Peter Andreas Munch

For the 20th-century sociologist, see Peter A. Munch.

Photograph of Peter Andreas Munch

P. A. Munch.
Engraving by W. Obermann

Peter Andreas Munch (15 December 1810 – 25 May 1863), usually known as P. A. Munch, was a Norwegian historian, known for his work on the medieval history of Norway. Munch’s scholarship included Norwegian archaeology, geography, ethnography, linguistics, and jurisprudence. He was also noted for his Norse Legendary saga translations.

Background

Peter Andreas Munch was born in Christiania (now Oslo). He was the son of Edvard Storm Munch and Johanne Sophie Hofgaard. Munch was the uncle of the famous painter Edvard Munch.

Munch grew up at Gjerpen parsonage, where his father was parish priest of the Church of Norway. He was schooled in the city of Skien. He attended the Royal Frederick University. Munch first studied law and took his state examination in 1834, but then turned to historical and philological studies.

Career

In 1837, he became lecturer in history at the University of Oslo and in 1841 became a Professor of History. In 1857 he received a large grant for archives research in Rome and lived there 1858-61. He was one of the first non-Catholics to be allowed into the archives of the Vatican. While he was not allowed to bring any notes or books out of the Vatican Library, he had a photographic memory which allowed him to memorize these facts^{[citation needed]}. His research there laid the foundation for his main work, Det norske Folks Historie (History of the Norwegian People), in eight volumes. Among the theories he is remembered for is the theory on immigration to Norway, in which he developed work done by Rudolf Keyser. In a renewed trip to Rome, he died from a stroke after plunging his head into a fountain on a hot day, and was buried in the Protestant cemetery in Rome.

Selected works

• Norges, Sveriges og Danmarks Historie til Skolebrug (1838)
• Norges Historie i kort Udtog for de første Begyndere (1839)
• Nordens gamle Gude- og Helte-Sagn i kortfattet Fremstilling (1840)
• Verdenshistoriens vigtigste Begivenheder (1840)
• De nyeste Tiders Historie (1842)
• Fortegnelse over de mest befarede Landeveie og Reiserouter saavel mellem Stæderne, som Landdistricterne i Norge (1846)
• Det oldnorske Sprogs eller Norrønasprogets Grammatik (with C. R. Unger, 1847)
• Underholdende Tildragelser af Norges Historie (1847)
• Nordmændenes Gudelære i Hedenold (1847)
• Det gotiske Sprogs Formlære (1848)
• Kortfattet Fremstilling af den ældste norske Runeskrift (1848)
• Om Skandinavismen (1849)
• Historisk-geographisk Beskrivelse over Kongeriget Norge (Noregsveldi) i Middelalderen (1849)
• Det norske Folks Historie (1852–1859)
• Om den saakaldte nyere historiske Skole i Norge (1853)
• Nordmændenes ældste Gude- og Helte-Sagn (1854)

External links

• Peter Andreas Munch
• Peter Andreas Munch's "Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes" e-book