Rasmus Rasmussen (August 13, 1871 – October 5, 1962), also known as Regin í Líð and Rasmus á Háskúlanum, was a Faroese folk high school teacher, writer, and independence activist.

Life

Rasmussen was born in MiðvágurFøroya Fólkaháskúli: R. Rasmussen og kona.
/ref> in 1871, the son of Johannes Rasmussen and Ata Haraldsdatter. Growing up was no different than it was for most children in the Faroes at the time, and he was engaged in odd jobs while not attending school. He studied under Jacob Jacobsen from Tórshavn, and he was a member of the first graduating class of the Faroese Teachers School ( fo, Føroya Læraraskúli), after having also spent an academic year at a folk high school in

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 , establishe ...

. Jacobsen's wife, Anna Kjelnæs, had also attended a folk high school in Denmark, and this is where Rasmussen first became familiar with the folk high school movement. His urge to attend such a school was so strong that in 1892 he left the family farm, which he had allodial rights to, and started attending the crafts department at

Vallekilde Folk High School Vallekilde Folk High School ( da, Vallekilde Højskole) is a Danish institution of adult education in the folk high school tradition. The school is located in the village of Vallekilde in Odsherred municipality on the island of Zealand. Histo ...

. He remained there for two academic years, working as a carpenter in the summers. During the 1896/97 academic year he attended

Askov Folk High School Askov is a city in Pine County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 364 at the 2010 census. Minnesota State Highway 23 serves as a main route in the community, and Interstate 35 is nearby. History The village was originally within t ...

, where he made the acquaintance of his compatriot Símun av Skarði. In 1904, Rasmussen married Símun's sister, Anna Suffía av Skarði, and he remained Símun's close friend and coworker. Rasmussen also attended the State Teachers School ( da, Statens Lærerhøjskole) in Copenhagen, where his main study area was science. Rasmussen's wife, Anna Suffía, served as superintendent after Símun av Skarði and Rasmus Rasmussen founded the

Faroese Folk High School Faroese ( ) or Faroish ( ) may refer to anything pertaining to the Faroe Islands, e.g.: *the Faroese language Faroese ( ; ''føroyskt mál'' ) is a North Germanic language spoken as a first language by about 72,000 Faroe Islanders, around 53,000 ...

( fo, Føroya Fólkaháskúli) in

Klaksvík Klaksvík is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands behind Tórshavn. The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands (the Norðoyar). It is the administrative centre of Klaksvík municipality. History The first se ...

in 1899. This is still the only Faroese folk high school, and it became the first school to teach in Faroese. The school was relocated to Tórshavn in 1909, and Rasmussen served as a teacher at the school until he retired in 1947. His teacher's position there was the source of his Faroese epithet ''Rasmus á Háskúlanum'' (literally, 'Rasmus at the high school'). Rasmussen died in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

Politician

Rasmussen was a clear proponent of

Faroese independence The Faroese independence movement ( fo, Føroyska Tjóðskaparrørslan), or the Faroese national movement (), is a political movement which seeks the establishment of the Faroe Islands as a sovereign state outside Denmark. Reasons for complet ...

and he served in the

Løgting The Løgting (pronounced ; da, Lagtinget) is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm. The name literally means "''Law Thing''"—that is, a law assembly—and derives from Old Norse '' ...

as a representative from

Norðoyar The six islands in the northeast of the Faroe Islands are together referred to as Norðoyar, i.e. the Northern Isles ( da, Norderøerne). These Islands from west to east are Kalsoy, Kunoy, Borðoy, Viðoy, Svínoy and Fugloy. Klaksvík Klaksv� ...

from 1914 to 1928 as a member of the Home Rule Party ( fo, Sjálvstýrisflokkurin). He viewed work with the folk high school as part of the effort to cultivate the minds of Faroese young people, which was essential in working for Faroese autonomy. Rasmussen was also among the founders of the Faroese Fishing Union ( fo, Føroya Fiskimannafelag) together with Símun Pauli úr Konoy in 1911, was the union's first secretary, and served as its director until 1947.

Author

Rasmussen published the first Faroese novel, ''Babelstornið'' (The Tower of Babel), in 1909. In 1910, he published the first Faroese botany textbook.Hnsen, Zakaris Svabo, et al. 2003. Faroese. In: Ana Deumert & Wim Vandenbussche (eds.), ''Germanic Standardizations: Past to Present'', pp. 157–192. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, p. 177.

Bibliography

* 1909: ''Bábelstornið'' (The Tower of Babel) * 1910:
Plantulæra
' (Botany) * 1912: ''Glámlýsi'' (Dazzling Light) * 1922–1923: '' Voluspá'' (Prophecy of the Seeress), translation * 1928: ''Høvdingar hittast'' (Heroes Meet), play * 1936: ''Føroya Flora'' (Faroese Flora) * 1942: ''Tvær fornsøgur'' (Two Old Stories) * 1943: ''Tvær skaldsøgur'' (Two Novels) * 1945: ''Fornmálasagnir og fornmálaljóð'' (Legends and Poems in the Old Language) * 1945: '' Hávamál'' (Sayings of the High One), translation * 1946: ''Gróðrarnýtsla fyrr í tíðini'' (Cultivation in Old Times) * 1949: ''Sær er siður á landi'' (Every Country Has its Own Customs), memoirs * 1950: ''Føroysk Plantunøvn'' (Faroese Plant Names) * 1951: ''Yvirlit yvir Føroya søgu'' (Overview of Faroese History) * 1952: ''Gróður og gróðrarvánir'' (Growth and Growing Conditions) * 2001: ''Rakul – og aðrar søgur'' (Rakul and Other Stories), also

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

Life

Politician

Author

Bibliography

References

Further reading