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HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

HEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO

MACMILLAN & CO., Limitbd

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA
MELBOURNE

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd.

TOKONTO

HISTORY

OF THE

NORWEGIAN PEOPLE

KNUT GJERSET, Ph.D.

(HEIDELBERG)

PROFESSOR OF NORWEGIAN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE

AND HISTORY IN LUTHER COLLEGE

DECORAH, IOWA

VOLUME II

WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1915

AU rights reserved

\ ^

Set up and electrotyped. Published August, 1915.

Norfnooti l^rms

J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co.

Norwood, MasB., U.S.A.

CONTENTS

FASX

1. Political Union an Era of Transition 1

2. King Magnus Smek. The Union of Norway and Sweden . 4

3. Other Causes Contributing to the Intellectual and Na-

tional Decadence - 11

4. The Reign of Haakon Magnusson the Younger ... 15

5. The Hanseatic League Gains Ascendency in the North . 19

6. Other Features of Haakon Magnusson's Reign ... 27

7. The Union of Norway and Denmark. Queen Margaret . 30

8. The Kalmar Union 36

9. King Eirik of Pomerania 43

10. An Embryo Democracy 56

11. King Christopher .64

12. Christian I. of Denmark and Karl Knutsson of Sweden . 66

13. The Reign of King Hans (John) 77

14. Literature and Intellectual Life in the Fourteenth and

Fifteenth Centuries 89

15. Local and General Administration 100

16. Christian II. The Dawn of a New Era 103

17. Christian II. the Tyrant. The Stockholm Massacre . . Ill

18. The Struggle for Norway. Christian II 120

19. The Count's War. Christian HI 127

20. The Reformation in Norway 134

21. The Reign of Christian III 142

22. Frederick II. The Seven Years' War with Sweden . . 148

23. Norwegian Internal Administration in the Reign of Fred-

erick II 155

24. Intellectual and Social Conditions in Norway in the Six-

teenth Century 160

25. Christian IV. and His Age 183

VI CONTENTS

PAQS

26. Foreign Relations. The Kalmar War 197

27. New National Growth. Hannibal Sehested. A New War

WITH Sweden 207

28. Frederick III 216

29. Hereditary Kingship. The Introduction of Absolutism . 228

30. Foreign Relations . .• 238

31. Norwegian Emigration to Holland, England, Russia, and

America in the Seventeenth Century and Later . . 239

32. The Close of the Reign of Frederick III. Christian V.

The Gyldenl0ve War 247

33. Internal and Foreign Affairs in the Reign of Christian V. 262

34. Economic and Social Conditions in Norway in the Seven-

teenth Century 272

35. Norwegian Literature in the Seventeenth Century . . 285

36. Education and the Church 294

37. Frederick IV. The Great Northern War .... 300

38. King Charles XII. in Norway 309

39. King Charles XII.'s Second Invasion of Norway . . . 316

40. The Closing Years of the Reign of Frederick FV. Social

AND Economic Conditions 323

41. Christian VI. The Age of Pietism 328

42. Mercantilism and Commercial Stagnation . . '. . 335

43. Development of Modern Danish-Norwegian Literature.

The Age of Ludvig Holberg 337

44. Frederick V 343

45. Christian VII. and Queen Carolina Mathilda. The Stru-

ensee Period 349

46. Prince Frederick and Ove H0eg-Guldberg. A Period of

Reaction 358

47. Crown Prince Frederick and A. P. Bernstobpf. Increasing

Unrest in Norway. Chr. J. Lofthus. War with Sweden,
1788 363

48. Danish-Norwegian Literature in the Second Half of the

Eighteenth Century 371

49. Revolution and Despotism. Denmark-Norway's Foreign

Policy, 1792-1814 377

50. The Gradual Dissolution of the Danish-Norwegian Partner-

ship 398

CONTENTS Vll

PA6E

51. Events Leading to the Separation of Norway and Denmark 406

52. Norway Gains Her National Independence in 1814 . . 417
.53. The Meeting of the Constituent Assembly at Eidsvold. The

Framing of the Norwegian Constitution .... 423

54. The War of 1814. The Convention of Moss and Union with

Sweden 432

55. Sentiments and Conditions after 1814 446

56. The Reign of Charles John. The Relation to Sweden . 450

57. Young Norway. Henrik WiSRGELAND and Johan Sebastian

Welhaven. Literary and Intellectual Revival . . 464

58. Political Progress. New Men and Measures .... 476

59. Oscar I. Romanticism and Pan-Scandinavianism . . . 489

60. Political Reaction. The Labor Movement .... 504

61. King Charles XV. Beginning of a New Literary Develop-

ment 517

62. New Political Struggles. Proposed Revision of the Act of nJ

Union 522

63. Important Reform Measures Passed in the Reign of Charles

XV. The Rise of the Liberal or Venstre Party . . 531

64. Oscar II. The Office of Statholder Abolished. The Veto

Question 534

65. Further Development of the Norwegian Literary and

Cultural Renaissance 544

66. The Sverdrup Ministry. Norway under Parliamentary

Government 555

67. The Demand for a Separate Norwegian Foreign Office and

Consular Service 561

68. Political and Social Conditions, 1905-1914 .... 585

69. Norwegian Emigration to America. The Norwegians in the

United States 598

LIST OF PLATES

TA.OtK» PA«B

I. Kringen 24

Bohus in the Seventeenth Century 24

II. Ruins of the Hamar Cathedral 118

Bergenhus 118

III. Pstraat 130

Ruins of Steinviksholm Castle 130

IV. Old Parsonage from Vaage in Gudbrandsdal . . . . , 172

Bondestue, Older Type . .172

Old Church at Borgund 172

V. Christian IV 204

Hannibal Sehested 204

Peder Griffenfeld 204

VI. Woodcarving on an Old Church Door in Sogn .... 294

Woodcarving on an Old Church Portal at Hurum .... 294

VII. Peder Clauss0n Friis 340

Ludvig Holberg 340

PetterDass ,340

VIII. The University of Christiania . . . . . , .402

IX. Eidsvold in 1814 424

The Eidsvold Constituent Assembly 424

X. Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg 426

W. F. K. Christie 426

Georg Sverdrup 426

Christian Magnus Falsen 426

XL Christian Frederick 440

Charles John (Bemadotte) 440

XII. Henrik Wergeland 468

XIII. Camilla Collett 474

Henrik Wergeland's Monument in Christiania .... 474

J. S. Welhaven 474

XIV. John Neergaard 490

Ludvig Kristensen Daa 490

Oscar 1 490

Ole Gabriel Ueland 490

A. M. Schweigaard 490

X LIST OF PLATES

FAonre paos

XV. J0rgen Moe 492

P. Chr. Asbj0rn8en 492

Ivar Aasen 492

A. O. Vinje 492

XVI. P. A. Munch 494

Niels Henrik Abel 494

OleBuU 494

Edvard Grieg 494

XVII. Fredrik Stang 512

Johan Sverdrup 512

XVin. B30rnstjerne Bj0rnson 520

XIX. Chr. Aug. Selmer . . .538

Emil Stang 538

Johannes Steen 538

Oscar II . . . . . .538

S0ren Jaabsek 538

XX. Henrik Ibsen 546

XXI. Alexander L. Kielland 548

Jonas Lie 548

Arne Garborg 548

XXII. J. E. Sars 552

Fridtjof Nansen 552

XXIII. The Storthing Building 576

Royal Palace, Christiania 576

XXIV. The Michelsen Ministry 578

XXV. J0rgen L0vland 582

Christian Michelsen - . . . 582

Cari Berner 582

XXVI. King Haakon VII 584

XXVII. Queen Maud 586

Crown Prince Olav 586

LIST OF MAPS

FACINO VA.OK

I. The Scandinavian North Prior to 1645 152

n. Norway before 1645 200

III. Modern Norway 598

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT

PAOB

Queen Margaret ^^

Visborg Castle ^^

King Christian III 1**

Ulrik Frederick Gyldenl0ve 236

Frederick IV 302

Charles XII 311

Peter Tordenskjold 321

Frederick VI 390

Prince Charles August 395

Hans Nielsen Hauge ^^

Charles XIII *21

Charles XV 523

Queen Louise °24-

HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN
PEOPLE

THE MIDDLE PERIOD
1. Political Union an Era of Transition

When the royal family of Norway became extinct in the male
line upon the death of Haakon V. in 1319, the kingdom still appeared
to possess its former strength. Internal disturbances no longer
threatened, as the aristocracy had submitted unconditionally to
the king, who had firmly established the principles of hereditary
kingship and a strongly centralized government. In Sweden and
Denmark, where royalty had become elective, rival pretenders, aided
by powerful nobles, found opportunity to maintain civil strife in
ceaseless struggles for the crown. But Norway enjoyed peace, a
fair degree of prosperity existed, and its commerce, though somewhat
impaired, was still fairly well maintained. This apparent strength
and stability of the kingdom was, nevertheless, a mere illusion. In
reality the nation was gradually sinking into a state of lethargy and
weakness which soon affected every part of the national organism.
The once so remarkable energy of the Norwegian people shriveled
as if touched by a withering bhght, and without any dramatic struggle
they lost their political and economic independence. There can be
no doubt that the rise of the Hanseatic merchants, and the change
in Norway's foreign policy contributed to this growing national decay,
but the main cause is to be sought in the extinction of the old line
of kings, who had been leaders of the people, and the center of na-
tional hfe and greatness. In their long struggle with the aristoc-
racy, the kings had been victorious. Not only had they lodged
all power in the crown, and created a body of administrative and
judicial oflBcers wholly subservient to it, but the aristocracy, weakened

VOL. II — B 1

2 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

by wars and dispirited by constant defeats, had gradually lost signif-
icance as leaders of the people. Haakon V. wiped out the remnant
of the old hereditary aristocracy when he abolished the titles of
jarl and lendermand, in 1308, while he retained that of knight, as
this new rank depended on appointment and royal favor. Had
the circumstances in Norway been favorable to the growth of chiv-
alry, the disappearance of the old aristocracy might have produced
no serious change; but the new nobility never became numerous
or strong enough to assume leadership in a new national develop-
ment. While Sweden and Denmark fostered a proud and power-
ful aristocracy, Norway was urged, also by her natural environment,
along the path towards democratic conditions. In comparing the
growth of the Swedish and Norwegian nobility P. A. Munch says :
"The already mentioned circumstance that war in Sweden was
usually waged on land, while in Norway it was generally waged on
the sea, would, when we consider the customary mode of fighting,
make the separation between the mounted nobles and the common
foot soldiers or peasants more distinct and conspicuous than in Nor-
way. The more highly developed land war in Sweden, as well as
the stronger influence of German knight-errantry, also led to the
erection of numerous royal and private castles, a feature almost
unknown in Norway. For years together private knights and
squires, as well as feudal lords, ensconced behind the walls of these
castles, might successfully defy law and justice, oppress the neigh-
boring districts, and maintain an independent existence. It is also
clear that it was in their power to make their privileges hereditary,
and to transform them into rights which were real as well as personal.
This is best seen in cases where some powerful knight received a
fief and castle as security for a debt, which was often not paid during
his lifetime. These estates with the castle were then, as a matter
of course, inherited by his sons, or heirs. In this way there had
been formed in Sweden at the time when it was united with Norway
under Magnus Eiriksson in 1319 a larger and more compact circle
of noble families than in Norway ; in other words, a real hereditary
aristocracy whose members, indeed, did not regard themselves su-
perior to the Norwegian nobles, and hence often intermarried with
them; but against their own countrymen they assumed a more

n POLITICAL UNION AN ERA OF TRANSITION 5

aristocratic and distant attitude than did the Norwegian nobles
against their people. We find in Sweden also family names and family
coats of arms used much earher than in Norway, which shows that
an aristocracy of birth with inherited privileges was estabUshed
there, while in Norway nobihty as a mere personal honor still pre-
vailed." ^ Professor T. H. Aschehoug shows that the Norwegian
nobility was much weaker than the same class in Sweden and Den-
mark both in wealth and number. "The great and permanent
cause of the inferiority of the Norwegian aristocracy in wealth lay
in the different natural conditions of the three countries. The wealth,
which should be the mainstay of the noble family, consisted at that
time more than ever in land. But whether we consider the area
or the productivity of the tillable soil, Norway has, without com-
parison, a more scant supply of land than the neighboring kingdoms."^
The growth of royal power had wrought the unification of the
people, and the estabhshing of a national kingdom. An efficient
government had been created which enabled Norway to rise to
greatness. But the aristocracy had been crushed, and when the
kings disappeared, the orphaned nation no longer had competent
leaders to shape its career, or to protect its interests. The country's
foreign policy was guided by weak andj unskilled hands, if it could
be said to be guided at all, while in conimerce, and in economic life
in general, timidity and torpor replaced the earlier spirit of enterprise.
For want of men, strong and self-reliant enough to attempt the solution
of new problems and to face altered conditions with resolute hope-
fulness, the people grew unprogressive, and clung to old forms with
a tenacity which made successful competition with spirited rivals
impossible. The Norwegians had hitherto accomplished great
things, because they had been stimulated to efforts by ambitious
leaders, and their energies had been wisely directed by able kings.
When this stimulus and direction ceased, the decadence began, not
because the people's native ability was lost, but because it became
inoperative and latent.

1 P. A. Munch, Samlede Afhandlinger, III., p. 504 flf. Yngvar Nielsen,
Af Norges Historie, VI., Borge og Kirker.

'T. H. Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 181 4j P-
118 fE.

4 history of the norwegian people u

2. King Magnus Smek. The Union of Norway and Sweden

On the death of Haakon V., May 1, 1319, his grandson Magnus
Eiriksson, heir to the throne of Norway, was yet a child only three
years of age. King Birger of Sweden, who had been compelled to
flee from his kingdom after the treacherous imprisonment and tragic
death of his brothers, the dukes Eirik and Valdemar, was still living
in exile in Denmark, while his son Magnus had been imprisoned in
Stockholm. So bitter was the feeling against the exiled king that
there seemed to be no hope for him to regain the throne either for
himself or his son. When Haakon died, Magnus Eiriksson was
staying with his mother in Sweden, and the leading Swedish nobles
immediately took steps to elect him king of Sweden. The royal
Council ^ summoned a general council of magnates, which met at
Oslo in the month of June. The Duchess Ingebj0rg and seven mem-
bers of the Swedish royal Council met to negotiate a union between
Sweden and Norway, and the election of Magnus Eiriksson to the
throne of both realms. An act of union was soon agreed upon,
and Magnus was proclaimed king of Norway at the Haugathing,
at Tunsberg, and about the same time he was also elected king of
Sweden. Thus Norway and Sweden were united for the first time
"by an accident which looked like a plan." Nothing but family
interests had dictated this course, and the two kingdoms had nothing
in common but the king, who, according to the act of union, should
spend an equal length of time in each kingdom.^ During the king's

1 It had been customary for the king to ask advice of his lendermaend
and other prominent persons in important state affairs, but in the thirteenth
century we find traces of a smaller number of men acting as the king's ad-
visers, though they were not required to meet as a body. When Haakon V.
abolished the title of "lendermand," he seems to have chosen a few promi-
nent men to act as a concilium regis. In the first half of the fourteenth cen-
tury this council grew rapidly in power, especially during periods when it
also acted as a regency during the minority of the kings. From a concilium
regis, or royal council, it developed into a concilium regni, or council of the
kingdom, which shared the power with the king, and he was, henceforth,
not expected to act except with the advice of the Council. See T. H. Asche-
houg, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark, p. 140 ff. Yngvar Nielsen, Det
norske Rigsraad, Christiania, 1880.

* Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. V., p. 321 f., Kong
Magnus Eriks^ns Valgact. P. A. Munch, Det norske Folks Historie, Unions-
periodcn, vol. I., p. 7 ff. Yngvar Nielsen, Det norske Rigsraad, p. 135 f.

II KING MAGNUS SMEK. THE UNION OF NORWAY AND SWEDEN 5

minority, his mother, Duchess Ingebj0rg, and the Council, which
according to the act of succession should consist of twelve members,
was to act as a regency. A similar arrangement was also made in
Sweden.^

The Council showed great laxity in administering the government
of the kingdom. The Duchess Ingebj0rg, who was a thoughtless
and pleasure-loving young woman, got possession of the royal seal,
and she was able to exercise such an influence in public affairs, that
she might be called the real regent, although she hastened to estab-
lish her residence in Sweden, where she also kept the king, contrary
to the act of union. She became enamored of a Danish noble-
man, Knut Porse, and spent the money in the treasury in pursuit of
pleasure, or in furthering the wild and ambitious schemes of her
paramour. Without submitting the matter to the councils of re-
gency, she even promised him the support of the united kingdoms
in a war with Denmark, which he was about to undertake for the
most selfish reasons. Supplied with a document bearing the seal
of the kingdom of Norway, he was even enabled to hire mercenaries
in Germany for an attack on the Danish kingdom. The public
funds had been squandered, the treasury was empty, the laws were
disregarded, and the people were oppressed by unlawful taxes. The
seal of the kingdom was misused in foreign affairs, and Knut Porse
had begun war with Denmark in the name of the king of Norway
and Sweden.^ Discontent grew loud on every hand. In 1322 a
council of magnates, which assembled at Skara in Sweden, deprived
the duchess of her political power in that kingdom. The following
year a similar assembly in Oslo chose Erling Vidkunsson regent to
rule the kingdom of Norway with the advice and assistance of the
Council.' But a difficult situation confronted the new regency.
Through the machinations of Knut Porse and the duchess, Norway
had been placed in a hostile attitude to Denmark, the relations with
England were strained, the treasury was empty, and war had broken

^ Diplomatarium Norwegicum, VIII,, no. 50. Yngvar Nielsen, Det norske
Rigsraad, p. 135.

2 C. G. Styffe, Bidrag till Skandinaviens Historia ur utlandske arkiver, I.
p. 2 ff., 6 f. C. E. F. Reinhardt, Valdemar Atterdag og hans Konge-
gjerning, p. 24.

* Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historic, V., p. 534 f.

6 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

out with Russia as a result of border disputes in Finmarken. In
1323 the Russians and KareHans invaded and harried Haalogaland,
but the regent was unable to act with energy for want of necessary
funds. Three years later peace was concluded at Novgorod for a
period of ten years. ^ What had happened in the meantime is not
known, but the hostilities seem to have practically ceased, since Sweden
made a treaty with the Russians, 1323. The boundaries in these
remote regions were at that time very vague, and the treaty, which
was a mere temporary arrangement, did not bring the question much
nearer to a final solution. A truce was also concluded between
Norway and Russia at Novgorod in 1326, for the period of ten
years, and envoys sent to England had been able to come to a friendly
understanding with Edward II. in 1325.

The law made by King Haakon V. that the king should not be of
age until he was twenty years old seems to have been set aside, as
Magnus Eiriksson seized the reins of government in 1332 at the
age of sixteen. His reign began auspiciously by the acquisition of
Skane and Blekinge, which had hitherto been Danish provinces.
The worthless King Kristoffer II. of Denmark, who had succeeded
Eirik Menved, had granted these provinces temporarily to Count
John of Holstein as security for a loan of 34,000 marks of silver. As
the people were grievously oppressed by the Holsteiners, they ap-
pealed to King Magnus, and asked him to become their ruler. Mag-
nus consented, and they hailed him as their lawful king. Count John
could not begin war against the provinces while they were supported
by the king of Sweden and Norway, and he gladly accepted the offer
to relinquish his title for a sum equal to the amount due him by the
king of Denmark. Sweden had at least temporarily secured title
to these important districts, though it is doubtful if this can be
attributed to the king's own energy and foresight.

In 1335 Magnus married Blanca or Blanche of Namur, who bore
him two sons ; Eirik, 1339, and Haakon, 1340. Very little is known
of King Magnus Eiriksson's character. By some contemporaries
he was decried as dissolute and incompetent, but it is now generally
admitted that he was earnest and conscientious, that he tried to

' P. A. Munch, Samlede Afhandlinger, Vol. II., p. 626 S., Om Graendse-
Traktaterne meUem Norge, Sverige og Rutland i del 14de Aarhundrede.

II KING MAGNUS SMEK. THE UNION OF NORWAY AND SWEDEN 7

rule well, but that he failed, not for want of good intentions, but
because he lacked the ability to guide the two kingdoms through a
most difficult period. During the long regency, the Swedish nobles
had carried on their private feuds without restraint, and Magnus
soon met with determined resistance when he attempted to limit
their privileges, and to increase his income by levying new taxes.
The large sums paid for the newly acquired provinces, as well as
Magnus' poor management, had brought him into serious financial
diflficulties, but his attempt to seek relief in this way only aggra-
vated the situation. The hostile nobles accused him of vice and
extravagance, and in contempt they nicknamed him Magnus Smek,
a name by which he is generally known in history.^ Magnus was
born and reared in Sweden, and was in all respects a Swedish king.
The acquisition of new territory, together with financial difficulties,
involved him so deeply in Swedish politics that he seldom visited
Norway, or paid any attention to the affairs of that kingdom. But
though he remained a stranger to its real needs, he nevertheless
continued to settle Norwegian affairs with a stroke of the pen and
the use of the royal seal without even consulting the Norwegian
Council of State. This caused great dissatisfaction, not only be-
cause of the injury done by this careless and irresponsible manage-
ment of public affairs, but also because this kind of rule did not con-
form to the people's ideas of the character and dignity of Norwe-
gian kingship. A strong opposition party was formed ^ under the
leadership of Erling Vidkunsson, Ivar Agmundsson, Sigurd Hafthors-
son, and other powerful barons. They demanded nothing less than
a dissolution of the union, and asked that King Magnus' youngest
son, Haakon, should be made king of Norway. The king was forced
to yield. By a royal decree issued at Varberg, 1343,^ it was decided
that Haakon should succeed to the throne of Norway as soon as
he reached his majority, that the older brother Eirik should be
elected to succeed his father as king of Sweden and Skane, and that
the kingdoms should remain separated from the time that Haakon
became of age (1355). Until that time Magnus should act as regent

1 Smek, pronounced Smake, from Swedish smeka, to fondle or caress.
^ Gustav Storm, Islandske Annaler, p. 348.
* Diplomatarium Norwegicum, II., no. 258.

8 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

in Norway. The following year Eirik was elected king of Sweden,
and Haakon was proclaimed king of Norway. Thereby the royal
decree annulling the act of union was ratified by the people of both
kingdoms.^ The royal seal was returned to Norway and given to
the new chancellor, Arne Aslaksson. This virtually terminated
King Magnus Smek's rule in Norway. Nominally he remained
regent, but the affairs of the government were henceforth directed
by the chancellor and the Council.

After the peaceful settlement of the troubles with Norway, Magnus
devoted himself earnestly to social and legal reforms in Sweden.
The last remnants of slavery were removed ; he prepared a uniform
code of laws for the kingdom, " Medal-Lagen," and also a code of
city laws. The work was very praiseworthy, and shows that he
meant to rule well; but new troubles were soon created both in
Sweden and Norway by the growing power and arrogance of the
Hanseatic merchants. The foreign affairs of Norway were still
controlled by Magnus, while the domestic affairs of the kingdom were
managed by the Council. They tried to enforce the tariff laws and
other restrictions which aimed at preventing undue encroachments
on Norwegian trade, but the Hanseatic League, which was rapidly
developing into a great commercial monopoly, possessed great
capital and superior business methods, and they did not hesitate
to treat the weak government with contempt. The "Icelandic
Annals" mention many bloody encounters between the German
merchants and the citizens of Bergen; 1332 : "The Germans burned
a large part of Bergen ; " 1333 : " A fight between the priests and the
German shoemakers (sutara), and two priests killed." ^ Other
lawless acts were committed, so that the city of Liibeck in 1341
finally found it necessary to send envoys to King Magnus to arrange

1 Haakon was not proclaimed king at the 0rething, nor at a thing as-
sembled for the purpose, but representatives from the cities and from the
country districts were summoned to Bohus, where they signed a written
agreement to accept him as their king when he became of age. A copy of
this document is still in existence. See Diplomatarium Norwegicum, I., no.
290. This copy bears the signatures of the representatives of the cities and
a part of the country districts. Other copies must have contained the sig-
natures of the other representatives.

* Alexander Bugge, Studier over de norske Byers Selvstyre og Handel ffir
Hanseaterne. Gustav Storm, Islandske Annaler, p. 220 and 349.

II KING MAGNUS SMEK. THE UNION OF NORWAY AND SWEDEN 9

a settlement.^ King Magnus describes the conduct of the Hanseatic
merchants as follows : " When they come to the harbors of Norway,
they ill-treat, wound, and kill people, and depart without a thought
of amends for their wrong-doings to God or the king, or even of resti-
tution to those whom they have injured. Where they land, they
pull down houses belonging to the king or other people, and use
them for fuel without asking permission. They do not permit
other goods to be exported from their cities than spoiled ale, poor
flour, and adulterated hops, but they import from Sweden, Norway,
and SkS,ne grain and other valuable articles. The Germans look
with contempt on the inhabitants of Norway, and in Sweden even
on those who have formerly belonged to their own class {i.e. those
who have married in Sweden, and who have established homes
there), so that they never admit them to their feasts, or to other
social intercourse." ^

In 1342 Norway and Sweden became involved in a war with
King Valdemar Atterdag, who did not seem willing to abide by his
agreement regarding the Danish provinces which had been ceded
to King Magnus. The Hanseatic cities aided Valdemar, and the
"Icelandic Annals" mention a fight between the German merchants
and the citizens of Bergen, in which many merchants were killed.'
In the peace treaty of 1343, Valdemar ceded to Magnus, Skane,
Halland, Lister, Blekinge, and Hven, for the amount of 49,000 marks.
In his dealings with the Hanseatic merchants Magnus was less suc-
cessful. He was unable to pay the stipulated amount for the ac-
quired provinces, and had to seek the financial aid of the Germans,
in return for which he granted to a number of German cities a charter
(1343) in which he confirmed all the privileges which had been given
them by Eirik Magnusson and others of his predecessors. He
abolished the high duties, which had been imposed by Haakon V.,
and henceforth they were not required to pay higher duties than in
the days of Eirik Magnusson.^ The efforts which had hitherto

1 P. A. Munch, Det nor she Folks Historie, vol. V., p. 269.

2 R. Keyser, Norges Historie, vol. II., p. 575.
' Gustav Storm, Islandske Annaler, p. 222.

* The document by which the king grants the German merchants of Bergen
these privileges is found in Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. V., no. 197.

10 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

been made to control the traflBc of the Hanseatic merchants were
thereby adjusted in their favor, and they exercised henceforth almost
unrestricted control over the country's trade. The general economic
conditions seem, however, to have been quite good. The conspicu-
ous lack of energetic activity had at least the advantage of producing
a period of comparative peace, in which the people were able to direct
their attention to their own domestic affairs. The distribution of
land according to the law of odel, and the comparative weakness of
the aristocracy insured the people against oppression, and main-
tained a large class of freeholders Q)^nder), who continued to be the
mainstay of the nation, and the custodians of the national traditions
and spirit of liberty. Even the renters who owned no land were
protected in their rights by the laws, and were not left to the mercy
of the larger landowners. Roads and bridges were maintained
by the people, subject to the direction and supervision of the authori-
ties of the fylke, and the laws were so well enforced that no one was
in danger of being robbed or otherwise molested, even in journeying
along the lonely mountain paths of remote inland districts. But,
aside from this fair degree of prosperity and general social well-
being, a weakening of the people's energies took place in nearly
every phase of national activity. Literary productivity ceased,
and no books seem to have been read, save legends and translations
of chivalric romances. Through the influence of the king and the
court and Norway's intimate relations with Sweden, the Swedish
language came to be regarded in higher social circles as more refined
than the Norse, in which so many great works had been written,
and which had been most highly developed as a literary language.
Norse was still exclusively used, but many Swedish words were
introduced, especially in the diplomatic language and in public
documents. The literary language shows very little change, how-
ever, during the whole Old Norse period, which lasted till 1350.
It retained throughout great purity of vocabulary and constancy
of forms and idioms. The Old Norse language was divided into a
few not very sharply differentiated dialects, especially during the
latter part of the period. East Norse was spoken in Tr0ndelagen
and 0stlandet ; West Norse in Vestlandet (Gulathingslag) and North
Vestlandet {i.e. Romsdal, S0ndm0r, S0ndfjord, Nordfjord, and Ytre

n THE INTELLECTUAL AND NATIONAL DECADENCE 11

Sogn) as well as in Iceland and the rest of the colonies. About 1300
^stlandet developed its own dialect, distinct from that of Tr0nde-
lagen with which it had hitherto been ahnost identical. The West
Norse had been divided into two dialects, a southern and a northern,
at a much earlier date. The southern dialect of the West Norse
was identical with that of Iceland until about 1400, and is the one
used with but few exceptions in Old Norse Hterature. But when the
unifying influence of literary activity disappeared, the number of
dialects rapidly increased, and the greater uniformity of forms and
idioms was lost. The language of Norway entered upon a new
development, like other languages of Europe at that time, while
the more conservative Icelandic became a distinct language.^

3. Other Causes Contributing to the Intellectual and
National Decadence

It is quite evident that in the growing competition with the new
sea-power, the Hanseatic League, the Norwegians soon found them-
selves outclassed, both as to their merchant marine and their mili-
tary power at sea.^ Hitherto Norway had been a leading naval power.
The fleet had been her main strength in war — as necessary to the
maintenance of her political power and independence as her mer-
chant marine and commerce were to the nation's economic well-
being. Shorn of these locks of strength, the nation inevitably sank
into a state of languor and debihty. The more surprising it is to
notice with what indecision and lack of energy the government waged
this decisive contest for naval and commercial supremacy. Norway's
navy had become hopelessly antiquated. The old leding system,
which had proven very advantageous a century or two earlier, still
remained unaltered, though wholly impractical under the changed
conditions of the fourteenth century. According to this system, the
coast provinces were divided into 309 skibreder (O. N. skip reidur),
or naval districts, and each skibrede should build and man one ship.
In this way the full quota of vessels could be secured, but no progress

^ Marius Haegstad, Det norske Maalet fyre 1350, Indledning til Gamalnorsk
Ordbok, Christiania, 1909. Norsk Konversations-Leksikon, "Norge," vol. V.

^ J. E. Sars, Hanseaternes Handelsherred^mme, Udsigt over den norske
Historie, vol. III.

12 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

was made in the art of ship-building. The binder (freeholders),
who furnished the required vessels and equipments as a regular leding
tax, continued to build ships of the same size and type as had been
furnished hundreds of years earlier. In the Hanseatic cities, in
Flanders, France, and the Netherlands a new type of vessel, the
kogge (Old Fr. coque, Italian cocca), had been introduced.^ This
vessel had one or two stationary masts, and was wholly propelled by
sails. It was of the size of a brig or small schooner. Such a vessel
could travel faster and maneuver easier than the Norwegian long-
ships, which had only one sail, and had to be partly propelled by oars.
The kogge was also harder to enter ; it was well supplied with war
machines of different kinds; and as the men did not have to ply
the oars, the fighting force on these new ships was relatively much
larger than on the old war vessels. About 1350, gunpowder was also
introduced, and the Hanseatic merchants were not slow in making
use of it. The art of ship-building and the science of war had changed.
In a contest with a fleet of sailing vessels of the new type the Norwe-
gian fleet soon proved comparatively useless. After the inferiority
of the older type of ships had been thoroughly demonstrated, the
longship was discarded about 1350, and sailing vessels of the new type
were built ; but the change came too late to save Norway's prestige
as a naval power.

In the Norwegian merchant marine similar conditions prevailed.
Small ships of the old type were still used, while the Hanseatic mer-
chants were introducing large sailing vessels of improved type. Alex-
ander Bugge says: "The Norwegian ships which came to England
during the fourteenth century not only became fewer and fewer,
but also smaller and smaller," — a sad evidence of Norway's failing
strength.

While the nation was sinking into such a lethargic state, its re-
maining strength was suddenly broken by the fearful ravages of the
Black Death. In 1347 this plague had reached southern France
from the Orient, and it quickly spread to Italy and Spain. In
1348 it appeared in England, whence it seems to have been carried

1 Alexander Bugge, Et lidet Bidrag til Sp^rgsmaalet om Norges Nedgang i
det 14de Aarhundrede, published in Historiske Afhandlinger tilegnet Professor
J, E. Sars, Christiania, 1905.

II THE BLACK DEATH 13

to Scotland, the Orkneys, Hebrides, Shetland, and Faroe Islands,
while Iceland and Greenland escaped its ravages. The disease was
so malignant that people died after a few days', or even a few hours',
illness, and many districts lost the greater part of their population.
According to the " Icelandic Annals," the disease was brought to Nor-
way by a merchant vessel which came to Bergen from England. The
exact date is not given, but it must have been in the summer of 1349.^
The people on the ship died before the cargo was unloaded, and the
ship sank in the harbor, says the annahst. The plague seems to
have spread to all parts of the kingdom. In 1350 it harried Sweden,
and the following year Finland and Russia. When it reached the
districts around the Black Sea, it finally ceased, after having visited
all parts of Europe on its deadly mission. How large a part of the
population of Norway died from this scourge it is impossible to deter-
mine with any degree of accuracy. Many tales were later told by
the people, of whole settlements which became wholly depopulated,
of churches which were later discovered in dense forests, which had
grown up on formerly cultivated areas, of children who had been
left alone in depopulated districts, where they grew up in a wild state.^
It is not difficult to see that these tales are later creations, based
largely on imagination ; but the mortality must, nevertheless, have
been very large. Even public documents show evidence of this.'
Of the bishops of Norway only one survived the Black Death, and
even in 1371 the Archbishop of Nidaros complained to the Pope
that while there used to be about three hundred priests in his diocese,
there were, after the great plague, not above forty. The " Icelandic
Annals" contain the following statement : "Then the disease spread
over all Norway, and caused such mortality that not one-third of
the people of the country remained alive." * This statement is,
however, an exaggeration. Oscar Montelius, who has investigated
the decrease of the population in Sweden on the basis of the Peter's
Pence paid before and after the Black Death, finds that the plague

^ Islandske Annaler, p. 275.

* Scriptorum Rerum Danicarum, VII., 2. Rasmus Nyerup, Historisk
Skildring af Tilstanden i Danmark og Norge i oeldre og nyere Tider, Copen-
hagen, 1808, vol. I., p. 228 ff. A. Faye, Norske Sagn.

^ Diplomatarium Norwegicum, V., 1, p. 166; XL, 1, p. 40 f. ; XII., 1, p. 76.

* Gustav Storm, Islandske Annaler, p. 275.

14 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

carried away from one-third to one-half of the population in that
country.^ Professor J. E. Sars, who has made a similar investiga-
tion in Norway, finds that the decrease of the population in that
kingdom was considerably less than in Sweden, probably because
it was less densely populated ; that the loss did not exceed one-third.^
The calamity was, nevertheless, overwhelming. Commerce was
almost at a standstill, the voyages to Greenland almost ceased,^
many estates lay uncultivated, and a number of leading men in
church and state were dead. There is, indeed, evidence that the
ordinary affairs of life were carried on in the customary routine way,
but a stunning blow had been dealt all optimism and enterprise,
and the consequences were the more serious because of the low ebb
of national vigor.

After the expiration of the ten years' truce which had been con-
cluded at Novgorod in 1326, hostiUties with the Russians had been
renewed. In 1348 King Magnus crossed the Baltic Sea with an
army, and fought a campaign in Finland, but the Black Death put

1 Oscar Montelius ; Forsell och Wirsen, Svensk Tidsskrift for Literatur, Poli-
iik, och Ekonomi, 1870, p. 219-20.

In Sweden one penning in Peter's Pence was paid yearly by every
household. In the period 1333-1350 the average sum per year was 221 f
marks, while in the years 1351-1353 the average sum was 132 1 marks. The
population would, therefore, stand in the same ratio.

2 In Norway the Peter's Pence was one penning from every man and
woman who owned property to the value of three marks. J. B. Sars, Til
Oplysning om Folkemcengdens Bevcegelse i Norgefra det ISde til del 1 7de Aarhun-
drede, Historisk Tidsskrift, anden rsekke, vol. III., p. 281 ff. Dr. H. Hilde-
brand, Sveriges Medeltid, vol. I., p. 58 fif. C. G. Styffe, Skandinavien under
Unionstiden, 2d ed., p. 94. P. A. Munch, Det norske Folks Historic, anden
hovedafdeUng, Unionsperioden, f0rste del, p. 888 ff. J. E. Sars, Nyt His-
torisk Tidsskrift, vol. V., p. 243 f. A. L. Faye, Den sorte D^d i det 14de
Aarhundrede, Christiania, 1880. J. E. Sars, Hanseaternes Handelsherred^mme
og den store Manded^d, Udsigt over den norske Historie, vol. III.

3 After Iceland and Greenland were united with Norway, they became
crown colonies, and the king regulated all commerce with these islands. In
the charter granted the German merchants in 1294, it was stipulated that
they should not sail north of Bergen, except where it was granted as a special
favor. Alexander Bugge considers it probable that the crown established a
monopoly of the trade with these colonies for the benefit of companies in
Bergen and Trondhjem. Only one merchant ship was dispatched to Green-
land every year, and if this failed to reach its destination the colony remained
wholly isolated from the rest of the world.

n THE EEIGN OF HAAKON MAGNUSSON THE YOUNGER 15

a stop to the war. The exhausted and afflicted kingdoms needed
peace above all things, but the king immediately undertook a new
expedition, which was as unsuccessful as the first. In 1351 the Pope
instructed the clergy of Sweden and Norway to preach a crusade
against the Russians,^ and Magnus raised a small army of volunteers
with which he again entered Finland ; but instead of gaining renown
as a defender of the Catholic faith, he only proved his incompetence.
The treasury was empty, his debts had increased, and new dissatis-
faction had been created, especially among the nobility.

4. The Reign of Haakon Magnusson the Younger

Haakon Magnusson ascended the throne of Norway in 1355, having
reached the age of fifteen years.^ The two kingdoms were not com-
pletely separated, as might have been expected, as several provinces
were still retained by Magnus. Besides Vestfold and Skienssyssel,
which he retained in his own name, his queen, Blanche, kept Rana-
fylke, Borgarsyssel, and Iceland as her Norwegian dowry. This
was an important modification of the Act of Varberg of 1343, accord-
ing to which the two kingdoms should be separated as soon as Haakon
became of age, but it seems that the Norwegian magnates made
this concession without protest, as Magnus had yielded to their
demand that the union should be dissolved. The districts retained
by King Magnus and his queen were not severed from Norway, but
were to revert to the crown upon the death of the royal pair. But
through this parceling out of the provinces and possessions of the
kingdom, Norway continued to be affected by the subsequent check-
ered fortunes of Magnus Smek.

The expeditions to Russia had left Magnus in great financial diffi-
culties. Money could be borrowed only in small quantities for
short periods, and these distress loans aggravated rather than re-
lieved the deplorable financial situation. In 1355 he was excom-
municated by the Pope for failure to pay his debts, and he had
already been obliged to pawn his two crowns to the city of Liibeck

* Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. VI., no. 200 ; vol. VII., no. 245.

* Detmars Chronik herausgegeben von Grautoff, p. 234. P. F. Suhm, His-
torie af Danmark, XII., p. 228 ff.

16 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

for a small loan. The political outlook was not encouraging. King
Magnus' brother-in-law, Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg, had entered
into a secret compact with King Valdemar of Denmark to wrest
from Magnus the province of SkS,ne.^ At home he was opposed by
the discontented nobles, who for some time had pursued a well-
defined policy of increasing their power and privileges at the king's
expense. The violent and often disloyal nobles found a new oppor-
tunity to nurse their growing discontent when Magnus bestowed the
greatest honors on his favorite, Bengt Algotsson, whom he made
Duke of Halland and Finland, and governor of Skane.^ His motives
for doing this are left wholly to conjecture. Did he attempt to win
a competent ally for the struggle with the nobility, the approach of
which he must have foreseen ? It is not improbable, but this move
hastened the crisis. The nobles easily persuaded Prince Eirik that
he had been slighted. His younger brother Haakon was already
king of Norway ; ^ the royal favorite, Bengt Algotsson, had been
made duke, while Eirik had neither titles nor possessions. In 1356
he raised the standard of revolt. Aided by the nobles, he surprised
and captured Bengt, and forced Magnus to cede the whole of southern
Sweden. Albrecht of Mecklenburg, who had encouraged him with
a view to his own benefit, secured for himself and his sons southern
Halland and a part of Sk&ne. But not even these liberal conces-
sions satisfied the rebellious Eirik, who now assumed the title of
king. He broke without hesitation the agreements which he had
made, and seized one district after another of his father's remaining
possessions until he ruled all Sweden. But in 1359 both he and
his queen suddenly died.^ Magnus again mounted the throne, and

1 C. E. F. Reinhardt, Valdemar Atterdag, 228 f.

2 Scriptores Rerum Danicarum, VI., p. 530.

' St. Birgitta, who voiced the general sentiment of her people, expressed dis-
approval of the arrangement by which the younger brother Haakon received
the hereditary kingdom of Norway, while Eirik had to be satisfied with
Sweden, where the kingship was elective. The hereditary kingship was re-
garded as the more stable and honorable, hence Norway was regarded as the
more desirable of the two kingdoms.

