Frederik Moltke Bugge (23 September 1806 – 9 July 1853) was a Norwegian philologist and educator.

Early and personal life

Bugge was born in

Trondhjem Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is t ...

as a son of bishop

Peter Olivarius Bugge Peter Olivarius Bugge (2 December 1764 – 6 December 1849) was a Norwegian priest and politician. He was the bishop of the Diocese of Nidaros from 1804 until 1842. Biography Peter Olivarius Bugge was born at Holt in Nedenes county, Norway. ...

(1764–1849) and Cathrine Magdalene Koch (1771–1869). Bugge graduated from Trondhjem Cathedral School in 1823 and from the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo (; ) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick University, the university was established in 1811 as the de facto Norwegian conti ...

with the cand.philol. degree in 1829. In September 1831, in Christiania he married Anne Marie Magelssen (1811–1874). Their son Wilhelm Bugge became a bishop. Bugge was also uncle of

Johannes Christian Piene Johannes Christian Piene (19 August 1832 – 2 July 1912) was a Norwegian businessman and Conservative Party politician. Piene was born in Trondhjem - the son of merchant and industrialist Caspar Christian Piene (1805–1885) and Lucie Benedicte ...

and great-grandfather of Leif Vetlesen.

Career

Bugge was hired as principal at Trondhjem Cathedral School in 1833. He was a school reformer, and first published his thoughts on the school system in 1835's . Bugge was sent by the Norwegian state to study schools in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and German states from 1836 to 1837. In 1838 he finished his reflections from the travel, in three volumes. Named , the work was published by the Norwegian state the next year, and even awarded with a gold medal by

Frederick Augustus II of Saxony Frederick Augustus II (; 18 May 1797 – 9 August 1854) was King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin. He was the eldest son of Maximilian, Prince of Saxony – younger son of the Elector Frederick Christian of Saxony – by h ...

. In 1839, Bugge got a seat on the public commission . Bugge had ideas that bore stems of the

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

thought. He was inspired by

Grundtvig Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (; 8 September 1783 – 2 September 1872), most often referred to as N. F. S. Grundtvig, was a Danish pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian, teacher and politician. He was one of the most influential p ...

's idea about educating the masses, and also supported

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 ...

's endeavors. However, he also wanted to protect the "learned" schools, which taught classical subjects, from too much influence from natural sciences and modern languages. A public polemic ensued between "classicists" and "realists"; Herman Foss and

Anton Martin Schweigaard Anton Martin Schweigaard (11 April 1808 – 1 February 1870) was a Norwegian educator, jurist, economist and member of the Norwegian Parliament. Background Schweigaard was born at Kragerø in Telemark, Norway. He was one of three children of ...

adhered to the latter. Among Bugge's supporters were professor and later principal of Christiania Cathedral School Ludvig Vibe. Although the classical subjects declined and never recovered, Bugge all in all became known as one of the "grand school strategists in 19th-century Norway", together with

Ole Vig Ole Vig (6 February 1824 – 19 December 1857) was a Norwegian teacher, poet, non-fiction writer, magazine editor. He is remembered today primarily as an early proponent of universal public education. Biography Vig grew up on a farm (''Vikm ...

and

Hartvig Nissen Ole Hartvig Nissen (17 April 1815 – 4 February 1874) was a Norwegian philologist and educator. He founded Nissen's Girls' School in Christiania in 1849. In 1865 he became director-general in the Ministry of Education, while remaining one of t ...

. Bugge was also a member of

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norway, Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of ...

from 1833, and praeses (chairman) from 1838 to 1851. He was also Mayor of Trondheim in 1845, 1849 and 1850. Bugge's public fall came in 1851, when he was forced to retire from Trondhjem Cathedral School, having battled alcoholism for some years. When he translated the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' in 1852, he was ridiculed and parodied in parts of the Norwegian press, mainly because he wrote too

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

ical. Bugge settled in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

where he worked as a private tutor until his death in July 1853.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bugge, Frederik Moltke 1806 births 1853 deaths University of Oslo alumni Norwegian philologists Classical philologists Norwegian Latinists 19th-century Norwegian translators Translators from Greek Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Mayors of Trondheim Heads of schools in Norway People educated at the Trondheim Cathedral School 19th-century Norwegian writers