Bishop Henrik Gerner (9 December 1629 – 14 May 1700) was a Dane who studied theology and travelled extensively in England. From 1656, at the age of 27, he became the parish priest for Birkerød (north of Copenhagen) and in 1693 until his death, he was appointed bishop of Viborg.

Captivity

In 1659, during the

Second Northern War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

, he was briefly imprisoned, tortured, held in chains and sentenced to death,Bricka - DBL
Vol 5 Page 609
/ref> by Swedish authorities for plotting the recapture of Kronborg - the sentence was not carried out after the Danish king Frederick III threatened reprisals. He was instead held imprisoned for eighteen weeks and had to pay a hefty fine before release.Salmonsen 2 Ed. Vol 9 page 634 On release he took his 36 pound chains with him to Birkerød church where it is now displayed. The scars from his treatment in prison were a constant reminder for the rest of his life. One of his fellow participants, Oluf van Steenwinckel, was not so lucky!

Intellectual interests

A man of lively literary interests, he published two works in Latin in 1662 promoting a form of social ethics. He translated the works of the Greek poet

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

and several lesser poets. He was in disagreement with his fellow priest

Peder Syv Peder Pedersen Syv (also spelled Siuf) or in Latin Petrus Petri Septimius (22 February 1631 – 17 February 1702) was a Danish Philology, philologist, folklore, folklorist, and priest, best known for his collections of Danish proverbs and folk s ...

's attempts at spelling reform of the Danish language, and an avid opponent of the use of foreign words in the Danish language. He also contributed to Peder Lauridsen Kylling's botanical work ''Viridarium Danicum''.

Commemoration

The street Henrik Gerners Vej in Birkerød was named in honour of Gerner. A granite bust of Gerner created by the sculptor Johannes Kragh was installed opposite Birkerød Church in 1917. A modern church extension housing the church administrative offices plus meeting rooms and a memorial hall was completed in 1979. A copy of Gerner's shackles hangs near the entrance and is used in historic reenactments.Bistrup

References

Citations in Danish

Salmonsens konversationsleksikon (under Projekt Runeberg)
Both Gerners appear on the same page! *Bricka, C F in Projekt Runeberg, Dansk Biografisk Lexikon. Vol 5 Page 607 - 614

*Bistrup Kirke (Birkerød
Gerner building

External links