Mikkel Peders �n Escholt (c. 1600 – 1669) was a Norwegian priest and natural theologian, best known for his book ''Geologia Norvegica'' written in Danish in 1657 where he is considered as among the first to use the word "

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

". Very little is known about Escholt, except that he was likely from Espholt,

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

. He studied at

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

around 1626 and at the

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

around 1628. He worked as a chaplain at

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress (, ) or Akershus Castle ( ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress has been the namesake and centre of the ...

from 1646 and as priest in Våler,

Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...

, from 1660. He was married to Karen Henriksdatter of Christiania. His 1657 book ''Geologia Norvegica'' is extremely rare; a copy is in Oslo and another in Bergen. Escholt linked earthquakes with volcanoes and used the word "geology" which was also used in an English translation of the book made in 1663 by Daniel Collins. The term "geologia" however was never used except in the title to refer to a kind of science of the earth. Further such usage had been made earlier by Philippus Cluver in a 1619 book ''Geologia, de Creatione ed Formatione Globi Terrestris'' in Italian. The English writer Robert Lovell also used the word "geology" in his ''Pammineralogicon, or, A universal history of mineralls'' (1661). Escholt also published a book of verses dedicated to the priest and theological writer Christen Staphensøn Bang, and a history ''Stephanologica Danica'' (1648) on Danish kings to commemorate Frederik III as king of Norway.

References

External links

English translation by Daniel Collins

Scan of original Danish version of ''Geologia Norvegica'' (1657)
{{authority control Norwegian theologians 1669 deaths