1.
Hans Christian Andersen
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Hans Christian Andersen (/ˈhɑːnz ˈkrɪstʃən ˈændərsən/, Danish, often referred to in Scandinavia as H. C. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersens popularity is not limited to children, his stories, called eventyr in Danish, express themes that transcend age and nationality. Some of his most famous fairy tales include The Emperors New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, The Nightingale, The Snow Queen, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina and his stories have inspired ballets, animated and live-action films and plays. Hans Christian Andersen was born in the town of Odense, Denmark, Andersens father, also Hans, considered himself related to nobility. His paternal grandmother had told his father that their family had in the past belonged to a social class. A persistent theory suggests that Andersen was a son of King Christian VIII. Andersens father, who had received an education, introduced Andersen to literature. Andersens mother, Anne Marie Andersdatter, was uneducated and worked as a washerwoman following his fathers death in 1816, she remarried in 1818. Andersen was sent to a school for poor children where he received a basic education and was forced to support himself, working as an apprentice for a weaver and, later. At 14, he moved to Copenhagen to seek employment as an actor, having an excellent soprano voice, he was accepted into the Royal Danish Theatre, but his voice soon changed. A colleague at the theatre told him that he considered Andersen a poet, taking the suggestion seriously, Andersen began to focus on writing. Jonas Collin, director of the Royal Danish Theatre, felt a great affection for Andersen and sent him to a school in Slagelse. Andersen had already published his first story, The Ghost at Palnatokes Grave, though not a keen pupil, he also attended school at Elsinore until 1827. He later said his years in school were the darkest and most bitter of his life, at one school, he lived at his schoolmasters home. There he was abused and was told that it was to improve his character and he later said the faculty had discouraged him from writing in general, causing him to enter a state of depression. A very early fairy tale by Andersen, called The Tallow Candle, was discovered in a Danish archive in October 2012, the story, written in the 1820s, was about a candle who did not feel appreciated. It was written while Andersen was still in school and dedicated to a benefactor, in 1829, Andersen enjoyed considerable success with the short story A Journey on Foot from Holmens Canal to the East Point of Amager. Its protagonist meets characters ranging from Saint Peter to a talking cat, Andersen followed this success with a theatrical piece, Love on St. Nicholas Church Tower, and a short volume of poems
2.
Odense
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Odense is the third-largest city in Denmark. It has a population of 175,245 as of January 2016, by road, Odense is located 45 kilometres north of Svendborg,144 kilometres to the south of Aarhus and 167 kilometres to the southwest of Copenhagen. Odense has close associations with Hans Christian Andersen who is remembered above all for his fairy tales and he was born in the city in 1805 and spent his childhood years there. There has been settlement in the Odense area for over 4,000 years, although the name was not mentioned in writing until 988. Canute IV of Denmark, generally considered to be the last Viking king, was murdered by peasants in Odenses St Albans Priory on 10 July 1086. Although the city was burned in 1249 following a royal rivalry, in 1865, one of the largest railway terminals in Denmark was built, further increasing the population and commerce, and by 1900, Odense had reached a population of 35,000. Odenses Odinstårnet was one of the tallest towers in Europe when built in 1935 but was destroyed by the Nazis during World War II, the University of Southern Denmark was established in 1966. In the present day, Odense remains the hub of Funen. Several major industries are located in the city including the Albani Brewery and GASA, Denmarks major dealer in vegetables, fruits and flowers. In sports, Odense has a number of clubs including OB, BM, B1909, and B1913, the Odense Bulldogs professional ice hockey team. Odense is served by Hans Christian Andersen Airport and Odense station, Odense is one of Denmarks oldest cities. Archaeological excavations in the vicinity show proof of settlement for over 4,000 years since at least the Stone Age, the earliest community was centred on the higher ground between the Odense River to the south and Naesbyhoved Lake to the north. Nonnebakken, one of Denmarks former Viking ring fortresses, lay to the south of the river, today, Odenses Møntergården Museum has many artefacts related to the early Viking history in the Odense area. The Vikings built numerous fortifications along the banks to defend it against invaders coming in from the coast. The first church in Odense appears to have been St Marys, the territory, previously part of the vast Archbishopric of Hamburg, was created a Catholic diocese in 988. The first recorded bishops of Odense were Odinkar Hvide and Reginbert, recent excavations have shown that from the early 11th century, the town developed in the area around Albani Torv, Fisketorvet, Overgade and Vestergade. By 1070, Odense had already grown into a city of stature in Denmark, the priory no longer exists, although a church has been situated on the site since about 900. At the beginning of the 12th century, Benedictine monks from England founded St Canutes Abbey and it was here the English monk Ælnoth wrote Denmarks first literary work, Vita et Passio S. Canuti
3.
