Catharina Freymann (16 September 1708 – 12 December 1791) was a Norwegian educator and

pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

leader. Catharina Maria Freymann was born in Christiania (now Oslo, Norway). She was the daughter of Wenzel Freymann and Karen Bartholomeusdatter. Her father was a blacksmith who had immigrated from

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. Her parents placed great emphasis on the children's upbringing and Christian education. When her father died, she lived to the home of Lieutenant Colonel Jørgen Meding at

Toten Toten is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Innlandet county in the eastern part of Norway. It consists of the municipalities Østre Toten and Vestre Toten. The combined population of Toten is approximately 27,000. The largest town ...

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...

, where she was influenced by the pietistic movement within

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. In 1733, she started a girl school in his parents' house which she had inherited. In 1737, she was visited by the Danish theologian Gert Hansen, who had been influenced by the teachings of

John Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspi ...

and the

Hussites upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century upright=1.2, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began during the Prag ...

revival. When Gert Hansen was arrested for not having submitted his passport to the police after his arrival, she arranged a demonstration at the town hall. She subsequently became the local leader of the Moravian movement (''Brødremenigheten'') in Norway. She traveled between the different Moravian congregations scattered within Norway.

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 ...

authorities were soon aware of what was happening. Her religious activity are commonly considered to have contributed to restrictions on freedom of religion in both Norway and Denmark. King

Christian VI of Denmark Christian VI (30 November 1699 – 6 August 1746) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of Frederick IV of Denmark, Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's m ...

and Norway issued a Royal Decree (the Conventicle Act) on January 13, 1741, which forbade future religious gatherings without the consent of Church parish priests. The ordinance remained in effect in Norway until abolished in 1842. She spent her later years as an employee at the Moravian colony in the village of

Herrnhut Herrnhut (; ; ; Upper Lusatian: ''Harrnhutt'', ''Harrnutt'') is a town of around 6,000 inhabitants in Upper Lusatia, in the district of Görlitz, in eastern Saxony, Germany. The town is mainly known as the place of origin of the community of t ...

in eastern

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

where she died in 1791 at 82 years of age.

References

1708 births 1791 deaths Schoolteachers from Oslo 18th-century Norwegian educators 18th-century religious leaders Women Protestant religious leaders Norwegian Christian religious leaders Norwegian people of the Moravian Church Clergy from Oslo 18th-century women educators {{Norway-bio-stub

See also

References