Andrias Christian Evensen (December 6, 1874 – October 21, 1917) was a
Faroese priest, editor, writer, and politician for the
Home Rule Party (). Together with
Jákup Dahl
Jákup Dahl (English and German ''Jacob Dahl'') (5 June 1878 – 5 June 1944) was a Faroese Provost and Bible translator. In 1908 he became known as a linguist with the first Faroese grammar lessons for school students.
Life and work
Dahl ...
, he was one of the first to propagate the use of
Faroese, including as a church language in preference to
Danish.
Evensen was born in
Viðareiði
Viðareiði (, literally: ''Wood-Isthmus'', ) is the northernmost settlement in the Faroe Islands and lies on the Island of Viðoy, which belongs to the Norðoyar Region.
Geography
It lies on an isthmus with high mountains to both the north and s ...
.
[Opielka, Andrea Susanne. 2011. ''Danse- og sanglege på Færøerne: oprindelse, udbredelse, nutidig tradition''. Tórshavn: Fróðskapur / Faroe University Press, p. 367.] He received his ''
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 ...
'' certification in 1894 and the degree of ''
cand.theol.
Candidate ( or ) is the name of various academic degrees, which are today mainly awarded in Scandinavia. The degree title was phased out in much of Europe through the 1999 Bologna Process, which has re-formatted academic degrees in Europe.
The de ...
'' in 1901. Evensen became the parish priest in
Sandur in 1902, and then served as the
dean for the Faroe Islands from April 1917 until his death in October that year. He became the editor of the newspaper ''
Føringatíðindi
''Føringatíðindi'' (The Faroes Journal) was a Faroese newspaper. It was published from January 1890 to December 1901, and then again from January to December 1906. The newspaper was the organ of the Faroese Society () and it was the first news ...
'' in 1906. Evensen was active in the
Løgting
The Løgting (pronounced ; ) 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 ''lǫgþing ...
as a parliamentary representative from
Sandoy
Sandoy ("Sand Island") is the first of the five southern islands that make up the Faroe chain, the fifth biggest of all the Faroe Islands, an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. It also refers to the Regions of the Faroe Islands, region ...
from 1908 to 1917. He eventually broke away from the
Home Rule Party () and was an independent representative during his last year in the Løgting.
[Wylie, Jonathan. 1987. ''The Faroe Islands: Interpretations of History''. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, p. 168]
Together with the writer
Rasmus Rasmussen and the archivist and politician
Anton Degn, he established the publisher Hitt føroyska Bókamentafelagið (The Faroese Book Cultivation Association) in 1907. Evensen died in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
.
Bibliography
*1899: ''Smásangir og sálmar'' (Short Songs and Psalms; editor)
*1900: ''Skálkaleikur. Mortansmessuteiti'' (Roguish Games. Saint Martin's Evening Cabaret)
*1902: ''Búreisingur'' (The Settler; journal, only six issues)
*1906: ''Føroysk orðabók, 1.–10.hft.'' (Faroese Dictionary, vols. 1–10; 1905–1906)
*1906: ''Føroysk lesibók fyri eldri børn'' (Faroese Reader for Older Children)
*1907: ''Stavingarbók'' (Spelling Book)
*1907: ''Stavingarbók og lesibók fyri yngri børn'' (Spelling Book and Reader for Younger Children)
*1908: ''Lesibók fyri yngri børn'' (Reader for Younger Children)
*1910: ''Kvæðabók I'' (Folk Ballads Volume I)
*1911:
Lesibók' (Reader)
*1912: ''Lesibók til læraraskúlan'' (Reader for Teacher Training School)
*1914: ''Savn til Føroya søgu í 16. øld'' (Anthology of Sixteenth-Century Faroese Sagas; 1908–1914)
*1963: ''Harubókin'' (a reader for younger children)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evensen, Andrias Christian
Members of the Løgting
Faroese Lutheran clergy
Faroese writers
Faroese editors
1874 births
1917 deaths