Biography
His father arranged his education, employing a series of home tutors to teach him Icelandic, Latin, Danish and Anglo-Saxon while personally instructing him in Nordic mythology, Saxo Grammaticus and folkloric ballads. When he was 14, his father bought him a 1656 manuscript of an old ballad, triggering his interest in further exploring the history of Danish folk music which was to be his life's work.
When 19, after his father accompanied him on a study tour to England, Grundtvig published Danish translations of English and Scottish ballads before devoting his life to the collection and study of Danish folk tales and ballads. In a manifesto in 1844, he encouraged Danish men and women to record national ballads still in popular usage. In 1854, he extended this call to all types of folklore, building up a nationwide network of collaborators, soon resulting in his three-volume work Danske Minder (1854–61). In 1876, he published Danske folkeæventure, the first of three volumes of Danish folk tales.
Read more about this topic: Svend Grundtvig
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