* The rumor was spread that Eirik and his queen were poisoned. (See
Islandske Annaler, p. 277.) But the report seems to be only an attempt of
the common people to account for their sudden death. They probably died
in the small-pox epidemic raging at the time.

II THE REIGN OF HAAKON MAGNUSSON THE YOUNGER 17

the nobles, whom he summoned to a council, agreed that everything
should be as before, even as if the uprising started by Eirik had not
taken place. This agreement was subscribed to also by King Haakon
of Norway. But Magnus was not even now suffered to enjoy the
blessings of peace. Not long after he had regained the throne,. King
Valdemar of Denmark entered Sweden with an army and besieged
the castle of Helsingborg.

Albrecht of Mecklenburg, who was playing the double role of
Magnus' friend and Valdemar's secret ally, seems to have been
placed in command of the castle by the unsuspecting Magnus, and
as soon as the king withdrew to the northern districts of his realm,
Albrecht surrendered Helsingborg to King Valdemar, who also seized
Sk§,ne and Blekinge. A Danish chronicle says that, "taking ad-
vantage of Magnus' lack of penetration, Valdemar gained possession
of SkS,ne through fraud and deceit."

Magnus' weakness encouraged Valdemar to continue his opera-
tions. In the summer of 1361 he captured the island of Oland, and
seized Gothland, where he sacked the rich city of Wisby. This bold
and unexpected move greatly alarmed the Baltic cities of the Han-
seatic League, who feared that a similar fate might befall them.
Negotiations were begun with a view to bring about an alliance
between the Hanseatic cities and the kingdoms of Norway and Sweden
against Valdemar, but the greed and selfishness of the cities frus-
trated the plan. In the fall of 1361, Haakon, who had always been
a loyal son, had a serious quarrel with his father, and even imprisoned
him for a time.^ The "Icelandic Annals" state that "Haakon im-
prisoned Magnus because he promised to cede a part of his kingdom
to Valdemar." ^ However this may be, he seems to have been
prompted to the act by the nobles. His resolute action won their

^ Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Aeneas Sylvius), later Pope Pius II., wrote in
1457 that Haakon was a superb man and wonderfully loved by his people ;
that all his deeds show him to have been a good son, father, man, and Idng,
except that in his youth he suffered himself to be persuaded by the Swedish
Council to imprison his father, which deed he recompensed later by filial
obedience and support. Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historie,
vol. III., p. 613. Diplomatarium Suecanum, III., p. 708 ff. A. Huitfeldt,
Danmarks Riges Kr^nike, p. 493.

2 Gustav Storm, Islandske Annaler, p. 226.

VOL. II — C

18 mSTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

favor, and he was made king of Sweden a few months later, to rule
that kingdom jointly with his father. In their war with Denmark
the Hanseatic cities were unsuccessful. Valdemar captured the
greater part of their fleet, and after an unsuccessful attempt to take
Helsingborg, their commander, John Wittenborg, was forced to
conclude an armistice and withdraw his forces. On his return to
Liibeck he was condemned to death and executed.

Both Magnus and Haakon had learned to understand the advan-
tage of maintaining cordial relations with Valdemar, for they were
now opposed by the Hanseatic League as well as by the nobles at
home, who sought to destroy their power. In 1363 a friendly agree-
ment was finally concluded between the three kings. Magnus ceded
to Valdemar the provinces which had been seized by the Danes,
and the friendship was further cemented by the marriage of King
Haakon to Valdemar's ten-year-old daughter Margaret.^ Two
months later the Danish prince, Kristoffer, died, and Margaret
became eligible to the throne of Denmark, a circumstance which
ultimately led to the union of the three Northern kingdoms.

The Swedish nobles were deeply oflFended, as they regarded the
concessions made to King Valdemar as a treasonable sacrifice of
the interests of their country, and they decided to offer the crown
of Sweden to Albrecht of Mecklenburg. He offered them his next
oldest son, Albrecht, who was chosen king of Sweden in 1364 after
Magnus and Haakon had been formally deposed. They received
no aid in their effort to defend their throne. King Valdemar was
absent on a visit to Pope Urban V. in Avignon, and the Norwegian
nobles would not begin a war to keep them on the throne of Sweden.
They succeeded, nevertheless, in raising a small army, with which
they took the field against King Albrecht ; but they were defeated
in the battle of Gata, March 3, 1365. Haakon escaped, severely
wounded, but Magnus was captured and imprisoned in Stockholm
castle, where he was confined till 1371, when he was finally set free
on the payment of a ransom of 12,000 marks of silver.^ Both he

^C. E. F. Reinhardt, Valdemar Atterdag, p. 324.

•A mark of silver was half a pound of pure silver, Cologne weight, or
233.858 grams. It was worth about thirty-seven crowns or ten dollars.
But as the purchasing power of money was over eight times as great at that

II THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE GAINS ASCENDENCY IN THE NORTH 19

and Haakon had to relinquish their claim to the throne, but Magnus
received the income from the provinces Vestergotland, Dalsland, and
Verm land during his lifetime. After he regained his liberty, he spent
his remaining years in Norway, where the people liked his kindness
of heart, and called him Magnus the Good. He perished in a ship-
wreck on the B0mmelfjord, in western Norway, December 1, 1373.^

5. The Hanseatic League Gains Ascendency in the North

When Valdemar Atterdag, in 1360, seized Sk&ne, and shortly
after also Oland and Gothland, Magnus Smek and his son, King
Haakon of Norway, formed an alliance with the Hanseatic cities
against him. This alliance did not last long, as neither of the kings
aided the cities in their war against Valdemar in 1362, but the Han-
seatic merchants had been able to obtain a new charter (1361), in
which they were granted unrestricted permission to trade in both
kingdoms whenever and in whatsoever manner they pleased. They
could even remain with their wares as long as they pleased, without
being obliged to bear the burdens of ordinary citizens. This charter
enabled them to gain final control over all trade in every part of
the country. They not only seized all commerce, but they began
also to do the retail trade with the people of the country districts,
which had hitherto been reserved for the Norwegian merchants.
In this way they destroyed all competition by forcing the Nor-
wegian merchants even out of the local trade. It was, indeed, al-
ways stated in the charters that the Norwegian merchants should
enjoy the same privileges in the German cities as the Hanseatic
merchants enjoyed in Norway, but these were only meaningless
phrases, as Norwegian commerce was already destroyed. Bergen,
the great depot of the trade with the North, became one of the most
important cities of the League. The Hanseatic colony in Bergen
seems to have been definitely organized about 1350.^ Its three thou-

time as at present, a mark of silver would have a real value of about $80 in
our money. Hence the ransom would amount to about $960,000.

^ Islandske Annaler, p. 363.

* Friedrich Bruns, Die Lubecker Bergenfahrer und ihre Chronistik (Berlin,
1900), Die Begrundung der hansisch-liibeckischer Machtstellung in Bergen.
Ludvig Holberg, Bergens Beskrivelse, p. 202 ff.

20 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

sand merchants, masters, and apprentices, all armed and robust men,
were not allowed to marry, or mingle socially in any way with the
townspeople. They formed a distinct community — a state within
the state — governed wholly by their own laws. If a member of
the colony committed any misdeed, he could not be brought to jus-
tice by the city authorities, and if the offense was a grave one, he
could easily be smuggled out of the city on a German merchant vessel.
At times these foreign merchants would carry on a veritable reign
of terror in the city, as they well knew that the authorities did not
dare to resist. In 1365 they broke into the royal residence, and
forced the commander of the city to grant every request; where-
upon they dragged one of his servants from a monastery, and beheaded
him without a trial. They then forced the bishop to grant them
absolution for their deeds, and compelled the city council to decide
the case in their favor. In case resistance was offered, they threat-
ened to burn the bishop's residence and the whole city. It is true
that this species of tyranny and brigandage affected directly only
the city of Bergen, that it was a local evil which did not imperil the
peace and liberty of the people in general ; but it was, nevertheless,
a national humiliation, and furnished positive proof of the nation's
failing strength. It was a foretaste of the kind of blessing which
Norway was to enjoy under the galling commercial yoke of the Han-
seatic League.^

1 J. E. Sars, Hanseaternes Handelsherred^mme, Udsigt over den norske
Ilistorie, vol. III. Schafer, Die Hansestddte und Konig Waldemar von Dane-
mark. Ludvig Daae, Del tyske Hanseforbund, Historiske Skildringer, II.
Alexander Bugge, Handel og Byliv nord for Alperne; VerdenskuUuren, edited
by Aage Friis, vol. IV., p. 109 ff. W. Cunningham, Growth of English Indus-
try and Commerce. W. Vogel, Nordische Seefahrten im fruheren Mittelaller.
P. A. Munch, Det norske Folks Historie, part II., vol. I., 804-805. Alexander
Bugge, Handelen mellem England og Norge indtil Begyndelsen af det 15de
Aarhundrede, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie rsekke, vol. IV. William Christen-
sen, Unionskongerne og Hansestoederne, Copenhagen, 1905. O. A. 0verland,
Norges Historie, vol. IV., p. 489 ff. Kr. Erslev, Danmarks Riges Historie,
Den senere Middelalder, p. 345 ff. Wolfgang Menzel, Germany from the
Earliest Period. Islandske Annaler, edited by Gustav Storm. Yngvar Niel-
sen, Bergen fra de celdste tider indtil Nutiden. Yngvar Nielsen, Af Norges
Historie, Norge og Hansaforbundet, 95 ff. Sartorius, Geschichte des hanseat-
ischen Bundes. Friedrich Bruns, Die Liibecker Bergenfahrer und ihre Chr»ni-
stik (Hansische Geschichtsquellen, Neue Folge, Band II.), Berlin, 1900.

II THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE GAINS ASCENDENCY IN THE NORTH 21

When Haakon Magnusson was deprived of the throne of Sweden,
he devoted more special attention to the affairs of his own kingdom
of Norway. He had seen the injurious effects produced by the char-
ters and Hberties granted the Hanseatic merchants ; he was loath to
keep the agreements which he had made with them ; and looked for
an opportunity to shake off their commercial yoke. He made regu-
lations which favored the native merchants, and infringed on the
rights of the Germans granted in their charters; and in the hope of
resisting them, if they attempted to use force, he made an alliance
with King Valdemar of Denmark, The Hanseatic cities saw the
danger, and determined to break the opposition of the two Northern
sovereigns.^ Already in 1366 they were uttering loud complaints
about encroachments made by the kings of Denmark and Norway
on their charters and trade privileges, and made extensive prepara-
tions for a decisive war against the two realms. The cities of the
Baltic seacoast were the leaders in the undertaking, but they also
persuaded the other cities of the League to join. In 1367 a general
Hanseatic meeting, the largest of the kind ever held, was assembled
at Cologne, and a coalition for war was organized in the name of the
whole League. The cities agreed to assist each other faithfully
against the kings of Denmark and Norway; no city should carry
on negotiations, or conclude peace separately, and the compact
should remain in force three years after peace was concluded.'^ The

1 The German merchants feared lest they should be shut out from the
lucrative trade with the North on which they depended for many of their
staple articles, such as fish, herring, furs, hides, etc. Dried codfish, one of
the chief commercial articles, was exported from Bergen. The herring
fisheries on the coast of Bohuslen were especially important at the time.
Fishing boats .and fishermen from Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and
Scandinavia would assemble in large numbers during the fishing season in
the two towns Skan0r and Falsterbo, where they built storehouses and
depots, and where great markets were held. These two towns, situated less
than two miles apart on a jutting peninsula, became one of the leading
trading places in the North. A French nobleman who sailed through the
Sound in the fourteenth century on his way to Prussia states that 40,000
boats and 300,000 people took part in the herring fisheries during the months
of September and October. Alexander Bugge, Handel og Byliv nord for
Alperne, VerdenskuUuren, edited by Aage Friis, vol. IV., p. 170.

2 Jacobus Langebek, Scriptores Rerum Danicarum, VI., p. 522. Detmars
Chronik, von Grautoff, p. 214.

22 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

warships should assemble at Easter, 1368, in the Sound. Duke
Albrecht of Mecklenburg and his son, the king of Sweden, the counts
of Holstein, and many nobles in Jutland, led by Claus Limbek, were
also persuaded to join the coalition. The courage of the allies rose
with their numbers. They agreed to partition Denmark so that the
king of Sweden should receive Skane and the island of Gothland;
Albrecht of Mecklenburg, Seeland and some of the smaller islands;
and the counts of Holstein should receive Jutland, Fyen, Langeland,
etc. King Valdemar must have been aware of the grave danger
which threatened his kingdom, but there is no indication that he
took any decisive steps to safeguard his realm.^ Valdemar was a
sagacious though unscrupulous statesman — a great ruler, but not
really a warrior, and when so many, even of his own nobles, joined
the coalition against him, he seems to have despaired of success in
the war. He turned the government over to the Lord High Con-
stable (drost), Henning Podbusk, and left the kingdom.^ He went
to Germany, but what he had in mind is not clear. He may have
sought to get aid, or he may have thought that the Council would
be able to make peace on better terms if he were not present.

Off the Island of Riigen the League collected in 1368 a fleet of
seventeen large war vessels and many smaller ones, carrying 200
horses and 1540 warriors. This force was to operate against Den-
mark, and the victory was swiftly and cheaply won, as no Danish
fleet appeared to offer battle. Copenhagen was captured and sacked,
a German garrison was placed in the castle, and the harbor was
obstructed by sinking ship-hulls at the entrance. Elsinor (Helsing0r),
Aalholm, Nykoping, Malmo, Skanor, and Falsterbo were captured.
Seeland was harried with fire and sword. The king of Sweden took

1 Tradition says that when he received the Hanseatic cities' declaration
of war, he improvised as an answer this Low Dutch stanza :
Seven unde seventig hensen
Heff t seven unde seventig gensen ;
Wo mi di gensen nichten biten,
Nah den hensen frage ick nichten sehiten.
This is without doubt only invention, but the impression seems to have
prevailed that Valdemar was overconfident and failed to make preparations.
C. E. F. Reinhardt, Valdemar Atterdag og hans Kongegjerning, Copenhagen,
1880.

* Jacobus Langebek, Scriptores Rerum Danicarum, vol. VI., p. 631.

II THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE GAINS ASCENDENCY IN THE NORTH 23

Sk&ne, and the counts of Holstein seized the greater part of Jutland.
" The Germans harried Jutland and all the possessions of the Danish
king," says the old annalist.^

A second fleet of six war vessels and 1100 men was organized in
the Netherlands to operate against Norway, and this force met
as little resistance as the first. The old leding system in Norway
had fallen into such complete decay that the country no longer had
a fleet worthy of the name. The districts east of Lindesnes were
ruthlessly harried, and fifteen parishes are reported to have been
laid waste. Marstrand, Konghelle, and Ljodhus were burned, and
as King Haakon had no means of resisting the enemy, no alternative
but the negotiation of peace remained. On August 10, 1368, an
armistice was arranged at Wismar, which should last till Easter
the following year. During this interval the hostilities should cease,
but the embargo on commerce with Norway was to be maintained,
a proviso which would ultimately compel the Norwegians to accept
peace on any terms offered. But the stipulations regarding the
cessation of hostilities were not kept. The seacoast, as far as Bergen,
was harried, houses and forests were burned, and an effort was made
to so terrorize the people that they would never again attempt to
offer resistance to the Hanseatic merchants.

Before the war broke out, the Hanseatic League ordered all the
German merchants in Norway to leave the country.^ The Enghsh
merchants seized the opportunity, and tried to reestablish their
trade with Norway, but the Germans returned and drove them away.^

A new armistice was concluded in 1369, which should last till 1370,

^ Islandske Annaler, edited by Gustav Storm, p. 361 f .

' The order recalling the merchants from Bergen was issued at Liibeck,
Feb. 2, 1368. Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. VIII., no. 182. In a letter
to the League, of May, 1368, the merchants of Bergen say that they have
obeyed the order, but that it has brought them irreparable loss. Diplo-
matarium Norwegicum, vol. VIII., no. 184. P. A. Munch, Det norske Folks
Historic, part II., vol. I., p. 804 f. Islandske Annaler, edited by Storm,
p. 279.

' The EngUsh complained of this in 1375, when an embassy from the Han-
seatic League arrived in England, and sought to obtain a renewal of the
trade privileges of Edward I.'s time. Hanserecesse, 1st series, III., no. 318, § 1.
Alexander Bugge, Handelen mellem England og Norge, Historisk Tidsskrift,
tredie raekke, IV., p. 85.

24 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

when peace negotiations should begin at Bohus castle. These nego-
tiations at first led only to the prolongation of the armistice, and
permanent peace was not concluded till 1371. Peace with Denmark
was concluded at Stralsund, 1370, the most humiliating which any
Northern kingdom had ever been forced to conclude. The vic-
torious Hanseatic merchants secured the renewal of all their trade
privileges. They got full control of the important herring fisheries
on the coast of Bohuslen, and the towns and castles of Skanor,
Falsterbo, Malmohus, Helsingborg, and Varberg were ceded to them
for fifteen years as a war indemnity. Their trade privileges were
now so extensive and well protected that all competition could be
excluded; their commercial supremacy in the North was absolute
and uncontested.^ The only trade which still remained to the native
merchants was the traffic with the colonies and with Nordland (the
northern districts of Norway, except Finmarken). From Nordland
fish and other products were brought to Bergen, and sold to the
German merchants. But even this trade was soon brought under
the control of the merchants at Bergen.^ The "Norderfahrer"
(Nordfarere), as the Germans called the native traders and fisher-

1 Friedricli Bruns in his excellent work, Die Lubecker Bergensfahrer und
ihre Chronistik, gives the statistics of the trade between Bergen and Liibeck.
Summed up it shows the following results :

Imported to Bergen Exported from Berobn

1369-1370 1 1,058 § marks value 10,586

1378 6,881 marks value 18,955 i

1379 7,564 marks value 17,629

1381 9,369 marks value 19,072

1383 5,7831 marks value 7,856

1384 7,920i marks value 20,623i

1385 9,211 marks value 12,269

It will be seen that after the Hanseatic merchants gained control of the
trade, they exported from Bergen goods worth about twice the amount of
the goods imported. As trade at this time was a mere barter, Norway re-
ceived only half of what her exported goods were worth, and the German
merchants were reaping an immense profit.

* Norske So, an allegory by an unknown author, describing conditions in
Norway ; quoted by Rasmus Nyerup in Historisk-statistisk Skildring af Til-
standen i Danmark og Norge i aeldre og nyere tider, Copenhagen, 1803, vol. I.,
p. 327-340. Ludvig Holberg, Bergens Beskrivelse, p. 265 fif.

PLATE I

Kringen.

Bonus IN THE Seventeenth Century.

II THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE GAINS ASCENDENCY IN THE NORTH 25

men who carried on the traflSc with Nordland, were often in need.
Their capital was small, and the merchants at Bergen gladly furnished
them the needed supplies, after an agreement had been made that
the fish brought to Bergen should be sold for a fixed price, which was
always very low. In this way the Nordfarere were kept in a sort of
commercial serfdom, an evil which lasted long, and which was
eradicated with great difficulty.

As to the nature of the influence exerted by the Hanseatic mer-
chants on Norway's commercial development there has been differ-
ence of opinion among historians. P. A. Munch and J. E. Sars
have held that, as Norway at this time had no distinct merchant
class, the Hanseatic merchants filled an empty gap, and stimulated
Norwegian trade and commerce to new growth. They had more
capital and better business methods than the native traders, and
although their control of Norwegian commerce proved ruinous to
individual traders of Bergen, Tunsberg, and Oslo, forcing them out
of business, it was not injurious to the nation as a whole.

It must be admitted that Norway's decline cannot be ascribed to
the operations of the Hanseatic merchants ; but it can, nevertheless,
not be doubted that a strong foreign commercial supremacy estab-
lished at a time of transition and national weakness tended to
prolong the weakness, and hindered the free unfolding of native
enterprise which might have produced a new national development.
Alexander Bugge shows that already at the time of Haakon Haakons-
son and Magnus Lagab0ter a nev/ and quite numerous and enter-
prising Norwegian merchant class was springing into existence, but
its further development was cut short by the Hanseatic commercial
and naval ascendency.^ In speaking of the Norwegian merchants,
Bugge says :

"Who, then, were the Norwegians who carried on trade and sent
their ships to foreign lands? Here, as in regard to cultural life in
general, the reign of Haakon Haakonsson forms a period of transi-

^ "But if you acquire a great deal of goods on your trading expeditions,
then divide it into three parts ; put one part into a partnership with men
who always stay in the cities, and are trustworthy and well versed in trade."
— The King's Mirror, ch. 4. Alexander Bugge, Handelen mellem England og
Norge, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie raakke, IV.

26 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

tion. We learn from 'The King's Mirror' (written by a courtier at
the time of Haakon Haakonsson) that it was customary for members
of the chieftain class to make trading expeditions to foreign countries.
But foreign ideas of knight-errantry and nobility gained a firmer
hold, and according to these it was considered inconsistent with
the dignity of a nobleman to carry on trade. Ever more seldom
did the Norwegian chieftains trade in foreign lands, even though we
find such instances even in the century following (the fourteenth).
. . . There was, then, a place vacant for a real urban merchant
class in Norway. But did no such class exist in the country ? The
answer will, I think, be both yes and no. . . . There can be no
doubt that at the time of Haakon Haakonsson such a class was spring-
ing into existence in Norway, or rather, perhaps, in the city of Ber-
gen. Trade was so brisk and extensive, and the concourse of stran-
gers so great, that the townspeople could no longer be made amenable
to the same laws with the country people, as hitherto. Under
Haakon Haakonsson, and especially under his son, Magnus
Lagab0ter, the cities (i.e. Bergen, Nidaros, Oslo, and Tunsberg)
were organized as distinct communities, separate from the country
districts; they received their own laws, and even a degree of self-
government. And what we learn from unmistakable facts of his-
tory points in the same direction — that in the cities, especially
in Bergen, there was a class, a very numerous class, whose business
it was to carry on trade with foreign countries, or rather with Eng-
land ; a class of men who were not at the same time craftsmen and
farmers, but merchants exclusively. The well-informed author of
'The King's Mirror' tells us that there were men who resided per-
manently in the cities and carried on trade. In the privileges granted
the Norsemen in England, and in the treaties concluded between
the kings of Norway and England, the merchants (mercatores) , but
not the subjects of the king of Norway, are mentioned. In the time
of Magnus Eiriksson there was in Bergen a separate guild of * Eng-
landsfarere,' traders who were engaged in the regular traffic between
England and Norway (no such guild of ' Tj^sklandsf arere or
Hollandsfarere' is mentioned). Not only from Bergen, but also
from other Norwegian cities, was trade carried on with foreign coun-
tries. In 1225, for example, there came to Lynn a trader from Nidaros

n OTHER FEATURES OF HAAKON MAGNUSSON'S REIGN 27

who called himself 'Skule Jarl's merchant,' who was permitted to
buy 200 quarteria of grain in the city. But these sprouts were not
allowed to thrive and grow. Had it only been a century earlier !
Now it was too late. The strangers had gained too great a power,
and had become indispensable to the country."

There is reason to believe that peaceful rivalry would have re-
awakened the spirit of competition and stirred Norwegian commerce
to new activity and growth. This rivalry would have been furnished
by the uninterrupted intercourse with England, where native com-
merce was developing. But the forcibly maintained trade monopoly
of the German merchants removed every opportunity, and left
Norwegian traders and ship owners helpless in the tightening grip
of the Hanseatic League, which was not progressive in spirit, but
which maintained its supremacy by coercion and force.

6. Other Features of Haakon Magnusson's Reign

When King Magnus and his queen died, the provinces which they
had held in Norway were again placed under the administration of
the Norwegian government, and various measures adopted show an
earnest desire also to strengthen, as far as possible, the ties between
the colonies and the mother country. In Iceland and the Orkneys
the people, as well as the sysselmwnd, were required to take an oath
of allegiance to the king, and Henry of St. Claire was made Jarl of
the Orkney and Shetland Islands in preference to Alexander de le
Ard, who failed to respond to a request to come to Norway, where
he would be granted an opportunity to prove his title to the jarldom.
St. Claire went to Norway, and did homage to the king, subscribing
also to a document which imposed great obligations upon him, and
placed strict limitations upon his rights and powers in the colony.
But such agreements were more easily made than kept. There is
no evidence that St. Claire did not intend to keep his word, but
Scotch influence was growing, and as Norway's naval strength was
broken, the Norwegian kings found it ever more difficult to exercise
any real authority in the colonies. Even commercially the ties
were weakening, as fewer ships now sailed between Iceland, Green-
land, and Norway than formerly. Of nine ships scheduled for Ice-

28 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

land in 1376, only six reached their destination, the others being
driven back by storm. Greenland was visited but once a year by
the " Greenland-knarre, " and if this failed to cross the stormy North
Atlantic, the colony remained isolated from the rest of the world
till the following year, or till the ship succeeded in making the voyage.
That such periods of isolation grew ever more frequent and protracted
was evident, and proves that Norway's hold upon her distant colony
was weakening, but it is not strange that commerce with Greenland
was maintained with difficulty. The fact that the Norwegians were
still able to cross the Atlantic Ocean at more or less regular intervals
proves that their old-time skill and daring in navigation was not yet
lost.

The union with Sweden and the closer relations with Denmark
and Germany, established through the altered foreign policy, brought
a change also in the character and title of the higher officials in the
kingdom. Norway had few castles, it is true; the chief ones, and
in a strict sense the only ones, were : Akershus, Bohus, Bergenhus,
and Tunsberghus, but these became of greater importance than for-
merly. One or more herreds, or districts, were placed under the
castle, and the income from these was collected by the officer in com-
mand, who received the German title of mgt, foget (foged), and the
district belonging to the castle was called fogetie (fogderi). Even
the sysselmcBnd in districts where there were no castles were often
called foget, and the gjaldkeri in the cities was sometimes called by-
foget. In Norway this new system was of little real significance,
however, when we compare it to that of Denmark or Sweden, where
the whole kingdom was parceled out among the numerous castles of
the nobles. Over cities and larger districts, and also over the colony
of Iceland, the king placed royal governors called hirdstjdrar, whose
duties are but imperfectly known.

It has already been stated that Haakon married Margaret, the
daughter of King Valdemar Atterdag, in 1363. She was reared in
Norway by a Swedish lady, Marta Ulfsdotter, a daughter of St.
Birgitta, and seems to have resided permanently at Akershus castle
in Oslo, where her son Olav was born in 1370, when the young queen
was in her eighteenth year. After peace had been concluded with
the Hanseatic cities and Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg, in Stral-

II OTHER FEATURES OF HAAKON MAGNUSSON'S REIGN 29

sund, 1370, King Valdemar returned to Denmark and devoted him-
self to the reorganization of his shattered kingdom.^ Among the
many problems which engaged his attention was also that of the suc-
cession. As his only son had died some years previous, Albrecht,^
the son of his elder daughter Ingebj0rg, and Olav, the son of King
Haakon and Margaret, were both eligible, but in order to obtain a
favorable peace with Mecklenburg, Valdemar had promised to sup-
port Albrecht.^ This seemed to give him the better chance of the
two candidates, but when Valdemar died in 1375, Albrecht impru-
dently assumed the title of " King of Denmark " before he had been
elected. He thereby violated the principle of elective kingship, and
offended the Danish nobles, while the gifted Queen Margaret, who
seems to have been charming to a very unusual degree, and knew how
to win their favor, secured the election of her five-year-old son Olav.
The young king's parents should act as regents during his minority ;
but as King Haakon always remained in Norway, the queen herself
became the real regent and the guardian of her son.^ Olav was
already crown prince of Norway, and his election to the throne of
Denmark would ultimately lead to a union between the two kingdoms
similar to that which had before existed between Norway and
Sweden.

King Haakon VI. had been forced to cede the throne of Sweden to
Albrecht of Mecklenburg, but he refused to acknowledge the German
prince as rightful king. When his father, Magnus Smek, died, he
seized the provinces which that king had been suffered to retain during
his lifetime, and hostilities between Norway and Sweden continued,
though no real campaigns were fought till shortly before King
Haakon's death in 1380.

1 Albrecht, also called Albrecht the Younger, was a nephew of King Al-
brecht of Sweden.

'^ C. E. Reinhardt, Valdemar Atterdag, p. 471 ; appendix 12 contains King
Valdemar's letter regarding terms of peace with the Hanseatic cities and the
succession.

^ Yngvar Nielsen, Det norske Rigsraad, p. 248.

* C. Paludan-Miiller, Observationes Criticae, 198 f. Diplomatarium Nor-
wegicum, III., no. 484.

80 history op the norwegian people n

7. The Union of Norway and Denmark. Queen Margaret

The sudden death of Haakon VI. placed his ten-year-old son Olav
on the throne. Queen Margaret, who was in Denmark at the time,
hastened to Norway to arrange for the succession of her son, and Olav
was proclaimed king at the ^rething in Tr0ndelagen, A formal act
of union of the two kingdoms must also have been drawn up, but no
such document now exists, nor is it anywhere mentioned. A union
was thus brought about between Norway and Denmark which was
destined to last for 433 years, but the future consequences of so im-
portant a step seem to have caused no great concern. Margaret,
who was very ambitious, hoped that the union would be permanent ;
while the leading men of the two kingdoms seem to have regarded the
union as a temporary expedient, as the two realms had nothing in
common but the king. During Olav's minority Margaret was to
act as regent whenever she was in Norway, but when she was not
in the kingdom, the administration was to be directed byAgmund
Finnsson as regent, assisted by the chancellor, Henrik Henriksson.^
This precaution was probably taken to prevent the queen from
managing the affairs of Norway while she was staying in Denmark,
as the situation in that" kingdom was still so difficult that it would
absorb the greater part of her attention. Many castles and prov-
inces were still in the hands of the allies, who had fought against
Denmark in the Hanseatic war, and Margaret had to employ all her
skill to win back what had been lost. A contemporary Liibeck
chronicler writes :

"In the year 1386 the queen of Norway gained possession of the
kingdom of Denmark as completely as her father Valdemar had held
it. This she did with great ability in that she first gained possession
of Sk§,ne, and then negotiated with her enemies, the counts of Hol-
stein, concluded a permanent peace, and granted them the duchy
of Schleswig as a fief. When this was done, a fear and trembling
seized all the nobles of the kingdom, as they saw the wisdom and
power of this lady, and with their sons they now offered to serve her.
She summoned before her all the fogeds of the kingdom, and she

* P. A. Munch, Det norske Folks Historie, jMirt II., vol. II., p. 131.

n QUEEN MARGARET 31

went from one castle to the other to be hailed as queen. She also
transferred fogeds from one castle to the other, even as abbots move
the monks from monastery to monastery. This happened even
within a quarter of a year, before Candlemas, and it is quite aston-
ishing that a woman, who before was so poor that she could give no
one a meal except by the aid of her friends, because all her castles
were encumbered, more by force than by debts, now, together with
her son, became so powerful in a quarter of a year that she lacked
nothing in the whole kingdom."

Making due allowance for the metaphoric expressions of the chron-
icler, it is, nevertheless, clear that Margaret was a worthy successor
of her illustrious ancestors. Munch says : " The more closely we
examine the political events in the North at this time the more
prominently Margaret comes into the foreground as the one who
surveys and controls events, and whose superior mind directs the
whole."

The relations with Sweden continued to be hostile. In 1385 King
Olav became of age, and with the advice of his mother he assumed
the title of " King of Denmark and Norway and Heir to the Kingdom
of Sweden," an open avowal that he would maintain his father's
claim to the Swedish throne. Albrecht's power in Sweden was fast
declining. He had attempted to place some restrictions on the grow-
ing power of the nobles, and this caused such a resentment that a
strong party wished to place Olav on the throne in the same manner
in which Albrecht himself was made king in 1364. The repetition
of this kind of couy d'etat was, however, averted for the time being
by the sudden death of King Olav at Falsterbo castle, in Skline,
1387.^ This was a great calamity for the kingdom of Norway as well

1 The cause of Olav's sudden death is unknown. The belief that he had
been killed or imprisoned by his own mother is wholly without foundation.
An impostor claiming to be King Olav appeared some years later, but he was
tried and executed. See H. C. Behrman, Beretning om denfalske Kong Oluf
Hagens^n's Dfid, Copenhagen, 1846. Chr. Lange, Litter aturtidende, Christiania,
1846, p. 298 ff. A. Fabricius, Minder fra Nordens Historie, p. 72, Odense,
1898.

According to the law of succession, the heirs to the throne were divided
into twelve classes. Albrecht, the son of Margaret's elder sister, Ingebj0rg,
had no right to the throne, as neither of his parents belonged to the Nor-

HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE

as for Queen Margaret personally. As Olav was her only living child,
the royal family became so nearly extinct at his death that for the
first time in centuries a successor had to be placed on the throne by
election.^ King Albrecht of Sweden, a great-grandson of Magnus
Smek, was the only heir to the throne of Norway according to the
law of succession, but he was not even considered, owing to his great
unpopularity and the enmity which had existed between him and the
late kings of Norway, who regarded him as an usurper. Queen Mar-
garet had no direct claim to the throne. She was not a member of
the royal family of Norway, and hitherto no woman had ruled the

wegian royal family. Professor Gustav Storm has made the following
diagram of the situation :

Valdemar King Magnus Eiriksson (Smek)
\ +1374 I

Ingebj0rg Margaret

King Haakon oldest son oldest daughter
+ 1380 (4) I

Albrecht
(not 12)

oldest son
(6)
I
oldest son

(10)

oldest son
(11)

King Olav oldest son oldest daughter
+ 1387 (3) 1

oldest son

(5J

oldest son
(9)

oldest son illegitimate son oldest daughter

(1) (7) I

oldest son oldest son

(2) (8)

Albrecht, king of Sweden, was number nine in order of succession. Gustav
Storm, Dronning Margretes Valg i Norge, Historisk Tidsskrift, fjerde rsekke,
vol. I.

1 The election of Queen Margaret was in harmony with the Norwegian
law of succession which provided that, when no heir to the throne was
found, the one who had the best claim according to the general law of in-
heritance should be chosen. Since King Albrecht of Sweden was not con-
sidered, no heir existed, and Margaret had the best claim as the heir of her
son. King Olav. In the Norwegian letter of homage, issued Feb. 2, 1388, it
was expressly stated that she was chosen because she was Haakon's queen
and the mother of King Olav. Suhm, Nye Samling, III., 387. Norsk Tids-
skrift for Videnskab og Litter atur, vol. I., p. 230, note 2.

n QUEEN MARGARET 33

kingdom, but her ability and popularity counted strongly in her
favor.^ Seven days after King Olav's death she was chosen ruling
queen of Denmark, and when the Council assembled at Oslo she was
also elected regent in Norway, while Eirik of Pomerania, a son of
her sister's daughter, was chosen heir to the Norwegian throne.^
She also assumed the title of "Queen of Sweden," to show that she
would continue the policy of her predecessors in her attitude to that
kingdom. The Swedish nobles, who had intended to place Olav on
the throne, now turned to Queen Margaret. At a meeting at Dals-
borg castle, in Dalsland, where she was present, they chose her queen
of Sweden, and she promised in return to aid them in driving Al-
brecht from the kingdom, an agreement which was swiftly carried
out. At Aalsed near Falkoping, the nobles met King Albrecht's
weak forces, defeated him, and carried him and his son, Eirik, as
prisoners to Lindholm castle, where they remained incarcerated for
six years. King Albrecht's rule had ended, and the queen had won
the throne which her son and husband had claimed, though the
struggle was still protracted for a time. The novelty of a ruling
queen, who had been able to unite all the Northern kingdoms, seems
to have impressed the people deeply. A chronicler records with
almost superstitious solemnity that " God placed an unexpected vic-
tory in the hands of the woman." Queen Margaret had been able
to accomplish, both in Denmark and Sweden, what her late prede-
cessors had attempted in vain — a sufficient proof of her ability and
diplomatic skill. In 1389 Eirik of Pomerania was formally elected
king of Norway at a new meeting of the Council, but Queen Mar-
garet should act as regent until the young king became of age,*

1 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, III., no. 477. C. Paludan-Miiller, Obser-
vationes Criticae, 106. Yngvar Nielsen, Det nor she Rigsraad, p. 259. T. H.
Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge indtil 1814, P- 153.

2 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, III., no. 484. C. Paludan-Muller, Obser-
vationes Criticae, 108. Yngvar Nielsen, Det nor she Rigsraad, p. 261.

' J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norshe Historic, vol. III., p. 64. Kr. Erslev,
Danmarhs Historic under Dronning Margrcte og hendes Efterf^lgcre, p. 428 f.,
504. Danmarhs Riges Historic, vol. II., p. 358 ff. Christian C. A. Lange,
Norsh Tidsskrift for Videnshab og Litter atur, vol. I., p. 217 ff. Bidrag til
Norges Historic under Unionen, af Christian Lange.

Arild Huitfeldt, Kong Olav, Dronning Margrcte og Eirik af Pommern,
p. 135 ff.

VOL. II — D

34 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

and she secured from the nobles concessions which greatly strength-
ened the royal power both in Sweden and Denmark. In Sweden no
more castles should be built, and those that had been erected in
Albrecht's time should be razed. More important still was the
provision that all crown lands which had been alienated in Denmark
in the reign of Valdemar Atterdag, and in Sweden in the reign of
Albrecht, should revert to the sovereign, and the income from them
should go to the royal treasury. In Denmark a new tax was levied
to secure a better coinage, and in Sweden the queen received large
personal possessions. It is quite evident that Margaret, the first
great ruling queen in European history, possessed skill in adminis-
tration as well as in diplomacy, but her system of statesmanship
was, nevertheless, only a continuation of that of her predecessors,
Magnus Smek and Valdemar Atterdag. It was her ambition to
rule over a large realm, to gather the threads of administration and
political power into her own hands. When the three kingdoms were
finally united under her sway, she sought to perpetuate her dominion
by strengthening the power and influence of the crown, and by in-
creasing her revenues and private possessions. In these efforts she
directed her attention to politics rather than to details of adminis-
tration, and the local needs of each kingdom continued to be neg-
lected. The efficiency of the local administrative authorities was even
purposely weakened, to insure increased influence of the sovereign.
Many of the highest offices both in Norway and Sweden were left
vacant ; the queen was staying in Denmark, and the old administra-
tive system in both kingdoms was falling into decay. In Norway
many Danes were appointed to fill the highest positions in the church,
until it awakened merited resentment. In Sweden the queen ap-
pointed Danish fogeds, lawlessness increased, and for want of proper
supervision by the royal authorities these foreign administrative
oflScers became ever more arrogant and arbitrary, and wrung from
the oppressed people loud and well-founded complaints. A contem-
porary remarks: "The Germans were expelled {i.e. King Albrecht
and his Mecklenburgers) ; the Danes then got the power in the land
for many years, and then the Germans were lauded by the people."
The Danish fogeds were called " tyrants whose cruelty, never to be
forgotten, brings them eternal perdition." The three kingdoms

n QUEEN MARGAKET 85

were associated on equal terms under the same sovereign, but through
Margaret's influence a foreign overlordship was even now being es-
tablished both in Norway and Sweden, a feature which was to make
the pohtical partnership with Denmark so expensive and profitless
a business, especially for Norway. Even the defeat and imprison-
ment of King Albrecht was not to pass without a most unfortunate
sequel, which caused much loss and suffering both in the North and
elsewhere. The city of Liibeck had sided with Queen Margaret,
but the two Hanseatic cities Rostock and Wismar undertook to
aid Albrecht. They issued a proclamation that any one who wished
to undertake raids into the Northern kingdoms, and would aid in
carrying provisions to the city of Stockholm, which was besieged by
the queen, would be given protection in their harbors. The invita-
tion proved very tempting to hundreds of lawless adventurers who
gathered from all parts of the Baltic seacoast, and a league of pro-
fessional buccaneers, known as the "Victual Brothers," sprang into
existence, which gravely endangered all commerce, not only in the
Baltic, but also in the North Sea. The demon of lawlessness once
let loose ran its own riotous course. Without discrimination the wild
corsairs robbed and plundered remorselessly. They seized Gothland
and captured Wisby, which they made their chief stronghold. In
1393 they captured Bergen, sacked and burned the city, and com-
mitted the greatest outrages.^ Malmo and Nykoping were burned,
Hanseatic merchant ships were everywhere attacked, and the danger
to commerce finally became so great that the fisheries on the coast
of Bohuslen and Sk&ne had to be abandoned for three years. In
1395 Bergen was sacked and burned a second time, " and the robbers,"
says the chronicler, "gathered great stores, treasures of gold and
silver, costly cloth, household goods, and fish, which they brought
to Rostock and Wismar, and sold with great profit, as the people of
those cities did not care whether the goods were gotten honestly or
dishonestly." Because of constant losses and increased hazards

' Gustav Storm, Vitaliebr^drenes Plyndringstog til Bergen i 1393, Historisk
Tidsskrift, tredie rsekke, vol. IV., p. 428 ff . Yngvar Nielsen, Bergen, p. 221 flf.
Voigt, Die Vitalienbriider in Raumers historischem Taschenbuch, 1841.
Gustav Storm, Islandske Annaler, p. 422. Helen Zimmern, The Hansa
Towns, p. 124 ff. P. A. Munch, Det norske Folks Historie, part II., vol. II.,
p. 338 ff. L. Daae. Historiske Skildringer, p. 18 ff. Vitaliebr^drene.

