Anders Hovden (April 6, 1860 – November 26, 1943) 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 ...

Lutheran clergyman,

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

writer poet and author.

Education and career

Anders Karlsen Hovden was born at

Ørsta is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ørsta. Other villages in the municipality include Hovdebygda, Flåsk ...

in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. His parents were Karl Rasmussen Hovden and Johanne Andersdatter Velle. His father died when he was 16, but fellow Ørsta native

Ivar Aasen Ivar Andreas Aasen (; 5 August 1813 – 23 September 1896) was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright, and poet. He is best known for having assembled one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language, Nynorsk, from va ...

helped him get an education: first the teachers' training college in

Volda Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and ...

, then

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 ...

at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

. Hovden became cand.theol. in 1886 and then worked some years as a teacher. From 1891 he was a Lutheran minister in

Lista Lista is a former municipality located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The administrative centre was the village of Vanse where Vanse Church is located. Lista munici ...

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

, Sande,

Vanse Vanse is a village in Farsund municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located about west of the town of Farsund and about east of the village of Vestbygd. The Farsund Airport, Lista is located just west of Vanse. The village was ...

Krødsherad Krødsherad (''Krødsherad kommune'') is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Noresund. The municipality of Krødsherad was established when it was separated from the municipali ...

Melhus Melhus is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Melhus. Other villages include Gåsbakken, Hovin, Korsvegen, Kvål, Ler, Lundamo, S ...

and

Østre Toten Østre Toten is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lena. Other villages in the municipality include Kapp, Kolbu, Krab ...

Hymnwriter

Hovden was the author of over 250 hymns. He debuted in the mid-1890s with a couple of poetry collections, however, it was in 1897 with his third collection, ''Tungalda'' that he received popular acclaim in wider circles. His breakthrough came in 1901 with the poetry cycle ''Bonden''. He was also on the revision board for '' Landstads kirkesalmebog'' which was the main hymnal for the Church of Norway prior to 1926. From 1928, he was co-editor the Norwegian hymnal, ''

Nynorsk salmebok ''Nynorsk salmebok'' ('Nynorsk Hymnal'; full title: Nynorsk salmebok for kyrkja og heim og møte 'Nynorsk Hymnal for Church and Home and Meetings') is a Nynorsk hymnal that was edited by Bernt Støylen, Peter Hognestad, and Anders Hovden, and f ...

'', which contained 23 original hymns by Anders Hovden and 16 translations from

nynorsk Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano-N ...

. Most notable among his compositions was the Norwegian national hymn ''Fagert er landet'' ("Fair is the country"). He retired from his ministry in 1931.

Author

Hovden also wrote a number of books, of which his autobiography ''Attersyn'' (1926) is best known. He also wrote ''Per Sivle – ei livssoge'' (1905), the first biography of Norwegian poet and novelist,

Per Sivle Per Sivle (6 April 1857 – 6 September 1904) was a Norwegian poet, novelist and newspaper editor. He is known for his novel ''Streik'' from 1891, and for his collections of stories issued between 1887 and 1895, ''Sogor'' (includes the story "Berre ...

. Published one year after his death, it contributed to the then obscure Sivle's increasing national popularity.

Bibliography

* ''Sunnmøringen'' (1894) * ''Sviv'' (1895) * ''Heimhug'' (1896) * ''Tungalda'' (1897) * ''Bonden'' (1901) *''Per Sivle – ei livssoge'' (1905) * ''Gate og grend'' (1905) * ''Stormfugl'' (1906) * ''Solhov'' (1907) * ''Liv og lagmand'' (1908) * ''Attersyn'' (1926)

Personal life

Anders Hovden was married twice and was the father of ten children. His first wife Lina Marie Devold (1865–1895), died after only four years of marriage and the birth of two children. Two years later Hovden married with Kari Huglen (1879–1963). They had eight children together.

References

External links

Digitized books by Hovden
in the

National Library of Norway The National Library of Norway ( no, Nasjonalbiblioteket) was established in 1989. Its principal task is "to preserve the past for the future". The library is located both in Oslo and in Mo i Rana. The building in Oslo was restored and reopened ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hovden, Anders 1860 births 1943 deaths People from Ørsta 20th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy Norwegian autobiographers Norwegian writers Norwegian Lutheran hymnwriters Norwegian songwriters University of Oslo alumni 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy