Grundtvig’s Impact on SocietyThis article revisits the assumption commonly made in literature aboutthe significance of N.F.S. Grundtvig to Danish society, that his importancehardly can be overrated. In a re-evaluation of his influence 1) onthe Danish welfare state, 2) on the first folk high schools, and 3) on theDanish constitution of 1849, the study comes to the following mainlynegative conclusions: 1) While he is credited for intitiating the Danishwelfare state model, in fact, he did not want poor relief to be financed by ageneral tax. Grundtvig is often quoted as saying that there are “a few havingtoo much, and fewer too little.” This statement is often misinterpretedto mean that Grundtvig desired a matrix for general state driven egalitarianredistribution of funds. The opposite is true. 2) While he is called thecreator of the folk high school, the fact is that the first advanced school forpeasants in the Oldenburg Monarchy was erected in Rendsburg in 1842.It sparked the initiative to establish a similar school for Danes in Rødding(established 1844), which was only indirectly inspired by Grundtvig. In1856 a public donation celebrating his 70th birthday three years earlierenabled Grundtvig to open a folk high school in his own name. However,he did not have much to do with it. The ties between the folk high schoolmovement and Grundtvig did not grow stronger until the 1860’s. 3) Andfinally, regarding Grundtvig’s role in the creation of the 1849 constitution,Grundtvig favoured freedom of speech and belief. It has been arguedthat liberalism in general and John Locke in particular inspired him. AndGrundtvig has been canonized as one of the fathers of Danish democracyand as a champion of freedom in general. In fact, however, he spoke outin favour of absolutism as late as 1850. If Grundtvig is to be interpretedas a contender of natural law, the possible inspiration from Thomas Hobbesmust be taken into consideration. Having undeniably strong traits ofliberalism in his political portfolio, the elements of conservatism cannotbe ignored