Gertrud Rask (167321 December 1735) was the first wife of the Danish-Norwegian missionary to Greenland

Hans Egede Hans Poulsen Egede (31 January 1686 – 5 November 1758) was a Denmark–Norway, Danish-Norwegian Lutheran missionary priest who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a succes ...

and was the mother of the missionary and translator

Paul Egede Paul or Poul Hansen Egede (9 September 1708 – 6 June 1789) was a Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian theologian, missionary, and scholar who was principally concerned with the Church of Denmark, Lutheran mission among the Kalaallit people in Green ...

Life in Norway

Gertrud Rask (the parish register records her as Gjertrud Nilsdatter Rasch) was born on the island of

Kveøya Kveøya is an island in Kvæfjord Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located in the Kvæfjorden, an arm of the Gullesfjorden. The island sits about southwest of the village of Borkenes. In 2010, the Kveøy Bridge was completed, connec ...

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, the third of six children of Niels Nielsen Rasch (1641–1704) and Nille Nilsdatter (d. 1716). Growing up in the harsh climate of northern Norway, she was 34 when she married

, the 21-year-old pastor of

Vågan Church Vågan Church (; nickname: ''Lofoten Cathedral'') is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kabelvåg on the island of Austvågøya. It is the church for the Vå ...

in the Lofoten archipelago. They had four children : Sons- Poul (1709–1789) &

Niels Niels is a male given name, equivalent to Nicholas, which is common in Denmark, Belgium, Norway (formerly) and the Netherlands. The Norwegian and Swedish variant is Nils. The name is a developed short form of Nicholas or Greek Nikolaos, after Saint ...

(1710–1782) ; Daughters- Kirstine Matthea (1715–1786) and Petronelle (1716–1805).Torstein Jørgensen
"Hans Egede - utdypning"
in ''Store Norske Leksikon'' (Norwegian). Retrieved 2010-01-20. Her husband's determination to establish a Greenland mission had become firm by 1710 at the latest; Gertrud Rask Egede strongly resisted his plan initially, but eventually she bent to his will after he promised not to go to Greenland without her.

Mission to Greenland

In 1718, the couple and their children moved to

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 ...

, whence – at the conclusion of the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

– they set sail for Greenland on 12 May 1721, arriving at

Baal's River Nuup Kangerlua is a long fjord in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland. It was formerly known by its colonial name as Godthaab Fjord (), Gilbert Sound and Baal's River.Nicoll, James. An Historical and Descriptive Account of Ice ...

(the modern Nuup Kangerlua) on the southwest coast on 3 July. Hope Colony (''Haabets Koloni'') was established on Kangeq Island at the mouth of the fjord; the remains of the house where the family lived together with (initially) about 25 other people are still preserved. The settlement was moved to the mainland and renamed

Godthaab Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Greenland, most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of Government of Greenland, government an ...

by the royal governor

Claus Paarss Major Claus Enevold Paarss (18 February 1683 – 26 May 1762) was a Danish military officer and official. Retired from service,Marquardt, Ole"Change and Continuity in Denmark's Greenland Policy"in ''The Oldenburg Monarchy: An Underestimated Emp ...

in 1728. Despite her strong

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 ...

bias, Gertrud supported her husband's missionary work among the

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

, working among them as a nurse. In 1733, the

Moravian missionaries The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation o ...

Christian Stach A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

Matthias Stach Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. Notable people Notable people named Matthias include the following: Religion * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Isca ...

, and

Christian David Christian David (; 17 February 1692 – 3 February 1751) was a German-Czech missionary, writer and hymnwriter. He travelled as a missionary of the Moravian Church to Greenland and to Native Americans. He is known as the author of hymn stanzas th ...

arrived and began the settlement that would become first New Herrnhut and then

Nuuk Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital and most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. It is also the seat of gove ...

. Also with them, however, was one of Hans Egede's child converts who had been sent to Denmark to participate in the festivities around the coronation of

Christian VI 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 and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, bu ...

: the child had contracted

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

and spread the disease to the defenseless Inuit, thousands of whom died over the next two years.Cranz, David & al.
The History of Greenland: including an account of the mission carried on by the United Brethren in that country
'. Longman, 1820. Gertrud Egede worked among them, but finally succumbed herself in 1735. In 1736, her husband left the island in the care of his son

Poul Poul is a Danish masculine given name. It is the Danish cognate of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People * Poul Andersen (1922–2006), Danish printer *Poul Anderson (1926–2001), American writer * Poul Erik Andreasen (bo ...

and returned her body to Denmark for burial at the St. Nikolai Church in

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 ...

(now

Kunsthallen Nikolaj Nikolaj Kunsthal is a contemporary Arts centre, arts center in Copenhagen which occupies the former St. Nicholas Church. It is one of the city's oldest churches and an architectural landmark. It is situated on Nikolaj Plads, a few steps away fro ...

) where Egede himself was buried upon his death in 1758.

Legacy

Gertrud Rask Land Gertrud Rask Land () is an area in Peary Land, North Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park.Google Maps The territory was named by Lauge Koch after Gertrud Rask (1673 – 1735), the wife of missionary Hans ...

in Greenland, roads in both Greenland and

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 ...

, a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Qaqortoq Qaqortoq (), also known as Julianehåb, is the capital city of the Kujalleq municipalities of Greenland, municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town in sout ...

(then known as Julianehåb), a children's home and a restaurant in Nuuk have all been named after Gertrud Rask. An icebreaking steamship, the ''Gertrude Rask'', was launched in

Nakskov Nakskov is a market town on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. The town has a population of 12,200 (1 January 2025) and is the largest town on the island of Lolland. It is located in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland. Nakskov is situ ...

, Denmark in 1923. The 47-metre ship was used for Greenlandic trade and for several exploration trips from

to Greenland, but sank off

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

in 1942.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rask, Gertrud Greenlandic women Greenlandic Lutherans Deaths from smallpox 18th-century Norwegian people Norwegian emigrants to Greenland Norwegian Lutheran missionaries People from Kvæfjord 1673 births 1735 deaths Female Christian missionaries Lutheran missionaries in Greenland 18th-century Norwegian women