MOE, JörgenEngebretsen (1813-1882), Norwegian poet and comparative mythologist, was born at Hole in Sigdal, Ringerike, Norway, on 22d April 1813, and entered the university of Christiania as a theological student at the age of seventeen. After leaving the university in 1839 he acted as* tutor in various schools and families, and in 1845 was appointed professor of theology in the Military School of Norway, which post he held until 1853, when he became resident chaplain in his native parish of Sigdal. In 1863 he received the living of Bragernaes, Drammen; in 1870 that of Vest Aker, near Christiania; and in 1875 the bishopric of Christiansand, where he died on 27th March 1882.

Moe’s first publication was a volume of Norse “songs, ballads, and staves,” which appeared in 1840; it was followed in 1841 by the Norsks Folkc-eventyr (Norwegian Popular Tales), which he had collected along with his schoolfellow Asbjörnsen. The work excited such interest as a contribution to the study of comparative mythology that in 1847 he was sent by the Government through Thelemark and Saetersdal to increase his collection of stories. The second (enlarged) edition, with a preface by Moe, appeared in 1852. In 1851 his I Bränden og i Tjemet (In the Well and in the Tarn), a delightful collection of prose stories for children, appeared, and it was followed in 1859 by a volume of poems entitled En liden Jιιlegaυe (A Little Christmas Present). In 1877 he prepared a collected edition of his works in two volumes, the stories he had published along with Asbjörnsen being excluded. Many of the Folke-eventyr (Popular Tales from the Norse) were translated by Sir George Dasent in 1859.