The latest publications in the Grundtvig Society Series

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Kirke-Klokken

The Church BellBy N. F. S. Grundtvi

Grundtvig and the Descent into Hell

The following special section on Grundtvig’s poem I Kveld blev der banketpaa Helvedes Port [This Night came a Knocking on Hell’s Fortress-Gate]includes a new unrhymed metrical English translation of the poem withselect commentary by S.A.J. Bradley, followed by two articles, the firstby K.E. Bugge about the genesis of the poem and the Descent theme inGrundtvig’s thinking; and the second by S.A.J. Bradley concerning theAnglo-Saxon poems which Grundtvig indicates were his inspiration to IKveld and a small cluster of other hymns which he wrote for the DanishChurch

Menneskets grænser

The Limits of ManBy N. F. S. GrundtvigThe Limits of Man is a previously unpublished manuscript by Grundtvig written in German and here published in the original language together with a Danish translation by William Michelsen. It is undated, but must belong to the period 1810-20, probably 1816- 18. The starting-point is Goethe’s poem of the same title, which Grundtvig had copied into his journal at Egelykke from 1805-07; but the basis for this critique of Schelling is St John’s Gospel. The manuscript differs from Grundtvig’s others in its many corrections, most of them linguistic. It is regrettable that Grundtvig did not publicly avail himself of the German philosophical language, on grounds of principle which he explains in the periodical Danevirke (1816- 19). The manuscript is in the Grundtvig Archives at the Royal Library in Copenhagen (fasc. 168.3, 22 pages)

Grundtvig om folkekirken på Den grundlovgivende Rigsforsamling i 1849

Grundtvig on the Danish Church is a reprint of Grundtvig’s speech in the Constitutional Assembly of 1849 according to the short-hand minutes recorded in the Assembly’s Gazette. Here he gives his reasons for not supporting the paragraph on the Church in the Constitution Bill including in his arguments a comparison with the position of the Established Church in England. He wanted complete freedom of worship in Denmark, while welcoming that the State subsided the form of worship favoured by a large majority of the population, as long as they did so out of their own free will. He also proposed that any member of the Danish Church might approach any member of its clergy about baptism, communion and confirmation. Among those who took issue with him was J. P. Mynster, Bishop of Zealand, though, as it stood, he could not vote for the Constitution Bill eithe

Synet. Et ungdomsdigt af Grundtvig.

The VisionBy GrundtvigSo far this early poem by Grundtvig has only been printed in an appendix to ’’Christian Molbech and Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig. A Correspondence’’, edited by L. Schr.der, Copenhagen 1888. A personal letter to the historian Chr. Molbech, who was a friend of Grundtvig in his youth, is attached and is found with 5 other poems from 1805 to 1807 in the Royal Library (New Royal Collection 3091 4.) in Copenhagen

...hvor Danmarks Juli-Helte fik deres Lejested

Intet resumé

Skabt i Guds billede. En lidet kendt udredning af Grundtvig fra 1814

Created in the Image of Goda little-known account of Grundtvig from 1814The creation of man in the image of God means according to Grundtvig that man is created with the purpose of resembling the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Man is therefore tripartite, comprising body, soul and spirit, equipped to feel, imagine, and apprehend. As Father, God cannot be truly imagined, since our images are limited by time and space. When man nevertheless sets out to imagine God, it is as Creator, according to the Bible as “the living word” – as the Son. The Holy Spirit then becomes the power that unites the Father and the Son. Grundtvig believes that man must be created with free will, “for otherwise there was something that did not obey Him”, that is, God - namely the human will.However, Grundtvig does not envisage the newly-created man as a perfect image of God, but rather as a healthy new-born baby is “fully-developed” - with the potential to become the perfect image of God. The Fall breaks off this development, occurring as it did because man abused his reason by doubting the truth of God’s word: “of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it,” for “thou shalt surely die.” Instead man believed the devil’s words, which were lies, and let his reason serve his desire. If we doubt that we participate in this sin, we will be convinced “when we realise how little abhorrence we have of such a fall.” This was pride, and this was how we lost our immediate communion with God.This account is found in the first volume of Grundtvig’s second World Chronicle, published in 1814. Only the one volume was published; it has never been reprinted, and is therefore little-known