Den grundtvigianske museumssag mellem følelse og fornuft

Abstract

The Grundtvigian Case for Museums

This article investigates the notion that museums are caught between two opposites when it comes to defining the institutions Raison d'être: either you entertain, or you enlighten. Using Barbara Rosenwein’s thoughts on emotional communities, this museological dichotomy between emotion and intellect is challenged by a certain ‘Grundtvigian position’ that was inspired by the philosophy of pastor poet N.F.S. Grundtvig. At the turning point of the 19th century this position resulted in numerus museums that made the radical statement: the dichotomy is false. A museum should speak to emotions and the intellect. As opposed to the rationalistic, archeological approach that the National Museum represented, the grundtvigians saw themselves as mediators of a living history that needed to be told under the pressure of modern techniques and customs.