Om Bent Christensens disputats: Omkring Grundtvigs Vidskab

About Bent Christensen’s Dissertation for the Doctorate, »About Grundtvig ’s Vidskab «By Anders Pontoppidan Thysse

Grundtvig og Spener. Især til belysning af den pietistiske Grundtvig

Grundtvig and Spener With Grundtvig the Pietist as Chief Object of Illustration By A. Pontoppidan Thyssen The question of pietistic elements in Grundtvig’s theology has received much attention in both religious and scholarly debate. By way of illustration the present treatise attempts a comparative analysis of leading ideas in Grundtvig and Ph. J. Spener, the central figure of German pietism. The author first deals with Spener’s views as expressed in the programmatic treatise Pia Desideria (1675). The leading ideas are epitomised under four viewpoints: 1. The starting-point is a general criticism of religious conditions in all classes of society. Very few understand and practise Christianity in the right way; the clergy itself has been spoilt by the world spirit, and most laymen are Christian in name only.—2. The criticism is placed in a historical perspective: the time following the Reformation has been a disappointment like the history of Israel after the return from Babylon; the Lutheran Church has been devoid of life like the Church in Sardis mentioned in the Apocalypse. But now the reformation is to be completed and the ideal condition of the first Church is to be approached.— 3. Spener’s confidence in God’s power and promises is the basis of his optimism; in addition a strong appeal is made in support of working for the cause of the Church, which is also, however, conceived theocentrically as the working of the power of the Word to the inner rebirth of man and the gradual growth of goodness.—4. The consequence of this attitude is a sharp distinction between the reborn and »the world«, and the Church cannot just be identified with the State church the spiritual coercion of which is denounced by Spener; it is really the invisible community of the truly faithful in all religious communities. All these chief points of view will be found in Grundtvig also, but significant modifications are clearly brought out by the comparison: 1. Grundtvig’s starting-point is also a strong criticism of religious conditions, especially after his religious crisis of 1810 -11, which had affinities with the pietistic conversion. Like Spener he directed his criticism against the immorality and religious indifference of the age, but besides he attacked the false doctrine of the clergy. When in the 1820’s he had found in the sacraments the foundation of true Christianity, polemics receded into the background, but his Christian evaluation of his age and of religious life in general was not moderated. 2. In Grundtvig, too, religious criticism was connected with a historical perspective corresponding closely to what we find in Spener. The ideal was to be found in the oldest Church; after the decline of the Middle Ages the Reformation brought a renewal, but the renewal was not completed; like the dying Church in Sardis the Lutheran Church was subject to »scripturalism« and State-church compulsion, and the pietistic »rebellion« did not succeed in creating new life. It is only with Grundtvig’s own achievement that a new era for the Church is heralded after “ the fountain of life” in baptism has been found. As regards confidence in the present and the future Grundtvig surpasses Spener; the growing optimism can be followed in his sermons where the renewal of congregational life through the Grundtvigian movement is increasingly emphasized; the popular revival is pointed to in this connection as the working, through the renewed Church, of the Spirit of God. 3. The basis of this optimism is also in Grundtvig a markedly theocentric outlook: both the renewal of the Church and the growth of Christian life in the individual depend on “ the divine force of life” which in Grundtvig’s opinion is to be found only in the Word of God as spoken at baptism and Holy Communion. The ethical appeal typical of Spener is not found in Grundtvig, but he, too, set great store by the growth of Christian life and the “ recognizability” of the Church and the Christian community. On the other hand the renewal is not linked up closely with the rebirth of “ the inner man” , it is a redemption of the whole of natural human life; and just as the Word of the sacrament is the only source of strength, Christian life really finds its sole unambigious expression in the words of confession, preaching, and hymns of praise. 4. Owing to Grundtvig’s idea of the “ recognizability” of the Christian community we find him stressing, as strongly as did Spener, the distinction between the Christians and “ the world” . Especially in his sermons “ the world” continues to be the menacing background; not only the great majority but also Grundtvig’s cultured contemporaries are included in “ the world” of disbelief. As regards human life and the life of the people (“det menneskelige og folkelige”) the only possibility of escape from world condemnation lies with Christianity; by itself the Danish people belongs to “ the world and what is evil” . Consequently Grundtvig agrees with Spener in attacking the State church which included the faithful as well as those without faith and, thus, abused the ministrations where free acceptance should have been a condition. The State church should be preserved only as a civil frame-system within which the believers might gather to form free congregations. To Grundtvig, also, the true Church embraces the faithful in all religious communities; but the foundation is not the inner religious life common to the pious but “ the historico-Christian Church” everywhere based upon the same baptism and Holy Communion. The kinship between Grundtvig and Spener is typical of the relationship between pietism and 19. century revival theology. Common to both is the emphasis on Christianity as personally acquired “ life” ; the reformatory tension between Law and Gospel is overshadowed by the life and death antithesis. Spener, however, attached little importance to questions of doctrine, whereas Grundtvig’s reaction against rationalism made him emphasize strongly “ the true Christianity” as something definite, historically given through the Church and its sacraments, and, concurrently, as a Gospel outside human control. These two tendencies in Grundtvig’s theology were not always in harmony; in addition there was a lasting conflict between his positive evaluation of natural human life and the dark view of the world which combined with his idea of Christianity. By way of postscript the author comments on an article by Kaj Thaning (Grundtvig Studier, 1966) which was directed against his treatise in Kirkehistoriske Samlinger} 1965

Nationalitet og Kirke i Danmark og Slesvig-Holsten i 1770-1920 med særligt henblik på Grundtvigs betydning

Nationality and Church in Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein with special reference to the importance of N.F.S. GrundtvigBy Anders Pontoppidan ThyssenIntroductionA feature common to the Scandinavian countries is the Lutheran, State-church heritage which resulted in widespread spiritual uniformity. But in the 18th century and particularly after 1770, the »enlightenment« prepared the way for a freer public debate, which formed the background of the numerous movements of the 19th century, representing different opinions. Prominent among them, are the national and religious movements which were closely related since they concerned the society as a whole and became of great importance for the political and cultural development of the people.The following survey of these lines of development must therefore begin the with the Age of Enlightenment which, in particular, brought up the crucial national question of the relationship between Danish and German, and it may have its natural conclusion with the year 1920 when this question was largely solved with the union of Northern Schleswig with Denmark. The aim of the first chapter about the years 1770-1815, however, is to give only a brief description of the »enlightenment« as a basis for the discussion of the much stronger national tensions that arose from about 1815 and continued along the same lines right up to 1920.The area that is dealt with is three of the mainlands of the old Danish monarchy, viz. the actual Denmark or the »Kingdom« (the islands and Northern Jutland down to Kolding Fiord) and the duchies of Schlewig and Holstein (from Kolding Fiord to the Elbe). The main emphasis will be on the Kingdom and the Northern, mainly Danish-speaking Schleswig (now called Southern Jutland), and thus also on Grundtvig as the most important representative of Danishness. But the duchies of Schlewig and Holstein also play a significant role, however, as the bearer of the strong German element.Chapter 1It is especially Henrich Ussing’s great work on » Kirkeforfatningen i de kongelige danske stater« (The Church Government in the States of the Danish Monarchy, 6 vols., 1786-89) that throws light on the thinking of the Age of Enlightenment. It does not only deal with church government, but also treats questions of principle concerning state and social organization. The relationship between Danish and German is not discussed, but Ussing recommends the use of the vernacular everywhere as a prerequisite for understanding, especially in the church service. His exposition, however, is based primarily on natural law, understood as a rational social organization, whose laws aim at the »benefit and happiness common to all men«.The monarchy does not escape criticism; Ussing would prefer the power of the King to be re-stricted »by some amount of democracy«, i.e. through the establishment of Assemblies of the Estates. But since there is no prospect of such change in the near future, he recommends the gentle Danish monarchy as the best possible form of government. As a matter of fact Ussing went further than that in proposing a cooperation between the Government and enlightened citizens. He envisioned complete freedom of the press, and a free debate about important laws and decrees. These should be published, and the public should be encouraged to speak their minds and should be rewarded for the best contributions to the debate. He thus anticipated the political-liberal and national development up to the 1840s.In the following, the history of Danish nationality is briefly outlined. There was a reaction against the growing number of German immigrants, and at the same time a Danish national consciousness grew up, represented in the 1740s by Ludvig Holberg and other university academics. But opinions were divided. Tyge Rothe, a young Danish academic, claimed that the birthplace was insignificant, since the fatherland is the place where one works for the common good (1759). But a young lawyer composed a sharp refutation of this view, claiming the birthplace was all-important, since the natives would harbour a far more natural fervour and a deeper love for the country of their birth.The animosity against the Germans reached its peak in the time of J.F. Struensee (1770-72). Though bom in Halle, he arrogated complete power to himself in Copenhagen as the Queen’s lover. After that, he was able to exercise full control in all matters through Cabinet decrees in German until he was removed from office in February 1772 by a coup which led to his execution. The policies pursued by those in power after Struensee were consciously Danish and conserva-tive. The language of command in the army became Danish, and the old State Council was reestablished, now consisting of 6 members, 5 of whom were of Danish birth (February 1772). The power was concentrated round Ove Guldberg, whose national disposition appears from the Citizenship Act. It decreed that »all offices in Our states« should be reserved for »the native children of the Land«. But numerous celebrations and literary tributes demonstrate that in Denmark it was understood as a national victory that would benefit Danish citizens.But the Guldberg administration, too, came to an abrupt end when Crown Prince Frederik (Frederik VI) came of age and preferred to find his support in the German upper class which used to be the power basis. In reality A. P. Bemstorff came to be the actual head of government, and he arranged for the employment of numerous relatives and German friends in the government offices - regardless of the Citizenship Act.On the other hand Danish criticism was again very much in evidence. Briefly, it was to the effect that the Germans were strangers who relished the Danish bread, but despised Danish culture and the Danish language. It developed into a veritable Danish-German »feud«, especially in the years 1789-1790. Though there were few rejoinders from the Germans, the conflict probably contributed to a hostile attitude on both sides.There is little evidence available of the attitude in church circles to the national development. It does appear, however, that the clergy reacted strongly against Struensee, and at an officially decreed thanksgiving service after his fall, otherwise level-headed clergymen allowed themselves »to be carried away into passionate fury«. Many clergymen shared the enthusiasm over the Citizenship Act as a great national advance.Bishop Rottbøll, for example, asked in his speech at a celebration in Viborg what might not be expected now from a noble people like the Danish, »now that they have once again come to think of themselves as a people«. National feelings ran high, too, in the years 1800-1814, because of war and threats of war. Thus the Curate H.G. Clausen (later Arch-deacon) used strong words about »the defence of the fatherland« as the most important civic virtue.But by and large it seems that Danish clergymen were as a rule reluctant to participate in anti-German attacks, and this may be due to a certain amount of sympathy for German theology. Numerous Scandinavian students went to the University of Göttingen to learn more about modem theology and Bible exegesis. Among them was N.E. Balle, who made such a favourable impression that he was offered a university post in Germany. He preferred Copenhagen, however, where he be-came Bishop in 1783.Another theologian who was to some extent German-oriented, was Chr. Bastholm, who began as