Jens Rynning (May 30, 1778 – June 11, 1857) was a Norwegian priest and public education advocate. He spent longest part of his working life as a priest in

Ringsaker is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Brumunddal. Other settlements in Ringsaker include the town of Moelv and th ...

and

Snåsa Snåsa (; sma, Snåase) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherred region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Snåsa. Other villages include Agle and Jørstad. Snåsa is one of t ...

Life

Rynning was born in Kastnes in Tranøy. He was the son of Ole Rynning, who served as the bailiff () in Senja and

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the 21s ...

, and his wife Golla Hveding. Rynning married a daughter of the rural shopkeeper Bernt Anker Steen in Ringsaker. In 1796 he enrolled in the

Trondheim Cathedral School Trondheim Cathedral School ( no, Trondheim katedralskole, Latin: ''Schola Cathedralis Nidrosiensis'') is an upper secondary school located next to the Nidaros Cathedral in the center of Trondheim, Norway. History There is great dispute regarding ...

, and he received his ''

cand.theol. Candidatus theologiæ (male), Candidata theologiæ (female), abbreviated cand. theol. is an academic degree with a long tradition, awarded after a six-year higher education in theology in Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. In Norway, the title has r ...

'' degree from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

in 1800. In addition to theology, had also studied other topics that he thought could be useful as a priest and teacher of the people, such as agriculture. His interest in such practical matters made him a typical example of a so-called "

potato priest A potato priest ( no, potetprest) is a Norwegian term used for priests in the 18th century that, partly following royal orders, encouraged the cultivation of potatoes in Norway. The term is also used for priests that were as equally interested in ...

" ( no, potetprest). In Norway, he worked as a Sunday school teacher in Trondheim for a time and as a tutor at the home of Eiler Hagerup Holtermann at the Austrått Manor. He took a position in Copenhagen as an applicant for public office in 1805, and was then appointed a traveling curate in Ringsaker in the same year. In 1817, he became parish priest in the same place. Rynning did much to improve schooling in Ringsaker. In 1824 he was appointed parish priest in Snåsa, where he remained the rest of his life. Rynning died in Snåsa. Rynning was the father of the emigrant author

Ole Rynning Ole Rynning (April 4, 1809 – September 1838) was a Norwegian emigrant pioneer and author. Rynning was born in Ringsaker in Hedmark county, Norway. He was the son of the priest Jens Rynning (1778–1857) and the uncle of Bernt Julius Muus (1832� ...

, who wrote the popular booklet (The America Book). He was the grandfather of

Bernt Julius Muus Bernt Julius Muus (March 15, 1832 – May 25, 1900) was a Norwegian-American Lutheran minister and church leader. He helped found St. Olaf College, a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Biography Early life and education ...

(1832–1900), who helped found St. Olaf College in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. ...

Publications and distinctions

In 1803, Rynning received a prize of 200

riksdaler The svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thale ...

for his work (Considerations on the Influence of

Kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "under ...

Burning on Fishing and Agriculture). He also received a prize from the Norwegian Society for Development () for his work (The Influence of Allodial Rights on the National Charity and Prosperity of Norway, printed in the journal '' Historisk-philosophiske Samlinger'' in 1813). Rynning became a member of the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters ( da, Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab, DKNVS) is a Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The ...

in 1805. For many years he sent reports to the newspaper ''

Morgenbladet ''Morgenbladet'' is a Norwegian weekly, newspaper, covering politics, culture and science. History ''Morgenbladet'' was founded in 1819 by the book printer Niels Wulfsberg. The paper is the country's first daily newspaper; however, Adresseav ...

'' from Snåsa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rynning, Jens 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy People from Troms People from Ringsaker People from Snåsa 1778 births 1857 deaths Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters