Erik Arup
Erik Ipsen Arup (November 22, 1876 – September 23, 1951) was a Danish historian and educator. He was most known as the pioneer of radical-liberal history writing in Denmark. [1][2]
Biography
Arup was born at Slangerup in Frederikssund Municipality, Denmark. He was the son of the physician Peter Michael Christian Arup (1845–1915) and Malvina Cathrine Ipsen (1852–1934). He was raised in a cultured home and was the cousin of Danish-English structural engineer
As a young man he was deeply impressed by
Arup was also the editor of Historisk Tidsskrift from 1917 to 1924, involved in editing Danish medieval sources from 1931 to 1937, and for some years collaborator to the pioneering Danish-Swedish periodical Scandia. He took a particular interest in Iceland and, as member of several organisations dealing with Danish-Icelandic relations, he generally showed himself compliant with Icelandic views.
Works
His breakthrough came with his dissertation Studier i engelsk og tysk Handels Historie (1907), a pioneering work stressing the geographic and economic, instead of the national or ethnic, background behind the development of trade. In addition to this work, he notably wrote on economic history in Schleswig-Holstein, on medieval economy, and on 18th Century foreign policy - besides producing a quick and popular biography of his inspirational figure Hørup (1941).
Arup's main work was his unfinished Danmarks Historie (published 1925–32) covering Danish history until 1624 (a posthumous volume, published in 1955, deals with the period until 1665). It was conceived as a textbook for the university but was, because of the considerable debate attending the publication of its first parts, never completed. What is innovative in this work is Arup's coverage of his country's evolution mainly from the angle of material development, of agriculture, of trade, and to some extent of public health. Political or international relations are not ignored, but are somewhat relegated to the background. The work is strongly influenced by the author's political views: his favourite aversions are war policy and militarism, arbitrary royal power, a number of national-patriotic myths, and in general everything he interprets as
The book provoked embittered attacks from many Danish historians. Arup was accused of non-patriotic views and of superficiality. Much of this may have been a more or less predictable conservative reaction against social-liberal views that were far from broadly accepted or understood at the time. More relevant today perhaps, is the critique of Arup as lacking historical feel and holding
Influences
In many ways Arup considered himself a modern heir to 16th century Danish historian Arild Huitfeldt (1546–1609). [5]
Among congenial contemporaries historians, Curt Weibull (1886–1991), founder of Scandia, should be highlighted. Arup's methodological views also appear inspired by French historians such as Charles Seignobos (1854-1942) and Charles-Victor Langlois (1863–1929).
References
- ^ Lauritz Weibil. "Erik Arup". scandia.hist. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ "Erik Arup". Den Store Danske. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ "Ove Nyquist Arup". Grace's Guide. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ "Erslev, Kristian Sofus August". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ "Huitfeidt, Arild". Nordisk familjebok. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
Othersources
- Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, vol. 1. Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1979–84.
- Christensen, Aksel E. "Erik Ipsen Arup. 22. november 1876 - 23. september 1951", in Festskrift, udgivet af Københavns Universitet i anledning af universitetets årsfest november 1952, pp. 115–33. Copenhagen: University of Copenhagen, 1952. (Detailed obituary.)
- Svenstrup, Thyge. Arup. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum, 2006. (Recent, full-length biography, with 13 pp. English Summary.)