36 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

connected with navigation, prices rose, and many districts suffered
for want of supplies, but Queen Margaret was quite helpless against
this enemy. The Hanseatic cities made determined efforts to sup-
press the sea-robbers. Hundreds were captured and executed, but
new bands appeared. In 1400 the cities of Hamburg, Bremen, and
Liibeck thought that they had succeeded in sweeping the sea clean
of pirates, but they soon had to send out a new expedition. In 1402
the notorious pirate chief, Claus Stortebecker, and two of his asso-
ciates, together with a large number of followers, were captured and
put to death. Again the Hamburgers sallied forth and captured
Goedeke Michelson, Wichman Wigbold, and eighty pirates, who were
all promptly beheaded.

Through such energetic measures the strength of the pirates was
finally broken. They sacked Bergen a third time in 1428, and yet
a fourth time in 1429, but after that their names disappear from
history. The Victual Brothers destroyed the last remaining strength
of the native Norwegian merchants, and when the Hanseatic cities
revived their trade, they gained exclusive control. This marks the
beginning of the period of their greatest prosperity and power in
Norway, which lasted for about a hundred years. In 1395 Queen
Margaret made peace with the cities of Rostock and Wismar, and
Albrecht and his son were liberated. Thereby the war for the
possession of Sweden was formally terminated, but the Victual
Brothers still continued their ravages, and Stockholm did not open
its portals to the queen till in 1398.

8. The Kalmar Union

After Eirik of Pomerania had been raised to the throne also in
Denmark and Sweden, Queen Margaret took steps to bring about a
formal union of the three kingdoms. In 1397 a meeting of magnates,
councilors, and ecclesiastics of the three kingdoms was assembled
at Kalmar in Sweden to negotiate about the formation of a union.
At this council Eirik of Pomerania was crowned king of all the three
kingdoms, and a joint seal was also prepared ; but the queen's hope
of uniting the three realms in a federal union with an hereditary
king was not realized. A rough draft of an act of union, a sort of

II THE KALMAR UNION 37

constitution, was, indeed, drawn up, but it was never completed in
the necessary documentary form, or supplied with the required
seals. It was expressly stated in the draft that "for the greater
assurance that all these points shall forever be loyally kept, the
document shall be written on parchment, two copies for each king-
dom, and to these shall be affixed the seals of the king, the queen,
the councilors of the kingdom, the lords, and the cities." As this
was not done, the first draft of the points on which an agreement had
been reached could not be legally binding.^ It is possible that after

* The Proposed Kalmar Act of. Union
This document, which is written on paper, still exists. It contains the
following points :

1. The three kingdoms shall henceforth have one king and shall never be
parted.

2. After the death of the king a successor shall be elected jointly by the
three kingdoms. If the king dies without issue, a successor shall be chosen
according to the best judgment and conscience.

3. All the three kingdoms shall continue in love and unanimity, and one
shall not withdraw from the others ; that which befaUs one, as war or attack
by foreign enemies, shall be regarded as befalUng all three, and each king-
dom shall help the other with full faith and energy.

4. Each kingdom retains its own laws, and the king shall rule according
to them. He shall not import from one kingdom to the other what has not
formerly been law and justice there.

5. One who has been outlawed in one kingdom shall be considered an
outlaw in the others.

6. If negotiations are carried on with foreign lords or states, the king has
the power to decide the matter with the advice of the Council of the kingdom
in which he happens to be, or with a few councilors from each kingdom.

7. All these articles should be kept as prescribed, and they should be so
interpreted that they will be to the honor of God and the peace and well-
being of the king and the realm. If any one acts contrary thereto, then shall
all the three kingdoms aid the king and liis officials to remedy the wrong.

8. Queen Margaret shall have and hold with full royal right all that which
her father and her son granted her in Denmark, her dowry in Sweden and
what the Swedes have given her, together with what her husband and her
son have granted her in Norway. At her death the castles shall revert to
the crown, but otherwise she may, through her testament, dispose of what
she has.

9. These articles shall be embodied in a document written on parchment,
two copies for each kingdom, and to these shaU be affixed the seals of the
king, the queen, the councilors of the kingdom, the lords, and the cities.

This preliminary draft, written on paper, was to be signed by seven
Swedes, six Danes, and four Norwegians ; but only ten seals appear on the

38 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

the queen had failed to carry the chief points of the proposed plan
she abandoned the whole of it, and preferred to rule without being
bound by a document which gave the union no strength, and the
sovereign no increased power ; but it is also possible that, since the
four Norwegian seals are lacking in the original document, the
Norwegian councilors refused to sign, owing to the clause which
made the king elective. This would change Norway from an hered-
itary to an elective kingdom, a serious step to which the Norwegian
councilors would not wilHngly subscribe. A union had, neverthe-
less, been effected through the election of a joint king for the three
kingdoms. This was solemnly ratified at Kalmar by the coronation
of Eirik as king of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, and the new
relation of the three realms was also betokened by the use of the
common seal. But the principle of elective kingship was retained,
and each kingdom kept its full sovereignty and autonomy, its system
of laws and administration. With the exception of the king no cen-
tral government for the united kingdoms existed, and nothing was
specified as to any duties which they owed each other as members
of the union, except what was found in the unfinished draft of the
points on which an agreement had been reached. As to the out-
ward evidences of the compact entered into, the three realms could
not have been united by more slender ties. But what Margaret had
failed to do directly might in time be done indirectly, since the
council had failed to adopt a constitution defining the relation of the
kingdoms to each other, or limiting the power of the sovereign. The
kingdoms had become associated under the same ruler; the ever
present force of circumstances might do everything else that an
ambitious and autocratic ruler might wish, since no written consti-
tution existed to remind the people of the limit of his power, or of
the extent of their own rights. Even a poor constitution could have
been amended, and would have taught the people the art of consti-
tutional government, but the magnates assembled at Kalmar, who

document. Three Danish and all of the Norwegian seals are lacking. Palu-
dan-Miiller, Observationes Criticae de Foedere inter Daniam, Sueciam et Nor-
wegiam Auspiciis Margaretae Reginae Icto. T. H. Asehehoug, Statsforfatningen
i Norge og Danmark indtil 1814, p. 174 ff. R. Keyser, Den norake Kirkes
Hislorie under Katholidsmen, II., 441 ft.

II THE KALMAR UNION 39

seem to have guarded so jealously against any encroachments on
their own liberties, failed with almost childish fatuity to safeguard
those hberties for the future.

When King Eirik was eighteen years old, he was declared of age
by a council assembled at Vadstena, Sweden, in 1400 ; but Margaret
continued to reign until her death. In 1401 negotiations were
begun with the queen and King Henry IV. of England regarding the
marriage of King Eirik to Henry's daughter Philippa.^ As Henry
IV. was seated none too securely on the Enghsh throne, besought
to strengthen his position through foreign alliances and by the
marriage of his children to members of the royal houses. He had
watched with much interest the growing power of Queen Margaret,
and the consummation of the union of the three Northern kingdoms
seems to have made him desirous of gaining the friendship of this
new power. After prolonged negotiations Philippa finally came to
Denmark in 1406, and the marriage was solemnized at Lund, in
Skane. The young king is described as a man of fine appearance.
"He had yellow or golden hair, large eyes, blond complexion, and a
broad white neck," writes Enea Silvio Piccolomini, the later Pope
Pius II. ; and an account to the English Council of the conditions
in the North, dated August 8, 1400, evidently written by Enghsh
envoys, states that "the three kingdoms, which have now been
united, enjoy a hitherto unknown peace, whereas before, while they
remained separated, they suffered much from war and unbearable
evils. The young king is highly loved by his subjects because of
his charming and noble personality. " ^ The English envoys had
evidently not discovered that the gallant young king very early
showed signs of that rashness, ill-temper, and lack of good judgment
which made his reign so inglorious a failure.

A new era seemed now to have dawned for the Northern peoples,
or, rather, a new era might have dawned, if the rulers who were
guiding their destinies had possessed the necessary wisdom and

^ L. Daae, Erik af Pommerns, Danmarks, Sveriges og Norges Konges,
Giftermaal med Philippa, Prindsesse af England, Historisk Tidsskrift, anden
raekke, vol. II., p. 332 ff. A. Fabricius, Minder fra Nordens Historic, Filippas
Giftermaal med Erik af Pommeren.

* Samlinger til del norske Folks Sprog og Hiatorie, III., p. 481.

40 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

foresight. The union of three peoples, so closely related in language
and nationality that no appreciable difference yet existed, augured
well for the future. By combining their strength, which had hith-
erto been wasted in wars and rivalries, the united Scandinavian king-
doms might have risen into new prominence as one of the powers of
Europe. Careful amalgamation would soon have obliterated the
existing differences, as a friendly feeling already existed between the
three peoples. Commercially their interests were identical, and a
wisely conceived public policy would have sought means to strengthen
the love for the union, and to stimulate the spirit of cooperation
against foreign rivals, which would soon have welded the neighbors
into one nation. But no such idea seems to have dawned even upon
the keen-witted and practical Margaret; her worthless successors
were wholly incapable of conceiving it.^

After the kingdoms had been united, and cordial relations had
been reestablished with England through the marriage of Eirik and
Philippa, the opportunity seemed to have come to revive the naval
strength of the Scandinavian realms, to throw off the Hanseatic yoke,
and to reestablish commercial relations with England. But Margaret
attempted none of these things. No steps were taken even to
strengthen the navy or the coast defenses, though the whole realm
lay exposed to the attacks of the Victual Brothers, against whose
ravages the queen had been so helpless that she had asked permission
of King Richard II. of England to hire three ships at Lynn for the
defense of the kingdom. The lack of means could scarcely be urged
as a reason for this strange neglect, as the queen constantly increased
her revenues, so that in a single year (1411) she could donate 26,000
marks to various religious institutions. Her failure to utilize the new
opportunities in the right way was rather due to her system of states-
manship, which was wholly guided by dynastic and personal interests.
It was of the general type of the statescraft of the Middle Ages,
according to which the sovereign did not regard himself as the ser-
vant of the state, but as its owner. The realm was his private
property, and it was his main care to secure as much revenue as
possible, and to defend his title to the crown.

The thought of developing a united Scandinavian nation was as
* A. Fabricius, Minder fra Nordena Historie, p. 61 £E.

11 THE KALMAR UNION 41

remote from the mind of Margaret as the idea of nationahty was
foreign to the whole age. The possibility of amalgamation of the
three peoples was precluded from the outset by the queen's effort to
make Denmark the principal country in the union, and to reduce
Norway and Sweden to the position of provinces. Danish eccle-
siastics were appointed to the highest offices in the church in both
countries, and swarms of Danish officials were sent, especially to
Sweden, while no Norwegians or Swedes were appointed to office
in Denmark. We have seen how this policy awakened the bitterest
resentment in both countries. The Danes were soon looked upon
as oppressors and enemies, and Margaret was unjustly described
as cunning and greedy. A Swedish monk calls her the daughter of
the "Wolf" {i.e. King Valdemar). "Albrecht," he continues,
"levied heavy taxes, but Margaret made them still heavier. What
he left, she took ; the peasant's horse, ox, and cow ; in short, all his
possessions." Another contemporary annalist states that she was
very covetous. "With incredible craft she made herself ruler of
all the three kingdoms, which she reduced to almost nothing, and
no one could resist her cunning." ^ These outbursts of indignation
do not serve to enlighten us as to the real character of the queen, for
it is evident that the statements of these annalists are as unjust as
they are incorrect. In her dealings with her subjects, she was in
no sense the daughter of the "Wolf," as she was not harsh or tyran-
nical, but cautious and generous. Her varied activity as ruHng queen
bears the marks of moderation and good-will, and not seldom of true
womanly kind-heartedness. But she had created a system of admin-
istration, the pernicious character of which she probably never fully
knew or understood ; and it is with some justice that the queen, who
originated the system, should be made directly responsible for its
attendant evils, which could neither be controlled nor abated. In
Sweden the spirit of rebellion again raised its head. The Norwegians
were more tranquil, not because they were better satisfied, but be-
cause the weak Norwegian nobility were less able to resist oppression,
or to take the reins of government into their own hands.

In Norway the administration had been strongly centralized by
the able kings of Harald Haarfagre's line. But the success of such a
* Icelandic Annals, edited by Storm, p. 290.

HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE

system depended on the continual presence of the sovereign, and the
close supervision by the central government ; but as this supervision
ceased when the Kalmar union was established, Norway might al-
most be said to be without a government. During the last fifteen
years of her reign, Margaret visited the kingdom only twice, and
King Eirik came to Norway only once after he became of age. When
the drotsete, or regent, Agmund Finnsson, died, no successor was
appointed to this most important office for several years, and the

Fig. 1. — Queen Margaret.

chancellor's office was also left vacant for some time after Henrik
Henriksson's death. The Council was seldom assembled ; the
country was ruled from Denmark, and the foreign officials, who
were constantly increasing in numbers, could disregard the laws,
and practice their extortions with impunity. The queen erred when
she established such a system, but it was, perchance, an error of judg-
ment, not one of heart.

Queen Margaret died quite suddenly on board her ship in the
neighborhood of Flensborg, October 28, 1412. She was buried at
Sor0, but her remains were later transferred to the cathedral of Ros-
kilde, where her beautiful sarcophagus still stands. Nothing is
known as to her personal appearance. The marble figure on her

H KING EIRIK OF POMERANIA 43

tomb is a decoration, not a portrait ; as it seems to have been made
to order by some foreign artist who probably never saw the queen.
But the noble and majestic face makes us feel that thus she must
have looked, this great queen who once ruled the whole Scandinavian
North.

9. King Eirik of Pomerania

When King Eirik assumed the duties of ruling sovereign, circum-
stances gave promise of a most successful reign. The newly estab-
lished union was winning favor in all the three kingdoms, the revenues
were large, and the people were well disposed towards the king, as
they hoped that he would prove to be a wise and kind ruler. But
these fair hopes were soon shattered by the worse than worthless
Eirik. The only question which threatened to produce complica-
tions at the beginning of his reign was that of the relation of Schles-
wig to the crown of Denmark, but this molehill of difficulty grew in
King Eirik's hands into a mountain of trouble. Queen Margaret
had been obliged to cede this province to the counts of Holstein in
1386, but at the time of her death she was on the point of regaining
control of the duchy. An armed conflict had been precipitated;
but the queen had concluded peace, though the question was still
left unsettled. Eirik was opposed to the queen's cautious policy.
He would drive out the Germans, who had migrated in large numbers
into the duchy, and would unite it permanently with the kingdom of
Denmark. He submitted the question to a council (danehof) assem-
bled at Nyborg, 1413, and this assembly decided, that as the counts
had been in arms against their sovereign, they had committed felony,
and had forfeited their fief to the king. Schleswig was thus reunited
with Denmark, but the counts would not abide by the decision of
the council, and a long and expensive war was the result. Hostilities
commenced in 1416. Eirik gained some success, and captured the
city of Schleswig ; but he was unable to take the fortified strongholds
of the duchy, and the situation became critical when the Hanseatic
cities, because of the damage done their commerce, cut off all trade
with the North, and threatened to join the Holsteiners in active war
operations against the king. In 1424 the question was finally sub-
mitted to the arbitration of the German emperor, Sigismund, who

44 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

decided that the duchy of Schleswig belonged to the king. Eirik,
who had gone to Hungary to visit the Emperor, was so pleased with
what he considered the happy termination of the quarrel, that he
journeyed to Jerusalem to offer thanks to God for the victory. But
upon his return from Palestine in 1425, he still found Count Henry
of Holstein in possession of the duchy of Schleswig, and when he
attempted to enforce the decision of the Emperor, the war was
renewed. The Hanseatic cities now joined the Holsteiners. Through-
out the whole struggle the Victual Brothers had carried on their
raids, not only through the connivance, but even upon direct invita-
tion of the Holsteiners, and such damage had been done to commerce
that conditions became unbearable. But the united forces of the
allies suffered serious defeats. King Eirik gained a notable victory
over their fleet in the Sound, 1427. Many of their ships ran aground,
many were captured, and the commander, Tidemand Sten, fled with
the remainder. The great Hanseatic merchant fleet, which arrived
shortly after the battle on its northward voyage, was captured.
In an attack on Flensborg Count Henry of Holstein lost his life, and
a second Hanseatic fleet failed in its operations against Copenhagen
the following year. In two campaigns the allies accomplished noth-
ing. In 1425 King Eirik had seized the opportunity to levy a toll
(^resundstolden) on every ship which passed through the Sound, and
he might now have concluded peace on very favorable terms, but he
stubbornly insisted on enforcing to the letter Emperor Sigismund's
decision with regard to Schleswig. His subjects, especially in Norway
and Sweden, were tired of this war from which they could derive noth-
ing but harm. Few reenforcements were furnished, and the king
was not able to continue the struggle successfully. Flensborg fell
into the hands of the allies, and in 1432 he was at length forced to
enter into peace negotiations, in which he abandoned his plan of
enforcing the Emperor's decision against the counts of Holstein.
The peace was concluded at Vordingborg, 1435.

Colonial affairs were not wholly neglected by King Eirik, but the
commerce with the Norwegian island possessions was, nevertheless,
falHng into decay. In 1410 the last ship of which any definite record
is preserved came from Greenland to Norway, and no further com-
munications with those distant settlements seem to have been main-

II KING EIRIK OF POMERANIA 46

tained.^ Holberg says that after Queen Margaret's time the kings
were so occupied that they had no time to think about old Green-
land.^ The trade with the colonies continued to be a royal monopoly,
and all foreign merchants were forbidden to trade with them, but
after Norway's sea-power was broken, and the Hanseatic merchants
gained control of the trade, the kings could no longer successfully
defend even this last remnant of Norwegian commerce. In 1413
King Eirik protested to King Henry V. of England against the oper-
ations of foreign merchants in the Norwegian colonies. In 1431
he again complained to Henry VI., that for twenty years the English
had carried on unlawful trade with "Norway's lands and islands"
(Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Shetland, the Orkneys,
Haalogaland, and Finmarken), that they had plundered and burned,
that they had carried away many ships with fish and other goods,
and that many people had been slain.^ In Eirik's reign EngUsh
merchants were beginning to gain control of the trade with Iceland.*
This trade had always been of some importance, as the Icelanders
imported grain and other staple articles, while they exported wool,
sheepskins, sulphur, etc. At this time great cod-fisheries, which

^ The Norwegian nobleman Didrik Pining, who was hirdstjdri in Iceland,
and commandant of Vard0hus about 1490, was a bold sailor and buccaneer.
According to an old Icelandic source, Pining and his companion Pothorst,
about whom nothing is known, "carried on trade with Greenland," but this
statement seems to be a mere conjecture. Very httle is known about Pining's
operations in the Arctic waters. The humanist Olaus Magnus says that
"Pining and Pothorst were excluded from all intercourse with humanity
by the severe decrees of the kings of the North, and they were outlawed
because of their violent robberies and many wicked deeds committed against
all sailors, which they would seize both far and near." "They then sought
refuge in the mountain Hvitserk, which lies between Iceland and Green-
land," he continues.

Ludvig Daae, Didrik Pining, Historisk Tidsskrift, anden rsekke, vol. III.,
p. 231 ff. Daae thinks that after peace was concluded between England
and Denmark-Norway in 1490 in King Hans' reign, all prejang on English
commerce by Danish and Norwegian sailors had to stop. But Pining seems
to have continued his buccaneering activity ; and, as a result, he was out-
lawed.

^ Ludvig Holberg, Danmark's Riges Historie, II., 531.

^ Gr^nlands historiske Mindesmerker, III., p. 160 ff.

^ The Libell of Englishe Policye, p. 93 f., a little English work, written in
1436, states that so many English ships had sailed to Iceland that the goods
brought back did not pay the expenses.

46 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

gave this trade increased importance, were also developed near the
coasts of Iceland. The commerce with Iceland was carried on
especially by the Norwegian colonists of Bristol, who in eariier times
had controlled this trade. They now ventured to disregard the
restrictions which the kings had placed on the trade with the Nor-
wegian colonies, hence their trading expeditions often turned into
piratical raids; but whether these were extended to Greenland, as
indicated in Eirik's complaint, is doubtful. In 1432 King Eirik con-
cluded a treaty with England, in which King Henry VI. agreed to
pay the damages which English traders had done in the Norwegian
colonies. The people who, during the last twenty years, had been
carried away by force, wherever they were found in the kingdom of
England, should receive pay for the services they had rendered, and
should be allowed to return to their homes. The interdiction of
trade in the Norwegian colonies was renewed, but after this prohi-
bition had been repeated by Henry VI. in 1444, and by a treaty be-
tween Henry VI. and King Christian I. in 1449, the trade with Ice-
land was finally made free, on certain conditions, in 1490.^

King Eirik continued Margaret's administrative policy. Nor-
way and Sweden were still ruled from Denmark, leading public oflSces
were left vacant, the Council always met in Denmark whenever it
was assembled, and as the councilors from the two other kingdoms
had to make long and expensive journeys, few attended its meetings,
and they could exercise but sUght influence, as the Danish members
were always in the majority. Norwegian and Swedish aflPairs were
left in the hands of the king and his Danish councilors, who were
neither familiar with local circumstances, nor much interested in the
affairs which they were called upon to settle. The increased burdens
of taxation resulting from the wars, the interruption of commerce,^

^Fridtjof Nansen, Nord i Taakeheimen (In Northern Mists), p. 377 fif.
Alexander Bugge, Nidaros's Handel og Skibsfart i Middelalderen, Festskrift
udgivet i Anledning av Trondhjems 9000 Aars Jubiloeum 1897.

* During the war the trade with the Hanseatic cities had ceased ; but
King Eirik had encouraged the English merchants, who sought to revive
the trade with Bergen, and also the merchants of the city of Bremen, who
had left the Hanseatic League. Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. V., no.
580. Ludvig Holberg, Bergens Beskrivelse, Copenhagen, 1750, p. 126 f.
Norges gamle Love, anden rsekke, vol. I., p. 91.

KING EIEIK OF POMERANIA 47

and the ravages of the Victual Brothers, from which both Norway and
Sweden had suffered much, especially in 1428-1429, soon made Eirik
hated in both countries. The great popularity of Queen Philippa
had hitherto been a saving feature of his reign. To her the oppressed
could turn with their complaints, and her great kindness had won
the people's heart. During the king's absence in Palestine she had
acted as regent, and she had shown the same energy and high cour-
age which distinguished her brother. King Henry V. of England.
But no child was born to the royal pair, and in 1430 the good queen
suddenly died at Vadstena in Sweden at the age of thirty-seven. She
had been King Eirik's wisest councilor, the only person who could
shield him against the growing wrath of his oppressed subjects. Now
he stood alone, shortsighted, violent, hated, and always stubborn.
In vain the people now complained of their wrongs. Twice the
Swedish nobleman, Engelbrecht Engelbrechtsson, was sent to Den-
mark by the people of Dalarne to obtain relief from the oppression
of the Danish fogeds ; his pleas fell upon the deaf ears of the short-
sighted and obstinate king. Engelbrecht's return from his last
unsuccessful mission became the signal for revolt. The peasants as-
sembled at Vester^s, and chose him their leader, and soon all Sweden
was in arms to throw off the Danish yoke. On August 16, 1434, the
Swedish Council, compelled by Engelbrecht Engelbrechtsson, issued
a document in which they renounced their allegiance to the king,^
but on the 24th of the same month the Norwegian Council gave notice
that it found this step to be untimely and ill-advised, and asked the
Swedish Council to reconsider its action, as it was contrary to the
happy union of the three kingdoms. The king, it continued, had
not erred from ill-will, but was ready to right all real wrongs.^ On
the 12th of September the Swedish Council issued a second docu-
ment, addressed to the Council and people of Norway, in which
they stated forcibly and in detail the reasons for renouncing their
allegiance to King Eirik, and asked the Norwegians to join them in
resisting oppression.^ No better opportunity could have been offered
the Norwegians to sever the unprofitable partnership with Denmark,

- Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. V., no. 644.

2 /bid.

2 Ibid., no. 647. Norges gamle Love, anden raekke, vol. I., p. 142 f.

48 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

but the invitation of the Swedish Council eHcited no response. In
Norway the hereditary kingship, and the strength and stabihty of
the central government had, in course of time, created a spirit of
loyalty to the king, which had ripened into a well-established tradi-
tion. The Swedes, who had elected and dethroned their kings in
rapid succession, could start a new rebellion without much com-
punction; to the Norwegians such a course seemed violent and
treasonable.

But Engelbrecht Engelbrechtsson continued the war against the
Danes with great success. In three months he drove out the Danish
fogeds, and destroyed a number of their castles. King Eirik finally
came to Stockholm with a fleet ; but as the city was closely hemmed
in by Engelbrechtsson's forces, he found the situation hopeless, and
agreed to submit the whole question to the arbitration of a com-
mittee of four councilors from each kingdom. On a Rigsdag assem-
bled at Arboga, 1435, Engelbrechtsson was chosen regent until an
agreement should be made with the king, and at a council assembled at
Stockholm, where also many Norwegian councilors were present, Eirik
agreed to the terms submitted. He had to give assurance that he
would rule in conformity with the laws, that the castles of the king-
dom should be granted only to native lords, and that Sweden should
have its own government, at the head of which should stand the
drotsete and the marsk, two new officials. For the former office the
Council chose Kristen Nilsson Vasa; for the latter the king ap-
pointed Karl Knutsson Bonde. All might now have been well, but
King Eirik soon violated the agreement, and war broke out anew.
Engelbrechtsson fought a second campaign as successfully as the
first, but on April 27, 1436, this great leader was assassinated by a
personal enemy, and Karl Knutsson Bonde, a dashing young noble-
man, more ambitious than gifted, assumed the management of the
uprising.

The Danish misrule, and the failure of the king to listen to the often
repeated complaints of the people, finally produced an uprising also
in Norway.^ The successful rebellion in Sweden, and the concessions

^ In a letter of June, 1424, the hinder of Skaun complained to King Eirik
of the foged Herman Molteke, whose oppressions they could no longer endure.
They report that they have to leave their homes unless the king sends them

11 KING EIRIK OF POMERANIA 49

which Eirik had been forced to make at the council of Stockholm,
inspired some noblemen of the southeastern districts with the hope
that they might be able to compel the king to redress their grievances.
The revolt which took place in 1436 was led by Amund Sigurdsson
Bolt, from Borgarsyssel, and five other noblemen from neighboring
districts.^ A letter written by Engelbrechtsson, dated March 19,
1436, shows that Amund Sigurdsson and his associates sought an
alliance with Engelbrechtsson and the Hanseatic cities against King
Eirik, and the uprising seems to have been organized shortly after the
Norwegian councilors returned from Stockholm.^ Amund Sigurdsson
marched to Oslo, and seized the fortified bishop's residence, but after
an undecisive fight with the garrison of the city, led by Svarte-J0ns,
the Danish commander of Akershus castle, the rebels withdrew.
King Eirik, who was notified of the uprising, seems to have been
alarmed, and full and complete pardon was offered the leaders if
they would submit. An armistice was concluded June 23, 1436 ; ^
and a council was summoned to meet at Tunsberg to negotiate with
the leaders of the uprising. Amund Sigurdsson and two other leaders
met, together with twenty-six of their followers, and presented to the
council the demand that the foreign lords and fogeds should be
expelled from the country before the 29th of July. This condition
was accepted, and peace was formally concluded between Amund

another foged. Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. II., no. 680. Later they
notify the king that they have driven Herman Molteke from their district.
Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. II., no. 681 and no. 683.

1 Gustav Storm, Om Amund Sigurdsson Bolt og Urolighederne i det
sydlige Norge. Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie raekke, vol. II., p. 101 fif., IV.,
395 ff. L. Daae, Nye Studier til Opr^rsh^vdingen Amund Sigurdssons
Historic. Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie raekke, vol. I., p. 488 ff.

2 The letter reads in part : "Likewise the kingdom of Norway has written
us and asks to enter into alliance with private Hanseatic cities and with
the kingdom of Sweden. We did not know that the kingdom of Norway
would join us when our messengers visited the cities ; and they {i.e. the
Norwegians) have now joined us to be allied with Sweden, living or dead.
We ask you that you give them yoiu* assistance, that they may enter into
the same relations with the cities." As the Norwegian Council was still
loyal to King Eirik, the term "kingdom of Norway" can only mean Amund
Sigurdsson and his party. The letter, which is printed in Hanserecesse,
part II., vol. I., p. 525, is quoted by L. Daae, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie
raekke, vol. I., p. 490.

3 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. III., p. 525, no. 733.

VOL. II — E

50 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

Sigurdsson and the council.^ The stipulations of the agreement
were carried out to the letter, it seems, as the Danish lords andfogeds
were expelled from Norway in July, 1436. The uprising had been
successful to some degree, but as it gained no general support, it
became a local affair of no great national significance. Professor
J. E. Sars says of it :

" The Norwegian uprising corresponded in many ways to the
Swedish. Like the latter, it was especially directed against foreign
lords and fogeds, and, like it, it proceeded chiefly from the common
people, while the nobles kept aloof, or assumed a hostile attitude, as
they regarded the movement with fear and ill-will. . . . But as
closely related as the two uprisings — the Norwegian and the Swedish
— seem to be in regard to origin and early success, so different were
they in regard to historic importance and political consequences.
The Swedish developed into a truly national movement, and forms a
new epoch in the nation's history; the Norwegian was a mere epi-
sode without any permanent or important result. . . . The chief
reason why the Norwegian movement died away without results while
the Swedish continued to grow, and placed state and nation upon
new paths of progress, was that Sweden had an ambitious aristocracy,
while the aristocracy in Norway had long been on the decline both
politically and otherwise." ^

In 1436 a council was assembled at Kalmar to bring about a new
reconcihation between King Eirik and the Swedes, but the Norwegian
councilors were not present, owing, no doubt, to the uprising at home.
The Danish councilors supported the Swedes in their demands, and
King Eirik had to promise to abide by a new settlement to be made
at a meeting in Soderkoping, September 29th. At this council the
three archbishops of the united kingdoms, and one councilor from
each realm drew up a new act of union, the "Draft of 1436," which
among other things provided for a government when the king did not
reside in the kingdom ; but this draft never got beyond the embryo
state.

^ Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. II., no. 727; vol. VI., no. 465. The
peace agreement accompanied by a proclamation of the council is dated
Feb. 18, 1437.

' J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historie, vol. III., p. 128 f.

11 KING EIRIK OF POMERANIA 51

King Eirik, who had sailed to Gothland, did not return to Soder-
koping to receive a new oath of allegiance from his subjects. After
spending the winter in the island, he went to Prussia to raise a mili-
tary force for the purpose of compelling the Danes to accept his
cousin, Duke Bogislaus of Pomerania, as heir to the throne. In the
fall of 1437 he returned to Denmark, but acted more arbitrarily than
ever before. In June, 1438, the Swedes assembled a new council at
Kalmar, and urged the king to be present, so that a final settlement
could be made, but this invitation he disregarded, and sailed again
to Gothland, where he now established himself permanently. When
it became apparent that he would not return, the council of Kalmar
made the agreement that he should still be regarded as king of the
three realms, and that perfect friendship should exist between the
kingdoms ; but the Swedes summoned him to appear at Mora Stenar
to declare that he would respect the laws and liberties of the kingdom,
or he would be deposed, and in October, 1438, Karl Knutsson Bonde
was chosen regent.

Disturbances again broke out both in Norway and Denmark. In
Norway the men of Telemarken and B amble, led by Halvard Graa-
top, marched against Oslo, but they were defeated and scattered by
Svarte-J0ns, the commander of Akershus castle.^ In Denmark the
peasants rose in rebellion against the nobility and clergy. The
situation was so alarming that the Council invited King Eirik's
nephew, Duke Christopher of Bavaria, and promised him the crowns
of the three kingdoms, an assurance which was contrary both to the
spirit and the letter of the act of union. In 1439 King Eirik was
formally deposed both in Sweden and Denmark ; Christopher of Ba-
varia was hailed as king of Denmark at the Viborgthing in 1440,
and the following year he was also elected king of Sweden, and
crowned at Stockholm, but only after he had made such concessions
to the Swedish nobles that he became the mere shadow of a king.
The revolution in Sweden, which had been set on foot by the common
people, led by Engelbrecht Engelbrechtsson, had been carried to
completion by the aristocracy under the leadership of Karl Knutsson
Bonde. The strong royal power established by Queen Margaret had

1 Gustav Storm, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie rsekke, II., p. 119 ff. Ludvig
Daae, Historisk Tidsskrift, f0rste rsekke, IV., p. 86.

52 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

been shattered, and the monarchic union established at Kalmar had
been replaced by an aristocratic union. The nobles of Sweden and
Denmark had agreed that the two realms should remain united under
a shadow king, while the nobility in both kingdoms retained all real
power.

In this important revolutionary movement Norway took no
part, aside from the two local disturbances mentioned, although
King Eirik had virtually ceased to rule the kingdom. "The reins
had slipped from his hands here as elsewhere, but there was no one
to seize them." Though Sweden and Denmark had deposed King
Eirik, and had chosen Christopher of Bavaria as his successor, the
Norwegian Council adhered to their old worthless sovereign with
a loyalty which would have been pathetic, if it did not furnish evi-
dence of lack of national self-consciousness and clear-sighted political
leadership. Time and again the Council sent messages to Eirik in
his voluntary retirement, assured him of the loyalty of the Norwegian
people, and asked him to help them, but the eccentric old king did
not even answer. The only evidence that he still regarded himself as
king of Norway was a few appointments which he seems to have made
to please the Norwegians. In 1438, before he established himself
permanently in Gothland, he appointed two Norwegian nobles, Olav
Buk and Olav Nilsson, commandants, respectively, of Akershus castle
and Bergen ; and in 1439 he finally appointed a new drotsete, Sigurd
Jonsson, and also a new chancellor, Gunnar Holk.^ When it finally
became evident that Eirik had altogether ceased to rule, the Nor-
wegian Council consented to elect King Christopher. In 1442 the
Councils of the three kingdoms assembled at Lodose, where Christo-
pher was chosen king of Norway, and he was shortly afterwards
crowned in Oslo.

In his retreat in Visborg castle in the island of Gothland, King
Eirik was now left alone to muse over the strange vicissitudes of
human affairs ; but his spirit was not of the kind that is chastened
by misfortune. He turned pirate and robbed without discrimi-
nation Hanseatic merchants and his former subjects. In his castle
he defended himself stoutly against attacks, but prudence finally
led him to cede Gothland to King Christian I., Christopher's succes-
* Samlinger til del norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. IV., p. 545.

KING EIRIK OF POMERANIA

sor, and to retire to Pomerania, where he died at the age of seventy-
seven.

The internal conditions in Norway during Eirik's reign reveal an
increasing decadence, which was further accelerated through the
maladministration due to foreign rule. This is, perhaps, most dis-
tinctly noticeable in the church, which up to the period of union had
retained a distinctly national character. The prelates, as well as
the lower clergy, were native-born, and as the king exercised great
influence over the election of bishops, the state church principle was

Fig. 2. — Viaborg Castle

maintained in practice, however vigorously it might be assailed in
theory. Both Sverre and Haakon Haakonsson had successfully
defended the principle that the king was the head of the Church of
Norway. The bishops, who were elected by the chapters of the
dioceses, had to be presented to the king to receive his sanction
before they were consecrated by the Pope. It is true that at the
council of Tunsberg, 1277, King Magnus Lagab0ter renounced the
right to influence the election of bishops; but this act was not
sanctioned by the Norwegian magnates, and during succeeding
reigns the bishops who resisted the king were driven into exile.
During the fourteenth century the king does not seem to have in-
terfered with the election of bishops, but he received the right to

54 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

appoint the priests of the royal chapels. Thereby was created a new
class of clergy, the "chapel priests," who were wholly dependent on
the king, and, hence, loyally attached to him. From among these
priests the king could select his chancellor and other secretaries, and
when the Council of the Kingdom came into existence, the leaders
of this clergy also received a seat in that body besides the bishops.
The Provost of the Apostle church in Bergen was member of the
Council as magister capellarum, and the office of chancellor should
always be held by the Provost of the St. Mary's church in Oslo. In
this way the national character of the Church of Norway had been
maintained prior to the union. Especially after King Sverre's time
the clergy were quite loyal to the sovereign. The sagas of the kings
of Norway, and other great works in the national prose literature,
were written by them ; they were not only the spiritual teachers, but
also the spokesmen and leaders of their people.

When the Kalmar union was established, the process of denationali-
zation of the Norwegian Church took its beginning. The union kings
maintained with renewed energy the state church principle, and
sought to influence the election of bishops, not for the sake of main-
taining the national independence of the Norwegian Church, but in
order to strengthen their influence in the Council of the Kingdom.
Their chief aim was to secure the election of Danish ecclesiastics,
who would, naturally, be staunch supporters of the king and his
policy. This practice was begun by Queen Margaret, who in 1381
made the Dane, Nicholas Finkenov, Archbishop of Nidaros, although
the Norwegian ecclesiastic, Haakon Ivarsson, had been unanimously
chosen by the chapter.^ Nicholas did not attend to the duties of
his archdiocese, but returned to Denmark, taking with him the books
and treasures of the church. In a similar way, a Danish monk,
Benedict, was chosen Bishop of Bergen (1371), and later another
Dane, Jacob Knutsson, was chosen bishop of the same diocese
(1400), but in 1407 he was^transferred to the diocese of Oslo. King
Eirik pursued the same poHcy, and meddled in church affairs in a
much more arbitrary way than the more discreet Queen Margaret.

* Chr. Lange, Bidrag til Norges Historie under Unionen, Norsk Tidsskrift
for Videnskab og Litteratur, vol. I., p. 217 ff. Islandske Annaler, edited by
Storm, p. 285.

KING EIRIK OF POMERANIA 55

When Aslak Bolt, the Bishop of Bergen, was chosen archbishop.
King Eirik named as his successor the immoral and wholly unworthy
Arne Clementsson, whom he later forced upon the Swedes as Arch-
bishop of Upsala. It seems, however, that Arne was never conse-
crated Bishop of Bergen, In 1422 the king secured the election of
another Dane as Bishop of Oslo, and he also made him chancellor,
though that oJfRce belonged to the Provost of the St. Mary's church.
This was a most important office, as the chancellor was the keeper
of the seal, which had to be affixed to every royal document to make
it valid. The practice thus originated by Margaret and Eirik of
Pomerania was continued by their successors, who often used their
power very arbitrarily to secure the election of Danes. The clergy
became more and more foreign in character,' and the church lost its
distinct national traits ; it grew apart from the people, and ceased
to be the nation's intellectual leader.

A similar downward trend is noticeable in all departments of
administration. Prior to the union the authority exercised by the
king and the Council had articulated well with the local administra-
tive authorities, by whom the behests of the central government could
be efficiently carried out. After the union was established, this first
principle of good government was destroyed, not only through the
negligence and lack of insight of the sovereigns, but even purposely
in order to strengthen the royal power. With undisguised efforts
the union kings sought to gather all power into their own hands, and
to rule by issuing royal decrees to be carried out by fogeds whom
they themselves had appointed. The old system of local adminis-
tration was suffered to fall into decay ; the principle of government
by the people and for the people was disappearing. Henceforth the
nation was to be ruled by a wise and divinely inspired landesvater,
who was rising to the position of a sort of benevolent despot. In
Sweden and Denmark this march towards absolutism was arrested
by the revolution of 1434-1440; Norway was unable to profit by
this opportunity. The weakness of the nobility, which made it
possible for the king to exercise full control in Norway, was further
augmented by the appointment of foreigners to the highest positions
of trust and honor both in church and state. Thereby the leading
Norwegians were gradually excluded from public life, and forced

56 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

into inactivity and obscurity, while the government, which became
wholly extraneous to the people, grew paternal and despotic. From
the beginning of the union both the sovereign and the Danish Council
sought to increase their power and influence in Norway. The oflBces
of the kingdom were treated as a royal possession, and donated at
will to Danish nobles and courtiers, while no Norwegians were ap-
pointed to office in Denmark. In 1415 the German Hans Kropelin
had been made foged, or commandant, of Bohus, and Baltazar van
Dem had received S0ndhordland as a fief. In 1424 Tideke Rust
was commandant of Akershus, and later Svarte-J0ns was appointed
to the same position. John Ummereise and Henrik Schacht, though
they were foreigners, were made members of the Norwegian Council.
From whatever side we view conditions in Norway, it becomes evi-
dent that the Danes were gaining the ascendancy. Many Danish
nobles and courtiers flocked to Norway, and married Norwegian
heiresses.^ In this way they became the owners of rich estates, and
as royal favors were always accorded them whenever an opportunity
presented itself, these dashing foreigners with wealth and titles soon
elbowed their way to the foremost positions in the land. As illus-
trations of this kind of fortune seekers may be mentioned Diderich
Wistenakker, who received as a fief the whole of Telemarken,'"and
Hartvig Krumedike, who in the reign of Christian I. became the
richest man in Norway.

