Frederik Schmidt malt av Christopher Pritzier Meidell - Eidsvoll 1814 - EM

Frederik Schmidt (27 May 1771 – 16 February 1840) was a Danish- Norwegian priest, politician, doctor of theology, poet and diarist.

Biography

Schmidt was born in Asminderød,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, to

Christen Schmidt Christen Schmidt (22 February 1727 – 6 October 1804) was a Norwegians, Norwegian bishop. Life and career He was born in Kongsvinger (town), Kongsvinger as a son of vicar Hans Jacob Schmidt and Alethe S. Lemmich. He enrolled as a student in 1 ...

(1727–1804) and Petronelle S. Lemmich (1734–1798). His parents were of Norwegian descent, and they moved to Norway as his father became bishop in 1773. Schmidt enrolled as a student at 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. ...

in 1787, and after a later hiatus he returned and graduated with the

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 ...

degree in 1791. He was a member of the

Norwegian Society The Norwegian Society (''Norske Selskab'') was a literary society for Norwegian students in Copenhagen active from 1772 to 1813. Its members included authors, poets and philosophers. The Norwegian Society was formed in 1772 by Ove Gjerløw Meye ...

. Schmidt was a priest in Christiania from 1792, and started the periodical ''Hermoder'' in 1795, which he edited until 1797. In 1798 he became vicar of

Eiker Eiker is a traditional district in the county of Buskerud, Norway. History Eiker consists of the municipalities of Nedre Eiker and Øvre Eiker. The area is located in the southern part of Buskerud county. Eiker is an agricultural area with a ...

. He was promoted to

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

in 1808. He also tried to become dean of

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 ...

, but did not receive the appointment. In 1817 he failed again, in becoming bishop of the Diocese of Bergen. He took an absence of leave of two years, and then resigned from his position in Eiker. In 1820 he returned to Denmark as vicar of

Himmelev Himmelev is a largely residential area in the municipality of Roskilde in Denmark and is contiguous with Roskilde. The population in the parish is around 14,000 (2022). It is on the eastern shore of the southernmost part of Roskilde Fjord. It co ...

. He took the dr. theol. degree in 1826 with the thesis ''Historia Paulicianorum orientalium''. Schmidt was elected to the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly ( or ) is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised the dissolution of the union with Denmark. The meetings took place at the Eidsvoll Manor in th ...

in 1814. He supported Crown Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark-Norway and his endeavor to become the new ruler of Norway. When Sweden stopped this plan with a

military campaign A military campaign is large-scale long-duration significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of interrelated military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war. The term derives from th ...

, Schmidt accepted the subsequent

union between Sweden and Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway (; ), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden and Norway under a common monarch and common foreign pol ...

. However, Schmidt took the initiative to a scrutiny of the Norwegian government's role in the military campaign. This initiative led to Norway's first

Impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

case, against Lieutenant General

Fredrik Gottschalk von Haxthausen Frederik Gottschalk von Haxthausen (14 July 1750 – 6 July 1825) was a Danish- Norwegian army officer, councillor of state, cabinet member and Norway's first minister of finance. Biography Haxthausen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. His fa ...

. Schmidt took this initiative has he had been elected to the first session of the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

, representing the constituency of Buskeruds Amt. He only served one term. After 1814, Schmidt moved back to his birth country of Denmark in resentment over the union with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, but probably also in frustration that he did not become the

Bishop of Bergen The Catholic Diocese of Bergen or Diocese of Bjørgvin in Norway existed from the eleventh century to the Protestant Reformation (1537),

. He was also one of the co-founders of the Royal Norwegian Society of Development (''Det Kongelige Selskap for Norges Velin'') 1809. In 1813 he was appointed 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 ...

. Frederik Schmidt died in February 1840 in

, Denmark.

Family and personal life

Schmidt married Maren Elisabeth Mathea Oppen (1778–1841) in January 1799 in Christiania. Schmidt wrote poems, and releases include ''Samlede Digte'' (1811) and ''Ny samlede Digte'' (1835). He is also known for his diaries. Diaries for the years 1790, 1794, 1807, 1811, 1814, 1817, 1818 and 1819 have been preserved by the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen. Excerpts from diaries were released in 1868 as ''Provst Fredrik Schmidts Dagbøger''. A new edition came, in three volumes, between 1966 and 1985. These diaries are regarded as having significant historical value.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Frederik 1771 births 1840 deaths 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy University of Copenhagen alumni Norwegian expatriates in Denmark Fathers of the Constitution of Norway Buskerud politicians 19th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets 19th-century Norwegian diarists 18th-century diarists Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog 19th-century Norwegian male writers 18th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy Members of the Storting 1814