman ...

, where his father was hired as

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

. Rein took his

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1777, and studied at the

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

. He started studying

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 ...

, but soon switched to literature and philosophy. He graduated in 1780. While a student in

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 ...

, he was a member of the

Norwegian Society The Norwegian Society (''Norske Selskab'') was a literary society for Norway, Norwegian students in Copenhagen active from 1772 to 1813. Its members included authors, poets and philosophers. The Norwegian Society was formed in 1772 by Ove Gjerlø ...

(''Det Norske Selskab''), a literary society for Norwegian students in the city.

Career

In 1780 Rein returned to Norway, working mostly as a private tutor. He debuted as a playwright, but the play did not reach the stage. In 1787 he returned to Denmark to seek a post as a civil servant. After one rejection, he took the cand.philol. degree in 1789. He was appointed as

of northern

Kautokeino Kautokeino ( no, Kautokeino; se, Guovdageaidnu ; fkv, Koutokeino; fi, Koutokeino) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. Other village ...

in 1791, but never assumed office; instead he chose to become curate in

Skjeberg Skjeberg is a district of Sarpsborg, Østfold County, Norway. Skjeberg was formerly a municipality in Østfold County. The last administrative centre was at Borgenhaugen. As of 2018, Skjeberg has a population of 1,397. The parish of Skjeberg ...

in 1792. He left in 1799, and in 1800 he became vicar in

Eidanger Eidanger is a rural parish and former municipality of Porsgrunn, in Telemark County, Norway. History Eidanger was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was merged with Porsgrunn on 1 January 1964. The mai ...

and Brevik. From 1808 he was the vicar of

Nykirken Nykirken (literally: "The new church") is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bergen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Nordnes area of the city of Bergen. It is one of the churches for the Bergen Cathedral paris ...

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 o ...

. In the meantime Rein had developed into a recognized poet. He published the poetry collections ''Samlede Digte'' (two volumes, 1802) and ''Nyeste Digte'' (1810). In

1814 Events January * January 1 – War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine. * January 3 ** War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Cattaro: French garrison ...

he was elected to the

as a representative with the

deputation, which was led by

Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie (7 December 1778 – 10 October 1849) was a Norwegian attorney. He was a member of the National Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814 and served as the Norwegian Constituent Assembly secretary. Background Born in Kristiansu ...

. He favored the Independence Party (''Selvstendighetspartiet''), and held animosity towards the proposed

Union between Sweden and Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Swede ...

. The Constituent Assembly elected Crown Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark as King of Norway. However, after the Swedish campaign against Norway during the summer, Norway came into a loose

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

with

Charles III John sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius , spouse = , issue = Oscar I of Sweden , house = Bernadotte , father = Henri Bernadotte , mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean , birth_date = , birth_place = Pau, ...

as King . Rein's anti-Swedish sentiments might have cost him the position of

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

, which became vacant in 1816. In 1817 he co-founded the patriotic magazine ''Den norske Tilskuer'' together with Christian Magnus Falsen and Herman Foss.

Personal life

Rein was married twice. In December 1791 he married Anna Cathrine Arbo (1756–1794), a grand-aunt of painter

Peter Nicolai Arbo Peter Nicolai Arbo (18 June 1831 – 14 October 1892) was a Norwegian historical painter, who specialized in portraits and allegorical scenes from Norwegian history and the Norse mythology. He is most noted for ''The Wild Hunt of Odin'', a d ...

. In February 1796 in

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states * Berg (state), county and duchy of the Hol ...

he married Fredrikke Bergersen (1779–1856). He had six daughters. He died in November 1821 in Bergen, and was buried at Nykirkegården.

Legacy

At Nykirken in Bergen (''Nykirken i Bergen'') there is a memorial that is decorated every May 17 by the command of the

Nordnæs Bataillon Nordnæs Bataillon is a buekorps in Bergen that was established 3 May 1858. The members primarily come from the eastern side of Nordnes Nordnes is a peninsula and neighbourhood in the city centre of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. Vågen, ...

in commemoration of Rein's service to Norway. In 1882, a street at Nygård in Bergen (''Jonas Reins gate'') was named after him.

References

External links

Speech by Jonas Rein 19 April 1814

Speech by Jonas Rein 13 May 1814
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rein, Jonas Norwegian priest-politicians 18th-century Norwegian poets 19th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets Fathers of the Constitution of Norway Politicians from Bergen University of Copenhagen alumni Norwegian expatriates in Denmark 1760 births 1821 deaths 19th-century Norwegian male writers