GRAPHIS ScnIPTA - Universitetet i Oslo

GRAPHIS SCRTPTA 4 (re92)
Swedish journal "Facklan" (The torch) would
print his straightforward extreme letters.
Branth was not intolerant to people of
another religious opinion but he detested
halfteartedness and ignorance. When he
retired he became friends with the catholic
priest at Kolding. Neither Mgller nor Branth
was satisfied with the priesthood. Branth
preferred the company of scientists as the
clergymen were characterized by unctuous
powerlessness and unmanliness, afraid of
voting, and dared not to oppose the rural
deans or bishops. Branth called his bishop a
nonentity and a frog blowing himself up to the
size of an ox.
The bishops went on episcopal visitations
and reported to the ministry of culture. About
Branth they wrote e.g. "numerous peculiarities
and oddities", "his exterior endowments are
very small, but he preaches christianly,
carefully and comprehensible", "not without
oddities and sickly critisism", "his character is
open and determined, his conduct honest".
Branth as a scientist
As a student Branth also followed lectures
of botany. At that time he called his scientific
interest allotrial, that means irrelevant
occupation, which could disturbe his
theological studies. Later he claimed to be a
scientist which had become a vicar. Time gave
him right. His contribution to lichenology is of
lasting value while his participation in the
theological debate long since has been
forgotten. His scientific approach to
theological matters sometimes brought him
into fruitless disputes.
While being headmaster he wrote a
textbook on physics, which was used for 40
years. During his time in north Jutland he
became interested in geology. Branth studied
the layering of sand and clay in the pits of the
area, and together with a professor of geology
from Oslo he studied ttre origin bf tfie
icetransported moraine-blocks of north
Jutland. In this period he also published about
the native pine forest of the island La;sg,
which had then disappeared. Branth found
Deichmann Branth 4l
pine-cones in a turf pit in north Jutland, and
concluded, that the pine-forest would have
had a greater distribution in ealier times. After
his retirement, Branth studied the flora of the
ruined castle of Koldinghus.
Branth first published about lichens in
1860. In the beginning he had his
identifications checked by Nylander and Th.
Fries. In 1866 he was found worthy to receive
Copenhagen University's golden medal for a
paper on lichenology, as was also Emil
Rostrup, Bt that time teacher at a training
college. But since they both had got
permanent jobs at that time, they could not
receive the medal according to the rules. The
two decided to combined their papers into the
first Danish lichen flora: Lichenes Daniae
eller Danmarks laver, published L869.
Branth's concept of species was much broader
than Rostrup's, but Rostrup accepted Branth's
view, and Rostrup's contributed only with
illustrations to the flora. Only six species af
Cladonia and one of Ramalina was accepted,
all of them having numerous varieties and
forms. The work had a modern ta