Denmark
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The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government
4.
Hans Christian Andersen bibliography
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This is a list of published works by Hans Christian Andersen. The list has been supplemented with a few important posthumous editions of his works, ungdoms-Forsøg by Villiam Christian Walter, published at the authors expense,1822. This is Andersens first fairy tale, written while he was still in school, bunkeflod, one of his early benefactors. Fodreise fra Holmens Canal til Østpynten af Amager i Aarene 1828 og 1829, kjærlighed paa Nicolai Taarn eller Hvad siger Parterret. Digte, published at the expense,1830. Phantasier og Skizzer, published at the expense,1831. Skyggebilleder af en Reise til Harzen, det sachsiske Schweiz etc. etc, skibet, a vaudeville in one act - based on Scribes and Mazeres La Quarantaine), C. A. Original romantic ballad opera in four acts, F. Prinzlau Publishers, magic opera in three acts, Schubothske Boghandel, Copenhagen,1832. Aarets tolv Maaneder, Tegnede med Blæk og Pen, C. A, drama in two acts, a free translation of Bayards La reine de seize ans, Schubothske Boghandel, appeared as no.47 of Det Kongelige Theaters Repertoire, 2nd part,1833. Published at the expense,1834. Sangene i Festen paa Kenilworth, an opera in three acts, C. A. Original dramatisk Digtning i to Afdelinger, - Første Afdeling, Spanierne i Odense. Anden Afdeling, Fem og tyve Aar derefter, schubothe Publishers, appeared as no.76 of Det Kongelige Theaters Repertoire, 4th part,1836. Original novel in two parts, C. A, dramatic joke in one act, with choruses and songs), Schubothes Boghandling, appeared as no.113 of Det Kongelige Theaters Repertoire, 5th part,1839. A Picture Book without Pictures, C. A, original romantic drama, published at the authors expense,1840. En Comedie i det Grønne, Vaudeville i een Akt efter det gamle Lystspil, Skuespilleren imod sin Villie, original romantic drama in one act. - Anden Samling, Grantræet - Sneedronningen, C. A, magic comedy in two acts, C. A. Liden Kirsten, original romantic ballad opera in one act, published at the expense,1846
5.
The Nightingale (fairy tale)
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The Nightingale is a literary fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen about an emperor who prefers the tinkling of a bejeweled mechanical bird to the song of a real nightingale. When the Emperor is near death, the song restores his health. The story has been adapted to opera, ballet, musical play, television drama, the Emperor of China learns that one of the most beautiful things in his empire is the song of the nightingale. When he orders the nightingale brought to him, a kitchen maid leads the court to a nearby forest, where the nightingale agrees to appear at court, when the Emperor is given a bejeweled mechanical bird he loses interest in the real nightingale, who returns to the forest. The mechanical bird breaks down, and the Emperor is taken deathly ill a few years later. The real nightingale learns of the Emperors condition and returns to the palace, the tale was first published by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen on 11 November 1843 in the first volume of the first collection of New Fairy Tales, the volume included The Angel, The Sweethearts, or, The Top and the Ball, and The Ugly Duckling. The tale was well received, and furthered Andersens success. It was reprinted on 18 December 1849 in Fairy Tales and again, Andersen met Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind in 1840, and experienced an unrequited love for the singer. Lind preferred a platonic relationship with Andersen, and wrote to him in 1844, God bless, Jenny was the illegitimate daughter of a schoolmistress, and established herself at the age of eighteen as a world class singer with her powerful soprano. Andersens The Nightingale is generally considered a tribute to her, Andersen wrote in The True Story of My Life, published in 1847, Through Jenny Lind I first became sensible of the holiness of Art. Through her I learned that one must forget ones self in the service of the Supreme, No books, no men, have had a more ennobling influence upon me as a poet than Jenny Lind. The Nightingale made Jenny Lind known as The Swedish Nightingale well before she became a superstar and wealthy philanthropist in Europe. Strangely enough, the story became a reality for Jenny Lind in 1848–1849. His letters reveal that he felt better when she sang for him, with the knowledge of Queen Victoria, Jenny Lind attempted unsuccessfully to marry Chopin in Paris in May 1849. Soon after, she had to flee the cholera epidemic, Jenny Lind devoted the rest of her life to enshrining Chopins legacy. She wrote to Andersen on 23 November 1871 from Florence, I would have been happy to die for this my first and last, deepest, purest love. Andersen, whose own father died of tuberculosis, may have inspired by Ode to a Nightingale
6.
