Jonas Rein (30 January 1760 – 21 November 1821) was a Norwegian priest, poet and member of 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 ...

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the munic ...

in 1814.

Background

He was born at

Øksendal Øksendal may refer to: People * Øksendal (surname), a list of people with this surname Places *Øksendal (village) Øksendal (or ''Øksendalsøra'') is a village in Sunndal Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is loc ...

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...

, Norway. He was the son of parish priest Ole Rein (1729–1792) and his wife Margretha Hansdatter Ross. She died two weeks after Jonas' birth. In 1763 the family moved to

Jevnaker Jevnaker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Jevnaker with a population of 4,302. The parish of ''Jævnaker'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see form ...

, where his father was hired as

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

. Rein took his

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1777, and studied 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. ...

. He started studying

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, but soon switched to literature and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. He graduated in 1780. While a student 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 ...

, 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 ...

(''Det Norske Selskab''), a literary society for Norwegian students in the city.

Career

In 1780 Rein returned to Norway, working mostly as a private tutor. He debuted as a playwright, but the play did not reach the stage. In 1787 he returned to Denmark to seek a post as a civil servant. After one rejection, he took the cand.philol. degree in 1789. He was appointed as

of northern

Kautokeino Church Kautokeino Church (, ) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Kautokeino Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kautokeino. It is the main church for the Kautokeino parish which is part of the Indre Finnm ...

in 1791, but never assumed office; instead he chose to become

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at the Skjeberg Church in 1792. He left in 1799, and in 1800 he became vicar in

Eidanger Church Eidanger Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Porsgrunn Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Eidanger. It is one of the churches for the Eidanger parish which is part of the Skien prosti (de ...

and Brevik Church. From 1808, he was the vicar of

Nykirken Nykirken (literally: "The new church") is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bergen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Nordnes area of the city of Bergen. It is one of the churches for the Bergen Cathedral paris ...

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 ...

. In the meantime Rein had developed into a recognized poet. He published the poetry collections ''Samlede Digte'' (two volumes, 1802) and ''Nyeste Digte'' (1810). In

1814 Events January * January 1 – War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine. * January 3 ** War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Cattaro: French gar ...

he was elected to the

Eidsvoll Manor Eidsvollsbygningen (Literally: ''The Eidsvoll building'') is a historic manor house located at Eidsvoll in Akershus county, Norway. The building is where the Constitution of Norway was signed on 17 May 1814. The estate is now owned by The State o ...

as a representative with the

deputation, which was led by

Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie (7 December 1778 – 10 October 1849) was a Norwegian attorney. He was a member of the National Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814 and served as the Norwegian Constituent Assembly secretary. Background Born in Kristiansu ...

. He favored the Independence Party (''Selvstendighetspartiet''), and held animosity towards the proposed

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 ...

. The Constituent Assembly elected Crown Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark as King of Norway. However, after the Swedish campaign against Norway during the summer, Norway came into a loose

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

with Charles III John as King . Rein's anti-Swedish sentiments might have cost him the position of

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

, which became vacant in 1816. In 1817 he co-founded the patriotic magazine ''Den norske Tilskuer'' together with

Christian Magnus Falsen Christian Magnus Falsen (14 September 1782 – 13 January 1830) was a Norwegian statesman, jurist and historian. He was a member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly and was one of the writers of the constitution of Norway. Falsen has been name ...

and Herman Foss.

Personal life

Rein was married twice. In December 1791 he married Anna Cathrine Arbo (1756–1794), a grand-aunt of painter

Peter Nicolai Arbo Peter Nicolai Arbo (18 June 1831 – 14 October 1892) was a Norwegian historical painter, who specialized in portraits and allegorical scenes from Norwegian history and the Norse mythology. He is most noted for ''The Wild Hunt of Odin'', a d ...

. In February 1796 in

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

he married Fredrikke Bergersen (1779–1856). He had six daughters. He died in November 1821 in Bergen, and was buried at Nykirkegården.

Legacy

At Nykirken in Bergen (''Nykirken i Bergen'') there is a memorial that is decorated every May 17 by the command of the

Nordnæs Bataillon Nordnæs Bataillon is a buekorps in Bergen that was established 3 May 1858. The members primarily come from the eastern side of Nordnes Nordnes is a peninsula and neighbourhood in the city centre of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway Norwa ...

in commemoration of Rein's service to Norway. In 1882, a street at Nygård in Bergen (''Jonas Reins gate'') was named after him.

References

External links

Speech by Jonas Rein 19 April 1814

Speech by Jonas Rein 13 May 1814
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rein, Jonas Norwegian priest-politicians 18th-century Norwegian poets 19th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets Fathers of the Constitution of Norway Politicians from Bergen University of Copenhagen alumni Norwegian expatriates in Denmark 1760 births 1821 deaths 19th-century Norwegian male writers