a pastor to a German congregation in Smyrna, but from 1772 became Copenhagen’s most »modem« preacher. He came to influence many clergymen, among them L.N. Fallesen, who published the first Theological Journal in Denmark (1793-1809). For a large part its contents were translations from the German.In the 1790s there was a tendency for many »enlightened« people to move to the left, launching direct attacks on Christianity as well as clergymen. Balle became known for countering such attacks with well-attended Bible readings in Frue Kirke. When they were printed, they attracted 36,000 subscribers. The Government responded by severely restricting the freedom of the press (1799), thus quelling a large part of the public debate.Chapter 2Chapter 2 provides a survey of the national development from about 1800-1848 with particular reference to the Duchies. The starting-point was the involvement of the monarchy in the Napoleonic Wars (ab. 1801 -14). The war resulted in increasing taxation, which the big landowners protested against because they found they were hit particularly hard. They gathered round Frits Reventlow, who was the leader of the socalled » Knighthood«, the landed aristocracy.Reventlow’s fervent hope was the re-introduction of the Schleswig-Holstein regional parliament (which functioned until 1712), and in this line of thought he gained the support of a German historian, F.C. Dahlmann, who became secretary to the »Knighthood« in 1815. Dahlmann pinned his faith on the newly formed »German Federation« of all German states, whose aim was to reestablish the old German empire (dissolved in 1806). The problem was that the German Federation acknowledged Holstein as a member, but not Schleswig, which had not belonged to the German Empire. Dahlman, however, strongly advocated the right of the Schleswig-Holstein people to a shared constitution as historically endorsed by the shared regional parliament.In spite of all efforts Dahlmann had to give up this cause when his appeal to the German Federal Diet was rejected (1823). But his idea of a common constitution was taken up in 1830 by a young lawyer Uwe Jens Lomsen who had been associated with the German Chancellery, and now represented politically liberal attitudes. According to his proposal Schlewig-Holstein was to have a common free constitution with a legislative and fiscal parliament, and the central administrative bodies were to be moved from Copenhagen to Kiel.These proposals were regarded as highly radical, but Frederik VI attempted to pour oil on the troubled waters by moderate reforms, as decreed in 1834: a Schleswig-Holstein joint government at Gottorp, a joint Schleswig-Holstein high court of justice, but, most important, four Assemblies of the Estates of the Realm, two for Jutland and the islands, and two for Schleswig-Holstein, all of which were to assemble every second year. The electoral rules favoured the landowners and the relatively well-to-do farmers, but it was Schleswig-Holstein lawyers and civil servants who came to dominate the proceedings of the Holstein as well as the Schleswig Assembly of the Estates as they had the majority behind them.In the first Assemblies of the Estates (1835-38), the mood was fairly peaceful, but the 1840s saw a decisive breakthrough for the Schleswig-Holsteiners. As late as in 1838 the majority in the Schleswig Assembly of the Estates were able to support a proposal for Danish as the judicial and administrative language in Northern Schleswig where Danish was used in church and schools, but in 1840, when the new King Christian VIII granted this wish with a »language ordinance«, it met with vehement resistance in the same assembly. At the next Assembly of the Estates in Schleswig in 1842 several Schleswig-Holsteiners directly repudiated United Monarchy symbols; in retaliation, the leader of a small Danish-minded group in the Assembly, P. Hiort Lorenzen, began to speak Danish in the Assembly in spite of strong protests from the chairman and the members.This episode came to have great importance. In the Kingdom, Hiort Lorenzen was praised and celebrated, not least by the Copenhagen Liberals who now broke with the Liberals in Kiel and became »National Liberals«. In Northern Schleswig Danish national feeling was strengthened, as it was most strikingly manifested at Skamlingsbanken wheremany thousand people, mostly Northern Schleswig farmers, gathered in 1843 and 1844.But the Schleswig-Holsteiners retaliated with whole series of meetings and rousing singing by large choirs. From 1844 they united round a »Regional Party« which, among other things, adopted the Augustenburg Duke’s claim to right of succession to the Duchies. When in 1846 Christian VIII rejected this claim in an »open letter«, anti-Danish feelings ran high. The Holstein Assembly