Caroline Mathilde Schytte Jensen (1 March 1848 – 24 September 1935) was a Norwegian writer and composer.

Biography

Caroline Mathilde Schytte was born in Fredrikshald (now

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a List of cities in Norway, town and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, R ...

), in

Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...

County, Norway. Her parents were Hans Holst Schytte (1815–1893) and Anne Marie Faye (1828–1872). Caroline Schytte was born into the family of a wealthy merchant, in a home marked by cultural interests. She was married to Svend Holst Jensen (1846–1908), a clergyman in the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

. The newly married couple settled first in

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

in Scotland, later in London, both sites associated with the

Norwegian Church Abroad The Norwegian Church Abroad or ''The Norwegian Seamen’s Church'' () is a religious organisation serving Norwegians and other Scandinavians travelling abroad. Founded in 1864, The Norwegian Seamen's Mission – Sjømannsmisjonen – was establis ...

. After nine years abroad, the family moved back to Norway, where her husband was vicar of

Høvåg Høvåg (historically: ''Høvaag'') is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1865 until its dissolution in 1962. It was located in the southern part of the present-day municipality of Lill ...

, later in

Grimstad Grimstad () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the Grimstad (to ...

. Schytte Caroline Jensen was known in particular for her children's songs. She wrote about 200 songs for children. Among her most popular songs are ''Ride ride ranke'' and ''Venter på far''. She was also an accomplished writer. Her contributions on various topics for magazines and newspapers had a large readership, especially among women. She was the mother of four children including Norwegian author,

Gabriel Scott Gabriel Scott (8 March 1874 – 9 July 1958) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, playwright and children's writer. Personal life Gabriel Scott Jensen was born in Leith in Scotland as the son of sailors' priest Svend Holst Jensen and his wife wri ...

. She died in Oslo at 87 years of age.

Selected works

* ''Katharina Månsdotters vaggvisa fôr konung Erik XIV'', with text by Z. Topelius (1898) * ''Spindersken'', with text by B. Bjørnson (1895) * ''Du är min ro'', with text by Z. Topelius (1895) * ''12 nye Børnesange'' (1898) * ''12 nye Børnesange'' with text by S. Holst Jensen (1901) * ''12 nye Børnesange'' (1902) * ''Blomster-Eventyr'', with text by G. Scott (1904) * ''Jesu Hender og mine'', with text by C. G. Gordon (1913) * ''Getsemane'', with text by O. T. Moe (1915) * ''Juleklapp, siste hilsen til Norges barn'' (1929)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Caroline Schytte 1848 births 1935 deaths Norwegian composers Norwegian songwriters People from Halden Norwegian women writers