10. An Embryo Democracy

The sources dealing with social conditions in this period are very
meager, but an important document has, however, been left us by
the Italian sea-captain Pietro Quirini, who wrote an account of the
life and customs of the common people of the seacoast districts of
northern Norway as he found them in 1432, Quirini was ship-
wrecked in the North Sea on a voyage to Flanders, and with a few
surviving companions he finally reached the islands off the north
coast of Norway in a boat. They landed on the uninhabited island
of Santi (Sand0), where they suffered much from hunger and cold ;
but some men who came to the island to look after their sheep found
the shipwrecked men, and they were brought to the island of R0st
1 Samlinger til det norake Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. III., p. 608.

II AN EMBRYO DEMOCRACY 57

where they spent the winter.^ Quirini says that R0st was only
three (ItaHan) miles in circumference, and had 126 inhabitants, who
supported themselves by fishing, as no fruit or grain grew there.
They caught a great deal of codfish, which they salted and dried in
the sun. This they prepared for the table by pounding it until it
became tender, whereupon they mixed it with butter and spices,
which made it very palatable. They also had milk and beef, and by
mixing meal into the milk they made a dough from which cakes were
baked. Usually they drank sour milk, which the strangers did not
find to their taste, but they also had beer. Their houses were round,
wooden structures with an opening in the roof through which light
was admitted, and in winter the opening was covered with a trans-
lucent membrane. Their clothes were mostly of coarse London
cloth, but not of skin. The author speaks also of the vast number of
wild birds, especially wild geese, which were so tame that they
would make their nests close to the houses, so that when the people
wanted eggs, they lifted the birds off the nests, and took as many
as they needed, but otherwise they left the birds undisturbed. Their
wealth, he says, consists, not in money, but in fish, two kinds of which
were especially important; namely, halibut and codfish. In the
month of May when the codfish is dry, they load it on ships, and sail
with it to Bergen, which is an important trading center. Thither
come ships laden with articles of food and clothing from Germany,
England, Scotland, and Prussia, and these goods, such as leather,
iron, cloth, and various articles of food, the inhabitants of R0st receive
in exchange for their fish. The people, both men and women, he
says, are well-built and good-looking, and they live together in the
greatest innocence and brotherly love, and usually help one another
without any thought of profit. They are good Christians; they

^ R0st is a small island between 67° and 68° N. L. Quirini's account is
found in Italian in Ramusio's Racolte della Navigationi, torn. II., and in
German in J. R. Forster's Geschichte der Entdeckungen im Norden, p. 251 ff.
Gustav Storm, Venetianerne paa R^st i 1432, Det norske Geografiske Selskabs
Aarbog, VIII., p. 37 ff.

Accounts of their stay in Norway were also written by two of Quirini's
companions, Christopher Fioravante and Nicholaus Michele. Sch0ning,
Det norske Videnskabers-Selskabs Skrifter, vol. II., p. 95 ff. Rasmus Nyerup,
Historisk-statistisk Skildring af Tilstanden i Danmark og Norge i celdre og
nyere Tider, vol. I., p. 303 ff. 0. A. Qverland Norges Historic, vol. V., p. 83 ff.

58 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

attend church regularly, and keep the fast-days ; they never use
profanity or mention the name of the devil ; they are so honest that
they take no care to hide their property behind locks and bars, but
leave all doors and drawers unlocked ; neither do they fear that their
sons and daughters shall transgress against virtue. All of them,
young and old, lead such virtuous lives, and live in such perfect
obedience to the moral law that they do not know what incontinence
is. They marry only to fulfill the commandment of God, and not
from carnal appetite, which can get no power over them because of
the cold air and the cold country in which they live. When their
father, mother, husband, wife, children, or other near relatives die,
they go to church and praise God because he suffered the deceased
to dwell so long among them ; and neither in word nor deed do they
betray any sorrow or sadness any more than if the dead were only
sleeping. When a woman's husband dies, the widow makes a great
feast for all the neighbors on the day of the funeral. They are then
attired in their best clothes, and the widow encourages the guests to
eat and drink heartily, and to be of good cheer in memory of her
husband's departure into eternal rest and peace.

In the month of May the people of R0st began to prepare for their
yearly trip to Bergen, whither the strangers were to accompany
them. A few days before their departure a noble lady, the wife of
the governor of the district, who had heard that some strangers were
staying on the island, dispatched her chaplain to Quirini and his
companions with a present consisting of sixty dried codfish, three
loaves of rye bread, and a cake. She also sent her greetings, saying
that as she had learned that the people of R0st had not showed so
great a hospitality as they should have done, they should report to her
any wrong which they might have suffered, and full restitution
would be made them. The inhabitants of R0st were also instructed
to show the strangers the greatest courtesy and hospitality, and to
bring them along to Bergen. Quirini and his men expressed their
heartfelt gratitude to the lady for her kindness. They testified to
the people's innocence of any wrongdoing, and praised them most
highly for their great hospitality. Quirini sent the lady a pater-
noster chain of amber as a present, and asked her to pray for their
happy return to their own country.

11 AN EMBRYO DEMOCRACY 59

On the 14th of May they set sail for Bergen, and on the way they
met Archbishop Aslak Bolt, who was making a tour of inspection
in his diocese. When he heard the tale of the strangers, he was filled
with compassion and gave them a letter of recommendation to the
people of Nidaros (Trondhjem), where they were received with the
greatest kindness. On Ascension day they attended mass in the
great cathedral, and they were afterwards invited by the sysselmand
to a banquet, where they were well entertained. After a ten days'
visit in the city, they began their journey overland to Stegeborg in
Ostergotland, Sweden, where an Italian, Giovanni Franco (called in
Swedish John Valen), was commandant. Quirini gave the syssel-
mand some small trinkets which he still had in his possession, and
the sysselmand gave him in return a pair of boots with spurs, a little
ax with the picture of St. Olav, a saddle, a hat, four Rhenish gulden,
and a sack of provisions. The archbishop had given the people
instructions to supply Quirini with a horse, and the sysselmand gave
him two more. Thus provided, they started on their journey, accom-
panied by a guide, and they traveled eastward for fifty-three days.

The kingdom was thinly settled, says the author, and they often
came to houses where the people lay sleeping, as it was nighttime,
though the sun was shining. The guide, who knew the custom of
the country, entered without knocking at the door, and they found
the table decked, and chairs around it. There were also fur ticks
filled with down or feathers to sleep on. Everything was open, so
that they could eat what there was, and lie down to sleep ; and it
often happened that the man of the house came and found them
sleeping, and when the guide told them where they were from, and
who they were, he became astonished and gave them food without
pay, so that the twelve men with three horses did not spend more
than the four Rhenish gulden, though they traveled for fifty-three
days. On their way they found huge mountains and deep valleys,
where they saw great numbers of animals which resembled roebucks,
swarms of snow-white birds of the size of heath-cocks, and partridges
and pheasants as large as geese. Other birds, as hawks and falcons,
were all white, due to the very cold climate of the country. They
had also seen in the St. Olai church a white-bear skin about fifteen
feet long.

60 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

In Stegeborg they were well received by their countryman Giovanni
Franco. He sent them to Lodose, whence they went to England,
and they finally returned to Italy in safety.

Captain Quirini's account of the life and customs in these remote
seacoast settlements is the more interesting since we still find in
the country districts of Norway the same generous hospitality, the
mutual helpfulness, the unsuspecting honesty, and with no great
modifications, also the customs which he describes. The traits
which attracted the captain's attention were not limited to a single
locality or period of time, but are general characteristics of the Nor-
wegian people in all ages. These traits bespeak a people leading a
healthy rustic life, free from oppression or class struggles; whose
simple virtues have been reduced to time-honored customs, the
origin of which is hidden in a remote antiquity. Norway's com-
merce and sea-power had fallen into decay, her national greatness
had suffered a total eclipse, and even her political independence was
being gradually sacrificed in the interest of an unprofitable union
with Denmark; but the social and economic life of the people in its
local environment was left almost untouched by these changes, and
retained its former health and vigor. The growing weakness and
inefficiency of the public regime, to which the rapid deterioration of
the military and national power of Norway must be ascribed, reflects
in no way any inner social decay.

Nowhere did the people govern themselves in national matters
in this period. The central government was either vested in a king
and his advisers, as in Norway, or in an aristocracy, as in Sweden
and Denmark. If this government was unwarlike and inactive, the
state was weak, though the people might be relatively prosperous
and well content. If the government was aggressive, and maintained
an efficient military organization, the state was strong, as people at
that time counted strength. Great wars could be fought, castles
and palaces could be built, the nobles could display a dazzHng pomp,
and the national greatness was commensurate with their number
and power; but with the development of this intense military
activity followed in the Middle Ages the feudalization of society, by
which the people were deprived, not only of their local autonomy,
but of their personal freedom. They were gradually reduced to

II AN EMBRYO DEMOCRACY 61

serfdom, and forced to shoulder intolerable burdens, which left them
in hopeless poverty and intellectual apathy. In Denmark, where
the aristocracy was strong, the nobles owned two-fifths of all the land
besides their large family estates. Serfdom and socage were intro-
duced, and the binder were reduced to a most wretched condition.^
The nobles who devoted themselves to military exploits could place
in the field well-drilled armies of mailed horsemen, capable of waging
successful campaigns even beyond the borders of the kingdom ; but the
burdens fell upon the unfree tillers of the soil, who were wholly at
the mercy of their feudal masters. This kind of national greatness,
though it produced a rather showy intellectual activity among the
upper classes, and a few heroic and interesting personalities, was
unquestionably attended with social retrogression and growing
internal decay. The people's strength was gradually sapped, society
was stratified into hostile classes, and difficult social problems were
created which had to be solved before the life of the nation could
be lifted to a higher plane. It is quite evident that national strength
in the feudal, medieval sense must not be confounded with national
progress, and it follows that national weakness, taken in the same
sense, need not be associated with economic and social decay. In
Norway the aristocracy had been almost destroyed by the king,
and when the royal family died out, a vigorous government, which
was tantamount to a strong Norway, was impossible. The people
seem to have had no regrets. They welcomed cheerfully a Swedish
or a Danish king, if he would not violate their laws, or infringe on
their local autonomy. They had lost their kings and their nobility,
which might have maintained their national greatness, but they
had also been relieved of the classes which could oppress them and
reduce them to serfdom, and Norway thereby escaped the evils of

^The old historian Peder Friedrich Suhm says: "The great lords, clergy
as weU as others, oppressed here as elsewhere the poor, who thereby were
brought to despair, so that they frequently revolted. But in Norway this
occurred much more seldom than in Denmark, because the lords were not
so numerous there, and their estates were smaller, hence they demanded
less service." Samlede Skrifter, VIII., p. 361.

"Agriculture was declining, and likewise the population. The continual
strife between the nobility and the common people was the cause of this."
Samlede Skrifter, Vol. VIII., p. 359.

62 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

the feudal system. The union government, which was exercised at
a distance, was paternal and inefficient rather than oppressive,
and although greedy fogeds might commit individual acts of injustice,
they lacked the power, if they did possess the will, to oppress the
whole people. Cut off from international conflicts, with the excep-
tion of the wars forced upon them through their union with Den-
mark, the Norwegians were left to themselves to lead an uneventful
rustic life among their own fjords and mountains, where they pre-
served their own laws, local institutions, love of freedom, and robust
spirit of independence. With the disappearance of the court and
the nobility a leveling of social conditions followed which gradually
obhterated the old class distinctions, and consohdated the people
into a hardy, plain-spoken yeomanry. In their homes around the
fjords and in the mountain valleys, the Norwegians were as much
their own lords in the period of union as they had been in the Viking
Age ; and their irrepressible love of freedom was often whetted into
violent resistance to oppression, and jealous hatred and distrust of
the new upper class of Danish priests and officials which sprang into
existence in the period of union with Denmark. Whatever the Nor-
wegians might have lost through the disappearance of military power
and national prestige, the unimpaired manhood and womanhood of
the people, than which nothing is better worth preserving, remained
to five and grow in a free and healthy domestic environment. It is
true that the spirit of the nation no longer found expression in great
achievements, but whenever opportunity was offered, it manifested
itself in a way which created respect and admiration. We see it in
the great naval heroes Kort Adelaer and Peter Tordenskjold, and in
the great respect which the Norwegian soldiers always enjoyed in
Denmark. The Danish kings in the union period surrounded them-
selves with a Norwegian bodyguard, and the Danish naval forces
were largely recruited in Norway. Molesworth says : " The best
seamen of the King of Denmark are the Norwegians." ^ The rather
bombastic patriotic songs of a later period praising the bravery,
fidelity, and intense love of liberty of the Norwegians need not be

^ Robert Molesworth, An Account of Denmark as It Was in the Year 1692,
London, 1694, p. 130. Molesworth was an Englisli writer and diplomat.
Anathon Aal, Henrik Ibsen als Dichter und Denker, Halle, 1906, p. 41 flf.

n AN EMBRYO DEMOCRACY 63

taken literally, but we would wholly misunderstand them if we failed
to recognize that they express in an almost stereotyped and conven-
tional wa}^ a well-established general opinion. Anathon Aal says :
" The people were always free, the binder (yeomanry) much more so
than elsewhere in Europe, but they lacked poUtical leaders who
could maintain the national principle." This was a loss, but it was
also a gain. When the aristocracy and the national kingship dis-
appeared, the defense of their rights and liberties, and the future
destiny of the nation was placed for the first time in the people's
own hands. Those who ruled and those who led were gone; the
people had to rely upon themselves. However this may be inter-
preted, it was a social revolution which necessarily marks the begin-
ning of a new era in the people's social and political development.
The yeoman class grew strong and numerous. They loved their old
freedom, they cherished their rights, they were united by common
customs and the equality of economic and social conditions. They
lacked the means as well as the ability to seek the glory of military
exploits or international poHtics, but they learned to act together
in resisting encroachments, and in managing their own domestic
affairs. They were not only freer than the people elsewhere, but
they were also more independent economically. We have seen that
natural conditions, especially the small and scattered areas of tillable
soil, had hindered the growth of a feudal aristocracy in Norway.
Few castles were built, and a fairly equitable distribution of land
was maintained by the law of odel, which safeguarded the binder in
the possession of their land. The absence of feudal lords, and the
division of the land among the binder, who owned and tilled their
own little farms, made the large class of freeholders economically
independent, and gave Norwegian society a distinctive democratic
character.^ Because they were left without such an aristocratic
upper class, they also developed a love for independent action, and
a spirited self-reliance which forms the theme of the patriotic national
songs, and which won the admiration of the Danes in the union period.
This was not national greatness, but it can safely be called social
progress. The only trouble was that this development in Norway
came in an age which was not yet able to profit by democratic con-
^ See Bj0rnstjerne Bj0rnson's poem, "Norge, Norge."

64 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

ditions, and make them a new force in national development. But
although centuries were yet to pass before this life, under unfavor-
able political circumstances, ripened into a new self-conscious nation-
alism, we find in the Norwegian people after the completion of this
great social and political change the future Norwegian democracy
in embryo. We see nursed in the quiet the social conditions and the
traits of character which so quickly placed Norway in the front rank
of political and social democracies when the great awakening finally
came.

11. King Christopher

When Christopher of Bavaria finally succeeded King Eirik of
Pomerania on the thrones of the Northern kingdoms, the three
realms were again united under a common king, but the idea of unit-
ing them into a single Danish kingdom under the personal rule of the
king, which had been Queen Margaret's plan, was now abandoned.
Separate administration for each kingdom was emphasized, and the
only frail strand of the union idea yet remaining was that of a com-
mon sovereign, who under the new arrangement had but limited
power. In Sweden and Denmark the nobility forced Christopher
to subscribe to charters which greatly reduced his power and
strengthened the influence of the Council. Sweden secured full
autonomy. The kingdom should be left in full enjoyment of its
laws, liberties, privileges, and ancient customs; the taxes collected
should be used in the kingdom, the king should have only Swedish
councilors and courtiers, the castles of the kingdom should be given
to Swedes, and upon the king's death they should be turned over
to a committee consisting of six of the leading men of the realm. In
Norway no specific agreement was signed, but the king never visited
the country after his coronation. The administration was left in
the hands of the Council, which now acted with greater authority
than it had ever done since the union was first established in 1397.
Fortunately, King Christopher seems to have coveted peace and
comfort rather than power. He is described as short and stout,
merry, and good-natured, and he evidently sought to rule in full
harmony with the conditions to which he had subscribed. But for
all his good intentions, he was not popular in Sweden, where the

KING CHRISTOPHER 65

powerful Karl Knutsson Bonde coveted the throne. It had become
a fixed belief among the common people that Karl Knutsson would
become king. An old clairvoyant woman had told him so, and a
little girl had seen a crown settle on his head while he was sitting in
church. The taxes were unjust, it was claimed, and the hard times
due to crop failure caused great dissatisfaction. The people said
that the grain was fed to the king's horses, while they had to make
bread of bark, and they nicknamed him Christopher Barkking. In
Norway there was also great unrest, especially in the southeastern
districts. The people rose against their fogeds, and in Gudbransdal
Bengt Harniktsson Gyldenl0ve, a member of the Council, was slain.
The Hanseatic League still controlled Norwegian commerce, and
the Hanseatic factory at Bergen enjoyed at this time its greatest
prosperity and power. Its members treated the native population
and even the city government with unbearable arrogance, and law-
lessness and licentiousness passed all bounds, but the local authorities
were unable to enforce the laws. The members of the Hansa had
even entered the town hall, sword in hand, and had forcibly ejected
the city council.^ In 1444 the Council of the kingdom met in Ber-
gen to discuss the situation. The opinion prevailed that the German
merchants should no longer be tolerated as a state within the state,
that their privileges should be reduced to what they had been in the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.^ Some of the councilors went
to Copenhagen, and placed this proposition before the king, who
sanctioned it in a royal rescript of 1444 relative to the trade of
foreign merchants in Bergen. Nothing was gained, however. In
1447 the king granted the most unrestricted privileges to the Rostock
merchants to trade in the city of Oslo and Tunsberg in southern
Norway, while in Bergen the commandant, Olav Nilsson, the
leader of the opposition to the Hanseatic merchants, struggled with
determination, but under great difficulties, to enforce the new regu-
lations. A most critical situation had been created when King
Christopher suddenly died in 1448.^

^ Yngvar Nielsen, Bergen, p. 257. Diplomatarium Norwegicum, I., no. 801.

'^ Bergens Fundats, written about 1580 ; published by N. Nicolaysen in
Norske Magasin, I. Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. VIT., no. 417.

^ The Hanseatic merchants resented the attempt to restrict their privileges.
In 1447 they issued a document in which they accused Olav Nilsson of the

VOL. II — F

66 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

In Trondhjem the Hanseatic merchants had gained no foothold,
as they were forbidden to trade north of Bergen. Trondhjem had
always been the chief center of trade with the Norwegian colonies,
especially with Iceland, but this trade declined with the decay of
Norwegian commerce and sea-power, and in the later Middle Ages
almost nothing is known of the city's commercial activity.^ The
Hanseatic supremacy resulted, very naturally, in a stagnation of the
Norwegian cities, as the native merchants were driven out of busi-
ness, and the population could not grow while the trade was in the
hands of unmarried foreigners, who were strictly confined within
the precincts of the factory, cut off from all social intercourse with
the townspeople. The attempt of Olav Nilsson and the Norwegian
Council to assert Norway's sovereign authority over these foreigners
was a move in the right direction, but their zeal was greater than
their strength, and the effort ended in dismal failure.

12. Christian I. of Denmark and Karl Knutsson op Sweden

As Ejng Christopher left no children, the question arose who should
be chosen his successor, if the union were to be maintained. Den-
mark favored the union because it was considered to be the leading
kingdom. In the late reigns the candidates for the throne had been
selected by the Danish Council, and the kings, who resided for the
most part in Denmark, had sought to give that kingdom great pre-
ponderance in the union. This time the Danes selected Christian of
Oldenburg, another German, as their candidate, but this created
great ill-will among the Swedes, who claimed that the Danes had
broken the union agreement by constantly selecting the royal candi-
dates without conferring with the other kingdoms. A small party
in Sweden were favorably disposed towards the union, but many
Swedish nobles coveted the throne. In Norway some were in favor

most arbitrary and unlawful procedure. The document is published by
Professor Yngvar Nielsen in the Christiania Videnskabs-Selskabs Forhand-
linger, 1877 and 1878. See also Yngvar Nielsen, Af Norges Historie,
p. 110 S. Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. XVI., no. 160.

1 Alexander Bugge, Nidaros's Handel og Skibsfart i Middelalderen, Fest-
skrift udgivet i Anledning af Trondhjems 900 Aars Jubiloium, 1897, Trondhjem,
1897. Alexander Bugge, Studier over de norske Byers Selvstyre og Handel,
p. 131 S. Norges gamle Love, anden rsekke, vol. I., p. 116 S.

n CHRISTIAN I. AND KARL KNUTSSON 67

of placing the native-born Sigurd Jonsson on the throne, but the
majority were ready to abide by the choice made by the other king-
doms. In the meanwhile Karl Knutsson had matured his plans.
On May 23, 1448, he entered Stockholm with 800 armed men. A
mild spring rain was falling, and this was interpreted by the common
people as an auspicious omen; the great noble was the man of the
hour. On June 20 he was elected king of Sweden, and he was soon
after crowned at Upsala. The Danes were quite surprised to learn
that the union had been dissolved, but they nevertheless chose their
own candidate. Christian of Oldenburg, king of Denmark.

In Norway great indecision prevailed. Sigurd Jonsson, the richest
noble in the kingdom, had been chosen regent, but he would not be
a candidate for the throne, though he descended from King Haakon
V. The Council was divided into a Danish and a Swedish party.
Archbishop Aslak Bolt and many of the councilors favored a union
with Sweden, but Bishop Jens of Oslo, and the powerful baron Hart-
vig Krumedike, both of Danish birth, were eager to maintain a union
with Denmark. They even went to Denmark as representatives of
their party, and acknowledged Christian of Oldenburg king of Nor-
way. But Archbishop Aslak Bolt with the Swedish party met at
Bohus in February, 1449, and chose Karl Knutsson of Sweden,^

In the meantime Bishop Jens of Oslo and Hartvig Krumedike had
returned from Denmark with an armed force, and the Council was
summoned to meet at Oslo. None of the Swedish party would meet
under these circumstances, except Archbishop Aslak Bolt, who
happened to be in the city. At this meeting June 3, 1449, the Danish
party chose Christian of Oldenburg king of Norway, and at a second
meeting at Marstrand in July King Christian granted the Norwe-
gians a charter with the following main stipulations :

1. The Norwegian people should retain their laws and liberties,
and the Church of Norway its rights and privileges.

2. No foreigners should receive fiefs in the kingdom, nor should
they be members of the Council, excepting those who already resided
in Norway, or those who in the future should acquire the right of
citizenship through marriage within the kingdom.

* Ludvig Daae, En Kr^nike om Erkebiskopperne i Nidaros, Festskrift
udgivet i Anledning aj Trondhjems 900 Aars Jubilceum, 1897, p. 158 ff.

68 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

3. No important matter touching Norway should be decided
except with the advice of the Norwegian Council.

4. Norway should henceforth be a free elective kingdom.

5. The king should visit the kingdom every three years.

6. The trade between Norway and Denmark should be free from
duties.

7. Only in cases of emergency could the Norwegian Council be
summoned to meet in Denmark, and its stay there should be as short
as possible.^

The Swedish party would not recede from their position, as they
resented the use of force by the leaders of the Danish party. In the
fall of 1449 Karl Knutsson came to Hamar, where he was pro-
claimed king of Norway. On November 20th, he was crowned in
Trondhjem by Archbishop Aslak Bolt, after giving a charter in which
he granted the prelates and the cathedral many privileges. ^ Fifteen
Norwegian nobles were knighted, and the king even sanctioned the
Tunsberg concordat of 1277 to please the archbishop. While affairs
remained thus unsettled, Aslak Bolt died in 1450, and Olav Thronds-
son was chosen to succeed him as Archbishop of Nidaros.

After his coronation Karl Knutsson returned to Sweden, but
shortly after New Year, 1450, he came to southern Norway with an
army, and tried to seize Oslo, which was held by Christian's chief
adherent, Hartvig Krumedike.' He was unable, however, to take
Akershus castle, and an armistice was concluded until a council
could be assembled at Halmstad, where all disputes should be settled.*
When the Swedish and Danish councilors assembled in that city.
May 1, 1450, the Swedish councilors sided with the Danes, and a
treaty was concluded by which it was agreed that Karl Knutsson
should surrender Norway to King Christian of Denmark ; ^ that

1 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. VIII., no. 345. Arild Huitfeldt,
Danmarks Riges Kr^nike, II., p. 845 ff.

* Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. VI., no. 530 ; vol. V., no. 762.

» Ibid., vol. X., no. 201 ; vol. IX., no. 308. Eirik Salmundsson, who had
been made regent in Norway by King Karl Knutsson, labored hard to
overcome the resistance of the Danish party in southern Norway.

* Ibid., vol. v., no. 765.

^ Ibid., vol. III., no. 809; vol. VIII., no. 340. This promise was later
ratified by King Karl. See Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. III., no. 809,
no. 810.

II CHRISTIAN I. AND KARL KNUTSSON 69

when one of the kings died, the one surviving should be king of both
realms, or a regency might be established, and the choice of a king
postponed until both the kings were dead, when twelve Swedish and
twelve Danish councilors should meet at Halmstad, and choose a
king for both realms, who should be either a Dane or a Swede. About
Norway it was stated, as a sort of afterthought, that " when it shall
please God to unite again the three realms under one king, if it shall
please the Norwegian Council and people to remain in the union,
they shall enjoy with us, and we with them, all liberty and inter-
course as stated." That Norway would remain in the union under
all circumstances was, of course, taken for granted by the worthy
nobles who directed the political affairs of the kingdoms.

Christian I. was crowned in Denmark October 28, 1449, and on
the same day he was married to the eighteen-year-old widow of King
Christopher, Dorothea of Brandenburg. The following year he
arrived in Norway, and the Hanseatic merchants of Bergen, who
received the young king with great pomp, gave him an escort of 300
men and five ships to accompany him to Trondhjem. After the
Council had formally declared the election of Karl Knutsson to be
null and void,^ King Christian was crowned in that city with elaborate
ceremonies August 2, 1450.

A new act of union drawn up in Bergen, dated August 29, 1450,
specified the terms on which the two kingdoms should henceforth
remain united. After a rather elaborate introduction the document
goes on to say :

"We have now with our gracious lord and high-born prince, the
said King Christian's counsel, will, and consent formed a firm, per-
petual, and unbreakable union between the said kingdoms of Den-
mark and Norway, for us and many of our brethren, the Archbishop
of Lund, bishops, prelates, knights and squires, the councils and in-
habitants of both kingdoms, both those who now live, and those who
will be born hereafter, both born and unborn, with such preface and
conditions that both kingdoms, Denmark and Norway, shall hence-
forward remain united in brotherly love and friendship, and one shall
not lord it over the other, but each kingdom is to be ruled by native-
born magistrates, as shown by the privileges of both kingdoms ; in
1 Ibid., vol. VIII., no. 342.

70 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

such wise that each kingdom enjoys, keeps, and uses freely its written
laws, freedom and privileges, old and new, which they now have, or
hereafter may receive, and that both kingdoms, Denmark and Nor-
way, shall henceforth remain under one king and lord forevermore.
And the Council of each kingdom, and its inhabitants, shall aid and
assist the Council and inhabitants of the other. And one kingdom
and its people shall give the other aid and consolation as the need
may be. But neither kingdom shall make war without obtaining
the consent of the Council of the other. But the kingdom which
asks for assistance shall supply provisions and means of sustenance,
and the king shall guarantee against loss. And when it shall please
God to let so sad a thing happen that the king dies, then shall the
kingdom in which the king dies at once invite the Council of the
other kingdom, that the Councils of both may speedily assemble at
Halmstad according to the stipulations in the earlier agreement regard-
ing this place. If the king then has one legitimate son or more,
then the Councils shall choose the one to be king whom they consider
to be the best qualified, and the others shall be properly provided for
in both kingdoms. But if such an unfortunate circumstance should
occur, which God forbid, that the king has no legitimate son, then
shall the Councils of both kingdoms nevertheless meet in said city,
and choose the one for king whom, on behalf of both kingdoms, they
consider to be best qualified. In these stipulated articles neither
kingdom shall suffer any slight or neglect, and especially in the choice
of the king the Council of each kingdom shall have full liberty,
power, and free will, without let, hindrance, or deceit, and they
shall not part until they have agreed upon the choice of a lord and
king over both reahns, and only one; but in such a way that each
kingdom retains its old laws and justice, liberty and privileges." ^
By this agreement an important change was made in the Nor-
wegian constitution. The old principle of an hereditary monarchy
was abandoned, and an elective kingship was substituted. This
change had, however, already been made in practice. After the Nor-
wegian royal line became extinct, circumstances had made it neces-
sary to repeatedly place kings on the vacant throne by election. In

1 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. VIII., no. 345. Samlinger til det
norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. IV., p. 344 ff.

CHRISTIAN I. AND KARL KNUTSSON 71

theory the principle of hereditary kingship had, indeed, been adhered
to, but as it could no longer be carried out in practice, it was
becoming a mere tradition. It must be observed, however, that this
tradition continued to live, and it was even strengthened by the
union kings of the House of Oldenburg, who called themselves heirs
to the throne of Norway, and spoke of Norway as an hereditary king-
dom. If the impression could be created that, in spite of the Bergen
agreement, the Oldenburg kings succeeded to the throne of Norway
by right of inheritance, it would, naturally, tend to safeguard the
union, and to bind Norway more closely to the kingdom of Denmark.^
In the articles of union the equality of the two kingdoms was
strongly emphasized. One should not lord it over the other, but each
should keep its laws, freedom, and privileges. The autonomy and
sovereignty of Norway seemed thereby fully safeguarded, so far as
this could be done on paper, but circumstances could not fail to
operate against the maintenance of such an equality. The king
resided in Denmark, where he was constantly surrounded by Danish
councilors and officers of state, and in a not distant future he would
naturally regard Denmark as the principal kingdom, if he did not
already do so. Bygone events had already illustrated this so clearly
that no doubt could exist as to the final outcome. The true char-
acter of the poHtical situation soon revealed itself. Though King
Christian had agreed to come to Norway once every three years,
he did not visit the kingdom above four times after his coronation
during a long reign of thirty-one years, but the administration of
Norwegian affairs he, nevertheless, took into his own hands, and
left the Council of the Kingdom almost wholly out of consideration.
He even attempted to force upon the people the unscrupulous ad-
venturer Marcellus as Archbishop of Trondhjem, though the chapter
had already chosen Olav Throndsson. Only the refusal of the Pope
to consecrate that unworthy candidate saved the Church of Norway
from this humiliation.^ His royal edicts were always prefaced with
the autocratic phrases : " We, Christian, by the grace of God, King of
Denmark-Norway, of the Wends and Goths, Count of Oldenburg

1 T. H. Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 1814,
p. 197 f.

* R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, II., p. 548 ff.

72 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

and Delmenhorst," etc. The Council is seldom mentioned in these
documents, as if its advice or consent was a matter of slight impor-
tance. The seal of the kingdom was kept by the Danish chancellor,
while the Norwegian chancellor became a mere judicial officer,
and the oflBce of drotsete, the highest in the kingdom, was
virtually abolished. The Council, too, was allowing the control of
public affairs to slip from its weakening grip. This became especially
true after a number of immigrated Danes had become members.
They had settled permanently in Norway, where they had gained
wealth and social standing by marrying Norwegian heiresses, but
they were still Danes in sympathy, and as they were not deeply
concerned with affairs of local administration, their presence in the
Council rapidly destroyed its last vestige of efficiency and usefulness,
and it gradually became a mere appendix to the Council of Denmark.
The Norwegian clergy was still native-born and national-spirited,
but it had been weakened like the aristocracy, and could no longer
assert its former independence. Coming events cast their shadows
before. Christian, the king by divine right and the grace of God,
had given the Norwegian people a first installment of Oldenburg
absolutism.

King Christian's policy was wholly dictated by dynastic and Danish
interests. In Bergen Olav Nilsson had struggled earnestly, though
not with proper moderation, to enforce the laws against the Han-
seatic merchants. Sometimes he had even used violent and lawless
means to subdue them. While Christopher Hved, he supported
Nilsson, but Christian changed this method. He needed the support
of the Hansa towns in a war with Sweden, and he considered it more
important to win their friendship than to compel obedience to the
laws of Norway. In 1453 he arrived in Bergen accompanied by his
queen, and sunmaoned Nilsson to answer to charges preferred against
him by the merchants. Nilsson sought safety in flight, and only
after the king had issued a safe-conduct did he return to Bergen to
answer the accusations. King Christian confiscated all his fiefs, and
appointed a Swede, Magnus Gren, commandant in Bergen. But
the doughty baron would not submit. He seized the strong castle
of Elfsborg at the mouth of the Gota river, and threatened to hand
it over to the Swedes, if the king did not return to him his fiefs, and

II CHRISTIAN I. AND KARL KNUTSSON 73

reinstate him as commandant. The king now found it advisable
to yieldj and Olav Nilsson returned to Bergen. But while at Elfs-
borg he had sent out privateers to prey upon Hanseatic merchant
ships, and the merchants conspired to kill him. When he appeared
at the city thing, he was attacked by an armed force, and when he
fled to the monastery of Munkeliv, the merchants, to the number of
2000, stormed the monastery, slew Bishop Thorleiv and several
priests before the altar of the church, and killed in all sixty men.
Nilsson had sought refuge in the tower, but they set fire to the build-
ings. The monastery was destroyed, and he was seized and put to
death.^ King Christian did nothing to punish the offenders, though
they were sentenced to rebuild the monastery at their own expense.
"The king did not care much about it, as it pleased him that Olav
was killed, because he had opposed the king, and had offended him
by sei2dng Elfsborg castle," says the chronicler.^ In 1469 he even
granted them full pardon upon the request of the cities of Liibeck
and Hamburg, and released them, on behalf of the kingdom, from
any obHgation to pay damages. He had, indeed, earned the praise
of the Liibeck chronicler, who calls him "ein gnadich, myldich,
sachtmodich vorste."^

Other arbitrary and unstatesmanlike acts of the king were equally
prejudicial to the interests of the realm. In 1469 his daughter
Margaret was married to King James III. of Scotland, but Christian
I., who spent money lavishly, and always was in financial difficulties,
could not pay the stipulated dowry. In the marriage contract he
agreed to annul the annuity payable to the kingdom of Norway in

1 William Christensen, Unionskongerne og Hansestcederne. Munkeliv monas-
tery of the Benedictine order was founded about 1110. It suffered much
from the ravages of the Victual Brothers, and in 1421-1434 it was changed
to a monastery of the order of St. Birgitta with double convent, one for
monks, and one for nuns. With the permission of the Pope this was done
by King Eirik of Pomerania and his queen, Philippa, who introduced this
order in Norway and Denmark. Lange, De norske Kloslres Historic. Ludvig
Daae, Kong Chrisliern den J^rstes norske Hislorie, 1448-1458, Christiania, 1879.

2 Ditmars Chronik, edited by Grautoff, II., 180. Quoted by Lange.

2 J. P. Willebrandt, Hansische Chronik, Liibeck, 1748, III., 81. See also
Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historic, vol. IV., p. 300. Liibeckische
Chroniken, edited by Grautoff, II., p. 429. Quoted by J. B. Sars in Udsigt
over den norske Historic, III., p. 157. Ludvig Daae, Christiern den f^rstes
norske Historic, p. 109 ; Historiske Skildringer, p. 33 ff.

74 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

consideration of the cession of the Hebrides according to the treaty
of Perth, and also the unpaid arrear of this annuity. Of the 60,000
gulden to be paid as dowry only 10,000 should be paid immediately,
and as security for the balance he mortgaged the Orkneys to Scot-
land by a document dated September 8, 1468. When a fleet arrived
in Copenhagen to bring the. bride home, he was not able to pay more
than 2000 gulden, and as security for the remaining 8000 he also
included the Shetland Islands in the mortgage, 1469. All this was
done without consulting the Norwegian Council, and as these debts
were never paid, the mortgaged islands were annexed to Scotland, and
Norway was thus made to pay the whole expense of the marriage of
the king's daughter.^

King Christian I. was a tall and stately man, fond of luxury and
display. R. Keyser characterizes him as follows : " He was a shrewd
statesman according to the standards of his times, but he lacked
sincerity and mental depth. He was active, but cannot be called
a good ruler ; he was brave without being a great general ; he was,
finally, such a wretched manager of the finances of his kingdoms that
the Swedes very aptly called him 'the bottomless purse.' " ^ In his
administrative policy he was guided by family interests and love of
power and dominion rather than by true concern for the welfare of
his realm and the happiness of his subjects. The j'ear after his
coronation as king of Norway, we find him engaged in a war with
Sweden, which was begun for the most trivial reasons, the real cause
being jealousy and rivalry between the two kings. An armed force
from Norway attacked Vermland even before war had been declared,
but in 1452 Karl Knutsson formally declared war against Christian
I. and marched with an army into Skane. Tr0ndelagen was occupied
by a Swedish force under Goran Karlsson, and another attack was
directed against Bohus in southeastern Norway.^ An armistice was
concluded in 1453, which lasted for two years, but in 1455 the war
was renewed.

Karl Knutsson was a weak and unpopular king. He had

^Fredrik Soheel, 0rkn^erne og Hjaltland i Pantscettelsestiden 1469-1667,
Historisk Tidsskrifl, femte rsekke, vol. III., p. 381 ff.

* R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Hislorie under Katholicismen, II., p. 569 f.
^ Ludvig Daae, Kong Christiern den J^rstea norske Historic.

II CHRISTIAN I. AND KARL KNUTSSON 75

failed to secure the throne of Norway, Gothland had been taken
by Christian L, and he had many powerful opponents among the
nobles, who reluctantly had placed him on the throne. In 1457
his old enemy, Archbishop Jons of Upsala, nailed a proclamation on
the door of the cathedral, renouncing his allegiance to him. Stock-
holm was quickly invested, and Karl Knutsson, who found the
situation hopeless, fled to Danzig, where he was harbored by King
Casimir IV. of Poland. Christian I., who by fair promises had
gained strong support among the nobility, was placed on the throne
of Sweden. In 1460 he was also elected Duke of Holstein and Count
of Schleswig and Stormarn, whereby these provinces were united
with the crown of Denmark. No king in the North had ever ruled
so large a realm as the one now united under his scepter, but it was
loosely knit together and badly governed. The outward greatness
represented no corresponding internal strength. J. E. Sars says :
"Never has Norway been governed so wretchedly as under the first
king of a dynasty which, to such a remarkable degree, should become
the object of the Norwegian people's loyalty and devotion. The
thirty-one years during which this king ruled belong to the saddest in
our history, not only because of the many harmful measures due to
his weakness and recklessness, his lack of will and ability to do his
duty to Norway, but also of the perfect tranquillity which continued
to exist in spite of his maladministration. But that great ill-will
had been quietly stored up became manifest when the king died." ^
In Sweden King Christian's government was no less unpopular
than in Norway. His purse was always empty, and as he agreed
to pay claims to the heirs of the former princes of Schleswig-Holstein
to the amount of 103,000 gulden, he resorted to the levying of heavy
taxes and loans, secured by mortgages in castles and crown lands, to
increase his revenues. These heavy burdens created the greatest
discontent. In 1463, while the king tried to levy an extra tax for
an expedition against Russia, a revolt broke out, led by Archbishop
Jons of Upsala, who was an irreconcilable opponent both of Karl
Knutsson and the Danes. The uprising was suppressed with great
severity, and the archbishop was brought captive to Dermaark, but
King Christian returned home only to find that new trouble had
1 J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historic, III., p. 159 fif.

