Petter Dass
Petter Pettersen Dass was a Lutheran priest and the foremost Norwegian poet of his generation, writing both baroque hymns and topographical poetry.
Biography
Dass was born on the island of Dønna in what was the northern part of the parish of Herøy in Nordland county, Norway. His father, Peter Dundas, was a merchant originally from Dundee, Scotland, who had established himself as a trader along the northern Norwegian coast. His mother was Maren Falch, whose father had been the local bailiff, a large land owner in Helgeland, and manager for the Dønnes estate of Henrik Rantzau. In 1653, when Dass was 6, his father died and thereafter he and his siblings were cared for by relatives and friends. His mother remarried, but Dass remained with his mother's sister, Anna Falck, who was married to the priest of Nærøy Church.At age 13, Dass began attending school in Bergen, and later studied theology at the University of Copenhagen. He was lonely during his years in Copenhagen, but intellectually stimulated. After his years in Copenhagen, he returned to Norway and became a tutor in the area that is now Vefsn Municipality. He fathered a child out of wedlock, and had to travel to Copenhagen to seek pardon from King Christian V of Denmark and Norway.
In 1689, Dass was appointed parish priest at Alstahaug Church. His parish was quite large, covering an area which included the areas of the present-day municipalities of Alstahaug, Vevelstad, Leirfjord, Herøy, and part of Dønna.
Dass was also a writer of texts and hymns, although most of his writings were not published until after his death. His most famous work is the versified topographical description of northern Norway, Nordlands Trompet, and some psalms still in use, most prominently Herre Gud, ditt dyre navn og ære. In the Faroe Islands, which were Norwegian territory until 1814, his Bibelsk Viise-Bog and Katechismus-Sange have continued to be used among folk singers until the last decades of the 20th century.
The only existing portrait of Petter Dass is traditionally believed to be one found in the Melhus Church in Norway. However, the claim is hotly disputed, with some historians who studied the painting concluding that Dass is most likely not the subject. Several modern statues and bust of Petter Dass have been erected in Norway, including a bas-relief by Norwegian sculptor Ambrosia Theodora Tønnesen at the Bergen Cathedral. The community of Sandnessjøen has a modern statue of Petter Dass located prominently in the town centre.
Dass was deeply mourned after his death, and many fishing vessels of Northern Norway carried a black cloth in their sail for 100 years after his death, as a sign of mourning. He is still the subject of folklore of Nordland. There is, for example, a legend of how he fooled the devil to carry him to Copenhagen to preach for the king.