Peder Elias Bjørnson (1798–1871) 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 ...

priest, best known for being the father of

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

.''Norsk biografisk leksikon'': Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.
/ref> Bjørnson was born in at the Skei farm in

Søgne Søgne is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 2020 when it was merged with the municipalities of Songdalen and Kristiansand into the "new" Kristiansand municipality in what is n ...

. He was of peasant stock and he married Inger Elise Nordraak (1808–1897) from

Kragerø Kragerø () is a town and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional regions of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø. The city of Kragerø ...

. He served as a priest in

Kvikne Kvikne is a former municipality that was part of the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality of Kvikne existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1966 when it was split between the present-day municipalities of Tynset (in what is now Innl ...

, a secluded village in the

Østerdalen Østerdalen () is a valley and traditional district in Innlandet county, in Eastern Norway. This area typically is described as the large Glåma river valley as well as all its tributary valleys. It includes the municipalities Rendalen, Alvda ...

district, some sixty miles south of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

, from 1831 to 1838, and it is here that his son was born on 8 December 1832 and given the unusual name ''Bjørnstjern''. Kvikne had a violent reputation, but Bjørnson succeeded in introducing compulsory education and subduing the local opposition to religious authority. Boyeson, Hjalmar Hjorth. 1972

895 ' __NOTOC__ Year 895 ( DCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The Magyars are expelled from southern Russia, and settle in the Carpathian B ...

''Essays on Scandinavian Literature''. New York: Benjamin Blom, p. 5. On 11 April 1838 Bjørnson was transferred with his family to the parish of

Nesset Nesset is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway on the Romsdal Peninsula. The administrative centre was the village of Eidsvåg. Other population centers included Rausand, Boggestranda, Myklebostad, Eresfjord, and Eikesda ...

, outside

Molde Molde () is a town and List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

Romsdal Romsdal is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Norway, Rauma, Sandøy, and V ...

when Bjørnstjern was six years old. They lived at the Nesset Parsonage and it was there that his son modified his own name to ''Bjørnstjerne''. The family remained in Nesset for 14 years. Bjørnson was appointed parish priest of

on 18 September 1852 and served there until 1869. In 1858, he presided over the marriage of his son at the old church in Søgne, whereupon he wrote in the parish records: "Marriage, 11 September: The student and theater director Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson married the single girl Johanne Elisabet Caroline Reimers." In addition to Bjørnstjerne, Bjørnson's children included Mathilde Cathinka (born in 1834), Petter Elias (born 25 April 1838, father of

Inga Bjørnson Inga Bjørnson (4 March 1871 – 8 March 1952) was a Norwegian philanthropist and theatre leader. Personal life She was born in Christiania, a daughter of Peter Elias Bjørnson and Laura Marie Mathilde Riiser Larsen, and niece of Bjørnstj ...

), Carl F. (born in 1844), and Karoline Emilie (1841–1929), who was mother of the historian of religion

William Brede Kristensen William Brede Kristensen (21 June 1867 – 25 September 1953) was a Norway, Norwegian born, Dutch theologian, professor and historian of religion. Biography William Brede Kristensen was born at Kristiansand in Vest-Agder, Norway. He was the so ...

. Bjørnson died in Kristiania (now

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

) and was buried at Our Savior's Cemetery.Repstad, Laurits, & Olav Gautestad. 1968. ''Søgne gamle kirke og Peder Bjørnson''. Søgne: Søgne menighetsråd, p. 37.

References

Further reading