of the Estates sent a protest to the German Federation, and both the Holstein and the Schleswig Assembly were disrupted as members resigned their seats. However, at the election in 1847 for the Assemblies of the Estates, pro-Danish attitudes saw great progress.Chapter 3The debate on Dahlmann’s proposal for a constitution had not ceased when a new one began, initiated by Claus Harms' s criticism of the Rationalist tendencies in the Regional Church. At the time he was a newly appointed pastor at the University Church in Kiel, but worked almost as a reformer, especially in a treatise on Luther’s »95 Theses« (1817). As a preacher he attracted large crowds, not least professors and students, and Dahlmann composed an address of thanks to him. He achieved great importance for the students of theology with his pastoral-theological lectures in which he went through all the duties of a clergyman, and from the mid-1830s it came to be Harms’s pupils and sympathizers who dominated the Regional Church. In Harms’s opinion, all reforms should emanate from a cooperation among the clergymen, and the 1840s were actually a time of clerical conferences, which from 1845 were replaced by an annual »Predigerconferenz« for the whole of the Regional Church. The aim was to remove all traces of the Enlightenment theology in liturgy, catechism and hymn book, and finally to institute an independent constitution for the Church.Thus the reform movement came to represent a kind of ecclesiastical Schleswig- Holsteinism, but as a rule the Church dissociated itself from the political struggle. At least both Harms and his closest sympathizers retained a loyal relationship with authorities and the Danish King up to 1848. For the leading clergy, however it was natural to cooperate with the politicians and civil servants in Schleswig-Holstein.This was true not least of C.F. Callisen, Superintendent General to Schleswig from 1835. He was as loyal to the King as Harms was, but he did not conceal that he was working to develop the Regional Church into a »harmonious whole«, and that required, he believed, the exclusion of all Danish-educated clergymen and teachers!Another - related - example is the development in the deaneries of Tønder and Åbenrå, i.e. the southern part of Northern Schleswig. The language used in church and school was predominantly Danish, but in the 1830s two energetic deans, interested in the national aspect of the Church, came to the district. They were Mich. Ahlmann in Tønder and J.A. Retshof in Åbenrå, whose accounts are evidence in particular of an interest in the development of the teaching of German in the Regional schools. The pastors, too, became increasingly involved in national questions, and debates in the Schleswig Assembly of the Estates show that this was connected with the way pastors were employed in the two deaneries, namely through a vote in the congregation. In the northernmost part of Northern Schleswig pastors used to be appointed by the King, but in 1844 the Schleswig Assembly of the Estates agreed to propose that the system of employing pastors by vote should also comprise the deanery of Haderslev.Around the same time the clergymen began to fight against the Danish education of clergymen. As early as 1840, the majority of clergymen in the deaneries of Tønder and Åbenrå sent petitions to the Schleswig Assembly of Estates to request that Danisheducated clergymen should be excluded from employment. In 1844 the action was repeated with another collective petition, sharper in tone, from the same circles of clergymen. Thus the petitions had in reality united nearly all the clergymen in the two deaneries.Chapter 4Like Claus Harms Grundtvig was at first known as an advocate of the old Lutheranism. However, Grundtvig was rather more inspired by the Church Service, the Sacraments and especially the Apostles’ Creed at Baptism. Here he found the evidence for the »historical-Christian faith«, and he advanced this »Church View« polemically against Rationalism in the booklet Kirkens Genmæle (The Church’s Retort), 1825.But unlike Harms’s Theses, this publication met with nearly unanimous condemnation among the clergy, and the result was that Grundtvig was sentenced for libel and became subject to censorship. About the same time he resigned his ministry and instead approached the Meeting Movement, a Danish layman Revivalist movement, and from 1832 he conducted a sort of voluntary meetings in Copenhagen. Not until 1839 did he get another ministry in Copenhagen.This situation led to a different view of the State Church. As early as 1827 he strongly advocated freedom of religion, his argument being that both the State and the official Church must be regarded as secularized, but through freedom of religion the »old-fashioned believers« could