Nasjonalromantikken

Norwegian culture in view of political developments Marcin Mateusz Jerzewski UWC Red Cross Nordic 25th November 2013

Links to the syllabus

HL Route 2 HL Option 5: Aspects of the history of Europe and the Middle East Section 12: Social and Economic Developments in Europe and the Middle East in the 19th or 20th century Topic 4: Developments in the arts

Historical background
1523 Kalmar Union of Norway, Denmark and Sweden dissolved

1524 Norway and Denmark enter into another personal union

1814:
Defeat of Denmark-Norway in Napoleonic Wars against the Kingdom of Sweden and the U.K. Treaty of Kiel mainland Norway ceded to Sweden 17th May Norwegian independence declared; constitution signed and dated; Christian Fredrik elected an independent king 26th July 14th August Det norske felttoget 14th August Convention of Moss; Union between Sweden and Norway established

1905 Oscar II renounces claims to Norway; Norwegian independence

Parallel ideas
Enlightenment present in practical government of 19th century Norway: constitution Romanticism fostered nation building process on the ideological level

What is norsk?
Ideological nation building process during the union with Sweden The challenge to distinguish the Norwegian from the Danish Questionable national identity only the farmers were truly Norwegian The written language was Danish Intellectuals were educated in Denmark Elites had close family ties in Denmark

Bondekultur
Norwegianess of the peasants Freedom of peasants: they owned the soil they were cultivating Important national asset in the Europe-wide struggle for democracy Folk culture of the farming class Enlightenment freedom Volkstum

Revival of written Norwegian

Norwegian and Danish are both derived from Old Norse Written Norwegian died out Extinction of medieval aristocracy by the Black Death Lutheran reformation Writers of the Nasjonalromantikken created their works in Danish Henrik Wergeland introduced words from spoken Norwegian into his works

Ivar Aasen and Nynorsk

Nynorsk New Norwegian Assuming that the origins of the Norwegian language were to be found in rural Vestlandet, Aasen set off on a journey in 1840s to study dialects In 1948 and 1850, he published the first Norwegian grammar and dictionary, respectively First name of the new language: Landsml

Ivar Aasens route

Literature: Henrik Wergeland

Literature: Johan S. C. Velhaven

Literature: Bjrnstjerne Bjrnson

One of De Fire Store Bonde-fortellinger: peasant stories Synnve Solbakken; 1857 En glad gut; 1860 Fiskerjentene; 1868 Folke-stykker: national dramas Mellem Slagene; 1855-57 Sigurd Slembe; 1862 Author of the lyrics of Ja, vi elsker dette landet