Magnus Olsen

Magnus Olsen was born in Arendal, Norway on 28 November 1878, the son of merchant Ole Christian Olsen (1834–1887) and Therese Evine Olsen (1843–1926). He grew up in Arendal, where he gained his examen artium in 1896. Olsen subsequently studied philology at Royal Frederick University in Kristiania, where he took courses in Latin, Greek, German and Norwegian.[1]

Since 1899, Olsen worked as a teaching assistant at Royal Frederick University. He came under the influence of the archaeologist and toponymist Oluf Rygh, and particularly the philologist Sophus Bugge.[1][2] Bugge was widely considered Norway's greatest philologist at the time, but was in the process of losing his eyesight, and Olsen served as his assistant since 1902. By this time, Bugge was preparing him to become his successor at the University. Olsen received his cand.philol. degree at the head of his class in 1903.[1]

Photograph of Sophus Bugge, who was Olsen's mentor and predecessor as Professor of Old Norwegian and Icelandic Literature at Royal Frederick University in Kristiania.

Upon graduating, Olsen was employed as a researcher at his university, where he became involved in the teaching of students.[3] In 1905–1906 he was in Copenhagen working on the publication of a critical edition of the Vǫlsunga saga and Ragnars saga loðbrókar.[2]

Following the death of Bugge, Olsen succeeded him in 1908 as Professor of Old Norwegian and Icelandic Literature at Royal Frederick University. He saw philology as the key to understanding life in the past, particularly the Viking Age. Olsen became widely regarded as the foremost Norwegian philologist of his time. He advocated an interdiciplinary approach to this subject. His main fields of interest were Old Norse literature, runology, and toponomy. Olsen was known for the boldness of this interpretations, and believed, like his mentor Bugge, that making an interpretation rooted in sound methodology was better than making no interpretation at all. At the University, he was considered brilliant teacher but feared examinator. He saw is teaching and research as the best way he could serve his fatherland.[1] Olsen ensured that students of high ability had their works published.[3] He also ensured that a fund was established to make help students from poor families gain a university education. Olsen supervised the education of generations of Norwegian academics and teachers.[3] Together with scholars such as Carl Marstrander, Olsen developed Royal Frederick University into one the world's leading institutions on Germanic philology. Among the students who took courses under Olsen are Lee M. Hollander.[4]

In 1909, Olsen founded the journal Maal og Minne, which he personally edited for forty years. The first issue included his inaugural lecture on the Skírnismál, in which he presented parallels between Njörðr of Norse mythology and Nerthus mentioned by Tacitus.[2] Olsen married Gjertrud Mathilde Kjær, daughter of university librarian Johan Albert Julius Kjær (1852–1941) and Johanne Marie Torp (1863–1948), on 28 June 1912.[1] Between 1910 and 1924, Olsen authored three volumes of the monumental Norske Gaardnavne, which examined the toponomy of Norwegian farms.[1] The third volume was authored by Olsen together with Just Knud Qvigstad.[5] Olsen eventually assumed responsibility for the publication of this series, and had assisted its prior publisher Oluf Rygh.[5] Two of his best known publications are Hedenske kultminder i norske stedsnavne (1915) and Ættegård og helligdom (1926), which used toponymic evidence to examine Old Norse religion. These pioneering works made significant contributions to scholarship.[1] Notably, the evidence presented by Olsen showed that the Norse gods were venerated not only as creatures from another world, but as powers intertwined with the environment of the people. His Ættegård og helligdom was eventually translated into English and published under the title Farms and Fanes of Ancient Norway (1928).[2] Gabriel Turville-Petre mentions Olsen along with Georges Dumézil and Jan de Vries as one of the most influential scholars on Old Norse religion.[6]

The Tjängvide image stone depicts the Old Norse god Odin entering Valhalla on his horse Sleipnir. Old Norse religion and runology was of particular interest to Olsen's research.

His research on runology was significant. Following the death of Bugge, Olsen succeeded him as the publisher of Norges innskrifter med de ældre runer volumes (Norwegian Runic Inscriptions in the Older Runes), which examined Elder Futhark inscriptions in Norway. By 1924, it had been published in five volumes. Between 1941 and 1960, he published his subsequent Norges innskrifter med de yngre runer (Norwegian Inscriptions in the younger Runes) in five volumes. This work examined Younger Futhark inscriptions in Norway. Vols. 3–5 were published in cooperation with Aslak Liestøl.[2] Olsen was convinced that runes were not merely used as an instrument for communication, but that they were also believed to have magical purposes.[1]

During the German occupation of Norway in World War II, Olsen distinguished himself as a fierce opponent of Nazism, and was close to the resistance movement at the University. He was among the professors at the University of Oslo who on 15 May 1941 issued a public protest against the crimes of Josef Terboven against the Norwegian people.[3] Upon the arrest of Francis Bull by the German authorities, Olsen replaced him as acting dean at the University of Oslo.[1] On 15 October 1943, he was arrested by the German occupation authorities and interned at Bredtveit internment camp. Olsen was however quickly released, and continued his involvement with the resistance.[3]

Olsen retired from his professorship upon reaching the age limit in 1948, but continued to write and research.[5] He was appointed a Commander of the Order of St. Olav in 1945. He was also a recipient of the Grand Knight's Cross of the Order of the Falcon and the Knight of the Order of the Polar Star, and a recipient of honorary doctorates from several universities. Olsen was a member of a large number of scholarly societies, including the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, and a corresponding member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities.[1][2]

During his last years, Olsen made important contributions to the field of Eddaic studies.[2][3] His Edda- og skaldekvad. Forarbeider til kommentar, published in seven volumes between 1960 and 1964, examined the Eddas and Skaldic poetry. It contributed to the development of a relative chronology for these works.[2] Throughout his career, he authored hundreds of scholarly books and articles.[1] Olsen died on Oslo, Norway on 16 January 1963.[1]

• Norges innskrifter med de ældre runer volumes 1 – 4. Oslo 1891–1924. with Sophus Bugge.
• Völsunga saga ok Ragnars saga loðbrókar, Copenhagen 1906–1908. Samfund til udgivelse af gammel nordisk litteratur 36.
• (editor) Oluf Rygh. Søndre Bergenhus Amt. Norske gaardnavne 11. Oslo 1910.
• Hedenske Kultminder i Norske Stedsnavne. Kristiania 1915.
• (editor) Oluf Rygh. Stavanger Amt. Norske gaardnavne 10, Oslo 1915.
• (editor with Just Knud Qvigstad) Oluf Rygh. Finmarkens Amt. Norske gaardnavne 18. Oslo 1924.
• Ættegård og Helligdom, Norske Stednavn Sosialt og Religionshistorisk Belyst. Oslo 1926, 2nd ed. Oslo 1978.
• Norrøne studier, Oslo 1938.
• Farms and Fanes of Ancient Norway: The Place-Names of a Country Discussed in Their Bearings on Social and Religious History. Tr. Th. Gleditsch. Oslo 1928.
• Hva Våre Stedsnavn Lærer Oss. Oslo 1934, 2nd ed. Oslo 1971, 1973.
• Norges innskrifter med de yngre runer volumes 1 – 5. Oslo 1941, 1951, 1954, 1957, 1960. — Volumes 3 – 5 with Aslak Liestøl.