Rasmus Rasmussen (August 13, 1871 – October 5, 1962), also known as Regin í Líð and Rasmus á Háskúlanum, was a Faroese

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...

teacher, writer, and independence activist.

Life

Rasmussen was born in

Miðvágur Miðvágur (), is a village in the Faroe Islands on Vágar. It has been a municipality until 1 January 2009 when it fused with Sandavágur into Vága kommuna. Located on the south coast of the island of Vágar, Miðvágur is the largest town on t ...

Føroya Fólkaháskúli: R. Rasmussen og kona.
/ref> in 1871, the son of Johannes Rasmussen and Ata Haraldsdatter. Growing up was no different than it was for most children in the Faroes at the time, and he was engaged in odd jobs while not attending school. He studied under Jacob Jacobsen from Tórshavn, and he was a member of the first graduating class of the Faroese Teachers School (), after having also spent an academic year at a

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 ...

. Jacobsen's wife, Anna Kjelnæs, had also attended a folk high school in Denmark, and this is where Rasmussen first became familiar with the folk high school movement. His urge to attend such a school was so strong that in 1892 he left the family farm, which he had allodial rights to, and started attending the crafts department at Vallekilde Folk High School. He remained there for two academic years, working as a carpenter in the summers. During the 1896/97 academic year he attended Askov Folk High School, where he made the acquaintance of his compatriot Símun av Skarði. In 1904, Rasmussen married Símun's sister, Anna Suffía av Skarði, and he remained Símun's close friend and coworker. Rasmussen also attended the State Teachers School () in Copenhagen, where his main study area was science. Rasmussen's wife, Anna Suffía, served as superintendent after Símun av Skarði and Rasmus Rasmussen founded the Faroese Folk High School () in

Klaksvík Klaksvík () is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands behind Tórshavn. The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands (the Norðoyar). It is the administrative centre of Klaksvík municipality. History The fir ...

in 1899. This is still the only Faroese folk high school, and it became the first school to teach in Faroese. The school was relocated to Tórshavn in 1909, and Rasmussen served as a teacher at the school until he retired in 1947. His teacher's position there was the source of his Faroese epithet ''Rasmus á Háskúlanum'' (literally, 'Rasmus at the high school'). Rasmussen died in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; ; Danish language, Danish: ''Thorshavn''), usually locally referred to as simply Havn, is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of th ...

Politician

Rasmussen was a clear proponent of Faroese independence and he served in the

Løgting The Løgting (pronounced ; ) is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm. The name literally means "''Law Thing''"—that is, a law assembly—and derives from Old Norse ''lǫgþing ...

as a representative from Norðoyar from 1914 to 1928 as a member of the Home Rule Party (). He viewed work with the folk high school as part of the effort to cultivate the minds of Faroese young people, which was essential in working for Faroese autonomy. Rasmussen was also among the founders of the Faroese Fishing Union () together with Símun Pauli úr Konoy in 1911, was the union's first secretary, and served as its director until 1947.

Author

Rasmussen published the first Faroese novel, ''Babelstornið'' (The Tower of Babel), in 1909. In 1910, he published the first Faroese botany textbook.Hnsen, Zakaris Svabo, et al. 2003. Faroese. In: Ana Deumert & Wim Vandenbussche (eds.), ''Germanic Standardizations: Past to Present'', pp. 157–192. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, p. 177.

Bibliography

* 1909: ''Bábelstornið'' (The Tower of Babel) * 1910:
Plantulæra
' (Botany) * 1912: ''Glámlýsi'' (Dazzling Light) * 1922–1923: '' Voluspá'' (Prophecy of the Seeress), translation * 1928: ''Høvdingar hittast'' (Heroes Meet), play * 1936: ''Føroya Flora'' (Faroese Flora) * 1942: ''Tvær fornsøgur'' (Two Old Stories) * 1943: ''Tvær skaldsøgur'' (Two Novels) * 1945: ''Fornmálasagnir og fornmálaljóð'' (Legends and Poems in the Old Language) * 1945: ''

Hávamál ''Hávamál'' ( ; Old Norse: ''Hávamál'',Unnormalised spelling in the Codex Regius:''Title'': hava mal''Final stanza'': Nv ero Hava mál q''ve''ðin Háva hꜹ''l''lo i ..classical pron. , Modern Icelandic pron. , ‘Words of Hávi [the H ...

'' (Sayings of the High One), translation * 1946: ''Gróðrarnýtsla fyrr í tíðini'' (Cultivation in Old Times) * 1949: ''Sær er siður á landi'' (Every Country Has its Own Customs), memoirs * 1950: ''Føroysk Plantunøvn'' (Faroese Plant Names) * 1951: ''Yvirlit yvir Føroya søgu'' (Overview of Faroese History) * 1952: ''Gróður og gróðrarvánir'' (Growth and Growing Conditions) * 2001: ''Rakul – og aðrar søgur'' (Rakul and Other Stories), also audiobook

Life

Politician

Author

Bibliography

References

Further reading