Frederic Louis Norden

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗
Frederik Ludvig Norden
Frederic Louis Norden, from Voyage d'Egypte et de Nubie, 1755
Born(1708-10-22)22 October 1708
Glückstadt, Schleswig-Holstein
Died22 September 1742(1742-09-22) (aged 33)
Paris, France

Frederik Ludvig Norden (22 October 1708 – 22 September 1742) was a Danish naval captain, cartographer, and archaeological explorer. His given names were written in a variety of ways depending on the language of publication, including Frederic Louis, Friderik Ludwig, Frederik Ludvig, and Frederick Lewis. He is the author in French of one of the very first travelogues about Egypt, Voyage d'Egypte et de Nubie,[1][2] written half a century before Napoleon's expedition (1798–1801).

Norden came from a military family and entered the Royal Danish Naval Academy at the age of 13. Having excelled there in illustration he directed to travel abroad and gather information to be sent back to Denmark. He travelled extensively through the Netherlands from 1732–1734, Italy from 1734–1737, and most famously from Egypt through Sudan and Ethiopia in 1737–1738.

Early life and education

Frederik Ludvig Norden was born in Holstein-Glückstadt on 22 October 1708 to Catherine Henrichsen of Rendsburg and Jørgen Norden. At the time, his father was an artillery Captain; he would become a Lieutenant colonel before his death in 1728.[3] Frederik Ludvig was one of five sons.[4]

Norden entered the Royal Danish Naval Academy at Copenhagen in 1722 where he became a cadet in 1723. While at the Naval Academy, Norden excelled at illustration.[3] He was ordered to retouch and repair a collection of maps belonging to the king in 1727.[3][4]

Career

At the recommendation of Frederik Danneskiold-Samsøe, he applied to the king to travel abroad to undertake further training in 1732 and was promoted as a second lieutenant. He was permitted to study abroad alongside Lieutenant Frederik Wegersløff to study foreign fortifications and water engineering while producing illustrations. Norden's first journey was to the Netherlands where he remained from 1732–1734 studying the maintenance of levees. While there, he became acquainted with the artist Jan de Ruyter, who taught him engraving techniques. In May 1734 he continued on to Italy, where was introduced with Ancient Egyptian art and culture by the archaeologist Philippe Baron de Stosch.[3]

In 1737, Norden left Italy for Egypt on orders to collect as much information for about the region as possible for the monarchy. His expedition first reached Alexandria before staying in Cairo for about four months. They then departed on the Nile for Ethiopia.[3] At the request of King Christian VI of Denmark, he was to enter into a trade agreement with Ethiopia on behalf of Denmark. Norden made abundant notes, observations and drawings of everything around him, including people, pharaonic monuments, architecture, installations and maps.[5] In 1738, he and the expedition returned to Denmark.[3]

Back in Denmark, Norden was appointed to the commission overseeing the navy's shipbuilding. In 1740, he followed orders to take part in the War of the Austrian Succession aboard the English fleet under. A chest infection, however, forced him to remain in England instead of with the fleet.[3] On 8 January 1741 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (registered as Frederic Lewis Norden).[5][6] The society published a sample of his work that year in Drawings of some ruins and colossal statues at Thebes in Egypt.[3]

He died of tuberculosis in Paris while on a tour of France on 22 September 1742.[4] Norden had prepared the publication of his travel notes all of which were published in the posthumous Voyage d'Egypte et de Nubie (Copenhagen, 1755). Carl Marcus Tuscher made the drawings into copperplates for the publication. In 1757 an English edition was published, followed by a 1779 German edition, and a 1795 French edition.[5][6]

Drawing from Voyage d'Egypte et de Nubie

References

  1. "Norden, Frederik Ludvig". Nordisk familjebok. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  2. "Antique Maps By Frederick Louis Norden (*1708 - †1742)". Götzfried Antique Maps. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  3. Bjerg, Hans Christian (18 July 2011). "Frederik Ludvig Norden". Danmarks Nationalleksikon (in Danish). Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  4. Lee, Sidney, ed. (1895). "Norden, Frederick Lewis" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 41. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  5. "Frederik Ludvig Norden". Den Store Danske. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  6. "Carl Marcus Tuscher". Den Store Danske. Retrieved 1 August 2020.

Additional reading