Morten Børup (1446–1526) was a Danish

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, cathedral

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

and Latin poet.

Early life and education

Born in Skanderborg, he first worked as a farm labourer, suffering considerable abuse. When he was 27 he fled to

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, where he managed to enter the

cathedral school Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools. Some of these ...

. Supported by his teachers and by Archdean Morten Krabbe, he attended the newly founded Copenhagen University where he graduated in theology. Børup continuing his studies at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

after that in 1487, receiving a doctorate.

Career

On returning to Denmark, he became principal of the Aarhus cathedral school around 1490, where he gained an excellent reputation. He remained school principal until 1520. Among his students, were the Lutheran reformers Jørgen Sadolin and Hans Tausen. Børup wrote a number of Latin plays for the benefit of his students and they are among the first publicly performed plays in Denmark (1501). He is also said to have composed a choral dance (''dåredansen''), which was performed over 50 years after his death for the christening of Christian IV. In later life, he became the

of Aarhus Cathedral, managing all the church music and probably composing hymns and poetry in Latin. One of his best known works is ''Carmen vernale'' (Spring Song) written for his school's annual May festival. The work was adopted by many other schools in both Denmark and Sweden and later inspired various composers, including

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he d ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borup, Morten 1446 births 1526 deaths Danish male writers Danish educators People from Skanderborg Municipality Writers from Aarhus