The Snow Queen
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The Snow Queen is an original fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The tale was first published 21 December 1844 in New Fairy Tales, the story centres on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by Gerda and her friend, Kai. The story is one of Andersens longest and most highly acclaimed stories and it is regularly included in selected tales and collections of his work and is frequently reprinted in illustrated storybook editions for children. The magic mirror fails to reflect the good and beautiful aspects of people and things, there was only one way to get it out. Years later, a little boy Kai and a little girl Gerda live next door to other in the garrets of buildings with adjoining roofs in a large city. One could get from ones home to the others just by stepping over the gutters of each building, the two families grow vegetables and roses in window boxes placed on the gutters. Gerda and Kai have a garden to play in, and they become devoted to each other as playmates. Kais grandmother tells the children about the Snow Queen, who is ruler over the snow bees — snowflakes that look like bees, as bees have a queen, so do the snow bees, and she is seen where the snowflakes cluster the most. Looking out of his window one winter, Kai sees the Snow Queen. Kai draws back in fear from the window, by the following spring, Gerda has learned a song that she sings to Kai, Roses flower in the vale, there we hear Child Jesus tale. Because roses adorn the window box garden, the sight of roses always reminds Gerda of her love for Kai, on a pleasant summer day, splinters of the troll-mirror get into Kais heart and eyes while he and Gerda are looking at a picture book in their window-box garden. He destroys their window-box garden, he makes fun of his grandmother, the only beautiful and perfect things to him now are the tiny snowflakes that he sees through a magnifying glass. Outside the city she reveals herself to Kai and kisses him twice, once to him from the cold, and a second time to make him forget about Gerda and his family. She takes Kai in her sleigh to her palace, the people of the city conclude that Kai died in the nearby river. Gerda, heartbroken, goes out to look for him and questions everyone and she offers her new red shoes to the river in exchange for Kai, by not taking the gift at first, the river lets her know that Kai did not drown. Gerda next visits an old sorceress with a garden of eternal summer. However, a later, whilst playing in the garden, Gerda sees a rose on the sorceresss hat, then remembers Kai. Gerdas warm tears raise one bush above the ground, and it tells her that it could see all the dead while it was under the earth, Gerda flees and meets a crow, who tells her that Kai is in the princesss palace
7.