76 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

broken out. In the winter of 1464 he led an army into Sweden,
but was defeated at Helleskog by the Swedish peasants under Sten
Sture. When he also found that Stockholm was closely besieged,
he abandoned the campaign and returned home. Karl Knutsson
was recalled, but Archbishop Jons, who had returned from his cap-
tivity, stirred up his partisans against him, and when he found the
situation as hopeless as before, he formally abdicated, promised
never again to aspire to the throne, and retired to his estates in Fin-
land, 1465. The ambitious archbishop was now chosen regent,
but he did not long retain the high office, as other nobles also aspired
to the honor. The following year Eirik Axelsson Thott succeeded
him, and the crafty prelate died soon after on the island of Oland,
"poor and in exile; mourned by none, hated by many, and feared by
all." ^ Karl Knutsson again became king of Sweden, but Christian
I. would not give up the hope of regaining the Swedish throne, an
aim which had become more difficult of attaining since the struggle
was no longer a mere contest between rival aspirants to the throne,
but a patriotic endeavor of the Swedish people to rid themselves of
Danish overlordship. On his death-bed Karl Knutsson exhorted the
people to fight to the utmost against the Danes, and Sten Sture,
who was chosen regent by the Council, rallied the people round his
standards to fight for the national cause. King Christian does not
seem to have fully grasped the situation. In 1471 he arrived before
Kalmar with a fleet of seventy ships, and advanced a little later to
Stockholm. He still hoped to accomplish his purpose through nego-
tiations, but if this failed, he trusted in his armed knights. He
landed his forces, and took up a strong position at Brunkeberg, but
on the 10th of October he was attacked by Sten Sture, and suffered a
crushing defeat. Christian himself was brought to his ships severely
wounded. The victory was decisive; Sweden had successfully
maintained her independence.

In 1474 King Christian made a journey to Rome with a large
escort. In Rotenburg in Germany he visited Emperor Frederick
III., who received him well, hoping to gain his support against
Charles the Bold and the Turks. The Emperor united Holstein and
Stormarn into a dukedom, into which he also incorporated Dit-
^ O. A. Pverland, Norges Historic, vol. V., p. 161.

II THE REIGN OF KING HANS (jOHN) 77

marsken, which had hitherto been an independent repubhc, and this
new duchy of Holstein he granted King Christian I. as a fief, evi-
dently for the purpose of gaining his good will. Why Christian under-
took this journey is not known, and little good came of it. His
expenses were large, and when he came to Italy, he had to borrow
money from the Hanseatic merchants, who were wilhng enough to
grant him the necessary loans, knowing that they would be able to
obtain charters and trade privileges in return. By a letter of Sep-
tember 6, 1474, the king annulled all restrictions placed on the trade
of the Hanseatic merchants in Oslo and Tunsberg, "for the good
will and love which the Rostock merchants had shown him," and
confirmed all the privileges which had been granted them by his
predecessors. In 1469 he had issued a letter which insured them
against competition from the Hollanders, by restricting the trade of
Holland merchants in Bergen to one or two cargoes a year. King
Christian had dihgently sought to please the Hanseatic merchants,
and to maintain their hated commercial monopoly. In vain the
people of Bergen complained of outrages committed by them. The
king would not be annoyed. He suffered the laws to sleep and his
own pledges to remain a dead letter, but the ill-will created by his
wretched rule did not find expression until after his death, which
occurred May 22, 1481.

13. The Reign of King Hans (John)

At the time of King Christian's death his son and successor Hans
was twenty-six years old. As early as 1458 the Norwegian Council
had made a written promise that he should succeed his father on the
throne of Norway. "When it shall please God," says the letter,
"to call our gracious lord from this world, then will we in love and
obedience accept and receive his eldest son, if God lets him live ; but
if he dies, then his gracious son who is the next oldest, son after son,
to whom we now, one after another with this our open letter and
power pay homage and receive as our rightful lord and king of Nor-
way, and we will faithfully serve and obey him." ^ In 1480 this

^ Diplomatarium Norwegicum, III., no. 842. Christian I. had four sons:
Knut and Olav, who died in childhood, and Hans and Frederick, who sur-
vived hina.

78 HISTOEY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

promise was renewed by the Norwegian Council in Halmstad, where
Hans was made coregent with his father.^ Even in his father's
lifetime he had been in Norway, where he had exercised royal ad-
ministrative authority, and had styled himself "The son of King
Christian, elected King of Denmark, and rightful Heir to the throne
of Norway," but when Christian died, the Norwegians showed no
inclination to accept Hans as their king in spite of these promises.
Misgovernment had made them cautious, and they were now fully
determined to seek redress for past wrongs before another king was
placed on the throne. On February 1, 1482, sixteen members of the
Norwegian Council entered into an agreement with deputies from
Sweden that the two kingdoms should aid one another in defending
their rights and liberties, and that in the election of a king neither
should take any step not sanctioned by the Council of the other.
The Norwegian councilors at the same time issued a letter in which
they recounted the injuries which the kingdom of Norway had suffered
in King Christian's reign : the mortgaging of the Orkney and Shet-
land islands, the outrages committed in Bergen by the Hanseatic
merchants in 1455, when no attempt was made by the king to punish
the guilty parties, the privileges granted by Christian I. to the Ger-
man cities, the harmful journeys by which the Council had been
compelled to leave the kingdom, the numerous wars which had been
forced upon the people without the consent of the Council, that the
revenues of the kingdom had been sent out of the country, that
Bohus and other fiefs had been granted to foreigners against the advice
of the Council, and that these foreigners had received greater powers
and privileges in Christian's time than ever at any time before.
" When we made complaints against the foreigners, we could receive
no justice, but if one of our own citizens broke the laws, he was most
severely punished." ^ This indictment of the late king breathes a
bitter resentment which could not easily be appeased.

In former elections the Danish Council had at times acted too
hastily ; this time it proceeded with greater caution. The situation

^ J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historie, III., p. 160. R. Keyser,
Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, II., p. 570, 580.

* Hadorph, Tv& gambla Rijmkrdnikor, Bihang, p. 302 fl,, quoted by J. E.
Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historic, III., p. 161.

n THE REIGN OP KING HANS (JOHN) 79

was diflScult. Sweden had already broken away from the union,
the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein were but loosely connected with
the crown, and in Norway great dissatisfaction prevailed. Under
these circumstances Denmark could not proceed to elect a king
alone without incurring the risk of destroying the union. In August,

1482, the Danish and Swedish councilors met at Kalmar, where they
agreed that peace should exist between the two kingdoms, and that
they should be united under the same king, but the Swedes would
not elect a king, as the Norwegian councilors were not present. A
new meeting was to be assembled at Halmstad,, January 13, 1483, as
it was hoped that Norway would then be represented. In the mean-
time the Danes tried to persuade the Norwegian councilors to join
them in electing Hans, but this they would not do until they received
full assurance of redress of grievances. They were especially ag-
grieved, because a Danish noble, J0rgen Larensson, had been made
commandant of Bohus castle without the consent of the Council.
They determined to drive away the hated commandant by force,
and the people of the neighboring districts rallied to their support.
The Council wrote to their Swedish colleagues complaining of the
humiliations and grievances which Norway had suffered. The
Danes urged the Norwegians to desist from the siege of Bohus castle,
but the councilors replied in a second letter to their Swedish brethren
that " it would be a harmful peace if each realm did not maintain its
rights at home, or defend its own thanes and territories. According
to the terms of the act of union, each kingdom should aid the other
herein instead of placing obstacles in its way." ^ The Swedes gave
them no support in the attack on Bohus, but invited them to meet
with the Swedish and Danish councilors in Halmstad, January 13,

1483, to negotiate regarding the interests and welfare of the three
realms.^ The besiegers were unable to capture the strong castle,
and as the Danes removed the commandant, the Council found that
under the circumstances they could do no better than to attend the
Halmstad conference. Sixteen Danes and nine Norwegians met on

^ J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historie, III., p. 162. Hadorph, Tva
gambla Rijmkrdnikor, Bihang, p. 309 f.

2 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, III., no. 939. Hadorph, Tvd, gambla Rijm-
krdnikor, Bihang, p. 314 f.

80 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

the date fixed. Two weeks later four Swedish delegates arrived,
but as they had no power to participate in the election of a king, the
Danes and Norwegians chose Hans to be king of Denmark and
Norway, and issued a charter according to which he should rule
both kingdoms. In this document, signed and sworn to by the king,
every precaution seems to have been taken to safeguard the privileges
of the church, to guarantee the laws, liberties, and full equality of
the two kingdoms, and to secure full assurance of redress of griev-
ances. The king promised to maintain the rights and privileges of
the church and the clergy as they had been confirmed by the Pope,
and to rule each kingdom according to its own laws and charters.
No foreigners should be made members of the Council of the King-
dom, nor should castles or fiefs be granted to foreigners, but the king-
dom should be ruled by native-born men. No taxes should be
levied, no city, castle, lands, or fiefs should be mortgaged or sold,
no officials appointed, no one should be made a member of the
Council, no privileges should be granted to foreign merchants except
by the advice and consent of the Council of the Kingdom. Each
kingdom should have its own archives and treasury, and each should
mint its own coin, which should be of equal value. The king should
spend an equal length of time in each kingdom, and when he was not
present in the realm, a commission consisting of four members of the
Council should have full authority to maintain law and order. The
king also promised to redeem the lands and revenues belonging to
the kingdom of Norway, which had been alienated in the reign of his
father. King Christian I., and to see that full restitution was made
for the outrages committed in Bergen against Olav Nilsson and others.
The Norwegian Council, furthermore, was to meet once every two
years in Bergen and Oslo alternately, whether the king was present
in the kingdom or not, and the king pledged himself to sanction and
enforce all its decrees.^

King Hans was crowned in Copenhagen, May 18, 1483, and in
Trondhjem July 20 of the same year.

1 C. G. Styffe, Bidrag til Skandinaviens Hislorie, IV., p. Ix. Yngvar
Nielsen, Det norske Rigsraad, p. 341. Arild Huitfeldt, Kong Hans, p. 37 ff.
King Hans' charter is found in Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og
Historie, vol. IV., p. 347 flf.

II THE REIGN OF KING HANS (jOHN) 81

In Sweden the able Sten Sture was regent. He did not attempt
to seize the crown, as Karl Knutsson had done, but he did not favor
the election of Hans, and seems to have opposed a union with Den-
mark on any conditions. The councilors had, indeed, agreed to a
union with Denmark and Norway under a joint king, but in consent-
ing to accept Hans as king of Sweden, they submitted a charter
which would place all power in the hands of the nobles, and reduce
the king to a mere name. As these terms could not be accepted by
the Danish councilors, no choice was made, and the question con-
tinued to be agitated. Sten Sture was supported by the common
people, but the nobles opposed him, and in order to drive him from
power, they organized a strong party of opposition against him,
and turned to King Hans for aid. Sture, who still championed
Swedish independence, would not yield, and war broke out in 1497.
The struggle could not last long, as the forces placed in the field by
King Hans and his supporters were too strong to be successfully
resisted. Elfsborg was taken, and a large Danish army advanced
against Kalmar. Sture hastened to Stockholm to defend the capital,
but the Danes seized Brunkeberg, and after defeating a force of Dal-
karlean peasants who were marching to his aid, they took Stock-
holm; Elfsborg fell, and Sture was forced to give up the struggle.
On November 25, 1497, Hans was proclaimed king of Sweden, and
the union of the three kingdoms was again estabHshed, although
Sweden, as represented by Sten Sture's party, had entered into the
new compact as a most unwilling partner. In order to make the union
stable and permanent, the Swedish Council agreed that Prince Chris-
tian, the son of King Hans, should succeed his father on the throne,
and he was formally hailed as heir to the throne of Sweden at Stock-
holm in 1499.

The commercial affairs of the North were at this time in a
chaotic state. Hostilities had broken out between England and
Denmark-Norway, because English merchants continued to trade
with Iceland, although the trade with the Norwegian colonies
was a crown monopoly. In Norway the ill-will against the Han-
seatic merchants had been increased by the outrages in Bergen, and the
murder of Olav Nilsson in 1455, to such a degree that in the charter
issued by King Hans in 1483 most important trade regulations were
VOL. 11 — a

82 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

made, which, if carried out, would have destroyed the commercial
monopoly of the Hanseatic League. Merchants from all countries
should be allowed to trade in Norway without hindrance, and the
Hollanders, especially, should enjoy the same freedom as of old, but
the Hanseatic merchants should not be allowed to carry on trade
with Iceland, nor should the king grant any privileges to foreign
merchants, except with the advice of the Council.^ Liibeck and the
other Hansa towns understood what the ultimate result would be if
this provision was carried into effect, and a struggle began between
Denmark-Norway and the Hanseatic cities, which resulted in the
discomfiture of the Hanseatic League in the first part of the next
century. The contest, which began as diplomatic negotiations, soon
turned into a struggle between buccaneers, supported secretly or
openly by both sides, and finally it developed into an open war in
which large fleets fought great naval battles. During the buccaneer-
ing activity in the early part of the conflict, the Baltic and the North
Sea were swept by professional corsairs like Pining and Pothorst,
and great damage was done to commerce. Loud complaints were
made, especially by the Hanseatic merchants of London, of these
freebooters, who preyed extensively on English commerce ; but peace-
ful conditions gradually returned only after Denmark and Norway
in 1489 modified the charter regarding trade in the interest of the
Hanseatic merchants. On January 20, 1490, King Hans and Henry
VIL of England concluded a treaty of peace and friendly intercourse
between their realms. The trade with Iceland was made free, not
only for the English, but also for the Hollanders and the Hanseatic
cities.^

King Hans had been willing enough to subscribe to charters, but
in the keeping of them he emulated his father King Christian I. He
had agreed not to grant castles or fiefs to foreigners, but in his reign
Danish nobles held Akershus, Bohus, and Bergen ; the Dane Anders
Muus became Bishop of Oslo,^ and another, Erick Valkendorf, was

* B. E. Bendixen, Tyske Haandverkere paa norsk Orund i Middelalderen,
Skrifter udgivet af Videnskabs-Selskabet i Christiania, 1911. King Hans'
charter, Samlinger HI det norske Folks Sprog og Historic, IV., p. 347 ff. Arild
Huitfeldt, Kong Hans, p. 9.

" Diplomatarium Norwegicum, VI., no. 609.

' R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, II., p. 594.

II THE REIGN OF KING HANS (jOHN) 88

made Archbishop of Trondhjem. Now as before the charters re-
mained a dead letter, though the king had pledged himself in the
strongest terms to rule according to them. No such overt harm was
done the kingdom in Hans' reign as in that of his predecessor, but
the disappointment was, nevertheless, great and the dissatisfaction
general. Danish lensmcend and fogeds still remained in charge of the
local administration, though the charter stated that the kingdom
should be ruled by native-born men, and as these foreign officials
used their office to enrich themselves, they often treated the people
with intolerable injustice. The binder knew how to resist. When
their patience was exhausted, they seized the fogeds and put them to
death.^ They lacked neither the will nor the ability to defend their
rights, but there were no leaders like Sten Sture in Sweden to organize
a general uprising, and give it a national consecration. The leading
men of the kingdom were divided into two parties, one favoring Den-
mark, and the other Sweden, but there was no national Norwegian
party to maintain the autonomy of the realm and the chartered
rights of the people. The leader of the Danish party at this time
was Hartvig Krumedike, commandant of Bohus castle, and a special
favorite of the king. The leader of the Swedish party was Knut
Alvsson, commandant of Akershus castle, who on the mother's side
was of Swedish descent. The fight between the nobles and their
adherents has been interpreted by some writers as a national struggle
in which Knut Alvsson represented the cause of Norwegian national
independence, but this episode can scarcely be regarded as anything
but a feud between rival factions without any deeper national sig-
nificance. Alvsson lacked the qualities of a leader, and the struggle
with Krumedike seems to have been inspired by personal enmity
rather than by lofty ideas of an independent Norway.^ The direct

^ O. A, 0verland, Norges Historie, V., p. 189 flf.

2 "There is nothing to indicate that Knut Alvsson was prominent in any
respect except through his wealth and family connections. In a contem-
porary Danish chronicle he is characterized as a simple-minded man, a tool in
the hands of Swedish traitors, i.e. the anti-union party in Sweden with the
regent, Sten Sture, at its head, and there is reason to believe that this char-
acterization agrees with actual conditions." J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den
norske Historie, III., p. 171. See also R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes His-
torie under Katholicismen, II., p. 590.

84 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

cause of this revolt was a local disturbance in Romerike, where the
foged, Lasse Skjold, had so exasperated the people by his extortions
that they rose against him, and put him to death. The uprising,
although not dangerous, assumed such proportions that Knut
Alvsson, who was commandant of Akershus, feared that he would
be unable to cope with it, and he asked Henry Krumedike of Bohus
for aid. Krumedike not only failed to respond, but it seems that
he had succeeded in arousing the king's suspicion as to Alvsson's
loyalty, and that he had been secretly encouraged by the king to
watch his movements. Alvsson lost the king's favor; he was
relieved of his command of Akershus, and a Danish noble, Peder
Griis, was appointed to succeed him. A bloody feud ensued, and
Alvsson turned to Sweden for aid. He raised an armed force in
that kingdom, and made a raid into Norway, but he was driven
back by the king's adherents. Those who were dissatisfied flocked
to his standards, and Erick Gyldenstjerne, the Danish commandant
of Elf sborg, joined him ; hkewise, also, Nils Ravaldsson of Olavsborg
in Viken. Akershus, Tunsberg,^ Marstrand, and Sarpsborg were
taken, and Krumedike was striving to hold his own at Bohus. King
Hans could not come to Norway, but he sent his son Christian, now
twenty-one years old, to take command.^ The prince showed a most
resolute spirit, and soon got the situation under control. Bohus
was relieved, and Gyldenstjerne surrendered Elfsborg after a few
days' siege, though a Swedish army under Alvsson had arrived in
the neighborhood to support him. When he arrived in the Swedish
camp, he was killed by the angry soldiers, who looked upon him as a
traitor. After an expedition into Vermland, Prince Christian re-
turned to Denmark, leaving Krumedike in command. Timsberg
was soon captured, and Knut Alvsson hastened to the support of
Akershus, but as he feared the outcome of an armed conflict, he
decided to try negotiations. Provided with a safe-conduct, he
boarded Krumedike's ship. But a quarrel between the rivals ensued,
and Alvsson was slain, 1502. For this misdeed Krumedike was

* Ludvig Daae, Historisk Tidsskrtft, vol. I., p. 500 ff. The castle of
Tunsberghus was destroyed in this feud.

* Iver Hesselberg, Christian den anden i Norge, Samlinger til det norske
Folks Sprog og Historie, II., p. 3 flf.

n THE REIGN OF KING HANS (jOHN) 85

compelled to leave Norway, and the uprising was not put down till
1504.

In 1506 Prince Christian returned to Norway with full royal ^
power. ^ He was a man of great energy and ability, influenced by
the new ideas of humanism and the Renaissance. Disposed by nature
to brook no restraint, he paid little attention to conventionalities.
In Bergen he became enamored with a fair damsel, Dyveke (the
little dove), whose mother, Sigbrit Villums, was shopkeeper in the
city. She was introduced to the prince at a ball, and being greatly
impressed with her rare beauty, "he danced with her," says the old
historian, "and this was the cause of his dancing away from these
three kingdoms, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway." This is un-
doubtedly an exaggeration, but Dyveke became his mistress, and
the attachment of the prince for the girl and her mother plays an
important part in his reign. In pubUc as in private life he was
guided by his own impulses, which inclined him to favor the common
people. He soon became their favorite, and many a goblet of ale
was drunk to the health of the good Prince Christian. He sought to
encourage Norwegian trade, and granted the merchants of Amster-
dam permission to trade in Bergen and everywhere in Norway.^
In 1508 he annulled the special privileges of the Rostock merchants
in Oslo and Tunsberg, and granted them the same rights as native
citizens, when they settled permanently in the city, and bore their
share of the public burdens. The following year he placed important
restrictions upon the Hanseatic merchants of Bergen and increased
the privileges of the native traders. The castle of the city was also
rebuilt, so that the commandant ultimately became able to force the
Hanseatic factory into submission. The people of the cities might
have reason to be satisfied with Prince Christian's efforts to improve
conditions, but in the country districts the Danish fogeds were still
allowed to continue their extortionate practices unmolested. In
1508 a new revolt broke out in southeastern Norway. Under the
leadership of one of their own number, Herlog H0fudfat, the hinder
of Hedemarken rose against the Danish fogeds, slew one of them, and

^ C. F. Allen, De Ire nordiske Rigers Historie, I., p. 436, 674.

2 Yngvar Nielsen, Bergen, p. 267 ff. Arild Hmtfeldt, Danmarks Historie.

3 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, VI., no. 647.

86 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

drove away another. Christian suppressed the revolt with the cruel
severity usually practiced in those days, when the rulers knew better
how to punish offenses than to remove thfeir cause. The leaders of
the uprising were captured and brought to Akershus, where they
were put to the torture and executed as traitors. The heads of the
unfortunate offenders were put on stakes, and exhibited to the gaze
of the multitude ; that of Herlog H0fudfat was placed in the center
and crowned in mockery with an iron crown. Even Bishop Karl of
Hamar, who on very slight evidence was held to be implicated in the
uprising, was thrown into prison, and it is a singular manifestation
of the growing weakness of the church that he was suffered to remain
incarcerated till his death without being convicted of any wrong-
doing, even without being granted a trial. ^ This unnecessary harsh-
ness reveals in the prince an innate cruelty, an irresponsible fierce-
ness of temper, which proved his undoing after years of struggles
had fully awakened the bloodthirstiness of his savage heart. In
his administration of state affairs Prince Christian was as despotic
as he was hard-hearted in dealing with opponents and offenders.
The Council was almost wholly disregarded, and could exercise no
influence ; Norwegian nobles were deprived of their fiefs, and Danes
were appointed in their place in open violation of the charters. The
kingdom was not ruled by native-born officials according to the
charters, but by the king with the aid of the Danish nobles, while
the power of the Council was chiefly limited to judicial matters.^
But Christian's impulsive nature and democratic manners had gained
for him a reputation as the people's friend, and he became a great
favorite of the common classes,^ a distinction of which he was not
wholly undeserving ; for though a tyrant at heart, he possessed an
instinctive appreciation of justice, and as his habits inclined him to
favor the common people, he often championed their rights, if for
no other reason than out of spite against the nobles, whom he hated.
The kingdom of Sweden was tied to King Hans and the union by

^ Ludvig Daae, Biskop Karl af Hamar, Historisk Tidsskrift, f jerde rsekke,
III., p. 327 £f.

^ Yngvar Nielsen, Det norske Rigsraad, p. 305.

' R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, II., p. 595 ff.
Danmarks Riges Historie, III., p. 116 ff. J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske
Historie, III., p. 175. H. Behrmann, Kong Kristiern den andens Historie.

n THE REIGN OP KING HANS (jOHN) S7

very slender threads of loyalty, and these were suddenly rent by the
king's unfortunate expedition to Ditmarsken.

It has already been stated elsewhere that Emperor Frederick III.
incorporated this province together with Stormarn in the duchy of
Holstein, which he granted King Christian I. of Denmark in 1474.
Ditmarsken was a marshy district between the rivers Elbe and
Eider, protected against inundations by great dikes along the North
Sea. The land had to be ditched and drained, but as the Ditmarskers
were industrious and intelligent, their land was well tilled, and their
country was a republic, where the people governed themselves. To
the rapacious nobility and land-hungry kings this morsel was very
tempting, but King Christian died before he could take possession
of it. King Hans was determined to make good his claim, and the
nobles joined his standards in unusually large numbers in anticipation
of the rich booty which they were sure to secure. In 1500 Hans
marched against Ditmarsken with an army of 15,000 men, consisting
of nobles and German mercenaries.^ The Ditmarskers retreated
before this large force, but on the road to Hemmingstedt, their
leader. Wolf Isebrand, fortified himself with a force of 500 men, and
placed some guns in position. When King Hans arrived on Feb-
ruary 17th, rain was falling in torrents, and the Danish army was
crowded together on the narrow road, on either side of which were
broad ditches filled with water. The Ditmarskers opened fire. The
Danes could neither advance nor retreat, and a fearful panic ensued.
All order and discipline vanished, and the army was converted into
a struggling mass of horses and men trying in vain to extricate them-
selves. The horses sank to their knees in the mud, or tumbled head-
long with their riders into the ditches. The spirited attack of the
Ditmarskers sealed the doom of the entrapped army. The dikes
were cut, and the North Sea rolled its billows over the marshy plains,
while the peasants jumped around on their long poles, dealing death
and destruction on every hand. The king escaped, but the army
was destroyed ; the Danebrog banner was lost, and enormous quan-
tities of suppHes fell into the hands of the Ditmarskers.^

^ The statement made by old writers that the army numbered 30,000 men
has long since been discarded as erroneous.

* Chr. Molbeck, Historie om Ditmarskerkrigen i 1500, Copenhagen, 1813.

88 mSTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE IJ

King Hans' defeat made a deep impression on the whole North.
In Sweden, where the people had grown restive under his rule, because
he had failed to keep his promise to rule according to the charters,
his discomfiture caused great excitement, and soon a well-organized
revolt was set on foot. Sten Sture was again chosen regent, and the
castles through the country were seized in rapid succession until
only Borghohn and Kalmar remained in the hands of the king's
adherents. Stockholm was ably defended by Queen Christina.
The city was treacherously surrendered to Sten Sture in the fall of
1501, but not till in the spring, when all stores were exhausted, did
the brave queen surrender the castle. King Hans himself arrived
the day after with a fleet of thirty vessels, too late to be of any
service. When Sten Sture died in 1503, Svante Sture was chosen
to succeed him. An armistice was concluded, and the Councils of
the three kingdoms should meet at Kalmar to negotiate a settlement
of the difficulties, but Svante Sture did not appear, and in 1506
hostilities were revived.

As Denmark was again becoming a naval power, the campaigns
of the next three years were largely waged on the sea. King Hans
had hired ship-builders in Holland, and many vessels were added to
the fleet every year. In 1502 he came to Stockholm with thirty
ships ; in 1505 he arrived in Kalmar with twice that number. Den-
mark was beginning to develop the royal navy which in future
years was to be her main strength. The islands of Oland and Goth-
land, which were still in the hands of the Danes, afforded them a
most favorable vantage ground, whence their able sea-captains, Jens
Holgerss0n, Otto Rud, and S0ren Norby whom the king had made
chief commander of the royal fleet, harried the Swedish coasts, and
swept the Baltic Sea clean of merchant vessels going to and from
Sweden. S0ren Norby captured Kastelholm in the Aland Islands,
and Otto Rud ravaged the coasts of Finland and sacked Abo. The
plan was to destroy all commerce with Sweden, and starve the king-
dom into submission. In 1509 the leaders of the Swedish uprising
had to yield. They promised to pay the king 12,000 marks, and his
queen, Christina, 1000 marks a year until the Councils of the three
realms could assemble in joint meeting to place either King Hans or
his son Christian on the throne of Sweden ; but the peace did not last

n LITERATURE AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE 89

long. In 1510 Liibeck declared war against King Hans, and Sweden
seized the opportunity to join the Hanseatic cities on the Baltic
coast in a coalition against Denmark. Jens Holgerss0n, who was made
commander of the Danish fleet, fought a great naval battle with the
Liibeckers off Bornholm, August 9, 1511. The combat was in-
decisive, both sides claiming the victory. A second battle took place
on the 14th of the same month near the coast of Mecklenburg with
the same result. The next year Liibeck made peace on terms very
favorable to Denmark; the Hanseatic cities could no longer claim
naval supremacy in the North.

The creation of a navy was the one great service which King Hans
rendered the kingdom of Denmark. In his efforts to subdue Sweden
he was unsuccessful. Svante Sture died in 1512, but Sten Sture
the Younger was chosen to succeed him as regent, and when peace
was concluded in 1512, Sweden renewed the promises of 1509, but the
union was not reestablished. In 1513 King Hans died, quite suddenly,
fifty-eight years of age.

14. Literature and Intellectual Life in the Fourteenth
AND Fifteenth Centuries

In Norway, as elsewhere in the Middle Ages, the church was the
custodian of the higher intellectual culture, as well as of the religious
training of the people. As the kingdom had no university, the only
seats of learning were the cathedral or Latin schools connected with
the cathedral chapters. According to universal practice, each
cathedral maintained a higher school (cathedral school) under the
leadership of a scholasticus, or schoolmaster, where the students were
instructed in the branches necessary for those who were to take
holy orders. Most of the parish priests had received their training
in the cathedral schools, aside from the private tuition by which they
were prepared to enter the schools, and their own diligent study in
the libraries connected with the cathedrals. Those who wished to
get a university training had to go abroad. In the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries Paris, Orleans, Prague, and Bologna were much
frequented by Norwegian students; and later Oxford, Cambridge,
Louvain, Leyden, Cologne, Leipzig, and others were also sought.

90 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE fl

In 1418 the University of Rostock was founded, and because of the
lively commercial intercourse which the Hanseatic merchants main-
tained with the North, the Norwegian students found it most con-
venient to go to Rostock, which in a sense became the University of
Norway.^ The cathedral chapters maintained here a separate resi-
dence for the Norwegian students, the Domus Sancti Olavi, and the
university records show that they attended in considerable numbers.
Even after the University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479, the
Norwegian students continued to go to Rostock,^ until after the Refor-
mation, when the University of Wittenberg became especially attrac-
tive to Lutherans. Not till in the seventeenth century, when the
kings by royal decrees made it difficult for Norwegians and Danes to
visit foreign universities, did the stream of Norwegian students turn
to Copenhagen.

The union with Denmark only served to retard the development
of learning and higher culture in Norway, as Copenhagen became the
center of intellectual life of both kingdoms. Norway did not receive
a university hke Denmark and Sweden, and while the art of printing
was introduced very early in Denmark, it was not brought to Nor-
way for some time, since the books used continued to be printed in
Copenhagen or other Danish or foreign cities. The historian Suhm
says : " In the time of King Hans the art of printing was brought
hither. In 1486 the first Latin book was printed in the city of
Schleswig, in 1493 in Copenhagen, and in 1495 the first Danish book
was printed in the same city, both by Godfrid of Ghenen. In Latin,

^ Ludvig Daae, Matrikler over nordiske Studerende ved fremmede Univer-
siteter, Christiania, 1885. Chr. Lange, Matrikel over norske Studerende ved
Rostocks Universitet, Norske Samlinger, vol. I., p. 72 ff. A. Chr. Bang,
Udsigt over den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, p. 180 ff.

Poor students could generally receive financial aid. In Catholic times
the tithes were divided into foiu* parts, so that the king, the chiu-eh, the
priest, and the poor should receive an equal portion ; but the hinder re-
served the right to control the portion falling to the poor, hence it was called
bondelodden, i.e. the binder's portion. By the statute of December 20, 1436,
it was ordained that half of this portion should be used for the support of
poor students. T. H. Aschehoug, De norske Communers Retsforfatning f^r
1837, p. 83.

* Pedeir Friedrioh Suhm, Samlede Skrifter, VIII., p. 23. Many students
from the North also attended the University of Greifswald, founded in 1456.
The University of Upsala, Sweden, was founded in 1477.

11 LITERATURE AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE 91

Danish, and Low-German we have some chronicles from those times
written in Denmark and Holstein. Christian Pedersen, Canon in
Lund, was a remarkable man. He was the first to print Saxo Gram-
maticus in Paris. Of the New Testament we received a few Danish
translations, and Wormordius translated the Psalter into Danish.
Christian 11. was a lover of medicine and alchemy, and he forbade
any of his subjects to visit foreign universities until they had become
baccalaurei in Copenhagen." ^ In Norway no such progress was
made. A few books were, indeed, written, but they were either printed
abroad — especially in Copenhagen, Paris, and Rostock — or they
were left unpubhshed,^ The first Norwegian printing establishment
was set up in Christiania by Tyge Nielsen in 1643, in which year he
printed three small books, "Encke suck," "En merkelig vise," and
"En ny almanach."^

After the Old Norse literary period came to a close about 1350,
the Norwegian language underwent a rapid change, which, in the
Middle Norse period, 1350-1525, transformed it in all essential re-
spects into modern Norwegian. This change seems to have been
due in part to the almost total interruption of the old literary activity,
which had hitherto maintained a literary language more or less
divergent from the spoken tongue. But in general the change
parallels the development of other European languages, and must
be viewed as part of a great linguistic movement. The new Nor-
wegian was not destined, however, like other modern tongues, to
become a literary language. This was prevented by the union with
Denmark, which grew to be intellectual as well as political. The
two kingdoms had, indeed, been united on equal terms, but the
king and court resided in Denmark, and after 1450 Danish was
exclusively used as the ofiicial language even in purely Norwegian

1 Peder Friedrich Suhm, Samlede Skrifter, VIII., p. 357 ff.

2 Suhm mentions two important books which yet remained unpublished
in his day; one a record of the estates of the churches of Oslo, called the
"Red Book," by Canon Hans Olson, 1521; and the other a work writ-
ten about Norway, Norges Beskrivelse, by Absalon Peders0n Beyer about
1550, and these were not the only ones. Suhm, Samlede Skrifter, VII., p.
25 ff.

^ Suhm, Samlede Skrifter, VII., p. 25. Norsk Konversations-Leksikon,
vol. I., ^'Bogtrykkerkunsten."

92 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

affairs.^ A Dane, Erick Valkendorf, became Archbishop of Trond-
hjem, 1510, Danes were appointed to other high offices both in
church and state, and Danish gradually became the written language
of the upper classes. The University of Copenhagen, the Danish
publishing houses, and, finally, the Reformation, in the interest of
which Danish religious books were introduced in Norway, con-
tributed to make Danish the church and school language, as it had
already become the official language of the kingdom. In the cities,
and among the clergy and upper classes, the Danish tongue in a
greatly modified form became in time also the spoken language,
while Norwegian became the despised vernacular of the common
people. It continued to be spoken by the great majority, especially
in the country districts, but the officials; the learned classes, and the
burghers allied themselves with the Danish. To speak this language
even imperfectly was henceforth regarded as a sign of culture and
refinement, while the Norwegian tongue became a symbol of Arcadian
rusticity.

But this Danish-Norwegian city language experienced a slow
growth. Professor Halvdan Koht shows that it did not become a
living tongue in Norway till towards the close of the eighteenth cen-
tury.^ Through the unfortunate circumstance that higher culture
in Norway began to look to Denmark as its source, and thereby
became associated with a foreign language, a cleavage occurred in
the intellectual life of the nation which has not yet been fully healed.
Culturally the people were divided into two groups : the cities, who
prided themselves in their Danish-Norwegian language and higher
city culture, which was Danish in character, and grew to be clannish
in spirit ; and the country people, who spoke their own vernacular,
lived their own intellectual life, and had no share in the higher city
culture. In course of time the Danish culture, as well as the Danish
language, became nationalized through the constant influence of

1 The difference between Norwegian and Danish can be seen by comparing
the charter granted by Karl Knutsson in Trondhjem, 1449, written in Nor-
wegian (Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. VI., no. 531), and the charter
granted by Christian I. at Bergen, 1450, written in Danish (Diplomatarium
Norwegicum, vol. VIII., no. 345). Karl Knutsson's charter was the last
constitutional charter written in Norwegian.

' Syn og Segn, September, 1907, Halvdan Koht, Bokmaal og Bymaal.

11 LITERATURE AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE 93

environment, and assumed a Norwegian character, but this trans-
fonnation was slowly consummated.

The more prominent traits of intellectual life are reflected especially
clearly in the literature of the period. The creative productiveness
of the higher circles may be said to have ceased, but the educated
classes possessed a certain diligent erudition, of which we find evidence
in the numerous charters, letters, and public documents which have
been published in a large series of volumes under the title " Diplo-
matarium Norwegicum." Another large collection of laws and other
legal documents has lately been pubhshed under the title "Norges
gamle Love, anden rsekke." ^ In Iceland, where the interest in
the sagas continued to live, some important saga compilations were
made as the " Hrokkinskinna " and the "Flateyjarbok." A collec-
tion of Icelandic public documents has also been published under the
title " Diplomatarium Islandicum." This literature, produced by
the classes representing the higher culture, shows an interest in juris-
prudence, in political and commercial affairs, and learned activity,
but none whatever in history, poetry, and story-telling, in a word,
in literature properly so called. Love for the spiritless scholastic
learning had replaced the old interest for history and literary art.
But poesy was not dead. It continued to flourish, where it had
always flourished even before the Old Norse literature was produced,
among the common people. The poesy which blossomed forth among
the unlettered and unlearned classes was a direct continuation of
the best features and more popular elements of the Old Norse litera-
ture. The old spirit of the Norwegian people reasserted itself in
this new poesy, unguided, but also unhampered, by the arbitrary
rules of art, which had finally enveloped the Old Norse poetry like
a hard crust, completely arresting its development. In the Middle
Period the upper classes ceased to cultivate literature. Thereby
poesy emancipated itself from learning, and returned to its own
haunts to frolic about the fresh fountain-heads from which it was
originally led forth. It can scarcely be regarded as a misfortune
that it deserted the halls and the court circles where it had been
reduced to bondage, and fled back to the bosom of the common

^ Norges gamle Love, anden raekke, edited by Professor Absalon Taranger,
Christiania, 1912.

94 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

people, where it could begin to live again, because it found its own
necessary environment — freedom. The Middle Period of Nor-
wegian literature can scarcely be called the Dead Period, as some
critics have ventured to suggest. It is in many ways one of the
most important formative periods in Norwegian literary history,
when poetry for the first time enters fully into its own; when it
acquires the true universality of the art, and begins to express with
charming artlessness the native mysticism, the national dreams, the
joys and sorrows of the people. Even when modern Norwegian
literature began to develop, it had to turn back to this period, and
tune the harp to its melodies to find again the fundamental chords
of true poesy which the too learned poets had forgotten. The Middle
Period has not only left us one of the richest treasures among the
rich stores of poesy and prose narratives in the North, which is read
and admired even now to an extent which might make the masters
envious, but it has done Northern literature an even greater service
by rediscovering and reopening the eternal fountains of poesy,
without which the great triumphs in modern literary art might
never have been won. Had the upper classes continued to control
the literary production, their learning might have spoiled their
poetry, and we should not have had a literature so expressive of
the spirit and character of the age as the folk-tales, folk-songs, and
ballads of the common people. It would have been a literature for
the upper classes, lacking the truly national element, and it is doubt-
ful if it would have possessed the high value of the folk literature
even when measured by modern standards of art.

The folk Uterature may be divided into three main groups : the
folk-songs, the traditional and legendary tales (sagn), and the folk-
and fairy-tales (eventyr). In all of these we find a new hterary form,
as well as a new literary spirit. In the folk-songs the rhyme has
replaced the old alliterative verse, and the refrain is generally, though
not always, employed. The folk-song has adapted itself to two new
arts — music and the dance, and it is generally held, no doubt cor-
rectly, that this new poetic form had been imported together with
the latter from southern Europe. In the song-dance, which gradually
became the great diversion of the common people, the trio : poesy,
music, and dance were again united, as they had been even among

n LITERATURE AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE 95

the Greeks of old. This form of the dance originated quite early
in Norway, and in Iceland it is mentioned even in the eleventh cen-
tury.^ It was a home dance performed in the house in winter ; but
in the summer generally out of doors. All could take part ; young and
old, men and women formed a circle by holding each others' hands.
The leader sang the song, and the others joined in the refrain, while
all kept time to the melody. " And as the song proceeded, all entered
more and more into the spirit of it, and lived over again the saga
which the song narrated; the dance became dramatic." The song
was the chief thing in the dance, and all who took part were sup-
posed to know it so well that they could accompany it with motions
and facial expressions. Hulda Garborg says : " The song-dance
strengthened and revived the interest in history, since the songs so
often dealt with stories from the sagas. This pastime was especially
entertaining and useful during the long winters when the people
stayed mostly indoors. For the young people the dance also became
a school, an introduction to the old life, and a strengthening of the
love of home and kindred. The young people learned also through
the singing of the songs the good traits which the song especially
praised : courage and manhood, honesty and courtesy, chivalry,
self-sacrifice in love, and friendship unto death ; but shame and dis-
grace befell the coward and the one who was dishonest and faithless.
Often the songs stimulated the people's minds by wit and sarcasm ;
yes, the song-dance was used even as a judicial tribunal. If a man
had done something wrong, two strong men took him between them
into the dance, and let him listen to verses full of spite and mockery,
sung about his conduct. But he was allowed to reply as well as he
could, and when they thought that he had heard enough, the case
was thereby regarded as settled." In the folk-songs the epic and
lyric elements are most intimately combined. The song is usually
epic, as it narrates a story based on the sagas or other traditions, or
even on mythology. The background of the narrative is often dark
and mystic, but through the softer undertones breathes a deep feel-
ing of joy or sorrow which concentrates itself in the purely lyrical
refrain. The Faroe Islands have the greatest collection of purely

^ Hiilda Garborg, Norske Folkevisor, Norske Folkeakrifter, no. 8, Christiania,
1903 ; Songdansen i Norderlandi, 1904.

