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 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 The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...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 as the son of sailors' priest Svend Holst Jensen and his wife writer and composer Caroline Mathilde Schytte. The name Scott was originally a first name, and he was named after both Scotland and the writer

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

. He moved to Norway when he was seven years old, his father being a parish priest in Høvåg. In 1901, Scott married Ellen Johansen (1871–1914), but this marriage was dissolved in 1912. In 1915, he married secondly Dagmar Marie Jensen, but in 1918 this marriage also ended in divorce. Finally, in 1918, he married Birgit Gabrielsen (1897–1981). He died in

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

in 1958.

Career

Scott made his literary debut in 1894 with the poetry collection ''Digte'' ('Poems'), and followed up with a second collection, ''Dag'' ('Day') in 1895. In 1896 he published the love story ''Aftenrøde. Arkitekt Helmers optegnelser'', and the story collection ''Vester i Skjærene''. His 1904 novel ''Tante Pose'' ('Aunt Bag') was the basis of the film '' Tante Pose'', 1940. In 1905, he wrote the comedy ''Himmeluret''. His literary breakthrough was the novel ''Jernbyrden'' (1915), which was well received by the critics. His most famous book is the novel ''Kilden eller Brevet om fiskeren Markus'' ('The Source, or the Letter about Mark the Fisherman'), 1918, a story about the fisherman Mark living a simple life and presenting simple thoughts. In his book ''Det gyldne Evangelium'' ('The Golden Gospel'), 1921, the main characters are

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

and Our Lord, who are seen wandering and meeting people. His books on the Norwegian travelling people, ''Fant'' (1928) and ''Josefa'' (1930) became popular, and in 1937 ''Fant'' was made into a film by

Tancred Ibsen Tancred Ibsen (11 July 1893 – 4 December 1978) was a Norwegian military officer, aviator, film director and screenwriter. Background Ibsen was the son of Sigurd Ibsen and Bergljot Bjørnson. He was the grandson of both Henrik Ibsen and Nobel ...

. The novel ''De vergeløse'' ('The Defenseless'), about a child taken from its mother by the authorities, was made into a film by

Leif Sinding Leif Sinding (19 November 1895 – 13 May 1985) was a Norwegian film director and journalist. He worked for the newspapers ''Verdens Gang (1868–1923), Verdens Gang'', ''Aftenposten'', and ''Morgenbladet''. Among his silent films are ''Himme ...

in 1939. Scott wrote several books for children, including ''Sølvfaks som reiste ut i den vide verden'' ('Sølvfaks Who Went out into the Wide World'), 1912, which has since gone into many editions, and ''Hellige tre konger'' ('We Three Kings'), 1900. Scott was awarded the

Gyldendal's Endowment The Gyldendal Prize, formerly Gyldendal's Endowment, is a Norwegian literary prize awarded by the Norway, Norwegian publisher Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. Gyldendal's Endowment was awarded from 1934 to 1995. It was superseded by the Gyldendal Prize in ...

in 1936. During the 1930s, he was fundamentally pro-German, publishing articles praising both

Vidkun Quisling Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (; ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Nazi collaborator who Quisling regime, headed the government of N ...

's National Gathering and

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. This stance was much debated, before, during and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. However, before the beginning of the war he had begun to distance himself from the German dictatorship, and during the war he wrote patriotic poetry. Scott and Vilhelm Krag are now considered southern Norway's most important poets.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Gabriel 1874 births 1958 deaths 19th-century Norwegian novelists 20th-century Norwegian novelists 19th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets Norwegian dramatists and playwrights Norwegian children's writers People from Leith Norwegian male novelists Norwegian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Norwegian male writers 20th-century Norwegian poets 20th-century Norwegian male writers Norwegian expatriates in Scotland