The Snowman (fairy tale)
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The Snowman is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a snowman who falls in love with a stove. Reitzel in Copenhagen as Sneemanden on 2 March 1861, Andersen biographer Jackie Wullschlager describes the tale as a lyrical and poignant complement to Andersens The Fir-Tree of December 1844. Wullschlager believes The Snowman was the product in part of Andersen’s pining and discontent over Harald Scharff, according to Wullschlager, the two men entered a relationship in the early 1860s that brought the poet some kind of sexual fulfillment and a temporary end to loneliness. It was the homosexual affair during Andersens life that brought him happiness. The Snowman begins with its eponymous hero standing in the garden of a manor house watching the sun set and he is only a day old, and quite naive and inexperienced. His sole companion is a watchdog who warns him that the sun will make him run into the ditch, the dog senses a change in the weather, enters his kennel and goes to sleep. At dawn, the land is covered in frosty whiteness when a young couple enter the garden to admire the scene, when they leave, the dog tells the Snowman the couple are sweethearts who will someday move into the same kennel and share their bones. He then recounts happier days when he slept under the stove in the room as a pampered pet. The Snowman can see the stove through a window in the house, the Snowman longs to be in the room with the stove, but the dog warns him he would melt. All day the Snowman gazes upon the stove, and, at twilight, when the door of the room is opened, the flames leap out of the stove and glow upon the snowmans face and chest. In the morning, the window is covered with frost and the Snowman cannot see the stove and he is stove-sick and cannot enjoy the frosty weather. The dog warns the snowman of an imminent change in the weather, a thaw descends, and, one morning, the snowman collapses. The dog finds a stove used to build the snowman within his remains. The girls in the house sing a springtime carol and the snowman is forgotten, scholars have noted Andersen was attracted to both men and women during his middle years. Andersen biographer Alison Prince comments, It is obvious that Andersen struggled throughout his life with a sense of greatness. This was partly due to the suppressed homosexuality which set him apart in loneliness and forced him to refuge in the safer and more conventional image of the talented. Both believe The Snowman has its source and inspiration in Andersens relationship with a male ballet dancer associated with the Royal Theater in Copenhagen. In 1857 in Paris, he made the acquaintance of fellow Dane Harald Scharff, Andersen was returning to Copenhagen via Paris following a visit to Charles Dickens in England, and Scharff was on holiday with his Copenhagen housemate, the actor Lauritz Eckardt
8.
The Ugly Duckling
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The Ugly Duckling is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story tells of a little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from the others around him until, much to his delight, he matures into a beautiful swan. The story is beloved around the world as a tale about personal transformation for the better, “The Ugly Duckling” was first published 11 November 1843, with three other tales by Andersen in Copenhagen, Denmark to great critical acclaim. The tale has been adapted to various media including opera, musical, the tale is completely Andersens invention and owes no debt to fairy tales or folklore. When the tale begins, a mother ducks eggs hatch, one of the little birds is perceived by the other birds and animals on the farm as a homely little creature and suffers much verbal and physical abuse from them. He wanders sadly from the barnyard and lives with wild ducks and he finds a home with an old woman, but her cat and hen tease and taunt him mercilessly and once again he sets off alone. The duckling sees a flock of migrating wild swans and he is delighted and excited, but he cannot join them, for he is too young and cannot fly. A farmer finds and carries the freezing little duckling home, but the foundling is frightened by the noisy children. He spends a miserable winter alone in the outdoors, mostly hiding in a cave on the lake that freezes over. When spring arrives a flock of swans descends on the now thawing lake and he is shocked when the swans welcome and accept him, only to realize by looking at his reflection in the water that he has grown into one of them. The flock takes to the air, and the now beautiful swan spreads his gorgeous large wings, Andersen first conceived the story in 1842 while enjoying the beauty of nature during his stay at the country estate of Bregentved, and lavished a years worth of attention upon it. He initially considered The Young Swans as the title but, not wanting to spoil the element of surprise in the protagonist’s transformation. “The Ugly Duckling” was first published in Copenhagen, Denmark 11 November 1843 in New Fairy Tales, the first edition of 850 was sold out by December 18, and Reitzel planned another 850. The tale was fourth and last in the volume included, The Angel, The Nightingale, and The Sweethearts, or, The Top. The volume sold out almost immediately and Andersen wrote on December 18,1843, all the papers are praising it, everyone is reading it. No books of mine are appreciated in the way these fairy tales are. ”Andersen promoted the tale by reading it aloud at social gatherings, the tale was republished 18 December 1849 in Fairy Tales. 1850. and again 15 December 1862 in Fairy Tales and Stories, the tale has since been translated into various languages and published around the world and has become the most famous story by Andersen. The ugly duckling is the child of a swan whose egg accidentally rolled into a ducks nest, bruno Bettelheim observes in The Uses of Enchantment that the Ugly Duckling is not confronted with the tasks, tests, or trials of the typical fairy tale hero
9.