96 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

epic folk-songs found in the North. The oldest of them, and in fact
the oldest folk-songs known, are the " SjurSarkvseSi " or songs about
Sigurd Fafnesbane. In Iceland the folk-songs died out, because the
dance was forbidden by the church, and only fragments are now in
existence.^ From the Shetland Islands only one song has been pre-
served, the "Hildinakvad," written down in the eighteenth century
in a language half Norse and half English. Travelers who saw the
song-dance in these islands at that time state that here, as in the
Faroe Islands, the songs dealt especially with episodes from Nor-
wegian history. In Norway many large collections of folk-songs
have been published, and the work of collecting them is not yet
completed. Hitherto the largest and most noted collection is the
"Norske Folkeviser," by M. B. Landstad.^

The traditional tales may be divided into two main groups : the
mythological and the legendary-historical. Those of the first group
form a continuation of the myths in a disguised form, especially
those of the more popular features of the old faith which had become
most intimately connected with the people's everyday life. Thor,
the most popular of the gods, the trolls, which are but a variation
of the old j^tuns, the fairy, the mountain spirits, mermaids, elves,
etc., are still met with in these tales. The old gods had ceased
to be regarded as divinities, but they continued to live in the popular
imagination as evil spirits who exerted a powerful influence on people's
lives and destiny. The conception of the powerful Thor had been
too deeply ingrafted on the minds of the Norwegian people to be
suddenly eradicated even by a change of faith. Though no longer

1 Olafur DavISsson, Islenzkir Vikvakar og Vikivakakvcedi, 1908. V. U.
Hammershaimb, Sjurdarkvaedi, 1851. Fcer^isk Antologi, 1889.

2 Of other Norwegian collections may be mentioned : Sophus Bugge,
Gamle norske Folkeviser, 1858 ; and Viser fra ^vre Telemarken, 1859. J0rgen
Moe, Norske Viser og Stev i Folkesproget, 1840. Hans Ross, Norske Viser og
Stev. Thorvald Lammers, Norske Folkeviser med Melodier, 1901-1902. Bernt
St0ylen, Norske Barnerim og Leikar, 1899. Rikard Berge, Slev jraa Tele-
marki, 1908.

The old folk-melodies to which the folk-songs were sung have been col-
lected by Ludvig M. Lindeman, Catharinus Elling, and others. Ludvig
M. Lindeman, SO norske Kjocmpevisemelodier, Christiania, 1863. Rikard,
Berge, Norsk Visefugg, med Tonar nedskrivne af Arne Eggen, Christiania,
1904. Catharinus Elling, Norske Folkemelodier, Christiania Videnskab»-
Selakabs Skrifier, 1909.

II LITERATURE AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE 97

worshiped as a god, he continued to exercise a magic influence in
their lives. Thursday evening had yet its own significance; the
magic plants used in medicine had to be picked on Thursday evening
to have heahng quahties, and food had to be placed by the barn on
Thursday evening for the elves to gain their good will. Character-
istic was also the belief in the Aasgaardsrei,^ a fearful caravan which
was thought to ride through the air on dark, wild horses. This pro-
cession consisted of the spirits of the dead who in their natural Hfe
had not done evil enough to be condemned to hell, but who were
unhappy and without peace after death. Thor, as a spirit of evil,
Sigurd the slayer of Fafnir, and Gudrun, who has been substituted
for Hel, are the most conspicuous figures of the procession as it rides
through the air to places where fights and murders occur, to fetch
the souls of the slain. People were afraid to stand outdoors after
dark lest the A asgaardsrei should come and snatch them away;
but the sign of the cross placed on the house door was a sure pro-
tection. The legendary-historical tales are especially connected
with the national hero St. Olav, and the ravages of the Black Death.
In these stories the red-bearded St. Olav has been substituted for
the red-bearded Thor of mythology. It is St. Olav with his battle
ax who wages war against the trolls and other forces of evils, as Thor
swung his hammer Mj0lner against the j^tuns of old. Some of the
tales are religious and legendary, while others are so closely connected
with history that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish
facts from fiction. The tales relating to the Black Death have al-
ready been mentioned. To these may be added the numerous hygde-
sagn, or local traditions of more or less historic character, found in
all parts of the country.^ Ludvig Daae says of these : " The stories

1 The word Aasgaardsrei seems to be connected with O. N. gskranligr,
meaning fearful, and rei a procession on horseback, hence the fearful pro-
cession. But the meaning of the first part of the word is not clear, and
it has been variously interpreted. The story of the Aasgaardsrei is told
in a folk-song from Telemarken. See Sagnet om Aasgaardsreien by P. A.
Munch in Annaler for nor disk Oldkyndighed og Historie, 1846. O. A. Over-
land, Aasgaardsreien, " Amerika," Madison, Wis., February 27, 1901. Folke-
sagn fra Sogn, Huldrefolket og Juleskreia, " Decorah-Posten," Decorah, la.,
July 10, 1903.

2 Andreas Faye, Norske Folkesagn, 1833. P. Chr. Asbj0rnsen, Norske
Huldreeventyr og Folkesagn, 1845, 1848. Ludvig Daae, Norske Bygdesagn, I.

VOL. II — H

98 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

which we still find preserved by the inhabitants of a certain guard
(farm) through generations bear the closest resemblance to the sagas
of all popular traditions. These old traditions have often a great
value for the history of culture; even if the individual features of
the stories themselves may seem insignificant, they are of so much
the greater interest, because they have been preserved through
centuries." Many traditions of a more poetic character are also
found, some of which seem to be of foreign origin, while others orig-
inated at home during the later romantic period of the saga litera-
ture. Of such may be mentioned the tales about Hagbart and Signe,
Aslaug Kraaka, King Bele and Torstein Vikingsson, and others.^
The resemblance which these tales bear to the sagas is especially
conspicuous in the interest manifested for family relationship, and
the love of historic narrative, which soon convinces us that they are
pieces cut from the same cloth. But the old Norse art of story-tell-
ing, which had been developed in the saga period, is found also in
the folk- and fairy-tales (eventyr). As to contents these tales are
pure invention. If traced to their obscure origin, many of the tradi-
tions on which the stories are based may even be found to have been
brought from foreign lands,^ but this is of secondary importance.
The scenery, the character, temperament, and language of the
persons depicted in the narrative are not only Norwegian, but typi-
cally so. The very texture of the story is characteristic Norwe-
gian art. In southern lands the adventure was the chief feature of
the story. In the Norwegian tales the interest centers about the
character of the persons depicted. Character-painting, psychological
analysis, is as much the art secret in the folk- and fairy-tales as
it was in the sagas, and so it continues to be in Norwegian prose
narrative even to the present. The story-teller unveils to us
a character, and starts him on his career. Everj'thing, even his
boldest adventures, bear the impress of his personality and follows

and II., 1870, 1872. Halvard Bergh, Segnir fraa Valdris. M. B. Landstad,
Gamle Sagn om Hj ar td filer ne, 1880. Sir George Webbe Dasent, Popular
Tales from the Norse; Tales from the Fjeld; and, Norse Fairy Tales Selected
and Adapted from the Translation hy Sir George Webbe Dasent, by Elnowles,
lippincott Co., 1910.

* Svend Grundtvig, Gamle danske Folkeviser, vol. I.

» J0rgen Moe, Samlede Skrifter, vol. II., p. 16 ff. ; Foriale og Indledning tU
Norske Folkeeventyr, 2d edition, 1852.

n LITERATURE AND INTELLECTUAL LIFE 99

as a matter of course. Whatever he does, he must do, in a sense.
He will do good, bad, great, mean, or foolish things, not because of
circumstances, but because he is good, bad, great, mean, or foolish.
His career is not a chain of romantic accidents, but the gradual
unfolding of an inner law.

The most typical characters created by the Norwegian folk- and
fairy-tales are the three brothers Peter, Paul, and Esben Askelad.
Esben, the youngest of the three brothers, seems to be the idealized
Viking chieftain lifted into the realm of poetry. Like the Viking he
is the younger brother who finds his fortune only by leaving home.
He is young and inexperienced and has never done anything but
dig in the ashes of the fireplace. His older brothers ridicule him.
He encounters the greatest difficulties, but he finally triumphs be-
cause of superior talents, patience, and perseverance, just as many a
Viking chieftain had done, and wins the princess and half the king-
dom. We can scarcely doubt that the Norwegian people were re-
viving the memories of the Viking period in these stories about
Esben Askelad, After they had quit seeking adventures with the
sword, they began to live over again in literature the experiences of
the nation. In the sagas these experiences had been narrated as
history, in these tales they reappear as poetry. Esben becomes as
typical a representative of the Middle Period as the Viking chieftains
and warrior kings were of the Viking Age. He is no blood-stained
warrior who goes forth to kill and plunder. He is not only brave,
but also kind and sympathetic, and his very kindness is a secret
source of power which helps him in the greatest trials. In this
respect he forms a contrast to his older brothers, who have caught
nothing of the new spirit. Esben's victories were moral and intel-
lectual victories, giving promise of a new era when moral and intel-
lectual forces should begin to establish their superiority over
brute strength. This new spirit touched the heart-strings, and gave
expression to the finer feelings which the scaldic poetry had refused
to recognize. The rusty portals thereby swung open to new possi-
bilities. For the first time the poet could sing about what he had
never seen, about what might and ought to be. Poesy was no longer
chained by rules of art to past events, for imagination and feeling
had been set free. Poverty and labor, sorrow and hardships might

100 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

continue to build their prison walls; the human spirit could
rise on the wings of poesy to an ideal worid where no limitations
existed, to that beautiful castle of its own creation, " The Castle
East of the Sun and West of the Moon." ^ This enthroning of crea-
tive imagination is the beginning of poetry in a modern sense, when
it becomes a vehicle for bringing the ideal world into the realm of
human experience as a new force of life.

15. Local and General Administration

When the lendermcend office was abolished in 1308, the adminis-
tration of internal affairs was left wholly with the sysselmcend, who
were royal officials. In the fourteenth century, as already stated,
the sysselmcend were called the king's fogeds (vogt, from adwcatus,
i.e. royal agent) and it became customary to farm out to them the
royal revenues of the syssel, or district, in lieu of which they were to
pay a certain sum to the royal purse.^ The syssel might also be
granted them "kvit og frit," i.e. without returns. As the syssel-
mcend were regarded as royal agents to whom the districts were in
a way granted for administrative purposes, the syssels came to be
called lens, and the sysselmcend lensmoend, or lensherrer, while the older
term foged was applied to a class of inferior officials. The lens were
divided into smaller administrative districts called fogderier, in each
of which the lensherre appointed fogeds as the local administrative
officers. But the fogeds had to swear obedience to the king, and were
not the personal representatives of the lensherre. Under the fogeds
stood the b^nder-lensmcend, two in each fylke, who served as tax
collectors and police officials. It had been ordained by the law of
1293^ that the sysselmosnd should appoint these lensmcend from
among the most intelligent and upright hinder of the district, hence
they were called b^nder-leTismcBnd, to distinguish ihem. from the
lensmcend proper, or lensherrer. The lens were of two kinds, prin-
cipal and inferior. The principal lens were ten in number: Bohus,

^'i'Slottet 0stenfor Sol og vestenf or Maane," P. Chr. Asbj0rnsen, Norske
Folke- og Huldreeventyr. See also P. Chr. Asbj0rnsen and J0i^en Moe,
Norske Folkeeventyr, 1842.

* T, H. Aschehoug, De norske Communers Retsforfatning f^r 1837, p. 13.
Ebbe Hertzberg, Len og Veitzla, p. 308 f.

» T. H. Aschehoug, De norske Communers Retsforfatning f^r 1837, p. 10.

n LOCAL AND GENERAL ADMINISTRATION 101

Akershus, Brunla, Bratsberg, Agdesiden, Stavanger, Bergenhus,
Trondhjem, Nordland, and Vard0hus. The lensherre exercised
both civil and mihtary authority in his len, but his office was appoin-
tive, not hereditary. He was appointed for Hfe, for a fixed number
of years, or for an indefinite period, but he might be removed by the
king at any time. The royal lensmcend could only collect the fixed
and customary dues. According to the laws of 1297, 1455,^ 1539
they were forbidden to levy new taxes, or to change the tax rates
except with the consent of the people. But this very important
provision was often violated, especially by the greedy fogeds, who
forced the people to pay more than their just dues, and if anyone
resisted forcibly, he was in danger of being treated as a rebel. But
when the people assembled at the thing, they might refuse to pay a
tax even if the king had levied it. When Stig Bagge at the fylkes-
thing, in Sogndal, in 1532, read a letter from the king announcing
that a new tax had been imposed, the people took the matter under
advisement, whereupon they declared with uplifted swords that, as
they had paid heavy taxes the last year, they would pay nothing
this year until midsummer, and this resolve they maintained in spite
of the threats of the royal lensrruBnd.^ A similar action had been
taken at the fylkesthing at Halsaa in 1484.^ As both personal and
property rights were often infringed upon by the fogeds, the royal
lensmoBnd, and even by the king himself,^ the people demanded that
these rights should be safeguarded by the royal charters. By a
royal decree of June 25, 1455, the king's lensmcend and other officials
were forbidden to oppress the people, to impose unlawful taxes, or
to seize or imprison any one without due process of law. Similar
provisions are found in the Swedish charter of King Christian I.,
and in the charters issued by King Hans and his successors.^

^ T. H. Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 1814,
p. 227; De norske Communers Retsforfatning f^r 1837, p. 84.

^ T. H. Aschehoug, De norske Communers Retsforfatning f^r 1837, p. 81.
Diplomatarium Norwegicum, II., no. 1108.

^ Diplomatarium Norwegicum, IV., no. 997.

* At times the king did impose taxes without the advice or consent of the
Council, but this does not seem to have happened very often. See T. H.
Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 181 4, p. 253.

* T. H. Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 1814,
p. 226 ff. ; De norske Communers Retsforfatning f^r 1837.

102 mSTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

The thing-system still existed, but the power of lawmaking had
been gradually assumed by the king, who in such matters was suf-
fered to act in conformity with the advice of the Council. The
people's consent expressed through the thing was generally, though
not always, asked for, but it had ceased to be anything but a mere
matter of form. Perhaps the chief reason why the things ceased to
take an active part in legislation was that the laws were considered
permanent, and the king's lawmaking power was very limited. He
could issue ordinances in regard to special matters, but he had to
take an oath to obey and uphold the "Code of Magnus Lagab0ter,"
which was considered to be the essential and permanent laws of the
land.

The Council of the realm shared the sovereign power with the
king, and in some respects it was even placed above him. It acted,
not only as an advisory body, but the king had to obtain its consent
in all important matters. The charter granted by Christian I.
states that "no important errand shall be undertaken or fulfilled
unless a majority of the Council consents thereto." When the king
died, the Council assumed full sovereign authority, and acted as a
regency, or it chose a regent to act in the interim until a new king
was placed on the throne. But although the king's sovereign author-
ity was thus divided and limited, the Council was no ministry repre-
senting the will of the people, as in modern constitutional monarchies,
and when we except the chancellor, who was the king's private
secretary, the councilors did not assist the king as cabinet members
in the routine work of his administrative duties. The members
of the Council did not stay in the same place, but lived scattered
through the kingdom, and because of the expenses and difficulties
connected with travel in those days, they could meet only on special
occasions when they were summoned by the king. How often these
meetings were held cannot be determined with certainty. Accord-
ing to King Hans' charter, the Council should be assembled once
every two years in Oslo and Bergen alternately. Because of the
slow and difficult process of assembling the Council, it was stated
in Karl Knutsson's charter that the king should obtain its advice
except in cases of emergency, when he might act without consulting
it. This was a dangerous concession, as it became possible for the

n CHRISTIAN II. THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA 103

king to wholly ignore the Council on the plea of emergency, and we
have already observed a growing tendency on the part of the union
kings to wholly disregard the Norwegian Council.

16. Christian II. The Dawn of a New Era

Christian, the son of King Hans, was born July 1, 1481, and was
at the time of his father's death thirty-two years of age. As a child
he was so wild and untractable that his father placed him in the
family of a well-to-do merchant, Hans Meissenheim, but after a
month had passed, the merchant's wife, a very good and conscientious
woman, refused to have the responsibility of keeping him. He was
then placed in the home of his tutor, but after a short time he was
brought back to the palace, where he received a new tutor, the hu-
manist Konrad of Brandenburg. Under his guidance the young
prince was made acquainted with the new ideas of the Renaissance,
which seem to have greatly interested the wide-awake pupil. Chris-
tian was a gifted boy ; and when he grew to manhood he was espe-
cially well developed both intellectually and physically. He had
lofty plans and a resolute will to accomplish great things. He was
energetic and courageous, but suspicion and a tendency to faith-
lessness and melancholy were serious defects in his character which
early manifested themselves. At the age of twenty-one he was
placed in command of the army sent to Norway to quell the upris-
ing led by Knut Alvsson, and a few years later he again returned as
the ruler of the kingdom, clothed with full sovereign power. That
he would become his father's successor was no longer doubtful. In
1487, while he was only six years old, the Danish Estates had hailed
him as his father's successor on the throne of Denmark, two years
later the Norwegian Council decided that he should succeed his
father on the throne of Norway, and in Sweden he had been hailed
as heir to the throne in 1499. But Sten Sture's revolt had created
new difficulties.. Upon the death of King Hans in 1513 the Councils
of the three kingdoms were summoned to meet in Copenhagen, but
only nine Swedish councilors met, and they had received such limited
power that they could not settle the one great question, the attitude
of Sweden to the union. The Danish and Norwegian councilors

104 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

then undertook to formulate their demands in charters which the
king would be asked to sign. The Norwegian councilors prefaced
their demands with a complaint that the king had called himself
the rightful heir to the Norwegian kingdom, although Norway was
now an elective monarchy, and, furthermore, that King Hans, con-
trary to the oath which he had taken, had not redeemed the Orkney
and Shetland Islands, or the annuities to be paid for the Hebrides
and Man according to the treaty of Perth. Then follows a series
of demands by which the councilors sought to safeguard the autonomy
of Norway, and to maintain its equality with Denmark in the union.
Towards the Danish Council the king was very condescending, but
the demands of the Norwegian councilors he treated with haughty
disfavor. Some he refused to grant, some he passed over in silence,
and others he referred to the Danish Council. To the very reason-
able request that the castles and lens of Norway should be granted
to native lords he returned the answer through his chancellor that,
since the nobility of Norway was almost extinct, he would grant the
lens and castles of the kingdom to Danes and native-born lords.
The ecclesiastical offices over which the crown exercised the right
of patronage would be given to native-born Danes and Norwegians,
and none but Danes and Norwegians should be appointed members
of the Norwegian Council. This was tantamount to saying that
Norway should be ruled by Danes, not by native-born officials. No
special charter was granted Norway, but the Danish charter was to
be considered as applying to both realms, a step which destroyed
the equaUty of the two kingdoms in the union. This rather brutal
disregard for the acknowledged rights of Norway he could show,
because he knew that the kingdom lacked an efficient military organi-
zation, and that the Norwegian Council had no means of enforcing
its demands. " But it is a question," says Sars, "if it was poUtically
correct for Christian II. to take the greatest possible advantage of
this weakness in the way he did, or if it must not rather be said that
by his conduct in this instance he showed the same violent greed for
power, the political short-sightedness, and lack of true statesmanship
which always characterized his conduct." ^ The charter was finally

1 J. E. Sara, Udsigt over den norske Historie, III., p. 178. R. Keyser,
Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, II., p. 616 f. Samlinger

n CHRISTIAN II. THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA 105

accepted, and the Councils adjourned to meet again in June, 1515,
for the purpose of settling the difficult question regarding Sweden.
On June 11, 1514, King Christian was crowned at Copenhagen, and
a little later he was also crowned at Oslo as king of Norway.

On the day of his coronation as king of Denmark, Christian II.
was married to Isabella, or Elizabeth, the sister of Emperor Charles
V. of Spain and Germany. At the marriage ceremony he was repre-
sented by Mogens Gj0, who acted as his proxy, as the young bride,
who was only thirteen years old, did not arrive in Denmark till the
following year, when the wedding was celebrated at Copenhagen.
The young queen soon found that her husband was cold and indiffer-
ent. His heart still clung to Dyveke, whom he refused to give up.
To the appeals which foreign ambassadors and others made to him
on this point he answered with characteristic haughtiness that this
was a matter with which they should not meddle. Queen Elizabeth
bore her lot patiently, and proved herself a lady of such excellent
quahties that she won the sympathy even of Dyveke's mother,
Sigbrit, who, upon her daughter's death, transferred her motherly
affections to the young queen; but many years passed before the
king learned to properly esteem his legally wedded wife. In June,
1517, Dyveke died very suddenly, and the story was told that she
had been poisoned by some cherries which the nobleman Torbern
Oxe had sent her. For a time the king was overwhelmed with grief
and mental gloom. Suspicion pointed to Torbern, who indiscreetly
said things which further aroused the king's anger, and his hatred
once kindled was always deadly. He did not rest until Torbern
was sentenced to death, and in spite of intercessions in behalf of
the condemned man he caused the death sentence to be carried out.
From this time forth Dyveke's mother, Sigbrit, enjoyed the king's
confidence to the fullest extent, and exercised unlimited power and
influence at court. She seems to have belonged to the plain towns-
people of her native city of Amsterdam, but she possessed a degree

til del norske Folks Sprog og Historie, I., Iver Hesselberg, Christian den anden i
Norge. Karl F. Allen, De tre nordiske Rigers Historie under Kongerne Hans,
Kristian II. og Gustav Vasa. Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historie,
IV., p. 363 ff., Kong Christiern den andens norske og danske Haandfoestning af
1613.

106 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

of learning quite unusual among those classes at that time. She
was especially well versed both in alchemy and medicine, but the
real secret of her power lay in the ability to control all who came
under the spell of her influence. If the courtiers and nobles had
hoped to destroy her power by removing Dyveke, they were now
compelled instead to wait in corridors and ante-chambers until it
pleased Madam Sigbrit to admit them into the royal presence, and
she did not hesitate to treat them as truant school-boys, or, upon
occasion, even to chide the king himself. But she used her power
with discretion. She was instrumental in bringing about the best
relations between the king and his young queen whom she had learned
to love as her own daughter. In the affairs of government her
influence was everjnvhere visible, and gives evidence of the practical
ability and shrewd intrigue which enabled her to play her part so
successfully. Archbishop Valkendorf of Trondhjem, who had sought
to remove Dyveke, had to leave his archdiocese. He repaired to
Rome to lay his case before the Pope, but died there in 1522,^ and
the following year Olav Engelbrektsson, dean of the cathedral
chapter in Trondhjem, was chosen his successor. Sigbrit gained
full control of the customs and duties of the realm, and gradually
assumed direction of all financial affairs, and she also acted in other
matters as the king's chief councilor and assistant. The king did
not fail to devote some attention to the Norwegian colonial posses-
sions, but his efforts seem to have been the result of sudden and easily
abandoned impulses rather than of a systematically pursuedfplan.
For over a hundred years the colonies in Greenland had remained
wholly cut off from all communication with Norway, and they were
at this time well-nigh forgotten. Archbishop Valkendorf made the
first attempt to reestablish communications with Greenland. He
gathered what information he could find, and wrote very detailed
directions for the captains who were to make the voyage to the colo-
nies. The king aided him enthusiastically, inspired, no doubt, by
the accounts of the great voyages which were being made to the new

* Ludvig Daae, En Kr^nike om Erkebiskopperne i Nidaros, Festakrift,
luigivet i Anledning af Trondhjems 900 Aars Jubilceum, 1897. H. G. Hegg-
tveit, Trondhjem i Fortid og Nutid, p. 128 ff. Diplomatarium Norwegicum,
vol. IV., no. 1080.

II CHRISTIAN II. THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA 107

world, but Sigbrit's opposition to the archbishop, and his flight from
his diocese, put a sudden stop to the undertaking.

The trade with Iceland continued to create complications requir-
ing diplomatic negotiations. Commerce had not yet been reduced
to the system of peaceful and well regulated intercourse between
nations as in modern times, for although treaties were made for the
regulation of trade, the merchants still retained too much of the
spirit of belligerent navigators, or roving adventurers, to be bound
by conventions either written or oral. The sixteenth century was,
throughout, a period of hazardous enterprise, of sharp competition,
and the use of the club-law in the harbors and upon the high seas. If
Englishmen came in too close a touch with Germans, Spaniards,
or other rivals, the treaty provisions were none too closely scrutinized,
and many a violent encounter followed. Such brawls between Nor-
wegian and English traders had not been unknown in the past, and
they were reenacted in Iceland, where competition for the trade led
to frequent outrages and serious troubles even after commerce was
made free in 1490. From 1507 the complaints of the Danish and
Norwegian merchants of their English competitors were constantly
growing louder, until armed conflict broke out, and in 1510 or 1511
the English who had established themselves in Iceland were driven
away. The following year they returned with increased forces,
captured one of the royal ships, and killed one of the king's secre-
taries and several of the crew. When Christian II. ascended the
throne, he complained of these outrages to King Henry VIII. of
England, who was at that time engaged in a war with Scotland. So
long as the war lasted, Henry was very polite and regretted deeply
the acts of lawlessness committed by his subjects, but when peace
was concluded, he suddenly changed. With a haughty air he told
the ambassadors that the Icelanders had been treated as they de-
served. He refused to pay any damages, and affected to be granting
a special favor when he consented, in 1515, to a renewal of the treaty
of 1490 by which further depredations were to be prevented.
. The fifteenth century had been a time of intellectual awakening
in Europe. Humanism and the Renaissance had gradually moved
northward across the Alps like the coming summer, and the effect
produced by the ferment of the new learning began to make itself

108 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

felt, not only in art and literature, but also in the growth of new
social ideas. In Germany the reform movement inaugurated by
John Huss, and the subsequent wars of the Hussites, had created
a religious revival tinged with a patriotic spirit. With this move-
ment humanism allied itself on its northward march. In Germany
the new learning was partly turned into religious channels, and as
many of the humanists sprang from the common classes the new
movement became both intellectually and socially antagonistic to
the Roman hierarchy with its old scholastic learning and its aristo-
cratic feudalistic ideas. This intellectual awakening prepared the
way for the Reformation, which followed in the wake of the new
learning. The reformers appealed to the common people in their
own mother tongue, and proclaimed their right to govern themselves
in religious affairs. The Protestant churches became national and
democratic in conformity with the intellectual tendencies of the age.
This important change, accompanied by greater freedom of the
individual in matters of religious doctrine, finally broke the spell of
the Roman incubus, and ushered in a new era of intellectual and
social development. The new ideas of the Renaissance came also
to the North. In Denmark, especially, very appreciable traces of
humanistic activity are to be found ; but as the movement was late
in appearing, it received no distinct development, but was soon fused
with the Lutheran Reformation which followed in its wake. In the
time of Christian II. Luther began his great church reformation in
Germany. On October 31, 1517, he nailed his "Ninety-five Theses"
on the church door in Wittenberg, in which he attacked especially
the sale of indulgences, and urged the necessity of true repentance.
The attention attracted by these theses astonished even Luther
himself. "In fourteen days they ran through all Germany," he
says, "for all the world complained of the sale of indulgences." In
1520 Luther was excommunicated, a step which completed the rup-
ture between him and the Roman Pontiff. Accompanied by the
students of the university, he marched to the Elstergate of the city,
where he publicly burned the papal bull, as a sign that he renounced
all allegiance to the Pope. Luther's teachings soon became known
in Denmark, and Christian 11, was favorably impressed with his
doctrines.* He had been influenced from childhood by the liberal
* R. Keyser, Den norake Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, II., p. 647.

II CHRISTIAN II. THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA 109

ideas of the Renaissance, and he hated the arrogant clergy, as well
as the powerful nobility. He held quite advanced views with regard
to the education of the common classes and the limitation of the power
of the bishops and the monastic orders, but in his inclination towards
the doctrines of Luther it is impossible to discover any motive but
love of power and desire for gain. The new teachings would give
him the longed-for opportunity to extend his power at the expense
of the clergy. This would be scarcely less welcome than the oppor-
tunity to increase his revenues by suppressing the monasteries,
even as his contemporary Henry VHI. did in England. His attitude
to the papal agents who were selHng indulgences in the North also
points to this desire as the prime motive for his interest in church
reform. In 1518 John Angellus Archemboldus came to the North
as papal legate, ostensibly for the purpose of settling a quarrel
between the Swedish bishop, Gustav Trolle, and Sten Sture the
Younger, but it soon became evident that his real aim was to sell
indulgences.^ Christian II. granted him permission to carry on this
trade throughout his realms in consideration of the payment of the
small sum of 1120 Rhenish gulden, the legate promising to use his
influence in the king's behalf in Sweden. Agents were dispatched
to Bergen and even to Iceland. His chief assistant, Didrik Slagheck
of Westphalia, was sent to Sweden, whither Archemboldus himself
soon followed. But Sten Sture, who knew the legate's mercenary
motives, soon won him to his side by bribes, and the prelate's per-
fidious conduct so angered King Christian that he ordered him and
his assistants to be arrested. By timely flight they saved themselves,
but the money and goods which they had collected and stored in
various places were seized by the king's officers. Even a sum of
3000-4000 marks which had been deposited with the Bishop of Bergen
was swept into the royal coffers. This episode very naturally
strengthened the king's sympathy for Luther and his teachings.
He was persuaded to send for a Lutheran minister to introduce
Lutheranism in Denmark, and Elector Frederick of Saxony sent
Martin Reinhard to Copenhagen in 1520. But Reinhard could not
speak Danish, and had to employ as interpreter Paulus EHse (Paul

1 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. VI., no. 660, 662, 663, 664, also no.
672-677.

110 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

Ellisen), a monk from Elsinore (Helsing0r), who soon became dis-
couraged, and again accepted the CathoHc faith. Reinhard could
accompUsh nothing, and had to return to Germany. Christian
seems to have continued to be well disposed towards the Reforma-
tion, but grave political disturbances, and especially the war with
Sweden, prevented him from introducing it in his realm. Norway
had hitherto remained wholly untouched by the great reform move-
ment, but the tyrannical king, who thought more of property than
of faith, nevertheless secularized the two Norwegian monasteries
of Dragsmark and Gims0.

In Sweden the old feud between the rival families of Sture and
TroUe was continued by Archbishop Trolle and Sten Sture the
Younger. Hostilities broke out between the two factions, but Trolle
defended himself successfully in his strong castle of Stake in Malaren.
Meanwhile a greater danger threatened Sture from without. At a
council in Arboga in January, 1517, he had declared that he would
never recognize Christian II. as king of Sweden, and the people
supported him with enthusiasm, but under the circumstances a
war with Denmark was unavoidable. Christian II., who lacked
funds, found difficulty in equipping an army for the campaign in
Sweden. When at length he sent 4000 men and twenty ships to
relieve Stake castle, where Gustav Trolle was closely besieged, the
army was defeated, the castle was destroyed, and Archbishop Trolle
was deposed and imprisoned as a traitor to his country. But Chris-
tian II. would not give up the idea of conquering Sweden. On
January 29, 1518, he landed an army at Stockholm, and laid siege
to the city,^ but when Sture arrived with a large force, he had to
resort to peace negotiations, as he lacked provisions and ammuni-
tion, and his German mercenaries were deserting in large numbers.
A year's truce was arranged, but the king planned to capture Sten
Sture by treachery. He invited him to a conference and promised
to give hostages, but Sture refused, and in turn invited King Chris-
tian on the same conditions. Christian accepted, but as soon as he
had the hostages in his power he annulled the truce and set sail for
Denmark. One of the hostages thus abducted was the young noble-
man Gustav Eriksson Vasa, the later Hberator of Sweden.
1 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. XIV., no. 271.

II CHRISTIAN II. THE TYRANT. THE STOCKHOLM MA.SSACRE HI

The increase of taxes due to Christian's warlike expeditions weighed
heavily on the people, and caused much suffering and discontent.
But such matters did not for a moment cause the tyrannous king
to pause in the pursuit of his selfish aims. The toll paid by the Ger-
man merchants in passing the Sound was increased in flagrant vio-
lation of stipulated agreements with the German cities; soldiers
were hired in Germany, France, and Scotland, and the Norwegian
magnates had to furnish a certain number of armed men ; the king
would not halt until Sweden was subdued. The Pope was per-
suaded to sanction the excommunication which Archbishop Birger
had already fulminated against Sten Sture; Sweden was placed
under interdict, and Christian was commissioned to inflict the
requisite punishment upon the kingdom. This gave Christian's war
of conquest even a rehgious tinge, as he could now earn the blessing
and gratitude of the Pope by winning the throne of Sweden. In
1520 he entered Sm&,land with a large army. In Vestergotland the
invaders encountered the Swedes under Sten Sture, who had sta-
tioned himself in the neighborhood of Bogesund. In the battle
which ensued, Sture was wounded, his army was thrown into confu-
sion and fled from the field. At Tiveden a second engagement was
fought, and the Danes were again victorious. The wounded Sten
Sture was brought in a sleigh across Lake Malaren towards Stock-
holm, but died from his wounds before reaching the city, only twenty-
seven or twenty-eight years of age. Though young in years, he was
as able as he was heroic, and he is justly regarded as one of the noblest
characters in Swedish history.

Under these circumstances many of the leaders lost courage and
would have given up the struggle, but Sten Sture's widow, Christina
Gyllenstjerna, who conducted the defense of Stockholm, refused
to surrender the city. The struggle continued, and the invaders
suffered heavy losses, but when Christian II. arrived with a fleet,
and blockaded Stockholm, Christina was finally forced to surrender,
September 7, 1520.

17. Christian II. the Tyrant. The Stockholm Massacre

From the moment that Sweden submitted. Christian II. treated
the kingdom with the arrogance of a conqueror. The councilors were

112 fflSTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

summoned to meet in the Gray Friars monastery, where Bishop Jens
Beldenak explained to them that the king was the rightful heir to
the Swedish throne according to the law of St. Erik. A trace of
relationship between Christian II. and St. Erik might indeed be
figured out, but the claim that for this reason he was heir to the throne
of an elective monarchy was a self-evident prevarication, which only
illustrates how the king would respect the laws and institutions
of the realm which he was henceforth to govern. On November 1,
1520, he was proclaimed king according to the principle of hereditary
kingship which he had proclaimed. The coronation occurred Novem-
ber 4 ; elaborate festivities were arranged for the succeeding days, and
most of the Swedish nobility had assembled in the capital for the
occasion. Now that the king had reached the goal of his ambition,
and the crowns of the three realms had been united on his brow,
nothing could seem more natural than to seek to win the support of
all for the new order of things by a conciliatory poHcy. The more
hideous is the thought that in the midst of the coronation festivities
he was conceiving the plot for one of the darkest crimes which history
has recorded. The despicable creature, Didrik Slagheck, and the
revengeful Gustav Trolle, the archbishop, were constantly about the
king, and filled his dark mind with most pernicious counsel. On the
7th of November a large number of nobles, men and women, and a
number of leading citizens were summoned to the royal palace. The
doors were locked behind them, and Gustav Trolle stepped forward
to accuse them of various crimes. They had driven him from his
archdiocese, they had razed his castle, and had used violence against
the servants of the church, he claimed. He demanded an indemnity
of 500,000 marks for the losses sustained by himself and other bishops,
a sum so enormous that it would have ruined all against whom he
directed his charges. He further demanded that the assembled
lords and ladies should be imprisoned until they could be sentenced
by the king, who would receive God's reward and the praise of all
Christendom for meting out punishment to these heretics. The
assembled nobles were struck with consternation, as they realized
but too well that a plot had been laid for their destruction. The
only one who for the moment retained full composure was Sten
Sture's young widow Christina Gyllenstjerna. She showed that

II CHRISTIAN II. THE TYRANT. THE STOCKHOLM MASSACRE 113

the proceedings against Gustav Trolle had been decided by a general
diet, and that if punishment should be meted out, the whole nation
would have to be punished, and not only a few individual lords.
But this gave the king a new opportunity. The action of the diet
was interpreted as rebellion against the Pope, i.e. it was heresy,
for which the king could punish them in the name of the church.
All were hurried off to prison, and the next day, after a mock trial
had been conducted, the king sentenced them to death as heretics.
Now began the carnival of blood known as the Stockholm massacre,
the direction of which was left to Didrik Slagheck. On the 8th of
November eighty-two persons were beheaded on the public square
of the city ; among others, the bishops of Strangnas and Skara, many
aldermen of the city, and a large number of the leading men of Sweden.
Sten Sture's body, as well as that of his dead child, was exhumed
and burned with the bodies of the executed. The massacre spread
also to the provinces, and it seems to have been the king's mad
purpose to destroy the whole nobility of Sweden with one fell stroke.
Sten Sture and his adherents had been excommunicated, and it was,
therefore, possible for the king and his evil counselors to carry on
their fiendish work of destruction without incurring the execration
of all Christendom. When the king left Stockholm to return to
Denmark, he left a trail of blood. In Jonkoping several persons
were executed; at Nydala monastery the abbot and several monks
were drowned, and Christina Gyllenstjerna, together with many other
ladies, was carried into captivity in Denmark. Christian II. had
well earned the title of Christian the Tyrant. Even among the Danes
themselves the king's vile deed caused general consternation. The
great sea-captain S0ren Norby did not conceal his ill-will even in
the king's presence, and Otto Krumpen resigned as general of the
army. The shock of abhorrence, which at first stunned all, was
soon followed in all the realms by a storm of indignation so violent
that it hurled Christian the Tyrant from the throne which he had
so wantonly disgraced.

The young Gustav Eriksson Vasa, one of the Swedish nobles
whom Christian II. had kidnapped and brought to Denmark, es-
caped from his captivity and fled to Liibeck, whence he returned to
Sweden. His father was one of the victims of the Stockholm mas-

VOL. II — I

114 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

sacre, and the king engaged spies to seize the young nobleman, who
henceforward bent his great energy and remarkable talents to the
one great task of freeing his country from the tyrant's grasp. The
accounts of his wanderings and hairbreadth escapes from his pur-
suers read like a romance. In vain he tried to rouse his country-
men. At Kalmar and in Sm&land he attempted it and failed,
and even in Dalarne the peasants would give him no support,
though they listened with reverence to his eloquent appeals. Hunted
from place to place, wandering in disguise through remote settle-
ments, despairing of success, he finally resolved to seek refuge in
Norway. But when the Dalkarleans received proof of King Chris-
tian's cruelties, they repented and sent messengers to bring Gustav
Vasa back to Sweden. On his return they chose him "Lord and
chief of Dalarne and of the kingdom of Sweden " in January, 1521.
At the head of a few poorly equipped peasants Gustav Vasa resolutely
raised the standard of revolt against the hated tyrant, and thanks
to the incompetency of Didrik Slagheck, whom King Christian II.
had intrusted with the administration of Sweden, he was rapidly
increasing his forces. Not till April did Slagheck and Gustav
TroUe take the field against him, and they were defeated at Bruns-
bak, on the Dal River. Gustav Vasa's forces soon numbered 15,000
men, and at Vester&s the government forces under Slagheck suffered
a second defeat. At this critical juncture King Christian was in
the Netherlands visiting his brother-in-law. Emperor Charles V.,
and his henchmen in Sweden were unable to cope with the rapidly
spreading uprising. Gustav Vasa was unable to take Stockholm,
but in the country districts .the revolution had great success. Did-
rik Slagheck was recalled to Copenhagen,* and Gustav Trolle suc-
ceeded him in the management of affairs in Sweden, but he was as
unable to accomplish anything as his predecessor. Before the end
of the year (1521) Stockholm, Kalmar, and Abo in Finland were

^ Through Christian II. 's influence Didrik Slagheck was elected Arch-
bishop of Lund, but when the king finally learned how he had been deceived
by him, he caused him to be arrested. The hated royal favorite was tried,
condemned to death and executed. C. T. Allen, De tre nordiske Rigers
Historie under Kongerne Hans, Christian II., og Gustav Vasa, vol. III., part
III., p. 225 f . Anders Fryxell, Gustav Vasa's Historie, oversat fra det Svenske
af M. Birkeland, Christiania, 1856.

II CHRISTIAN II. THE TYRANT. 115

the only larger cities which had not been surrendered to Gustav.
As Stockholm could not be taken without the assistance of a fleet,
since the redoubtable S0ren Norby, who commanded the Danish
fleet, carried supplies to the city, Gustav turned to Liibeck for aid,
and the merchants of that city responded by sending a fleet of ten
ships to blockade the city. The king, who was hard pressed by the
Hanseatic fleets, as well as by a revolt at home, could pay but slight
attention to Sweden. Gustav Vasa was proclaimed king at a diet
in Strangnas June 6, 1523, and shortly afterward the surrender of
Stockholm ended the struggle which terminated for all times the
unfortunate union with Denmark. The sufferings caused by Chris-
tian's tyranny and the subsequent war of liberation had awakened
a strong national spirit, which launched the Swedish people upon a
new period of development — the era of national greatness, when
Sweden under the guidance of a dynasty of great national kings rose
to become one of the great powers of Europe.

