Carl Christian Rafn (January 16, 1795 – October 20, 1864) was a Danish historian, translator and

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

. His scholarship to a large extent focused on translation of

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

literature and related Northern European ancient history. He was also noted for his early advocacy of the recognition of

Norse colonization of North America The exploration of North America by Norsemen began in the late 10th century. Voyages from Iceland reached Greenland and founded colonies along its western coast. Norse settlements on Greenland lasted almost 500 years, and the population peaked a ...

Biography

Carl Christian Rafn was born in Brahesborg on the island of

Fyn Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Fyn (p59-FYN, Slk, Syn, MGC45350, Gene ID 2534) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FYN'' gene. Fyn is a 59-kDa member of the Src family of kinases typically associated with T-cell and neurona ...

Funen County Funen County () is a former county (Danish: '' amt'') in central Denmark, comprising the islands of Funen, Langeland, Tåsinge, Ærø, and approximately 90 other islands, of which only 25 are inhabited. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, com ...

, Denmark. After attending the Odense Cathedral School (''Odense Katedralskole''), he entered 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. ...

where he earned his law degree and graduated (1816). After having been employed as a lieutenant with the Funen light dragoons in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, in 1820, he became a teacher in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

at the Army Cadet Academy (''Landkadetakademiet'') in Copenhagen. Rafn was particularly interested in discovering the location of

Vinland Vinland, Vineland, or Winland () was an area of coastal North America explored by Vikings. Leif Erikson landed there around 1000 AD, nearly five centuries before the voyages of Christopher Columbus and John Cabot. The name appears in the V ...

as mentioned in

Norse saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

s. Together with Icelandic scholar

Finnur Magnússon Finnur Magnússon, sometimes referred to by the Danish version of his name under which he published, Finno Magnusun, Finn Magnussen or Magnusen, (27 August 1781 – 24 December 1847) was an Icelandic scholar and archaeologist who worked in Den ...

and Danish linguist

Rasmus Rask Rasmus Kristian Rask (; born Rasmus Christian Nielsen Rasch; 22 November 1787 – 14 November 1832) was a Danish linguist and philologist. He wrote several grammars and worked on comparative phonology and morphology. Rask traveled extensively ...

, he founded the Royal Norse Ancient Writings Society (''Det Kongelige nordiske Oldskriftselskab''). He was also a member of the Arnamagnæan Institute (''Den Arnamagnæanske Kommission'') which managed the Arnamagnæan Foundation (''Det Arnamagnæanske Legat''), custodians for the collection of manuscripts from 17th-century Icelandic scholar Árni Magnússon. Rafn published much of his work in 1837 in the ''Antiquitates Americanæ''. It is considered the first scholarly exposition of

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

Norse exploration. At the time of Rafn's research, the Norse sagas concerning

were considered by most scholars to be mere legends. The ideas advanced by Rafn found new support since the 1960s with the discovery of the Norse settlement at

L'Anse aux Meadows L'Anse aux Meadows () is an archaeological site, first excavated in the 1960s, of a Norse colonization of North America, Norse settlement dating to approximately 1,000 years ago. The site is located on the northernmost tip of the island of Newf ...

in northern

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, Canada. In 1836, he was admitted as a member of the Royal Danish Society for History (''Det kongelige danske Selskab for Fædrelandets Historie''). In 1836 he was also elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

. He was a member of numerous other foreign associations and societies and received the philosophical and legal doctorate from abroad. ''Breve fra og til Carl Christian Rafn“ med en biografi''
(Bendict Grøndal: 1869) Rafn became a Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

in 1828 and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Dannebrog (''Dannebrogsmand'') in 1842. He died in 1864 at the age of 69 and was buried at Assistens Cemetery in Copenhagen.

Selected works

Committee

* 1821–1826 – ''Nordiske Kæmpehistorier'' (3 vols.) * 1824 – ''Jomsvikingesaga'' * 1825–1837 – ''Fornmanna sögur'' (12 vols.) * 1826 – ''Krákumál'' * 1826 – 1827 – ''Kong Olaf Tryggvesøns Saga'' (3 vols.) * 1829–1830 – ''Fornaldarsögur Norðrlanda'' (3 vols.) * 1829–1830 – ''Nordiske Fortidssagaer'' (3 vols.) * 1832 – ''Færeyínga saga'' * 1837 – ''Antiqvitates Americana'' * 1838–1854 – ''Grønlands historiske Mindesmærker'' (3 vols.) * 1850–1858 – ''Antiquités Russes d'après les monuments historique des anciens et des Islandais Scandinaves'' (2 vols.) * 1852 – ''Saga Játvarðar konúngs Hin Helga'' (with Jón Sigurðsson) * 1856 – ''Antiquités de l'Orient''

Journals

* 1832–1836 – ''Nordisk Tidsskrift for Oldkyndighed'' (3 vols.) * 1836–1863 – ''Annaler for nordisk Oldkyndighed (og Historie)'' (23 vols.) * 1836–1860 – ''Mémoires de la société des antiquaires du Nord'' * 1843–1863 – ''Antikvarisk Tidsskrift'' (7 vols.)

References

Other sources

*Jespersen, Knud J.V. (1990) ''Carl Christian Rafn og det Fyenske Militair-Bibliothek'' (Odenses bibliotekshistorie, Odense Universitetsforlag)

External links

Facsimile of a map from the works of Carl Christian Rafn
(London: Norrœna Society. 1906. Rasmus B. Anderson, editor in chief) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafn, Carl Christian 1795 births 1864 deaths People from Assens Municipality University of Copenhagen alumni Danish antiquarians Danish classical scholars 19th-century Danish educators 19th-century Danish historians Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Burials at Assistens Cemetery (Copenhagen)