Landstad was born on October 7, 1802 at Måsøy, Norway and died on October 8, 1880 in Kristiania [Oslo]. Landstad was a pastor and poet who published the first collection of authentic Norwegian traditional ballads (1853). His Norske folkeviser (Norwegian Folk Ballads0 dates back for its material to the Middle Ages and revolves around the adventures of trolls, heroes, knights, and gods; a supplement contains folk melodies collected by L.M. Linderman. Though a later, more authoritative collection was published, Landstad’s book continued to be the most influential; Henrik Ibsen drew many of the themes for his early dramas from the Landstad collection.
Landstad was later given responsibility for the preparation of a national hymnal. He included some 50 of his own hymns and completed the editing in 1861.
Reference: The New Encyclopedia Britannica (Micropaedia)