ABRAHAMS, NICOLAI CHRISTIAN LEVIN:

By: Axel Moth

Danish scholar, professor of the French language and literature at the University of Copenhagen; born at Copenhagen Sept. 6, 1798; died there Jan. 25, 1870. He entered the university in 1815, and graduated in law in 1818. He was one of the twelve Danes (tylvten) who sent the literary challenge to the Danish author Baggesen in reply to his criticism of the literary idol of the time, Adam Oehlenschläger. For four years, in order to continue his studies, he traveled in foreign countries, and in 1828 he returned to Copenhagen and wrote, to gain the degree of master of arts, a dissertation on Wace's "Roman de Brut." A year later he was appointed lector of French at the University of Copenhagen, and in 1832 was promoted to a professorship after he had been baptized. Abrahams did much for the promotion of the study of French in Denmark, not only by his lectures, but also by his publications, of which some are scientific and others are of a more popular nature. In 1857 he retired from his position at the university and became notary public. For some years he was president of the Society of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, a history of which he wrote in 1864. He was also president of the Society for the Development of Danish Literature. Among his works are "Description des Manuscrits Français du Moyen-Âge de la Bibliothèque Royale de Copenhague," 1844; "Fransk Sprogläre," 1845; "Balthasari Castilioni Aulici Liber Tertius Secundum Veterem Versionem Gallicam," 1848; "Meddelelser of mit Liv," published by his son in 1876.

A. M.