at least ga-ther under free-congregation forms. Some years later his view of the State Church softens: it was only meant to be a framework encompassing different forms of faith, but could still be of use, how-ever, as a common moral and educational organization, embracing Rationalists as well as »old-fashioned believers«. Moreover, he found a new fundamental social element in the Danish-Nordic folk culture, in which he had been engaged in his youth. Romanticism had taught him to conceive of the people as a spiritual organism, and the Age of Enlightenment allowed him to lay great stress on the importance of cooperation for »the common good«. But it should not be overlooked that he still worked as a clergyman, and actually hoped that there would be a Christian as well as a folkelig (national and cultural) revival among the people.Actually, Grundtvig’s folkelig activity only attained its full scope with his folk high school writings and his speeches in the »Danish Society«. The point of departure was his 51 lectures on recent history which he gave in 1838. They made such a strong impression that he continued right away to establish his own society, the »Danish Society«. It included many unlettered participants, because Grundtvig wanted to address common people and tried out many different ways of approach. The speakers should show variety in content and form; they should not lecture, but open up dialogue; there should be a great deal of singing and festivity on national commemoration days. In the beginning it was mostly Grundtvig who did the speaking, and his subjects ranged from histo-rical topics to current issues, for example constitutional and educational questions and the importan-ce of the mother tongue.As a consequence, Grundtvig was much in demand as a speaker in other societies. To Grundtvig these meetings came to have a special value since they afforded an opportunity for him to try out the educational reforms which he envisioned in the folk high school writings. Thus they became fundamentally important for Grundtvigianism as a folkelig movement.Outside Copenhagen, Northern Schleswig became the first workshop for the Grundtvigian-/ø/-fø//g experiment. Grundtvig was not particularly interested himself in the Schleswig issues, and until 1840 they had been broached by Schleswig-Holsteiners, rather than by pro-Danish Northern Schleswigers. But at the University of Kiel he had an energetic devotee, a professor of Danish, who was keenly appreciative of his folkelig thinking. In the late 30s Christian Flor came into close con-tact with a small pro-Danish circle of people in Haderslev, led by the merchant P.C. Koch, who now became Flor’s closest collaborator as the editor of the first Danish and pro-Danish weekly magazine, the Dannevirke, from 1838. In the opinion of both Flor and Koch, the magazine was intended to be exciting reading for common people, and therefore covered a wide range of subjects. Something similar was true of the first gathering at Skamling in 1843, planned by Koch. Shortly after, the Schleswig Society was founded, which was managed and dominated by ordinary farmers, and which led to the establishment of the first Grundtvigian folk high school in Rødding in November 1944. According to reports, it was intended to offer free lectures on history, literature and agricul-ture, but also to provide space for »anything relating to life«.Such aims might indicate an influence from Grundtvig’s activities in the Danish Society, but there were other factors of significance for the Danish movement. By and large, it was predominant in the Northern and North-Western part of Northern Schleswig, though in different ways. The Eastern part belonged to the Deanery of Haderslev and thus to the Regional Church, but all the clergymen were appointed »under the Royal Seal« and most of them were Danish-educated (in Copenhagen). In the 1830s they were, if anything, nationally passive, but opposed to a Moravian-like layman movement. In the 1840s the picture was somewhat different since »the Royal Seal« also allowed some German-educated clergymen (from Kiel), who supported the petitions from the deaneries of Tønder and Åbenrå against Danish-educated clergymen.But it was from the farmers of the deanery that Danish sympathies got the most significant support. They had originally become politically »awakened« by the Institution of the Assemblies of the Estates, and had been complaining constantly to the SchleswigAssembly about the disregard of the interests of the farmers (1836,1838 and 1840). In continuation of this followed the language conflict: Civil servants should use the language of the people, and the languages should have equal position in the Assembly.On the long r

Skolen for livet. Anmeldelse af K. E. Bugges disputats.

