30 Facts About Magnus Olsen

Magnus Bernhard Olsen was a Norwegian philologist who specialized in Old Norse studies.

Magnus Olsen was particularly interested in using evidence from runes and toponymy for the study of Old Norse religion.

Magnus Olsen published a number of works on these subjects, which have been highly influential.

Magnus Olsen edited a number of works, including the journal Maal og Minne, which he founded.

Magnus Olsen is widely considered the foremost Norwegian philologist of his time.

Magnus Olsen was born in Arendal, Norway on 28 November 1878, the son of merchant Ole Christian Olsen and Therese Evine Olsen.

Magnus Olsen grew up in Arendal, where he gained his examen artium in 1896.

Magnus Olsen subsequently studied philology at Royal Frederick University in Kristiania, where he took courses in Latin, Greek, German and Norwegian.

From 1899, Magnus Olsen worked as a teaching assistant at Royal Frederick University.

Magnus Olsen came under the influence of the archaeologist and toponymist Oluf Rygh, and particularly the philologist Sophus Bugge.

Bugge was widely considered Norway's greatest philologist at the time, but was in the process of losing his eyesight, and Magnus Olsen served as his assistant since 1902.

Magnus Olsen saw philology as the key to understanding life in the past, particularly the Viking Age.

Magnus Olsen became widely regarded as the foremost Norwegian philologist of his time.

Magnus 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.

Magnus Olsen saw teaching and research as the best way he could serve his fatherland.

Magnus Olsen ensured that students of high ability had their works published, and that a fund was established to make help students from poor families gain a university education.

Magnus Olsen supervised the education of generations of Norwegian academics and teachers, and together with scholars such as Carl Marstrander, Olsen developed Royal Frederick University into one of the world's leading institutions on Germanic philology.

In 1909, Magnus Olsen founded the journal Maal og Minne, which he personally edited for forty years.

From 1914 to 1956, Magnus Olsen was the editor of Bidrag til nordisk filologi.

Magnus Olsen eventually assumed responsibility for the publication of this series, and had assisted its prior publisher Oluf Rygh.

Notably, the evidence presented by Magnus 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.

Magnus Olsen's was eventually translated into English and published under the title Farms and Fanes of Ancient Norway.

Magnus Olsen was convinced that runes were not merely used as an instrument for communication, but were believed to have magical purposes.

Magnus Olsen was among the professors at the University of Oslo who on 15 May 1941 issued a public denunciation of the crimes of Josef Terboven against the Norwegian people.

Magnus Olsen was however quickly released, and continued his involvement with the resistance.

Magnus Olsen retired from his professorship upon reaching the age limit in 1948, but continued to research and write.

Magnus Olsen was appointed a Commander of the Order of St Olav in 1945.

Magnus Olsen was 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.

Magnus 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 Gottingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Magnus Olsen died in Oslo, Norway on 16 January 1963.