The Emperor's New Clothes
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Finally, a child cries out, But he isnt wearing anything at all. The tale has been translated into over 100 languages, the Emperor’s New Clothes was first published with The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, by C. A. Reitzel, on 7 April 1837, as the third and final installment of Andersens Fairy Tales Told for Children. The tale has been adapted to various media, and the title, the phrase The Emperor has no clothes. The Emperors ministers cannot see the clothes themselves, but pretend that they can for fear of appearing unfit for their positions, finally, the weavers report that the suit is finished, they mime dressing him, and the Emperor marches in procession before his subjects. The townsfolk play along with the pretense, not wanting to appear unfit for their positions or stupid. Then, a child in the crowd, too young to understand the desirability of keeping up the pretense, blurts out that the Emperor is wearing nothing at all, the Emperor suspects the assertion is true but continues the procession. Andersen did not know the Spanish original but read the tale in a German translation, Andersens manuscript was at the printers when he was suddenly inspired to change the original climax of the tale from the emperors subjects admiring his invisible clothes to that of the childs cry. There are many theories about why he made this change, most scholars agree that from his earliest years in Copenhagen, Andersen presented himself to the Danish bourgeoisie as the naïvely precocious child not usually admitted to the adult salon. The Emperors New Clothes became his expose of the hypocrisy and snobbery he found there when he gained admission. Andersens decision to change the ending may have occurred after he read the tale to a child. He later recalled standing in a crowd with his mother, waiting to see King Frederick VI, when the king made his appearance, Andersen cried out, Oh, hes nothing more than a human being. His mother tried to silence him by crying, Have you gone mad, whatever the reason, Andersen thought the change would prove more satirical. The Emperors New Clothes was first published with The Little Mermaid on 7 April 1837, Reitzel in Copenhagen, as the third and final installment of the first collection of Andersens Fairy Tales Told for Children. The first two booklets of the collection were published in May and December 1835, and met with little critical enthusiasm, Andersen waited a year before publishing the third installment of the collection. Andersens tales eventually became a part of the repertoire, and readings of The Emperors New Clothes became a specialty of, on 1 July 1844, the Hereditary Grand Duke Carl Alexander held a literary soiree at Ettersburg in honor of Andersen. Sight becomes insight, which, in turn, prompts action, prince suggests the ring was an attempt to curb Andersens sudden bent for political satire by bringing him into the royal fold. Hollis Robbins, in The Emperors New Critique, argues that the tale is itself so transparent that there has been little need for critical scrutiny, Robbins concludes that the storys appeal lies in its seductive resolution of the conflict by the truth-telling boy. Its beauty, however, is obscured at the end of the tale with the moral message for children
10.
The Little Mermaid
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The tale was first published in 1837 and has been adapted to various media, including an animated film by Disney and a musical theatre production. The Little Mermaid dwells in a kingdom with her widowed father, her dowager grandmother. As each returns, the Little Mermaid listens longingly to their various descriptions of the inhabited by human beings. When the Little Mermaids turn comes, she rises up to the surface, watches a birthday celebration being held on a ship in honor of a handsome prince, a violent storm hits, sinking the boat, and the Little Mermaid saves the prince from drowning. She delivers him unconscious to the shore near a temple, here, she waits until a young woman from the temple and her ladies in waiting find him. To her dismay, the prince never sees the Little Mermaid or even realizes that it was she who had saved his life. The Little Mermaid becomes melancholy and asks her grandmother if humans can live forever, the Little Mermaid, longing for the prince and an eternal soul, visits the Sea Witch in a dangerous part of the ocean. However, she will feel as if she is walking on sharp knives. In addition, she will obtain a soul if she wins the love of the prince and marries him. Otherwise, at dawn on the first day after he marries someone else, after she agrees to the arrangement, the Little Mermaid swims to the surface near the princes palace and drinks the potion. She is found by the prince, who is mesmerized by her beauty and grace, even though she is considered dumb, most of all, he likes to see her dance, and she dances for him despite suffering excruciating pain with every step. Soon, the Little Mermaid becomes the favorite companion and accompanies him on many of his outings. When the princes parents encourage their son to marry the princess in an arranged marriage. He goes on to say he can love the young woman from the temple. It turns out that the princess from the kingdom is the temple girl. The prince declares his love for her, and the wedding is announced at once. The prince and princess celebrate their new marriage on a ship. She thinks of all that she has sacrificed and of all the pain she has endured for the prince