The School for Life By A. Pontoppidan Thyssen. The present treatise is a critical contribution to the debate on a thesis which was defended by K. E. Bugge, June 8, 1965, at the University of Copenhagen. This thesis deals with Grundtvig’s views on education and falls into three main parts. The first part purports to show how, chiefly under the influence of Romantic ideas, Grundtvig’s earliest development led him to an idealistic type of educational theory which made the development of personality the aim of any kind of education. The second part seeks to demonstrate that afterwards, 1808-30, he gradually developed away from this standpoint; and finally the third part describes Grundtvig’s real educational endeavours in the 1830’s and 40’s as a process of clarification consolidating the difference between Grundtvig and earlier and contemporary educational theory which attached special importance to the development and education of personality. In his criticism the author emphasizes the value of Bugge’s work. As we have seen it aims at giving a connected account of Grundtvig’s educational development, and its thorough treatment of Grundtvig’s early thoughts on education deserves special mention. Besides, Bugge has sought, through a comprehensive illustration of Grundtvig’s sources of inspiration and background in contemporary educational theory, to disengage him from the isolation so often surrounding his thoughts. He has also, and rightly, pointed to the difference between Grundtvig’s view and Romantic-Idealistic educational theory, but at this point the question is asked whether, in his way of presenting the problem, Bugge has got to the heart of the matter. The objections raised centre on this point in particular. Against Bugge’s chief point of view stress is laid on the connection between Grundtvig’s educational ideas and his general attitude as a critic of the age which is in opposition less to Romanticism than to the materialistic outlook of the Enlightenment. Already in the writings of the Langeland period this attitude towards the Enlightenment is there and should be considered more important than the influence from educational theory concentrating on the development of personality. The following period, 1808-30, should rather be looked upon as an elaboration of Grundtvig’s “ culture criticism” than as an increasing dissociation from the Langeland period. After the crisis of 1810-11 Grundtvig, the Christian, departs from Romantic religious idealism, but the structure of his views on education and “ Aandsudvikling” (spiritual development) is still determined by Romanticism. Christianity is now the foundation and chief expression of spiritual life, which also, however, expresses itself through poetry, “ Videnskabelighed” and national achievements. The more detailed exposition of these ideas in the Danne-Virke period is also, more or less, inspired by Romanticism. Grundtvig’s basic attitude is still that of the critic, and the chief object of attack is the materialism and “ falske Oplysning” (false enlightenment) of the age. The same is largely true of the Folk High-school writings of the 1830’s and 40’s. Here Bugge has demonstrated that Grundtvig’s ideas about school teaching develop through three phases, connected with the years 1832, 1834, and 1836 (-38), but attached little importance to the strong controversy which has left its mark on them all: in 1832 (Nordens Mythologi) against “den Romersk-Italienske Videnskabelighed” (Romano-Italian learning), where reason seeks to rule over life, i. e. the outlook of the Enlightenment which Grundtvig now traces back to the Renaissance and ancient Rome; in 1834 (esp. “Den danske Stats-Kirke upartisk betragtet” ) against the socially subversive wilfulness produced by “ Forstandstiden” (the age of reason), and in 1836-38 (the first school writings proper) also against “ den mathematiske Realskole” representing in Grundtvig’s opinion the same arid “Bogormevæsen” (book-worm attitude) as Latin education. Thus the study of Grundtvig’s polemical situation is a necessary condition of understanding the positive content of his views on school teaching, which has also received a rather summary treatment in Bugge’s thesis. But these objections do not detract from the value of the work presented. It has laid a sound foundation for all future examinations within the field

Anders Nørgaard: Mission und Obrigkeit. Die Dänisch-Hallische Mission in Tranquebar 1706-1845. (Missionswissenschaftliche Bd. 22, Gütersloh, 1988). 312 s. Forsvaret for den teologiske doktorgrad ved Aarhus Universitet 22. sept. 1988.

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