significance was unparalleled in his times did not, of course, make the situa-
tion any less painful.
When Martensen had almost finished writing his letter to Gude, he re-
ceived word of a commotion at Assistens Cemetery, and as though he were
a journalist sending a live report, he continued his letter with piquant indig-
nation: “I have just learned that there was a great scandal at the grave; after
Tryde had cast earth upon the grave, a son of Kierkegaard’s sister, a student
named Lund, stepped forth withThe Momentand the New Testament as a
witness for the truth against the Church, which had buried Søren Kierke-
gaard ‘for money,’ et cetera. I still have not been informed about this
through official channels, but it has caused great offense, which in my view
must be met withseriousmeasures.”
The rumor that reached the episcopal residence in such haste was true,
and less than a day later the scandalous episode was in almost all the Copen-
hagen daily newspapers. Thus the morning edition ofBerlingske Tidende
sketched the course of events point by point, and its evening edition carried
a summary of the eulogy that the deceased’s elder brother, Peter Christian
Kierkegaard, had given in the church. That same MondayFlyve-Postenand
Fædrelandetalso rushed into print with news reports and contributions to
the debate about possible malfeasance by the official in charge, and a couple
of days laterMorgenpostentrumpeted: “Scarcely was a man who declared
that he was not an official Christian dead before the official Church seized
his defenseless corpse and made off with it.”
Naturally, as head of the Church, Martensen could not just sit with his
hands folded as a mere witness to the fracas. Yet he would not speak out
publicly—it was too risky. In his official capacity he took immediate action
and demanded that Archdeacon Tryde provide a written account of what
had taken place. From this account we learn that the interment had begun
with the usual burial hymn, “Who Knows How Near to Me My Death
May Be,” after which Peter Christian Kierkegaard had spoken “eloquently
and very appropriately.” After another hymn the coffin was removed from
the church and taken by carriage to Assistens Cemetery, where Tryde car-
ried out the casting on of earth. This was hardly completed before Henrik
Lund, a young physician, stepped forward and began to speak despite
Tryde’s protestations and the presence of police officers who had been sta-
tioned at the cemetery for the day’s events. According to Tryde, Lund ad-
dressed “the assembly, consisting primarily of middle-class people” and
numbering close to a thousand. He began by emphasizing his close relation-
ship to his late uncle, then explained his uncle’s hostility to official Chris-
tianity, and finally read several passages from Kierkegaard’s last writings and
from the Revelation of Saint John.xviii {Preface}