A digitised scholarly edition of Grundtvig’s Works enables:
- The general public to access the works of Grundtvig and assess his thoughts on their own terms.
- The ability to search for specific topics or words across the collected body of work.
- Textual commentary of the, at times, difficult texts written by Grundtvig, thereby making the texts more accessible to the contemporary reader.
- Grundtvig researchers and researchers in other fields to work faster and more efficiently with the help of this new tool.
Grundtvig is popularly referenced in political debate, and his work is used to argue a wide variety of opinions and beliefs. In order to incorporate and discuss his works in a qualified manner, it is important that his documents and thoughts are available to the public. Another key point to this edition is its scholarly value. We ensure that the texts are of scientific quality and that various textual obscurities and scan-based errors are corrected, before we upload them. Up until now, no one has had access to Grundtvig’s completed works, as several of his texts are only available in fragile first editions or only available as part of outdated collections of his work. Grundtvig’s Works gathers, provides access to and reflects on all published works by Grundtvig, thereby giving everyone the opportunity to read his entire oeuvre.
Denmark’s most read author – the key to understanding the Danish history of mentality
N.F.S. Grundtvig (1783-1872) is a powerhouse in Danish consciousness and society, and through his work as a theologist, poet, philosopher, historian, philologist, educator and politician he left a significant mark on Danish history in the 19th and 20th century. Few people have been the focal point of as much popular as well as academic discussion and polemic as he has. Grundtvig’s works are the key to understanding the history of Danish mentality and culture. When the citizens of Denmark discuss the part of the past or the future, it is often with his texts and thoughts on hand. Simultaneously, he is the most prolific poet in The Danish Psalm Book. Every Sunday, thousands of people sing Grundtvig’s psalms in the Church of Denmark. Combined with the continual interest in his philosophical, religious, pedagogical and historical texts, he is likely the most read, most productive and most significant Danish author in history.
Making his texts and thoughts available to all
The digital scholarly edition of Grundtvig’s works, which will be established by the Center for Grundtvig Studies in the years to come, will allow everyone to read and form their own opinions on Grundtvig’s thoughts. This edition, which was launched in 2010 and is expected to reach completion in 2030, complies with a scholarly principle of publishing, and the published text will include the first editions of more than 1.000 works which Grundtvig published in his lifetime. Moreover, a few works that were published after his death – works that are a part of the contemporary public image of Grundtvig – are also set to be digitalised and published.
