Introduction to Norwegian Literature

A guide to Norwegian Literature with authors, history, and resources.

Norway has always been a dream country of mine to visit. Despite the harsh terrain that surrounds it, as well as the perpetual nights during parts of the year, the environment of the country just seemed so soothing, even in pictures. Who knows if I’ll ever get the chance to visit, but until then, I find myself delving deeper into the world of Norwegian literature. Before this deep dive, I knew the basics, like Henrik Ibsen and a handful of female playwrights from my playwright research for the theatre I work for. But there’s such complexity to the literature of the region that is so compelling, it sucks you in like a black hole.

While I may never visit Norway, at least I can learn about it! Here’s a breakdown of Norwegian history, literary history, and some authors and traditional modes of storytelling that you need to know.

A Brief History of Norway

Around 12,000 BCE, as the Last Glacial Period came to an end, the coastline of what is now Norway rose up and people began to see the appeal in it. There were lots of fish and seals, as well as lots of land animals to hunt if you ventured deeper inland. And so people began to flock, and civilization began to pop up. Prominent cultures and groups during this era include the Fosna, Nøstvet, and Komsa. The first human skeleton found in Norway, in the 1990s, was dated to be from the 6000s BCE.

We’re going to skip ahead to the next great period in Norwegian history, one that many may be familiar with: the Vikings. The beginning of the Viking age is considered to be 793 CE when one of the first raids took place. This was a period marked by violence, colonization, and trade. There wasn’t a lot of arable land in Western Norway, and, with the philosophy that their deaths during violent conflict would send them to Valhalla, a noble, valiant place for soldiers, the Vikings felt that they had nothing to lose with their conquests.

By 900 CE, the kingdoms were unified. The country would then be in conflict with itself for the next couple hundred years, plagued by civil war. 1300 would be the Golden Age of Norwegian history, marked by high trade with European countries, although the Black Death swept through the nation because of it. However, by the mid-1400s, they had stepped back into the background of Scandinavian history, choosing to try and build an alliance with Denmark.

Denmark-Norway officially became a political union in 1523, but this proved to be a catastrophe. Denmark would later want to make Norway a Protestant nation, which the local people revolted against, and Norway would be demoted to a puppet state, one ruled by the Danish king. Danish became the official language, the church lost 40% of its land, and everyone now had to report to the Danish king.

For the next three hundred years, Denmark-Norway saw itself as a state of constant war and conflict with its neighbor Sweden. And, in 1814, Norway was given away officially to Sweden. Norway would not gain its independence until almost a century later, in 1905, when the Parliament voted to give Norway its independence. The country would go through nine governments, remaining neutral in WWI, and while they tried to maintain neutrality in WWII, they were quickly invaded by the Germans. The Germans conquered and controlled the land, and with the end of the war, a legal purge occurred within the country.

Since then, Norway has found an abundance of oil within its borders, and they became one of the world’s largest exporters of oil. The country has seen relative stability and economic progress and is now the country we know today.

A Brief History of Norwegian Literature

The beginnings of Norwegian literature lies in the ancient texts of Old Norse Poetry, which were roughly composed around the beginning of 700 AD. Old Norse Poetry is largely found in Iceland, but portions were found in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. According to the Viking traditions, poetry actually played a large part in day-to-day life, as several aspects of Norse mythology were told via poetic sequences. These poetic texts would then be broken down into two distinct types, whether they are Eddaic or Skaldic. Eddaic poets often were anonymous, while Skaldic were known.

By the Medieval era, we then switched into the realm of Old Norse Literature, where there really were no forms of creative literature. Again, we see mythology being inscribed in texts, as well as dedications and formulas for the divine, but nothing really truly original outside of the religious sphere. The era after this was equally tragic in literary production, because this was when Norway merged with the Danes, and all aspects of Norwegian culture were suppressed in favor of Danish culture. While there were notable authors born in Norway during the latter half of this time, during the 1700s mainly, they are distinctly labeled as Danish writers.

However, by the late 1800s, romanticism took hold on the country and we began to see some of the greatest names we now know today, such as Henrik Ibsen. The culture was ripe and blossoming in Norway during this time, creating immense literary output for the first time in Norwegian history. Once the biggest giants of this era had all passed away, this marked the beginning of Modernism with the Norwegian creative circles.

In the twentieth century, three Norwegian writers brought home the Nobel Prize for Literature. This was a testament to the creative works being produced within the country, especially after it had gained its independence in 1905. After WWII, narratives tended to skewer towards efforts of resisting the Germans within the country, and nonfiction was all the rage in the post-war era. Even in post-war fiction writers often were fixated on the war and its impacts.

The government of the country then began to foster innovation and creativity, particularly in its literary world. A focus on social realism was brought to the public consciousness, and so many writers began to write within this lends of the world.

Prominent Prose Writers

Henrik Ibsen is a prominent playwright, best known in the West for his play A Doll’s House.

Amalie Skram was a major novelist and feminist active in the latter half of the 1800s.

Knut Hamsun was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920 for his work.

Kjartan Fløgstad is known for incorporating fantasy or magical elements into their work.

Karl Ove Knausgård is a contemporary author known for his autobiographical novels.

Prominent Poets

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson won the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature for his work.

Astrid Tollefsen was a modernist poet of the 1950s.

Harald Sverdrup was a poet and a children’s author.

Jan Erik Vold was a poet who disrupted the status quo in the mid-century poetry scene.

Paal Brekke was a prominent mid-century poet.

Additional Resources

A page on Norwegian Literature via the Norwegian government: access here.

Literary Hub’s guide to Norwegian Literature: access here.

Someone’s must-read list of Norwegian novels: access here.