Background
Skodvin was born in Ullensvang, Hordaland. He was the son of Anders Skodvin (1884–1938) and Karen Marie Haaland (1884–1958).
Skodvin was born in Ullensvang, Hordaland. He was the son of Anders Skodvin (1884–1938) and Karen Marie Haaland (1884–1958).
Skodvin attended the Hardanger folkehøgskole from 1930-1931. He graduated with a candidate.philol.
In 1935, he took his final exams from Voss landsgymnas. degree in 1946, and took his doctorate in 1956 with the paper Striden om okkupasjonsstyret i Norge. Skodvin work as a university teacher, as professor of history, first at the teacher"s college in Trondheim, and from 1961 at the University of Oslo. He worked as a professor in history at the University of Oslo until 1983.
He was the chairman of Noregs Mållag from 1958 to 1960, and editor of Syn og Segn from 1951 to 1959.
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters]
He was a member of the Royal Norwegian Society from 1957 and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters from 1958.