
Asbjørn Kloster (21 December 1823 – 18 January 1876) was an educator, social reformer and leader of the
Norwegian temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...
in the 19th century.
[ ]
Background
Asbjørn Olsen Kloster was born in
Vestre Bokn in
Bokn,
Rogaland
Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...
, Norway. His ancestors were farmers on the islands in
Boknafjord. He grew up on the Boknaberg farm. His parents were farmer (and later merchant) Ole Endresen (1795–1883) and Martha Asbjørnsdatter Kloster (1800–1880). At eight years of age, he was sent to live with an aunt on the farm Vik at
Rennesøy
Rennesøy is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It was merged into Stavanger municipality on 1 January 2020. It was located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of ...
. He was married to Marie Elisabeth Knudsen from 1861.
Career
After his
confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...
Kloster moved to
Stavanger
Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
, where his parents had relocated. Kloster worked as a salesman, first at his father's shop and later for others. During the period from 1842 to 1845, Kloster came in contact with the
Religious Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
movement in Stavanger.
[ The Quaker Movement had first got a foothold in parts of ]Rogaland
Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...
, Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
with sailors who had served as British prisoner of war during the Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
.[ In 1846 Kloster was recruited for a year studying in England, by English Quakers who visited the city. He subsequently translated Quaker literature and followed the ]English-speaking
The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
as an interpreter on their travels to Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
and the Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...
.[
For thirteen years, from 1848, Kloster operated a Quaker school (''Kvekerskolen'') in Stavanger.][ During the 1850s Kvekerskolen became the largest private school in Stavanger, with up to 100 students.] Kloster wrote several textbooks himself, including a catechism, a reader and English textbooks.[
Asbjørn Kloster played an active role both as a minister, teacher and as a publisher.][ In 1859, Kloster founded the first total abstinence society in Norway, (in ), in Stavanger.][ The founding meeting was held by Kloster's initiative on 29 December 1859, with about 120 participants, and 30 persons signed up for membership in the new society. The society was soon renamed .] The following year he began to publish the Norwegian language
Norwegian ( ) is a North Germanic language from the Indo-European language family spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelli ...
temperance magazine ',[ also called ' (in 1861 renamed to ' meaning Friend of Man), which he published monthly until his death 15 years later.][
Kloster moved to Christiania in 1861, where he also founded a temperance society. He moved back to Stavanger in 1863.][ The nationwide society (, DNT) was founded by Kloster in 1875.] At the time of Kloster's death in 1876 DNT had a total of 7,000 members, distributed among 40 local chapters. The Stavanger chapter had around 1,600 members.[
Kloster also operated an import business which specialized in the sale of glass, stoneware and porcelain which he imported from England.][ ]
Honors
A statue of Asbjørn Kloster was raised in Stavanger in 1912.[ A Norwegian ]postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...
was issued in his honor during 1959. A street in the Storhaug borough of Stavanger was named after him in 1903. He is buried at ''Kvekergravlunden'' in Stavanger.[
]
References
Other sources
*Fuglum, Per ''Asbjørn Kloster, pedagog, forkynner og avholdspioner'' (Lunde, 2004)
*Nag, Martin ''Nytt lys over Asbjørn Kloster og hans nærmiljø i Stavanger, Ryfylke og Christiania'' (Kvekerforlaget, 1986)
*Nag, Martin ''Asbjørn Kloster - folkebevegelser og alkohol'' (Rusmiddeldirektoratet, 1989)
External links
Det Norske Totalavholdsselskap official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kloster, Asbjorn
1823 births
1876 deaths
Converts to Quakerism
People from Tysvær
People from Bokn
Norwegian Quakers
Norwegian temperance activists
Norwegian educators
Social reformers