King Christian's tyranny and shortsightedness had not only cost
him the throne of Sweden, but he had alienated the hearts of his own
people, and had created an opposition which must have made him
feel uncomfortable even on the throne of Denmark. The Hollanders
had been offended by the arbitrary increase of the Sound-toll, and
the Liibeckers, who had supported Gustav Vasa, fought resolutely
for their naval supremacy in the Baltic Sea, and in defense of their
trade, which Christian sought to check by creating a strong Scan-
dinavian trade company which could compete successfully with the
Hanseatic merchants. Against his foreign enemies he could get
Httle support at home, since he had always been an enemy both of
the clergy and the nobility. He summoned the Council to meet
at Copenhagen in November, but instead of obeying this summons,
the councilors from Jutland met at Viborg, and formed a conspiracy
to drive Christian H. from the throne. On January 20, 1523, the
councilors renounced their allegiance to him, stating as their reason
for this act that the king had violated the charter to which he had
sworn at his coronation; that he had disregarded the Council and
the nobility, and had given preferment to ignoble knaves, and espe-
cially to the wicked woman Sigbrit; that pursuant to the counsel
of these he had beheaded many Swedish nobles, also, Knut Knutsson

116 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Baat in Norway, and had driven away the Archbishop of Trondhjem,
and had ill-treated many other bishops.^ The disaffected councilors
Raised an army of 20,000 or 30,000 men, while Frederick, Duke of Hol-
stein, an uncle of Christian II., who was their candidate for the throne,
took the field with a force of 6000 men. Yet the situation was far
from hopeless. Christian could count on the support of the com-
mon people, and he might also have raised forces in Norway, but he
was as irresolute now that danger threatened him as he had been over-
bearing and tyrannical while his subjects remained submissive.
Duke Frederick was proclaimed king of Denmark at Viborg, March
26, 1523 ; Jutland and Fyen joined him, Halland, Blekinge, and the
Norwegian province of Viken were in the hands of Gustav Vasa,
and the fleet, which the king had neglected, was unable to cope with
the Liibeckers. Meanwhile Christian sat inactive in Copenhagen,
nursing his own gloomy thoughts. On April 13th he sailed from
the city with a fleet of twenty ships, accompanied by his family,
Madam Sigbrit, and a few friends, to seek assistance in foreign lands.
The occasion was a solemn one, and the people watched with tear-
ful eyes the departure of their king. The reign of Christian 11. was
ended. His remaining years proved but a doleful sequel to a mis-
spent life. Some features of his rule are, however, worthy of com-
mendation.^ As he was especially interested in education, he made
the provision that better qualified teachers should be employed,
that they should receive better salaries, and that cruel flogging of the
children in the schools should be restricted. In the country districts
where no schools were established, the people might send their chil-
dren to be instructed by the parish priest, or some man of learning
in the town. As lawmaker he sought to protect the common people
against oppression. He prohibited the imposition of excessive
fines, a punishment so often inflicted by the clergy for the smallest
violation of the rules of the church, and the landlords were forbidden
to oppress their tenants by increasing the rents. He encouraged
trade, and attempted to limit the power of the Hanseatic merchants.

^ Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. XIV., no. 287. Arild Huitfeldt,
Danmarks Riges Kr^nike, II., p. 1196 f.

* C. F. Allen, De tre nordiske Rigers Historie. J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den
norske Historie, III., p. 178 ff.

II CHRISTIAN II, THE TYRANT 117

A uniform system of weights and measures was introduced, and the
king also tried to create a postal system by hiring mail carriers,
who should receive three skillings for carrying a letter a distance of
seven miles. With his Renaissance and Reformation ideas and his
solicitude for the welfare of the common people his reign might have
become a new era of progress if his gloomy and bloodthirsty mind
had not vitiated every nobler effort.

The Norwegians took no part in the uprising against Christian
II., as the king was generally well liked in Norway. But though it
has been suggested that they might have retained Christian as their
king, and dissolved the union with Denmark, such a step would, un-
doubtedly, have been prevented by Sweden and Denmark, where
he was feared as well as hated. The Norwegians were, moreover,
unable to act independently at this moment. The principal cities
were held by Danish commandants. Archbishop Valkendorf, the
president of the Council, was dead, his successor, Olav Engelbrekts-
son, was in Rome to receive the consecration of the Pope, and there
was, virtually, no government in the country. When the news of
Christian's overthrow reached Norway, Nils Henriksson Gyldenl0ve
of 0straat and Olav Galle of Thom met with a few others to confer
regarding the affairs of the kingdom. It was decided that Nils
Henriksson should take possession of Bergen and assume control
of the northern part of the kingdom, while Olav Galle should act
as governor of the southern part.^ But Nils Henriksson was unable
to take Bergen, which was defended by the Danish commandant
Hans Knutsson, and Olav Galle was no more successful in southern
Norway. Frederick I. soon gained the allegiance of the whole king-
dom of Denmark, and as the three chief strategic points, the castles
Akershus, Bergenhus, and Bohus, were held by the Danish com-
mandants, who would transfer their support to the new king if the
proper inducements were offered, it was quite certain that the union
of the two kingdoms would be continued. King Frederick I. sent
Henrik Krumedike to Norway to take charge of affairs in the southern
part of the kingdom. The commandant of Bohus had already sub-
mitted to the new king, and Krumedike succeeded in winning the
magnates and the cities separately by making promises which he
^ Diplomatarium Norwegicum, I., no. 1067.

H8 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE JX

never intended to keep. The commander of Akershus submitted to
King Frederick L, and before the end of 1523 nearly all of southern
Norway had pledged its allegiance to him. Another prominent
Danish noble, Vincence Lunge, was sent to the northern districts.
He came to Bergen, where he met Nils Henriksson Gyldenl0ve, his
noted wife. Lady Inger Ottesdatter of 0straat, and their daughters.
Nils Henriksson, who was at this time an aged man, was anxious
to shift the burdens to younger shoulders, as he had failed to take the
castle of the city. A peaceful agreement could the more easily be
arranged, since Vincence Lunge married Gyldenl0ve's oldest daughter,
Margaret, who had been lady-in-waiting to Christian IL's queen,
Elizabeth, and had become acquainted with Lunge in Denmark.
Nils Henriksson was the wealthiest and most powerful magnate in
the kingdom at this time. In 1515 he became drotsete, and he was
also appointed one of the special envoys sent to the Netherlands to
bring Christian H.'s bride to Denmark.^ His wife. Lady Inger of
Pstraat, was a talented, but ambitious and covetous lady. Through
the marriage of her daughters to immigrated Danish nobles who had
high positions in the kingdom, she exercised a unique influence, and
became a leading figure in one of the most tragic chapters in Norwe-
gian history.^

King Frederick's representatives came to Bergen in 1523, and
Nils Henriksson died the same year. Vincence Lunge planned to
take the castle still held by Christian IL's adherents, and the king
encouraged the Hanseatic merchants of the city to aid him in this
undertaking. At a given signal in the still of the night the merchants
sallied forth, not against the castle, but to attack their rivals, the
Scotch and Norwegian merchants of the city. These were ill-treated
and driven with their famihes into the streets; their homes were
looted, and their charters destroyed. The attack was especially
directed against the Scotch merchants, who suffered losses to the
amount of 40,000 marks. Never since the time of the Victual Broth-
ers, or the massacre of Olav Nilsson, had the citizens of Bergen been

1 0steraat Herreacede fra det lite Aarhundrede til vore Tider, published by
Axel Johannessen, Trondhjem, 1904.

* Her second daughter, Eline, was married to Nils Lykke in 1528, and a
younger daughter, Anna, had married Erik Ugerup in 1524.

PLATE II

Ruins of the Hamar Cathedral.

Bergenhus.

rf CHRISTIAN II. THE TYRANT 119

subjected to such indignities. But Vincence Lunge did nothing,
and, probably, could do nothing to restrain his lawless allies.^ The
castle, which was held by the incompetent Hans Knutsson, surren-
dered, and the Norwegian Council granted Lunge the castle and royal
len of Bergen. The new commander was a learned and able man.
He had studied at several universities; he was a doctor of juris-
prudence, and had been professor at the university of Copenhagen.
As a member of the Norwegian Council, he naturally exercised
great influence. After his marriage to Margaret Gyldenl0ve he
accounted himself a Norwegian, and became for a period the most
influential man in the kingdom, and the originator of an ultra Nor-
wegian political policy which saved Norway from being wholly in-
corporated in Denmark. "But his abihty," says Allen, "consisted
chiefly in craft and cunning, in discovering the weakness of others,
and when they had been indiscreet, he used the opportunity either
to crush his opponents, or to use them for his own ends. He was
flattering and ingratiating, and no one knew better than he how to
act towards those whom he wanted to win, or to make it appear
that he served those whom he wished to use as tools for his own
purposes. As an enemy he was feared for his falsity and artifice."
"To this must still be added," says 0verland, "that he was about
the most covetous and greedy man of his age, and that he was proud
and boastful when fortune favored him." ^

In the month of August, 1524, the Council renounced their alle-
giance to Christian XL, and chose Frederick I. king of Norway. A
charter, to which the king would be required to subscribe,^ specified
that the king should protect the Catholic Church, its teachings, rights,
and privileges ; that he should maintain the laws of the kingdom,
renounce the title of "Heir to the throne of Norway," acknowledge
that he received the Norwegian lens from the Council, and agree
not to grant them to any but native-born lords, or to lords married

1 Yngvar Nielsen, Bergen fra de celdste Tider indtil Nutiden, 270 flf. C. F.
Allen, De tre Rigers Histone 1497-1536, vol. IV., 2, 222. N. Nicolaysen,
Norske Magasin, I., 548. Norske Samlinger, vol. II., 481 ff. Diplomatarium
Norwegicum, vol. V., no. 1039; vol. IX., no. 515, 517; vol. VI., no. 691.

* Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. VIII., no. 526 ; IX., no. 532, 534.
O. A. 0verland, Norges Historie, vol. V., p. 298.

^ Samlinger til det norske folks Sprog og Historie, vol. I., p. 1 ff.

120 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

to native-born ladies. The Orkney and Shetland Islands were to be
redeemed, and the rights and privileges granted by former charters
were reaffirmed . A letter was also addressed to the king complaining
of Henrik Krumedike, and giving notice that he had been deposed
from his len and banished from the kingdom.^ With these documents
Vincence Lunge went to Denmark to King Frederick I. The king
signed the charter, but Krumedike was declared innocent on the
oath of twenty-four knights, and in 1529 he received again his posses-
sions in Norway.

18. The Struggle for Norway, Christian II.

Frederick I. had been placed on the throne of Norway, but the
kingdom was controlled by the Council, in which Vincence Lunge
exercised the greatest authority. Olav Galle, governor of southern
Norway, and Archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson, who was president
of the Council, were also influential members. The relations with
Sweden were not cordial. Gustav Vasa had not evacuated Viken,
though he had been requested to do so, and Swedish refugees, the op-
ponents of King Gustav, had been well received in Norway. The
hostile feeling grew still more intense when Vincence Lunge and Lady
Inger of ^straat harbored and supported a Swedish pretender who
claimed to be the son of Sten Sture, and sought to stir up a rebellion
against King Gustav. The pretender, generally known as the " Dale-
junker," was a worthless criminal by the name of Jons Hansson, who
after having operated for a time in Dalarne fled to Norway to escape
capture. He came to ^straat, and succeeded in winning the confi-
dence of Lady Inger and Vincence Lunge. The story was circulated
that Gustav Vasa was dead ; the pretender became engaged to one
of Inger's daughters, probably EHne,^ and the ambitious mother
was dreaming lofty dreams of finally seeing her daughter as queen on
the throne of Sweden. Lunge's reasons for supporting the pretender

^ Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. IX., no. 537, 538, 539.

* R. Keyser thinks that the youngest daughter, Lucie, was betrothed
to the ''Dalejunker." Den norske Kirkes Historic, II., 679. A document
later discovered states that it was Eline, but Ludvig Daae considers this
to be an error, as Eline was at that time betrothed to the Danish knight,
Nils Lykke, whom she married in 1528. Ludvig Daae, Fru Inger Ottesdatter
og hendea D0tre, Historisk Tidsskrijt, vol. III., p. 224 £E.

n THE STRUGGLE FOR NORWAY. CHRISTIAN II 121

even after the fraud had been exposed must have been of the most
sordid nature. Ludvig Daae thinks that he wished the young lady
to marry abroad, in order that the estates which she would otherwise
inherit might come into the possession of the remaining heirs. In the
fall of 1527 the pretender proceeded to Dalarne to rally the people
to his cause. But they had been warned by Gustav Vasa. He
could accomplish nothing, and had to return with Lunge to Norway.
Gustav Vasa demanded his surrender, but Lunge still claimed that he
was Sten Sture's son, though Sture's widow, Christina Gyllenstjerna,
had declared that he was an impostor.^ Lunge was finally obliged
to send him away from Norway, but he did it in such a way that he
escaped. It was the pretender's plan to join Christian 11. in the
Netherlands, but in Rostock he was arrested and put to death. Vin-
cence Lunge's conduct had offended, not only the king of Sweden,
but also his own sovereign, Frederick I., who in 1528 entered into
an alliance with Gustav against Christian II. King Gustav de-
manded that Lunge should be punished, and Frederick complied
by removing him as commandant of Bergen. He did not venture,
however, to risk an open rupture with the powerful noble, but granted
him other possessions as a compensation, among others the Nonnese-
ter monastery, where Lunge erected a residence called "Lungegaar-
den." Lunge's power was still unbroken, but a Dane, Eske Bilde,
who was married to Krumedike's daughter, Sophia, became his suc-
cessor in Bergen ; Claus Bilde was made commandant of Bohus, and
Olav Galle was deprived of Akershus, which was given to Mogens
Gyldenstjerne. Contrary to the charter, the three principal castles
of the kingdom were granted to Danish nobles. As the king did not
seem to take the charter seriously, he was no more conscientious as
to its other provisions. He had agreed that he should not ask of the
Council, or of the inhabitants of Norway, that any one, either his son
or any one else, should be elected as his successor in his lifetime, but
in 1529 he, nevertheless, sent his son, Duke Christian, to Norway to
be hailed as heir to the throne. It was clearly the king's purpose to
incorporate Norway in the kingdom of Denmark, or to treat it as a

^ Diplomatarium Norwegicum, XIV., no. 585, 687, 588, 589, 602. Bidrag
til Oplysning om Peter Kantsler og Mester Knut samt den saakaldte Dale-
junker, Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historic, I., p. 478 ff.

122 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

dependency. But this plan was frustrated by the Norwegian poHt-
ical poUcy of Vincence Lunge and Archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson,
who had revived to some extent the power of the Norwegian Council.
Though their motives were often sordid, and their methods repre-
hensible, they were fighting for Norwegian autonomy, and the out-
come depended on their willingness to cooperate. But a disinterested
plan of united effort could not long be pursued by the two leaders,
as other circumstances would have made this impossible, even if they
had been men of more lofty and unselfish purposes. Archbishop
Olav was undoubtedly a patriot, who sought to defend his country's
freedom and honor, but he was unable to give the struggle even a
tinge of the patriot's tragic ideaHsm, and history has unjustly veiled
his name in obloquy. J. E. Sars says of him : "The name of Arch-
bishop Olav Engelbrektsson grates unpleasantly on our ears. It is
connected with the memory of Norway's deepest national humilia-
tion in such a way that about the deepest shadow of this wholly
dark picture falls upon him personally. Henrik Krumedike de-
scribed him to King Frederick I. as a 'false man,' according to the
statement of Vincence Lunge,^ and in later history he has received
a similar testimonial. His political poHcy has been described as
unwise and dishonest. It has been described as showing that he
had slack moral principles, a weak character, and that he lacked the
proper reverence for his calling, and the conviction of the truth and
justice of his cause.^ It has even been said that such a motive as
patriotism and a feehng for Norway's liberty and honor must have
been wholly foreign to him, that he sought purely personal ends, or
that, at best, he was only guided by a Catholic prelate's hierarchical
zeal. This is evidently erroneous. Vincence Lunge would scarcely
have appealed so strongly in his letters to the archbishop's patriotism
if he knew that such an appeal would find no response; and the
archbishop's own writings prove that his country's honor lay close
to his heart, and that he deplored the state of dependency to which
Norway had been brought. He did not possess the qualities of a
hero or a martyr, but he was evidently not an insignificant personality.

* Diplomatarium Norwegicum, VII., no. 600.

• R, Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, vol. II.,
p. 692.

II THE STRUGGLE FOR NORWAY. CHRISTIAN II 123

We see that he did not fail to understand what was necessary in
order to defend the Norwegian kingdom and the Cathohc Church
against the dangers and enemies which threatened both, and that,
in a way, he was always active, though he received little support
from his own people. In contemplating his ambiguous, equivocal
conduct we must not forget the difficult situation in which he was
placed. A man of his learning and ability — and he was, according
to the circumstances of the times, a learned man and loved learning
— ought to have accomplished something good and lasting, but the
circumstances in which he was placed were such that even an extraor-
dinary personahty would have failed. It became his duty to repre-
sent the Norwegian Cathohc Church and Norway's poHtical inde-
pendence at a time when both were tottering to their fall. His
position presented problems which individually, perhaps, would have
transcended the greatest power given a single individual, and which
in many instances clashed with one another."

Vincence Lunge inclined strongly to the Reformation movement,
not only as a humanist, but also because he found an opportunity
to gratify his covetousness through the secularization of monasteries
and the confiscation of church property. King Frederick I., who
favored the Reformation, prepared the secularization of the monaster-
ies by appointing non-ecclesiastic managers, who should pay the
king a yearly sum for this privilege, and at the same time provide
the monks and nuns with the necessaries of life from the income of
the estates of the monastery. Vincence Lunge had received from
the king the monastery of Nonneseter, and he stretched forth his
greedy hands for more. He conspired with the prior of the monastery
of the Dominican Friars in Bergen, and the two plundered that insti-
tution of all its valuables, and burned the buildings to hide the crime.^
Vincence Lunge and Archbishop Olav now became the bitterest
enemies. The angry archbishop threatened to take Lunge's life,
and seized all the estates belonging to Lunge and Lady Inger of
^straat in northern Norway. The king's coronation was to have
taken place at Oslo, but Archbishop Olav struggled hard to prevent
it. No less determined was his opposition to Prince Christian when

1 Christian C. A. Lange, De norske Klostres Historic i Middelalderen, p. 337.
Yngvar Nielsen, Bergen, p. 274.

124 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

he came to Norway to be hailed as successor to the throne, as the
prince was even more outspoken in his adherence to the Lutheran
Reformation than his father. In this matter the archbishop seems
to have received the support of Lunge, who was also striving to
maintain the political autonomy of Norway. The struggle became
at once political and religious, but the quarrel between Vincence Lunge
and the archbishop seems to have overshadowed all national issues.
Lunge continued his seizure of church property, and was well assisted
in this traffic by his greedy mother-in-law. Lady Inger. He failed
in an attempt to take the monastery of Ulstein, but Lady Inger
secured the cloister of Rein, and her son-in-law, Nils Lykke, gained
possession of the monastery of Tautra. In Bergen the church was
also suffering heavy losses. The new commandant, Eske Bilde,
destroyed some of the finest edifices of the city : the Apostle church,
the Christ church, the bishop's residence, and the chapter house,
all built in the Gothic style of architecture. This wanton destruc-
tion was done for military purposes, to give freer range to the artillery
of the fortress, but the archbishop took no step, and probably could
take none, to punish this grave offense.

The Lutheran doctrine was spreading. The first Lutheran preacher,
the monk Antonius, who came to Norway in 1526, seems to have
received permission from King Frederick I. to preach in Bergen.
Three years later two other Lutheran ministers arrived,^ and Vincence
Lunge, Lady Inger, and their influential relatives gave the reformers
active support. Bergen became the center of the Reformation in
Norway, but the Lutheran preachers were active also in other dis-
tricts. Bishop Hoskold of Stavanger wrote to Eske Bilde that he
should not tolerate or protect the damnable Lutheran heresy which
had led so many astray, but he should try with all might to stamp
out the false doctrine. One of the archbishop's men complained
that Lutheranism was spreading also in Finmarken. Even the
Council of Liibeck became alarmed, and wrote to the archbishop
and the Council of Norway to act with energy against the dangerous
doctrines, destructive of all social order. ^ The Reformation could
make progress because the CathoUc Church in Norway as elsewhere
had lost its spiritual vigor. The monasteries had become hotbeds

* Diplomatarium Norwegicum, VIII., no. 603. * Ibid., XI., no. 522, 523.

II THE STRUGGLE FOR NORWAY. CHRISTIAN II 125

of vice and corruption/ and the Latin church service, which consisted
chiejQy of empty ceremonies, could no longer appeal to those who had
caught the spirit of the new age. The fine scholar Geble Pederss0n
became a convert to the Lutheran doctrine, probably in 1536.^
He founded the Latin school at Bergen, and became the first Protes-
tant bishop of that diocese.

In the midst of this process of disorganization Archbishop Olav's
sole remaining hope was that Christian II. might return and seize
the throne of Norway. The dethroned king had longed for an oppor-
tunity to return, and he had done everything possible to gain the
sympathy and support of the Emperor and other princes. At
Wittenberg he had heard Luther preach, and had become converted
to his doctrine, but for political reasons he renounced his Lutheran
faith and returned to the bosom of the Catholic Church, which he
probably did without much compunction, as he seems to have been
incapable of a deeper religious conviction. But his whole conduct
was not very reassuring, and Emperor Charles V. would do nothing
to help him. As Christian could accomplish nothing by diplomacy,
he boldly entered the Netherlands, collected ships, war supplies,
and a sum of 50,000 gulden, and hired an army of 7000 mercenaries
for an expedition to Norway. The archbishop would not immedi-
ately declare himself for King Christian, though he had been secretly
negotiating with him, but waited until he should land with his forces
in the kingdom. In November, 1531, King Christian arrived on the
southern coast of Norway after a stormy voyage, on which he had
suffered great losses. Mogens Gyldenstjerne was asked to surrender
Akershus, which he agreed to do if King Frederick I. did not send
him reenforcements before the month of March, and Christian, who
failed to see that the commandant was trying to gain time, agreed
to a fatal armistice.' On November 29th he was proclaimed king
of Norway at Oslo, and on the same date Archbishop Olav declared
his allegiance to him. King Christian marched from Oslo with a
part of his forces to Bohus, while J0rgen Hansson led another part

^ A. Chr. Bang, Udsigt over den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen.
* A. Chr. Bang, Kirkehistoriske Smaastykker, Bidrag til Geble Pederssfins
Levnetsl^b, 204 ff. Norske Samlinger, I., p. 8, 11.
' Diplomatarium Norwegicum, IX., no. 685, 688.

126 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

of the army against Bergen ; but both were unsuccessful, and Chris-
tian hastened back to Oslo when he learned that Gyldenstjerne had
received reenforcements. A small Danish fleet, which had been
sent to Oslo, could not reach the inner harbor, which was ice-bound,
but a small force was landed, and succeeded in reaching the castle
of Akershus. The following, day Gyldenstjerne attacked King Chris-
tian's forces, set fire to his camp, and burned the Cistercian monas-
tery at Hoved0. Soon an army of 6000 men, Danes and Liibeckers,
arrived from Denmaric, Christian's fleet was destroyed, and he was
obliged to resort to negotiations. It was agreed that he should go to
Denmark to treat with Frederick I. in person, and if no agreement
could be reached, he should be allowed to return to Norway, or to
Holland. King Christian was brought to Denmark, but only to
be imprisoned in S0nderborg castle as a rebel. He was finally re-
leased from his close confinement in a lonely dungeon and brought
to the castle of Kalundborg, where he was better treated. Vincence
Lunge and Nils Lykke, who were instructed to quell the uprising in
northern Norway, came to Trondhjem, and requested Archbishop
Olav to submit. As he had no alternative, he renewed his oath of
allegiance to King Frederick I., and became in a way reconciled to
his enemies and opponents. He was allowed to retain his office,
but had to pay a heavy fine. At a meeting in the city the members
of the Council, who were present, renounced their allegiance to
King Christian H., and affirmed again the union with Denmark on
the condition that Norway should retain its rights and liberties as
before.^ In theory the principle of equality of the two kingdoms was
still maintained, but it could be nothing but empty phrases, as Nor-
way was in reality a conquered country. The people had not even
made an effort to defend their independence, and the leaders, who
were animated by the destructive hatred engendered by party strife,
had struggled more zealously to ruin one another than to save their
country.

In Denmark King Frederick I. had been placed on the throne by

the nobles, and he had been obliged to sign a charter which made him

wholly dependent on the magnates, who had stipulated, among other

things, that the king should not interfere in the relations between the

1 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, XIV., no. 714.

ir THE count's war. christian III 127

noble landowners and their renters. Thereby the nobility secured
full jurisdiction over the peasants, who were gradually reduced to
serfdom. The Reformation was rapidly gaining ground in the
kingdom, and Frederick I. had secretly encouraged it, as he was him-
self a convert to Luther's teachings. Hans Tausen, a learned
man and eloquent speaker, who had studied at Rostock and Witten-
berg, became the leader of the movement in Denmark, and set on
foot a great religious revival, which spread irresistibly through the
kingdom. In Copenhagen he preached with such power and per-
suasion that the people flocked in large numbers to hear him, and
when the clergy refused to permit them to assemble in the churches,
they gained admittance by forcing the doors. Against such a move-
ment the Catholic clergy soon felt themselves powerless, and their
attempts at forcible resistance only aggravated the situation. Bishop
J0rgen Friis sent an armed force to arrest Tausen, but the people
drove them away. Monks were expelled, and priests who would not
accept the Lutheran faith were discharged. King Frederick, who
openly sympathized with the reformers, made Tausen his chaplain and
placed him under his royal protection, but the movement was es-
pecially encouraged by his son, Duke Christian, who was an enthusias-
tic supporter of the Lutheran church reform. Many nobles also
joined the movement, as they hoped to profit by the secularization
of the monasteries, and the confiscation of church property. In
the country districts they had already begun to take possession of
estates belonging to the church, as the religious enthusiasm grew
ever more fervid. In 1530 the citizens of Copenhagen submitted
their Lutheran confession to a diet assembled in the city ; the Lady's
church was broken open, and its altars and paintings were destroyed.
Even before King Frederick I. passed away in 1533, the Catholic
Church in Denmark was crumbling into ruins before the victorious
assault of this new intellectual and spiritual force.

19. The Count's War. Christian III.

Frederick I. had been placed on the throne by the nobles, whose
support he had won by liberal concessions, but religious strife and
social discontent had piled high the easily ignited fuel of discord.

128 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

which at any moment might blaze forth into a general conflagra-
tion.

Under these circumstances the election of a new king was a matter
causing great concern. The majority of the nobility supported Duke
Christian, the oldest son of Frederick I., but as he was a Lutheran,
he was opposed by a strong Catholic party led by the clergy, who
favored King Frederick's younger son Hans, while the merchants
and the peasants, who were sorely oppressed by the nobility, wished
to place the imprisoned Christian II. on the throne. Ambrosius
Bogbinder, Mayor of Copenhagen, and Jiirgen Kock, Mayor of Malmo,
the leaders of this party, allied themselves with Liibeck, where the
leader of the common people, Jiirgen Wullenwever, had been
elected mayor. When the Council assembled in Copenhagen, 1533,
to elect a king, little hope could be entertained of an agreement, and
many important questions awaited settlement. Whether Lutheran-
ism or Calvinism should be the future religion in Denmark, whether
the union with Norway should be maintained, whether Denmark
should take the side of Liibeck or of Holland in the struggle for
supremacy in the Baltic, were among questions to be considered.
As none of the candidates for the throne could be chosen, the election
of king was postponed until the following year, but the disputes were
violent, especially regarding the question of rehgion. Hans Tausen
was summoned before the Council and sentenced to death, but the
sentence could not be executed, because the angry populace threatened
to mob the CathoHc prelates, and the persecution of the Lutherans,
which was set on foot, stranded on the people's determined resistance.
As to the question of supporting Liibeck or Holland, the Council
decided in favor of Holland. Wullenwever, who hoped to save
Liibeck's commercial prestige by gaining power and influence in
Denmark, was keeping his fleet ready, awaiting the decision, and he
immediately sent an army of mercenaries into Holstein in command
of Count Christopher of Oldenburg. Owing to this circumstance, this
war for naval and commercial supremacy, of succession, and re-
ligious party strife is generally known as the " Count's War." Count
Christopher quickly seized Seeland, Sk&ne, and the Danish islands.
The people of Jutland rose against their lords, burned their residences,
and proclaimed Christian II. king. Under these circumstances the

II THE count's war. CHRISTIAN III 129

Council again assembled and chose Duke Christian king, but it
might now be a question if they had a throne to offer him. If he
wished to rule, he had to win his kingdom from his opponents. Chris-
tian III. resolutely took up the fight. As Duke of Gottorp he could
rely on the support of the nobles of Holstein, who wished to become
masters of Denmark. His general, John Rantzau, defeated the
peasants in Jutland, and crushed the forces of the Liibeckers in Fyen,
while Peder Skram, the Danish naval commander, destroyed the
Liibeck fleet.^

King Gustav Vasa of Sweden, who was a brother-in-law and ally of
Christian III., aided him in bringing Sk§,ne to submission. Copen-
hagen was invested from all sides, and after a long siege, the city was
forced to surrender in the summer of 1536.^ The Liibeckers had lost
their control of the Baltic, the Lutheran party had triumphed, and
the nobles had crushed the uprising of the peasants, who were now
wholly subjected to the tender mercies of their angry lords.

The situation in Denmark might have been an opportunity for
Norway to establish her independence, but the people lacked organiza-
tion and leaders. Archbishop Olav summoned a general council of
the nobles and common people at Bud in Romsdal, 1533,' but his
political prestige was gone, the religious situation made it impossible
for him to unite the people politically, and the castles of the kingdom
were in the hands of Duke Christian's adherents. Vincence Lunge
and Archbishop Olav, who were divided both by religious and political
views, could not agree to cast their country's lot with either party,
or to disregard both and set up a national government. The arch-

^ An account of the naval war written by Marx von Schley tz, found in
Die ersten deutschen Zeitungen, p. 116 (Munchen library), has been pub-
lished by Professor Ludvig Daae in Historisk Tidsskrift, f0rste raekke, vol.
III., p. 447 ff. C. Paludan-Miiller, Grevens Feide, I., 430 ff. ; II., 184 ff.
G. Waitz, Lubeck unter Jurgen Wullenwever. Joh. Grundtvig, Nye Bidrag
HI S^magtens Historie i Grevens Feide, Danske Magasin, fjerde raekke, III.,
Bidrag til Oplysning om Grevefeidens Tid.

^ The siege of Copenhagen lasted over a year, and is one of the most
noted sieges in history. See Ludvig Daae, Om Kj^benhavns Overgivelse,
Historisk Tidsskrift, f0rste raekke, vol. III., p. 463 ff.

' Yngvar Nielsen, Det norske Rigsraad, p. 380 ff. Diplomatarium Nor-
wegicum, IV., 101. C. Pahidan-Miiller, Grevens Feide, II., p. 47 f. T. H.
Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 1814, p. 319, 349.

VOL. n — K

130 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE tl

bishop passively watched developments. He was in favor of Count
Frederick of the Palatinate, who had married Dorothea, a daughter
of Christian II., but he did not venture to espouse his cause openly.
Vincence Lunge would recognize Duke Christian in the hope that a
charter might be secured which would guarantee Norwegian autonomy.
He assembled a few councilors from southern Norway in Oslo, and
these formally elected Duke Christian king of Norway. To the
document declaring his election they attached the condition that " his
royal majesty shall preserve to us and to the kingdom all Christian
blessings, liberties, privileges, laws, and lawful customs, according
to the charter granted by Frederick I." This charter should remain
in force until King Christian III. should come to Norway to negotiate
with the Council and grant a new charter, whereupon he should be
crowned king of Norway.^ This proceeding was irregular and un-
lawful, but it was, no doubt, the wisest policy, as subsequent events
proved. But the unfortunate quarrel between Lunge and the
archbishop had flared up with new violence which made all coop-
eration impossible. Nils Lykke, Vincence Lunge's brother-in-law,
was married to Lady Inger's daughter Eline. She died in 1532, and
her youngest sister, Lucie, undertook to manage the household for
her brother-in-law. He became enamored of the young lady, and
wanted to marry her, but the Catholic Church regarded such a mar-
riage incestuous, and Vincence Lunge, Lady Inger, and other relatives
opposed the match. Archbishop Olav was for a time disposed to view
it favorably, but when Lucie in 1535 gave birth to a son, he could no
longer shield the unfortunate lovers. He caused Nils Lykke to be
imprisoned in the castle of Steinviksholm, where the ill-fated
noble was smoked to death. Lucie was later married to the Swedish
nobleman Jens Tillufson Bjelke, who became owner of 0straat, and
the forbear of a large and distinguished family.^
At Christmas time, 1535, the election of king was again to be con-

1 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, XV., no. 606 flf. Archbishop Olav sanc-
tioned the election in a letter to Bishop Hans RefiF and Vincence Lunge.
Diplomatarium Norwegicum, XII., no. 555. C. Paludan-MUller, Aktstykker til
Grevens Feide, II., no. 30, 32, 37, 40-42, 49. Norske Rigsregistranter, I., p. 43 f.

* Axel Johannessen, 0steraat Herrescede. Fru Inger til Austraat og hendes
Dfitre, ved Henrik Mathiesen. Yngvar Nielsen, Norges Historie, vol. IV.,
I., p. 6 s. T. H. Aschehoug, Statsjorjatningen i Norge og Danmark, p. 349 f.

PLATE III

0STRAAT.

.■atmmsag^

mmiim^..>^m^m^^

II IIII^^B^B'

i h -liSBBftaini i '

-4

I^HBHhj^^^

Ruins of Steinviksholm Castle.

n THE count's war. christian m 131

sidered at a council in Trondhjem, where some of the councilors
from southern Norway were present. Christian III. had also asked
for a tax which was to be voted, and the people of the neighboring
districts had been assembled, for the purpose, undoubtedly, of giving
their consent to whatever the Council might do. But they became
angry and refused to agree. Wild tumults followed. Vincence Lunge
was killed, and the bishops of Oslo and Hamar were imprisoned in
Tautra monastery.^ Thereby the Norwegian Council was practi-
cally destroyed. Archbishop Olav had now no choice but to act.
Since Vincence Lunge's policy had been shattered, no alternative
remained but the abrogation of the act of the union with Denmark, a
resolute attempt to gain possession of the fortresses of the country,
and the election of Count Frederick as king of Norway. This plan
was not a makeshift, but an ideal, for which the greatest sacrifices
might well be made. But Archbishop Olav was wholly unfit to be a
leader in a struggle of that nature, and he failed to take into account
his absolute lack of preparation, organization, or resources. He dis-
patched Einar Tjeld with a small force to take Akershus, and Christo-
pher Trondss0n was to seize Bergen, but both attempts failed, and
the national uprising collapsed utterly. Archbishop Olav lost
courage, liberated those who had been imprisoned, offered to recog-
nize Christian III. as king of Norway, and to assemble a general
council to elect him, if pardon would be granted for the uprising.

After the fall of Copenhagen King Christian was undisputed lord
of Denmark. By a coup d'etat the old constitution of the kingdom
was destroyed, many councilors were turned out of the Council,
and all political power was taken away from the bishops.^ A diet
was assembled at Copenhagen, where a new constitution was formu-
lated, according to which the kingdom was to be governed by the
king, the Council, and the nobility, and the Lutheran faith was formally
accepted as the religion of the realm. These measures could have no
force in Norway, which was still an independent kingdom, united
with Denmark on stipulated terms, but a paragraph was, none the
less, inserted in the charter which the king granted the Danish nobility,

* Yngvar Nielsen, Det norske Rigsraad, 382 ff. T. H. Aschehoug, Stats-
forfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 1814, P- 379.

2 Arild Huitfeldt, Danmarks Riges Kr^nike, II., p. 1486 ff.

132 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

in which he boldly asserts his intention of making Norway a province
of the Danish kingdom. Norway was to be treated as a conquered
country, and no attention would be paid to the documents guarantee-
ing its autonomy. He says : " Since the kingdom of Norway is now
so far reduced in might and power that the inhabitants are not able
to support a king and lord alone, and this same kingdom is united
with Denmark forever, and the greater part of the Norwegian Coun-
cil, and especially Archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson, now the leading
man in that kingdom, has within a short time, with the greater part
of the Norwegian Council, risen against the kingdom of Denmark,
contrary to their own pledges, therefore we have promised the Danish
kingdom, Council, and nobility, that if God Almighty has so ordained
that we gain the power over Norway, or any of its provinces, castles,
or syssels, which belong to it, that it shall henceforth be and remain
under the crown of Denmark, the same as any of the other provinces,
Jutland, Fyen, Seeland, or Skline, and it shall henceforth not be
called a kingdom, but a province of the kingdom of Denmark, and
subject to the Danish crown forever." ^ This was language which
could not be misunderstood. Norway would have to accept the con-
ditions dictated by Denmark. In a letter of March 5, 1536, the
king threatens that if the Norwegians venture any uprising, they
may be sure that he will send large numbers of warriors, both mounted
and foot soldiers, and cause them to be punished as disobedient sub-
jects, who resist their rightful king and lord, and that they must con-
sider what injury and ruin will befall all the inhabitants if a number

1 T. H. Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark, p. 351 f.

R. Nyerup says of this article of the charter: '''By this article in the
charter, the signal was given from above for that system of oppression
which lensmcend, fogeds, clergymen, and other subaltern despots continued
to practice in this and the succeeding reign, and which became so well rooted
that it helped little or nothing that the people continually complained of
extortion and wrongs, and that the kings from time to time by charters,
laws, and regulations sought to limit the numerous abuses and vexations."
Historisk-statisHsk Skildring af Tilstanden i Danmark og Norge i celdre og
nyere Tider, vol. I., p. 319.

How the union with Denmark was regarded by some people in Norway
in later years can be seen from a letter to P. F. Suhm, where the writer says :
"About the Kalmar union no Norwegian cares to read anything. It is the
source of all later misfortunes." P. F. Suhm, Samlede Skrifter, part XV.f
p. 358. Arild Huitfeldt, Danmarks Riges Kr^nike, II., p. 1316 f.

II THE count's war. CHRISTIAN III 133

of soldiers enter the kingdom to rob, murder, and use all sorts of
tyranny, and how good it is to live in peace and quiet. That Chris-
tian III. illegally usurped the power in Norway must have been mani-
fest to all. He was not lawfully elected king, for as Norway was an
elective sovereign kingdom, neither he nor the Danes had a right to
determine who should be placed on the Norwegian throne. Arch-
bishop Olav watched developments closely, but as he could see no
ray of hope, nothing remained for him but to seek safety in flight.
He gathered what money he could find, seized the treasures of the
churches, and brought them on board his ships, and on April 1, 1537,
the Httle fleet, carrying the archbishop and his goods and archives,
left Nidaros for the Netherlands, where Olav spent his remain-
ing years.^ The garrisons of Steinviksholm castle and Nidarholm
monastery surrendered without much resistance to Truid Ulfstand
whom King Christian had dispatched to Trondhjem. After the
archbishop's flight, Ulfstand marched to Hamar, where he seized
Bishop Mogens, and carried him as prisoner to Denmark, where he
died in 1542.^

Christian III. was never elected king of Norway in a regular way.
No charter was issued defining the relation of the two kingdoms,
and he never came to Norway to receive the homage of the Norwegian
people. He regarded the two kingdoms as so intimately and per-
manently united that the election to the throne of Denmark made
him legitimate ruler of both realms. Norway had lost her autonomy,
but the Norwegian people knew nothing of the paragraph inserted
in the Danish charter, and scarcely realized that any change had
taken place, save that a new king had ascended the throne.' The

^ The archives and valuables which Archbishop Olav carried with him
from Norway occasioned protracted disputes. In 1548 these articles came
into the possession of Count Frederick of the Palatinate. The archives
were transferred to Heidelberg, and have at length been returned to the
Norwegian government. Diplomatarium Norwegicum, V., no. 1090 ff.
Ludvig Daae, Norsk Maanedsskrift, I., p. 270. Henr. Mathiesen, Stein-
viksholm Slot og dets Bygherre.

2 Hamar s Beskrivelse af 1553 eller 1 653. See articles about this chronicle by
Ludvig Daae and Gustav Storm, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie raekke, vol. I.

' T. H. Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark, p. 343. Arild
Huitfeldt, Danmarks Riges Kr^nike, p. 1491. L. M. B. Aubert, Norges
folkeretslige Stilling.

134 mSTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

Norwegian Council disappeared, though it was not formally abolished,
and the Danish Council assumed the power of acting for both realms.
But since Norway had submitted to Christian III. almost without
resistance, he did not carry out the threat contained in the mentioned
article inserted in the charter. Norway continued to be styled a
kingdom equal with Denmark. It retained its old laws and its
chancellor, and its administration, which was kept separate from
that of Denmark, was carried on in the old way with as little direct
interference from the Danish authorities as possible. Christian III.
might easily have established the hereditary principle in Norway,
and thereby have strengthened his throne, but he lacked the states-
manhke foresight to do so.^

20. The Reformation in Norway

The overthrow of the Catholic Church in Denmark was, quite
naturally, followed by a like change in Norway, where its power was,
if possible, even more hopelessly shattered. Some of the bishoprics
were vacant, and others had been vacated through the flight or im-
prisonment of the bishops. The Lutheran Church was established
in Norway as a state church, at the head of which stood the Lutheran
king. The Danish church ordinance of 1537, which was written with
the assistance of Luther's friend and fellow-reformer, John Bugen-
hagen, became the temporary constitution of the Lutheran Church
in Norway, though the king had promised to give the Norwegian
church a separate ordinance, in which due consideration would be
paid to local conditions. The priests should be allowed to remain in
their charges, but the Catholic bishops were removed, and superin-
tendents, or Lutheran bishops, were appointed to supervise the ref-
ormation of the doctrines of the church. Geble Pederss0n, a native

* R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, p. 830.

