Ole Edvart Rølvåg
1920s (?), Minnesota Historical Society
Born	(1876-04-22)22 April 1876 Dønna Municipality, Norway
Died	5 November 1931(1931-11-05) (aged 55) Northfield,Minnesota, United States
Occupation(s)	Novelist and professor
Known for	Giants in the Earth

Ole Edvart Rølvaag (Urban East Norwegian:[ˈûːləˈɛ̀dːvɑʈˈrø̂ːlvoːɡ];Rølvåg in modern Norwegian,Rolvaag in Englishorthography) (April 22, 1876 – November 5, 1931) was aNorwegian-American novelist and professor who became well known for his writings regarding theNorwegian American immigrant experience. Ole Rolvaag is most cited forGiants in the Earth, his award-winning, epic novel of Norwegian immigrant homesteaders inDakota Territory.^[1]

At 14 years of age Rølvaag joined his father and brothers in theLofoten fishing grounds.^[2][3]

He was sent a ticket to America in 1896 from an uncle who had emigrated earlier. He traveled toUnion County, South Dakota, to work as a farmhand. He settled inElk Point, South Dakota, working as a farmhand until 1898. With the help of his pastor, Rølvaag enrolled inAugustana Academy inCanton, South Dakota, where he graduated in 1901. He earned a bachelor's degree fromSt. Olaf College inNorthfield, Minnesota, in 1905, and a master's degree from the same institution in 1910. He also had studied for some time at theUniversity of Oslo.^[4]

In 1908, Rølvaag became a United States citizen and married Jennie Marie Berdahl, the daughter of Andrew James Berdahl and Karen Oline Otterness. They had four children: Olaf, Ella, Karl and Paul. Their son,Karl Fritjof Rolvaag, served as the 31stgovernor of Minnesota.^[5]Ole Rolvaag died November 5, 1931, in Northfield, Minnesota.^[6]

Rølvaag's authorship and scholarship focused on the pioneer experience on the Dakota plains in the 1870s. His most famous book wasGiants in the Earth, part of a trilogy. The novel realistically treats the lives and trials of Norwegian pioneers in theMidwest, emphasizing their battles with the elements. The book also portrays the trials of loneliness, separation from family, longing for the old country, and the difficulty of fitting into a new culture.^[7]

Giants in the Earth served as the basis foran opera byDouglas Moore andArnold Sundgaard that won thePulitzer Prize for Music in 1951.^[8]

Rølvaag was appointed Knight of theOrder of St Olav byKing Haakon VII in 1926.^[9][10] Also, St. Olaf College has created a literary award named for Rolvaag, theOle E. Rolvaag Award for Fiction, the "award honors the memory of St. Olaf’s greatest writer, Ole Rolvaag".^[11]

• TheO. E. Rolvaag House inNorthfield, Minnesota, is listed as aNational Historic Landmark.^[12]
• Rolvaag Memorial Library atSt. Olaf College is named in honor of O. E. Rolvaag.^[13]
• Berdahl–Rølvaag House, where Rølvaag wroteGiants in the Earth, is located in the Heritage Park of theAugustana University campus inSioux Falls,South Dakota.^[14]
• The Ole Rolvaag Collection is maintained in theNorwegian-American Historical Association Archives.

• Amerika-breve fra P.A. Smevik til hans far og bror i Norge – American Letters (1912)
• Paa Glemte Veie – On Forgotten Paths (1914)
• To Tullinger: Et Billede frå idag – Two Fools: A Portrait of Our Times (1920)
• Længselens Baat – The Boat of Longing (1921)
• Omkring fædrearven – Concerning Our Heritage (1922)
• I de Dage – In Those Days (1923)
• Riket Grundlægges – Founding the Kingdom (1924)

The following three books form a trilogy:

• Giants in the Earth (combined version ofI de Dage andRiket Grundlægges – translated and published in 1927)
• Peder Seier – Peder Victorious (translated in 1929)
• Den Signede Dag – Their Father's God (translated in 1931)

Last release:

• Pure Gold (translated in 1930)
• The Boat of Longing (1933)

^[15][16]

• Jorgenson, Theodore and Solum, Nora O.Ole Edvart Rölvaag: A Biography (Harper and Brothers, 1939)
• Reigstad, Paul.Rolvaag: His Life and Art (University of Nebraska Press, 1972)
• Thorson, Gerald.Ole Rolvaag, Artist and Cultural Leader (St. Olaf College Press, 1975)
• Simonson, Harold P.Prairies Within: The Tragic Trilogy of Ole Rolvaag (University of Washington Press, 1987)
• Moseley, Ann.Ole Edvart Rolvaag (Boise State University Bookstore, 1987)
• Eckstein, Neil Truman.Marginal Man As Novelist: The Norwegian-American Writers H.H Boyesen and O.E. Rolvaag (Taylor & Francis, 1990)
• Haugen, Einar IngvaldOle Edvart Rölvaag(Boston: Twayne Publishers,1983)
• Moose, Nancy Gwen,Religion, Women and Culture in the Works of Ole E. Rølvaag. (1989). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. South Dakota State University.https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/4610
• Zempel, Solveig. 1999. Ole Edvart Rolvaag: Novelist.St. Olaf and the Vocation of a Church College, Pamela Schwandt, Gary De Krey, and L. DeAne Lagerquist, eds. pp. 89-96. Northfield, MN: St. Olaf College.

• Ole Rølvåg
• Norwegian-American Historical Association - O.E. Rølvaag papers
• Minnesota Historic Society – Minnesota Author Biographies Project
• St Olaf College – Rolvaag Memorial Library
• Two Novelists of the Northwest Prairie Frontier. (Texas Christian University Press, 1998.)
• Rolvaag's Search for Soria Moria by Raychel A. Haugrud (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 26: Page 103)Archived 2020-07-13 at theWayback Machine
• Dear Sara Alelia: An Episode in Rølvaag's Life by Einar Haugen (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 31: Page 269)Archived 2016-03-04 at theWayback Machine
• The Social Criticism of Ole Edvart Rølvaag by Neil T. Eckstein (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 24: Page 112)Archived 2016-03-03 at theWayback Machine
• Rølvaag’s Lost Novel by Einar Haugen (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 32: Page 209)Archived 2016-03-04 at theWayback Machine
• The Scandinavian Immigrant Writer in America by Dorothy Burton Skardal (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 21: Page 14)Archived 2018-12-24 at theWayback Machine
• Works by Ole Edvart Rölvaag atProject Gutenberg

• 1876 births
• 1931 deaths
• Norwegian emigrants to the United States
• People from Dønna Municipality
• 20th-century American novelists
• American Lutherans
• American male novelists
• 20th-century Norwegian novelists
• People from Northfield, Minnesota
• People from Rice County, Minnesota
• People from Union County, South Dakota
• Writers from South Dakota
• St. Olaf College faculty
• Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal
• 20th-century American male writers
• Novelists from Minnesota
• St. Olaf College people

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