HANS ADOLF BRORSON (1694–1764), Danish religious poet, was born at Randrup on 20 July 1694 and died at Ribe on 3 June 1764. The son of a Protestant pastor, he himself became a pastor and in 1741 was appointed bishop of Ribe.
His hymns constitute without doubt the finest lyrical output of Denmark at that time, and not merely for the sweetness of their rhythm and the extreme musicality of their verse. Written under the direct influence of German Pietism, they exalt the personal relationship between God and the believer, and Jesus is often celebrated as the Heavenly Bridegroom, though not without a certain conventional sentimentality. A more personal note is struck by occasional allusions to the beauty of Danish nature and to the poet’s daily life.
Besides the *Julesalmer* (*Christmas Hymns*, 1732), we may note *Troens rare Klenodien* (*Rare Treasures of Faith*, 1739), a collection of 274 hymns, 82 of which are original (the rest being translations or adaptations from German), and *Scanesangen* (*Swan Song*, 1765), a posthumous collection of 70 hymns, of a more personal and melancholy tone, often meditating on death, which the poet desired as a liberation.