Magnus Olsen

Magnus Olsen
Born	(1878-11-28)28 November 1878 Arendal, Norway
Died	16 January 1963(1963-01-16) (aged 84) Oslo, Norway
Spouse	Gjertrud Mathilde Kjær ​ ​ (after 1912)​
Awards	Order of St. Olav Grand Knight's Cross of the Order of the Falcon Knight of the Order of the Polar Star
Academic background
Alma mater	Royal Frederick University
Academic advisors	Sophus Bugge Oluf Rygh
Academic work
Discipline	Old Norse philology
Institutions	Royal Frederick University
Notable students	Didrik Arup Seip
Main interests	Old Norse literature Old Norse religion Old Norse toponymy Runology
Notable works	Hedenske Kultminder i Norske Stedsnavne (1915) Ættegård og Helligdom (1926)
Influenced	Gabriel Turville-Petre Lee M. Hollander

Magnus Bernhard Olsen (28 November 1878 – 16 January 1963) was a Norwegian philologist who specialized in Old Norse studies.

Born and raised in Arendal, Olsen received his degrees in philology at Royal Frederick University in Kristiania, where he became a protége of Sophus Bugge. After Bugge's death, Olsen succeeded him in 1908 as Professor of Old Norwegian and Icelandic Literature at Royal Frederick University. In this capacity, Olsen taught generations of Norwegian academics and teachers. His field of research centered on runology and Old Norse toponymy. Olsen was particularly interested in using evidence from runes and toponymy for the study of Old Norse religion. Olsen published a number of works on these subjects, which have been highly influential. He also edited a number of works, including the journal Maal og Minne, which he founded.

During the German occupation of Norway in World War II, Olsen served as dean at his university and was involved with the Norwegian resistance movement. In his later years, Olsen's research centered on the Eddas and Skaldic poetry, on which he authored a number of influential works. He is widely considered the foremost Norwegian philologist of his time.