The Danish flag "Danebrog," a white cross in a red field, became the
official flag of both kingdoms. The Norwegian flag, a banner with a golden
lion in a red field, seems to have been used on the castles and fortresses of
Norway in the sixteenth century, possibly also on Norwegian ships, but
the Danish flag was used on the fleet, and became the flag of Norway during
the period of union with Denmark. Yngvar Nielsen, Norges Historie, vol.
v., p. 2L

n THE REFORMATION IN NORWAY 135

of Helgeland (Haalogaland) in northern Norway, was appointed
superintendent of the diocese of Bergen, as already stated, and the
Danish church ordinance was accepted at the Oslo lagthing for the
dioceses of Oslo and Hamar in 1539, ^ but some time passed before
superintendents were appointed for all the Norwegian dioceses.^
The estates which had hitherto belonged to the Catholic bishops
were confiscated, one-half of the income from the tithes was paid to
the crown, and the secularization of the monasteries, which had been
begun by Christian II., was continued by Christian III. In 1555 it
is mentioned as completed. The property of the monasteries had
been seized by the crown, and after 1562 the last traces of Norwegian
monks disappear.' The valuables belonging to the Norwegian
churches and monasteries were seized and carried to Denmark.
The king instructed Eske Bilde to see to it that nothing was removed
"of chalices, plates, monstrances, jewels, silver, gilt tablets, and
other such things which are and remain in churches and monasteries,
that it may all be preserved, and thereby have due care for our in-
terest and welfare." ^ In a second letter he instructs Eske to collect
"articles of gilt copper belonging to churches and monasteries,
whether they be basreliefs, candlesticks, or the like, and forward
them to Denmark." ^ This kind of "preservation" was carried out
so thoroughly that there was scarcely left sufficient of the sacred
articles for the communion service. Peder Clauss0n Friis (born
1545) writes : "But it is to be regretted, and it is not praiseworthy,
that at the time of the introduction of the Evangelical faith they did
not only take away from the churches and monasteries the articles
of gold and silver, and other treasures which were used in the Catholic
service, together with vestments and other such things, but they
wantonly destroyed things from which they could derive no benefit ;

1 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, I., no. 1091.

^ The first Lutheran bishop of Trondhjem, Thorbj0rn Olavsson Bratt,
was appointed in 1546. Of the first four Lutheran superintendents three
were Norwegians; i.e. Thorbj0rn Olavsson Bratt, of Trondhjem, Geble
Pederss0n, of Bergen, and J6n Guttormsson, of Stavanger ; while Hans Reff,
of Oslo-Hamar, was a Dane.

^ R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, p. 834 ff.
Chr. C. A. Lange, De norske Klostres Historie i Middelalderen, p. 174 fif.

* Diplomatarium Norwegicum, III., no. 1147. * Ibid., I., no. 1087.

136 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

they tore down buildings, and needlessly burned valuable books
and letters, and destroyed the ornaments and decorations of the
churches, making God's houses cheerless and barren, which they
might well have left undone, nor did they derive any benefit there-
from." ^ As a further illustration of this kind of vandalism may be
especially mentioned the spoliation of the great national sanctuary
of St. Olav at Trondhjem.^ The remains of the saint were incased in a
triple coffin, the inner of gilt silver, the others of wood richly studded
with jewels, the outer being the ornamented cover over the real
coffin. When Archbishop Olav left Trondhjem, he placed the
remains of the saint in the middle coffin, and carried the other two
with him to Steinviksholm castle, where he left them when he fled
from the kingdom. The Danish general Ulf stand, who captured
the castle, did not return them to Trondhjem, but sent them to Den-
mark for the profit of the royal treasury.

While the king and his assistants chiefly devoted their attention
to the pecuniary benefit which they might derive from the overthrow
of the Catholic Church in Norway, the reform movement itself was
making slow progress. The few Lutheran bishops, who had been
appointed to superintend the introduction of the new doctrine, could
not reach the masses of the people, who were as yet scarcely aware
that a change had been made. The Reformation, which in other lands
came as a great spiritual awakening, was suddenly forced upon the
Norwegian people by royal edict, hence it caused no new intellectual
awakening, no spiritual regeneration. It was an affair of state to
which the people finally yielded a more or less willing consent. A few
Lutheran priests and a number of Danish Bibles were sent to Norway,
but nothing was done to provide instruction for the people, or even to
maintain the schools which already existed. Previous to the Ref-
ormation each cathedral had its school where students were pre-
pared to pursue their studies at foreign universities, and the chapters
supported a number of students who studied abroad. But shortly
after the introduction of the Reformation, one of these schools, the
Hamar cathedral school, was discontinued, and the prebends of the

* Peder Clauss0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, p. 350.

* Ibid., p. 351 ff. Ludvig Daae, Et nordtysk Sagn om Olav den heUiges
Ligkiste, Historisk Tidsskrift, f0rste rsekke, vol. I., p. 141 ff.

II THE REFORMATION IN NORWAY 137

cathedral from which they derived their income were seized by the
king, who used the revenues derived from them to pay Danish cour-
tiers and ecclesiastics.^ As a result the chapters were no longer able
to keep students at the universities, and after the old priests died or
became unable to serve, there was a deplorable want even of ministers
of the gospel. Lutheran ministers had to be sent from Denmark, but
the people clung to the old faith, and the new ministers were generally
ill-treated, and not a few were killed.^ Peder Clauss0n Friis, clergy-
man in Undal, in Stavanger stijt (1566-1614), writes: "But at the
time when the old bishops in these kingdoms were dismissed, and the
religion was altered and changed, and the pure word of God, which
had long been obscured by falsehood and human invention, was
again restored, the inhabitants of the country were so displeased that
they were filled with spite and hatred towards the Protestant clergy-
men and the whole ministry.' The tithes were not fully or regularly
paid, and in some districts the people offered the government large
sums of money if they would be left without ministers for some
years." ^ The first effect of the introduction of the new teaching was
a general deterioration of public morals, while papistical super-
stitions continued to live for centuries. Crucifixes and pictures of
saints were believed to possess heaUng qualities, and receive adora-
tion which was akin to worship. Pilgrimages were made to them
from far away. Even as late as 1835 pilgrimages were made to a
crucifix in R0ldal.^

The dioceses of Oslo and Hamar were united under the superinten-
dency of the Oslo bishop, Hans Reff, who had accepted the Lutheran
faith. The ablest and in every way the worthiest of the early Lu-
theran superintendents in Norway was Geble Pederss0n in Bergen.
He was a devoted Lutheran, and exercised a true reformatory activity

* J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historie, III., p. 302 ff. Norske Rigs-
registranter, I., p. 242 ff.

* Peder Clauss0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, p. 235. Ludvig Daae, Norske
Bygdesagn, I., p. 65. Vilh. Poulsen, FortcelUnger af Norges Historie, III.,
p. 162. Norske Samlinger, I., p. 10.

' Peder Clauss0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, p. 224. Gustav Storm, Om Peder
Clauss^n Friis og hans Skrifter, introduction to Samlede Skrifter af Peder
Clauss^n Friis. * Peder Clauss0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, p. 235.

^ Vilh. Poulsen, FortcelUnger af Norges Historie, III., p. 162. L. Daae,
Norske Bygdesagn, R^ldals Kirke.

138 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

in his diocese. He sought to secure Lutheran clergymen for the
various parishes, and founded the Latin school at Bergen, which de-
veloped under his supervision to become an eflScient institution of
learning according to the new humanistic ideas. Efficient teachers
were secured, and new buildings were erected through Geble's efforts.
He sent students to Copenhagen, Rostock, and Wittenberg, among
others Absalon Pederss0n, whom he kept at the University of Copen-
hagen, and later at Wittenberg, at his own expense. On his return
Absalon Pederss0n became clergyman and teacher at the Latin
school in Bergen, where he labored with great distinction till his
death in 1574.i

The new principles which had been introduced by the Reformation
even in church administration, though not immediately beneficial,
proved an important factor in the future development. According
to the church ordinance issued by Christian III., the bishops, or super-
intendents, should be elected by the parish priests of the cities of the
diocese. When a vacancy occurred, the priests of the cities within the
diocese should assemble and elect four of their number to choose a
new bishop. The bishop elect should be examined by the nearest
bishop, and the election should be sanctioned by the king. The
parish priests should be chosen by the members of the parish. The
parishioners should choose seven of their number, who should elect
"a pious and learned man to be a parish priest." He should be
examined by the bishop, and the election should be sanctioned by
the lensherre. In each parish there should also be a deacon, who
should give the children instruction in the Christian doctrine, help
the minister to sing, ring the church bells, keep the church clean, and
render other services; but no provision was made for paying the
deacon for his services, and the plan suggested was not carried into
effect. In 1552 the king made the provision that of the lands be-
longing to the church a farm (gaard) should be set aside for the deacon,
and in the church ordinance of Christian IV. more specific provisions
were made with regard to the service and pay of these officers. A
special tax (klokkertolden) was to be paid to the deacon for his support,
and he should instruct the young people in the catechism and the

» Norske Samlinger, I., p. 3 fif. Yngvar Nielsen, Af Norgea Historie,
De norske Humanisier, I., p. 115 ff.

n THE REFORMATION IN ICELAND 139

Christian religion once a week at such a time and place as the parish
priest should designate. The deacon was appointed by the parish
priest with the advice of the provost, and with the consent of six of the
leading men in the parish. This was the first germ of the Nor-
wegian public school system. The Reformation had given the people
privileges and opportunities of such a kind that they could only
gradually learn to understand their value and importance.^

If the Reformation was introduced in Norway without an accom-
panying change in the people's religious views, it was forced upon Ice-
land in a manner which recalls the scenes enacted when Christianity
was first introduced in the island. The old spirit and customs still
lived among the people, and the two bishops, Jon Aresson of Holar
and Agmund Paalsson of Skalholt, were not only autocratic prelates,
but proud and ambitious chieftains, who brooked no resistance or
interference. Vilh. Poulsen says of them : " Agmund, strong and
ambitious, proud, authoritative, willful, unable to tolerate resistance,
munificent to extravagance, resembles in character and conduct the
old chieftains rather than a priest or bishop. Jon Aresson was a
chieftain to a still higher degree ; dignified in appearance, charming
in manners, cheerful and spirited in good company, but a firebrand
against his opponents. He knew no Latin, but 'this mattered
not,' he said, 'as it was not the vernacular of the country.' But
he could compose a song whenever he pleased, for he was a scald, at
this time, perchance, the best in the land." ^ The two bishops
had long been rivals and enemies. When they first met at the
Althing, Bishop Agmund appeared]with a force of 1300 men, and
Bishop Jon of Skalholt with 900. Their quarrel was on the point
of precipitating civil strife, but they finally agreed to settle their
difficulty by a duel between two of their adherents. The enmity
between the two prelates subsided somewhat on the appear-
ance of the Reformation. Lutheran books had been imported
by the German merchants, who had carried on trade with Iceland
since 1490. Jon Einarsson, a priest of Skalholt, had become a
convert to the new doctrine by reading some of Luther's books, and

* T. H. Aschehoug, De norske Communers Retsforfatning f^r 1837, p. 89 ff.

* Vilh. Poulsen, Fortoellinger af Norges Historie, III., p. 163 f. R. Keyser,
Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, II., p. 844 fif.

140 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Gissur Einarsson, whom Bishop Agmund had sent to school in Ham-
burg, had also become a Lutheran by hearing the great reformers in
Wittenberg. In 1539 he was appointed Lutheran superintendent
at Skalholt, but he was successfully opposed by the blind old Bishop
Agmund, who still had the undivided support of the people. Gissur
saw that he could accomplish nothing for the Reformation while
Bishop Agmund lived and ruled in the diocese. He reported the situa-
tion to King Christian HL, as we may believe, with all the onesided-
ness engendered by intense partisan spirit, and the king resolved to
take measures for the introduction of the Reformation in Iceland,
which proved to be far more drastic than Christian spirited. He sent
Christopher Huitfeldt, the commandant of Steinviksholm, to Iceland
with a military force. On his arrival Huitfeldt conferred with Gissur
Einarsson, and the two seem to have agreed upon the plan to be
pursued. The people were ordered to bring horses, ostensibly for
the purpose of transporting goods to Skalholt, but thirteen mounted
men were immediately dispatched to Hjalle, where Bishop Agmund
was visiting his sister, and the aged bishop was seized and brought
to Huitfeldt as a captive. Deprived of their leader, the clergy could
make no resistance. The Lutheran church ordinance was accepted
in the diocese of Skalholt, and after Gissur had paid a large sum of
silver from the diocesan treasury in lieu of a tax demanded by the
king, Huitfeldt sailed to Denmark, bringing with him Bishop Agmund,
who died shortly after his arrival. As Lutheran bishop of Skalholt
Gissur labored diligently to introduce the Lutheran doctrine and the
new church service in southern Iceland. In the diocese of Holar in
the northern part. Bishop Jon Aresson still held sway. The enmity
between the two bishops became very intense, but an open clash was
averted by the death of Gissur, 1548. The Lutherans and CathoUcs
each chose their own candidates to succeed Gissur, but the ambitious
Jon Aresson, encouraged by the victories gained by Emperor Charles V.
over the Protestants in Germany, thought that he could seize the
bishopric and make himself the lord of all Iceland. He marched
against Skdlholt with a hundred armed men, but timely warning had
been received, a force of three hundred men had been gathered, for-
tifications had been constructed, guns were mounted, and when
Bishop Jon arrived, he was unable to take the bishop's residence

n THE REFORMATION IN ICELAND 141

by force, as intended. But Jon Aresson was too much of a chieftain
of the old school to yield because his plan had been foiled. In 1549
he took the Lutheran bishop, Martin of Skalholt, prisoner, forced
the bishop's residence to surrender, drove out the Danes from the
monastery of Vedey, which had been secularized, and reinstated the
abbot. The Catholic church service was reintroduced in the district
of Borgarf jord, and the monastery of Helgafell, which had been made
a royal estate, was reorganized. After having gained this notable
success, the relentless Bishop Jon directed his attack against his
personal opponents, many of whom were compelled to flee from
Iceland. R. Keyser says of him : "Jon Aresson had been unscrupu-
lous in his younger days when he sought to win the episcopal office,
unscrupulous he showed himself now in his old age when the question
was to hold fast with trembling hands the power once gained. He
heeded neither threats nor counsel, but proceeded arrogantly in the
once chosen course until the abyss of destruction yawned at his feet,
and all revenues of retreat were closed." ^ He had still one powerful
opponent, the chieftain Dade Gudmundsson, who was married to a
sister of the imprisoned Lutheran bishop, Martin. The bishop
collected an armed band of 120 men, and marched to attack Dade,
but the wary chieftain met him at Saudafell with a force of trusty
followers. After a determined fight. Bishop Jon and his two sons.
Are and Bj0rn, were made prisoners in the church where they sought
refuge. As the royal commandant had returned to Denmark, Dade
turned his prisoners over to his assistant, Christian Skriver, but he
feared the bishop's adherents, and did not know where the prisoners
could be safely kept. One morning at the breakfast table the minister,
Jon Bjarnason, said to him that although he was not very wise, he
knew a good way of keeping the prisoners. When asked what plan
he had in mind, he answered that the ax and the grave would keep them
best. This suggestion was acted upon, and the old bishop and his
sons were led to execution and beheaded. The people of Bishop
Jon's diocese, Holar, bitterly resented this vile deed. They watched
their opportunity, attacked Christian Skriver, and killed him and his
armed escort. Later fourteen more Danes were killed, and a spirit
of bitter hostility against the Danes had been kindled in all Iceland.
* R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen^ H., p. 868.

142 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

Sigurd Jonsson, a son of Bishop Jon Aresson, sent thirty men to
Skalholt to bring the bodies home for interment. Bells were fastened
to the cojBSns, and as they journeyed along, the church bells were
ringing, and the people flocked about them to touch the coffins of
the dead bishop and his sons, who were revered almost like saints.
They were buried with great honors in the cathedral at Holar.

Christian III. had dispatched a military force to Iceland even
before he had received notice of Bishop Jon's death. Two hundred
men were sent to the southern districts, and five hundred to the
diocese of Holar. After the bishop's death the people, who had
been deprived of their leader, submitted without resistance, and took
the oath of allegiance to the king at the Althing, July 1, 1551, and Olav
Hjaltesson was appointed Lutheran superintendent at Holar. The
Lutheran Reformation was thereby officially accepted, but Jon
Aresson was still regarded as the national hero, and generations had
to pass before Lutheran Christianity could become a regenerating
force in the people's intellectual and spiritual life.

Very little is known about the introduction of the Reformation in
the Faroe Islands. The last CathoUc bishop was Amund Olavsson,
who was appointed by Frederick I. in 1533. Jens Riber was the
first Lutheran bishop in the islands. In 1557 he became Bishop of
Stavanger as Jon Guttormsson's successor. The diocese of the Faroe
Islands was discontinued, and the islands were incorporated in the
diocese of Bergen, and later in that of Seeland in Denmark.^

21. The Reign of Christian III.

The disappearance of the Norwegian Council, the gradual decay
of the aristocracy, and, finally, the destruction of the Catholic Church
and clergy left the Norwegian people without leaders, unable to
assert their independence, or even to maintain their legal rights
in the affairs of internal administration. The principal lens of the
kingdom were given to Danes, with but few exceptions, bishops
and ministers were sent from Denmark, the government was wholly

1 R. Keyser, Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholicismen, II., p. 838 f.
Peder Clauss0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, 328. L. Debes, Fcer^ernes Beskrivelse.
Andreas Faye, Christiansands Stifta Bispe- og Stiftshistorie, Christiania, 1867,
p. 120 ff.

n THE REIGN OF CHRISTIAN HI 143

in the hands of the king and his Danish Council, and even the courts
of justice were often presided over by Danish judges appointed by
the king. The Norwegian codes of law were translated into Danish,
and the church laws were annulled through the introduction of the
Reformation. It became customary also to appeal from the deci-
sions of the lagthings to the king, who, together with his council, acted
as a court of higher jurisdiction. He also sent members of his Council
to Norway to hold court together with the royal lensherrer and
lagmcend in order to examine complaints against lensherrer, fogeds,
and others. This tended to undermine the authority of the old courts,
and exerted a deteriorating influence on Norwegian jurisprudence.^
The lawmaking activity was limited to the issuing of charters and the
granting of trade privileges to the Hanseatic merchants, and the legal
practice degenerated into a dull and formal routine, as the Danish
judges were ignorant of the principles of Norwegian law as well as
the detail of court procedure. During the union period Norwegian
jurisprudence lost the high position which it had formeriy held.
Foreign rule prevented its further development, and the people
themselves became indifferent, and ceased to cultivate the knowledge
of the old laws.

Christian III., who was a judicious and practical king, avoided as
far as possible all steps which would irritate the Norwegian people.^
The clause which he had inserted in the charter, possibly in order to
humor the Danish nobles, he suffered to remain a dead letter. The
charter remained deposited in the archives unknown to most people
in Denmark and, probably, to all in Norway. Two kings were laid
in the grave before it became known .^ The king's chief aim was to
maintain peace, to improve the economic conditions in his kingdoms,

1 J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historic, III., 294 ff. Gustav Storm,
Haandskrifter og Oversoettelser af Magnus Lagab^ters Love; Christiania
Videnskabs-Selskabs Forhandlinger, 1879, p. 22 ff. T. H. Asehehoug, Stats-
forfatningen i Norge og Danmark, p. 382 ff., 462 ff.

2 Christian III. has been pictured by Norwegian historians as a weak
and worthless king, but Professor Oscar Alb. Johnsen has shown that this
view is erroneous, that he was an able, clear-minded, humane, and conscien-
tious ruler. Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Nogle Bemerkninger om Kristian den
tredie som norsk Konge; Historiske Skrifter tilegnede og overleverede Professor
Dr. Ludvig Dane, Christiania, 1904.

* Yngvar Nielsen, Norges Historie, vol. IV., p. 40.

144

HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE

and to increase the revenues for the purpose of paying the big debts
which had been contracted in the late war. As he felt the crown
resting securely on his brow, he was in a position to carry out his ad-
ministrative policy with firmness. The nobility exercised far less

influence than they had
expected to do, and the
Norwegians remained
peaceful and loyal sub-
jects.

In the Count's War
King Christian had seen
the importance of the fleet,
and he aimed to make the
dual kingdom of Denmark-
Norway a naval power
strong enough to control
the Baltic. This would
also tend to draw the two
peoples closer together
through a strengthened
feeling of the necessity of
cooperation in furthering
common interests. Able
sea-captains were not wanting. Men like Kristoffer von Truntheim
(Christopher Trondss0n), Otto Stigss0n, Stig Bagge, and others
had learned seamanship as bold corsairs and lawless rovers of
the seas, but King Christian, who needed their services, was willing
to condone past offenses, if they would enter the royal service in
good faith, and this they were anxious enough to do. Stig Bagge
of Kvinesdal in Norway was a very able captain, and the king granted
him Lister len, but on an expedition, against the Netherlands, 1541,
he was captured and put to death. He was succeeded by the no less
valiant and able Christopher Trondss0n (Kristoffer von Truntheim).
These two are the forerunners of a number of distinguished Nor-
wegian naval heroes who later served in the fleet of the two kingdoms.
The king devoted special attention to the development of mining
in Norway. He seems to have thought, as did Absalon Pederss0n

FiQ. 3. — King Christian III.

II THE REIGN OF CHRISTIAN III 145

Beyer, that the mountains of Norway were full of silver, gold, and
other precious things. Alchemy had stimulated the search for
precious metals, and the growing need for money and iron, caused by
the wars and the enlargement of the navy, gave a new impetus to this
industry. Hitherto iron had been gathered in bogs, where small
quantities of native ore could be found. King Christian 11. had
sought to introduce the more modern system of extracting metals
from the rich mineral-bearing rock of Norway, but the attempt had
led to no practical results. King Christian III. renewed this attempt,
and imported miners from Germany, where the mining industry
at this time was most highly developed. He made special regula-
tions for the industry, based on German laws, and in 1537 several
mines were opened in Telemarken.^ The undertaking was very im-
portant as a first chapter in the development of a new industry,
but no proper control was exercised over the rude foreign miners,
whose lawless behavior so exasperated the people that a serious up-
rising occurred in the mining districts. The general ill-will against
the Danish fogeds added fuel to the flame. Several of these officials
were slain, and the uprising spread rapidly. Christian HI., who
never visited Norway after he became king, remained a stranger to
all local conditions, and without inquiring further into the real cause
of the disturbance, which he regarded as a rebellion, he ordered the
commandants of Akershus and Bohus to suppress the uprising. They
marched into Telemarken, where they met the armed binder, who
were persuaded to lay down their weapons. After they had thus
been disarmed, the hinder were surrounded and taken prisoners, and
a number were sentenced to death and executed. The mines were
operated with profit for some years, but a decline set in during the
decade from 1542 till 1552, and a few years later the work was dis-
continued.

The introduction of mining, though attended at first by little
success, was nevertheless a harbinger of a new era of national de-
velopment. Another manifestation of the awakening of the spirit
of progress was the destruction of the Hanseatic trade monopoly in
Bergen, and the coming into existence of a body of enterprising native

1 M. Braun Tvethe, Norges Statistik, p. 74 JBF. Yngvar Nielsen, Norges
Historic, vol. IV., p. 44 ff.

146 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

merchants, who dared to enter into competition with the Germans.
Though the^Hanseatic League had lost its former power in the Count's
War, the German merchants in Bergen continued to act with their
customary arrogance, and sought to intimidate ail whom they feared
might become competitors.^ Lawlessness and corrupt practices had
hitherto been the means by which they had maintained their power
in Norway, but Christian IIL would tolerate no violence or overt
disobedience. In 1556 he appointed as commandant of Bergen the
resolute, calm, and fearless nobleman Christopher Valkendorf, who
could neither be scared by threats, nor disheartened by open resistance.
The Hanseatic merchants had mounted cannons on the tower of the
St. Mary's church, and sought to frighten the new commandant,
but he paid no attention to their meddling schemes. With unbending
firmness he undertook to carry out the necessary reforms. Hitherto
the German merchants had been a foreign nation maintaining an
organized state of their own in Bergen. In order to prevent their
clerks and apprentices from marrying and becoming domiciled in
Norway, they encouraged immorality to the utter corruption of the
social and moral life of the city. Valkendorf began his work of reform
by bringing the corrupt social practices under strict control, and the
merchants had to submit to the laws, and promise to live " honestly,
Christian-like,*and well in all respects." ^ He summoned the German
artisans, and demanded of them that they should take the oath of
allegiance to the king, or leave the kingdom. Hitherto they had
been a colony of foreigners subject only to their own laws ; henceforth
they would have to become citizens amenable to the laws of Norway
if they wished to stay in Bergen. The demand, though a very just
one, was not heeded. The powerful merchant guild encouraged
them to resist, and, emboldened by this support, they threatened
that if the commandant attempted to enforce such a demand, there
would soon be orphans and widows enough in Bergen. In answer
to these threats Valkendorf ordered the windows of their shops to be

* Yngr^ar Nielsen, Bergen fra de eeldste Tider indtil Nutiden, p. 29 f. Krag
og Stephanius, Kristian Ill.'a Historic, I., 277 ft., 286 ff. Vilh. Poulsen,
Fortodlinger aj Norges Historic, III., 175 f. Yngvar Nielsen, Norges Hi9~
torie, vol. IV., p. 108 ff. C. E. Secher, Christoffer Valkendorf.

* Bergens Fundats, publishfid by N. Nicolaysen in Norske Magasin, I.,
p. 555-563, 587-603, Yngvar Nielsen, Bergen, p. 291 flf.

n THE REIGN OP CHRISTIAN III. 147

closed, trained the cannons of the fortress upon them, and held his
forces ready for action. The commandant's resolute action struck
terror into the hearts of the artisans, and they begged for an oppor-
tunity to negotiate. A meeting was arranged in the St. Mary's
church, where Valkendorf appeared accompanied by two boys, and
told the artisans of the order given the garrison of the fortress to fire
upon their shops if he were harmed. No one ventured to resist, and an
agreement was made by which the artisans pledged themselves either
to take the oath of fealty to the government, or to leave the city
before the next Michaelmas, unless the king should permit them to
remain on the old conditions.^ But the king supported Valkendorf,
and when the choice finally had to be made, they decided to leave
Bergen (1559). The German merchants still remained, but their
power was broken. Successful resistance could no longer be made
to the laws and authorities of the city, and the time would soon come
when they would have to submit to the government, and remain
satisfied with sharing the legitimate privileges accorded all other
merchants of Bergen.

Christian III. and his queen, Dorothea of Lauenburg, were both
devoted Lutherans. The king was a diligent student of the Bible,
and was well versed in theology, medicine, history, and natural
science; but he used the German language exclusively, and never
learned to speak Danish. Though not gifted above the ordinary,
he conducted the administration of the kingdom of Denmark with
great ability and good judgment, but the affairs of Norway were much
neglected, as the king never visited that kingdom throughout his whole
reign. The great changes which made his reign the harbinger of a new
era are, nevertheless, ascribable, in a degree, to his active cooperation,
if not to his initiative. The Reformation, the rebuilding of the navy,
the destruction of the Hanseatic trade monopoly, the introduction of
mining in Norway were measures which not only showed an increased

* Bergens Fundats, Norske Magasin, I., 519-563. Diplomatarium Nor-
wegicum, V., no. 1133. Norske Rigsregistranter, I., p. 244. Yngvar Nielsen,
Bergen, p. 295. Ludvig Holberg, Bergens Beskrivelse, p. 99 ff. R. Nyerup,
Skildring af Tilstanden i Danmark og Norge, I., p. 357 ff. Paus, Samlinger
af gamle norske Love og Forordninger, vol. III., p. 323 ff. B. E. Bendixen,
Tyske Haandverkere paa norsk Grund i Middelalderen, Skrifter udgivet aj
Videnskabs-Selskabet i Christiania, 1911.

148 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

national vigor, but which gave promise of a new development
born of the ideas of the Reformation and the Renaissance. King
Christian's greatest merit was that he became an advocate of the
new ideas, and helped to make them a factor in the national develop-
ment. He died on New Year's day, 1559. His old rival. King
Christian II., who had been liberated from prison in 1549, died the
same month at Kalundborg in Denmark.

22. Frederick II, The Seven Years' War with Sweden

When Christian III. died, his son. Prince Frederick, who was
twenty-four years of age, ascended the throne. He had been hailed
as his father's successor in Denmark in 1542, and in Norway 1548, a
step which shows a growing tendency to restrict the choice of king
to the members of the royal family.^ The new king had inherited
his mother's restless energy and imperious temperament, but his
education had been neglected, as he cared little for books in his boy-
hood. The religious tone prevalent at his father's court did not
appeal to him. He quarreled frequently with his parents, loved
pomp and display, and exhibited great fondness for military pursuits.
In the administration of the affairs of the kingdom the careful and
constructive course pursued by King Christian III. was abandoned.
The public pohcy shaped by Frederick II. became a series of hasty
impulses and of ill-considered adventures, terminating in failure and
general distress.

The king won his first military glory in a war with Ditmarsken.
It had been constantly urged that the Danes should avenge the defeat
suffered by King Hans in 1500, but Christian III. would not begin
war. His two brothers, the dukes Adolph and Hans, who had always
been in favor of renewing the attempt to take Ditmarsken, found no

^ In the charter of 1536, which was to be regarded as a constitution for
both kingdoms, the provision was made that if Prince Frederick should
die before his father, and if King Christian should receive another son, the
Council should elect that son as his successor, and, as heir to the throne, he
should have the official title of "i' Prince of Denmark." It is not clear for
what purpose this provision was made, as the Council still maintained the
principle that Denmark should be an elective kingdom as before, but the
king's oldest son was always chosen his successor till 1660. See T. H. Asche-
houg, Stataforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 1814, p. 359 flf.

II FREDERICK II. THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR WITH SWEDEN 149

difficulty in persuading their nephew, King Frederick II., to join
them in the undertaking. An army of 20,000 foot soldiers and 3000
cavalry was raised, and the Ditmarskers, who could only muster a
force of 7000 men, were finally overpowered in 1560 after a most
heroic resistance.

King Gustav Vasa of Sweden died Sept. 29, 1560, and was suc-
ceeded by his son Erik XIV. The new king was of a wariike disposition,
and, as many old grudges still existed between Sweden and Denmark,
a contest for the supremacy in the Baltic was almost sure to come.
King Frederick 11. asserted the old claim of Denmark to Esthonia and
Osel, and sought to ward off Russian encroachments in Livonia,
but Sweden took possession of Reval, and entered into open rivalry
with Denmark for the control of the Baltic. The immediate cause
of the Seven Years' War which soon broke out was the use of three
crowns in the coat of arms both of Sweden and Denmark.^ The three
crowns was the old coat of arms in Sweden, but in Denmark they
had been adopted as a sign of union of the three Northern kingdoms.
As Sweden had left the union, the continued use of the three crowns
in the Danish coat of arms was an indication that the kings of Den-
mark had not yet relinquished their claim to the throne of Sweden.
Frederick I. had, indeed, dropped the three crowns from the Danish
coat of arms, but they had been reintroduced by Christian III. and
Frederick II. This led to protracted negotiations, but neither Erik
XIV. nor Frederick II. would yield. In fact, both desired war. King
Erik hoped to take Norway, and Frederick II. felt certain that the
war would give him the longed-for opportunity to gain the throne
of Sweden. In vain the older and more experienced men counseled
him not to risk a war. He found support among the young nobles,
who exercised great influence in court circles, and the torch of war
was soon lighted. In the first naval engagement off Bornholm,
the Swedes under Admiral Bagge, a Norwegian by birth, took the
Danish admiral prisoner, and captured three of his ships. On
August 9, 1563, Frederick II., who was the aggressor, issued a declara-
tion of war. Liibeck, Poland, and Russia became his allies, and
Sweden was politically isolated. The war became, to a large extent,
a naval contest, as Frederick depended on the Danish-Norwegian

^ Otto Vaupell, Den nordiske Syvaarskrig, 1563-1670, Copenhagen, 1891.

150 fflSTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

fleet, which his father had created. The operations on land con-
sisted chiefly in destructive border raids, in which Hves and property
were destroyed, seemingly without any other plan than to swell the
general sum of misery. Norway was the trophy for which King
Erik XIV. was wilUng to do battle. In the days of Karl Knutsson
and Christian I. there had been sharp rivalry between Sweden and
Denmark for the possession of Norway, and although Denmark
had succeeded in maintaining the union with the sister kingdom,
the old jealousy was not wholly allayed. When the war broke out,
the Swedes still hoped, as in the time of Engelbrecht Engelbrechtsson,
that Norway would revolt and attempt to shake off the Danish yoke.
This hope is expressed in the Latin poem *' Querelae Swedicae ' ' (" Swed-
ish complaints ")j written at the court of King Erik XIV.^ The poem
describes Norway's sad fate, criticizes the Danish kings and officials,
and enumerates the misfortunes which Danish misrule had brought
upon the country. "Oh, Sister, to be pitied art thou. After Den-
mark with her sweet union bitterly hast brought thee under her feet,
thou complainest too late; too late dost thou take the shield after
the wounds have been inflicted. Too late thou grievest, because
thou hast been brought under the tight reigns of oppression. Now,
unfortunate one, thou finally seest that there has been black gall
beneath so sweet honey." There seemed, indeed, to be an oppor-
tunity for Norway to shake off Danish overlordship, and dissolve the
union, but as nothing had been done for the creation of an efficient
army, the country lacked the necessary means for the successful pur-
suance of such a course. The sailors and marines in the Danish-
Norwegian navy had been, to a large extent, recruited in Norway,
the fortresses of the country had Danish commandants, and no
central organization existed which could lead a national uprising.
There seems, indeed, to have been at this time in Norway a sentiment
in favor of Sweden, but such a sentiment could not be strengthened
by the course pursued by the Swedish king, who, in spite of ex-
pressed sympathy, sent armies across the border to raid and plunder
in Norwegian territory. In the fall of 1563 a Swedish army occupied
Jsemtland, but the province was recaptured by Evert Bild, the com-

1 Professor Ludvig Daae thinks that King Erik XIV. is the author of the
poem. Uiatorisk Tidsskrift, f0rste rsekke, vol. III., p. 492 f.

II FREDERICK II. THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR WITH SWEDEN 151

mandant of Steinviksholm in Tr0ndelagen. The following year a
Swedish army of 3500 men again entered] Norway. The Norwegian
commander was pursued and slain, and the lagmand was captured and
placed in fetters. " How cruelly they treated the people God knows,"
says an old writer. Both in Jsemtland and Herjedalen, which were
held by the Swedish troops throughout the whole war, the people
were so oppressed by the rude soldiers that they fled from their homes
to Norway in large numbers.^ The commander of the Swedish army
was a Frenchman, Claude Collart, who after subduing Jsemtland
marched across the mountains to Tr0ndelagen, and laid siege to the
strong fortress of Steinviksholm, which was surrendered by the com-
mandant, Evert Bild, almost without resistance. The people
welcomed the Swedes as friends ; the Danes were driven away, and
Tr0ndelagen, M0re, and Romsdal accepted the Swedish king as
their sovereign. This easy victory made Claude Collart (Claudius
Gallus) very arrogant. He sent most of his forces back to Sweden,
and began to rule in a most arbitrary and oppressive way. Heavy
taxes were imposed, and gallows were erected throughout the province,
as if it were his object to wreak martial vengeance on a conquered
race. The Trondhjem cathedral was desecrated by his soldiers,
who even carried away the body of St. Olav, evidently with the in-
tention of bringing it to Sweden, but it was finally reinterred at
Floan church in Tr0ndelagen.2 The pro-Swedish sentiment which

^ Edward Bull, Bidrag til Joemtlands Historic fra Christian III. til Chris-
tian IV., Historiske Afhandlinger tilegnet Professor Dr. J. E. Sars, Christiania,
1905.

• Absalon Pederss0n Beyer, Om Norgis Rige, published by Guatav Storm
in Historisk-topografiske Skrifter om Norge og norske Landsdele, p. 38.

About the later history of St, Olav's remains. Professor P. A. Munch
writes : '■' The middle shrine with the body remained, in the meanwhile, in
the cathedral, and was even for some decennaries suffered to stand in its
place on the altar till the above-mentioned war between Sweden and Den-
mark from 1563 till 1570. The Swedes then occupied the city of Nidaros
about 1564, and did great damage in the cathedral ; they took the shrine,
stripped it of everything valuable, 'even to the smallest silver nail,' and
biuried it at last with the body in a small country chxu-ch, no longer used for
divine service since the Reformation. When they were driven back the
following year, the people asked for and got permission of the Danish gov-
ernor to bring back the body to the cathedral. This was accordingly done
on the 8th of July, with great pomp ; the shrine was carried to the church

152 fflSTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

the people had shown was ill rewarded by this rude soldier of fortune,
and his undisciplined warriors. No course could have been more
effective in turning friendship into hatred, and the people would,
naturally, welcome with joy any aid which would rid them of such
oppression. Aid soon came from Bergen, where the able and ener-
getic Erik Rosenkrans had been made commandant. He dispatched
troops under Erik Munk to Tr0ndelagen to assist the local forces.
Collart was obUged to evacuate Trondhjem, and retreat to the for-
tress of Steinviksholm. As the Swedes did not number above
400 men, he was soon forced to surrender, and the angry binder of
Nordland, Tr0ndelagen, Nordm0r, Romsdal, and S0ndm0r were
summoned to Trondhjem, where they renewed their oath of allegiance
to King Frederick II.

The campaign on the southern theater of action resulted in the
capture of Elfsborg by the Danes, and in 1564 the Danish admiral,
Herluf TroUe, defeated the Swedish fleet commanded by Jacob Bagge
in a noted naval battle off Oland. Hitherto the advantage in the

in a procession of the clergy, the noblemen, the military officers, and the
citizens, and deposited in a bricklaid grave or vault. In the spring of 1568,
however, a Danish nobleman, who was in Trondhjem on a special errand
from the king, caused earth to be thrown into the grave over the body,
probably in order to prevent people from worshiping it, which they still
were inclined to do in spite of the newly introduced Protestantism. Even
then the body was tolerably well preserved. Mag. Absalon Pederss0n,
who saw it himself, says in his ^Description of Norway' that 'it was not
altered except the cartilage of the nose, and some parts of the eyes, which
were gone, else the rest of the members were as they had been for many
hundred years.' A judge in the south of Norway, who in his youth had
attended school in Trondhjem, told the Rev. Peder Clauss0n Friis, the
first translator of Snorre Sturlason, that 'the body of St. Olav, which he
had seen himself, was rather long, well preserved, with a red beard, but the
nose was somewhat sunken; the wounds inflicted upon the king in his last
battle were still visible, for the rest it was dry and hard as wood.' This
description, as will be seen, is at some variance with the more prolix one
given above. The exact place where the aforesaid bricklaid grave is to be
looked for is not known, but very probably it will be found when the repairs
now contemplated are begun, that is to say, if there are any signs by which
it may be identified. But whether the body be found or not, it is yet a
satisfaction to know that it still rests in the same church which owes its
origin to the saint, and from which, during five centuries, he spread luster
over the whole kingdom." P. A. Munch og H. E. Schirmer, Trondhjems
Domkirke, p. 38 f.

II FREDERICK II. THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR WITH SWEDEN 153

struggle had inclined to the side of the Danes, but the tide turned in
1565. In the naval battle of Femern, Herluf Trolle received his
death-wound, and his successor. Otto Rud, was captured in a second
engagement at Bornholm. The situation became so critical that Den-
mark was persuaded to open peace negotiations, but King Erik XIV.,
who considered himself the unqualified victor, made demands which
could not be accepted, and the struggle continued. The very able
Danish general Daniel Rantzau defeated the Swedes at Axtorna, and
the heroic Jens Holgerss0n had successfully defended Bohus against
repeated attacks. In 1566 great efforts were made to increase the
strength of the Danish army and navy. Soldiers were pressed into
service, and the increased war contributions weighed heavily on the
people both in Norway and Denmark. But of Httle avail were these
sacrifices. A large part of the Danish-Norwegian fleet was destroyed
on the coast of Gothland in a terrific storm, July 28-29. Between
six and seven thousand men perished in a single night,^ but as the
Swedish fleet was also damaged in the same hurricane, the relative
strength of the two powers was not materially changed. In spite of
repeated misfortunes King Frederick II. "did not allow his royal
courage to be shaken." Again he undertook to build a fleet, which he
hoped might retrieve the losses, and bring him the coveted victory.
In 1567 King Erik XIV. directed his attack against Norway.
This vain and ambitious king, who was inordinately licentious and
void of any solicitude for the welfare of his people, was becoming
mentally unbalanced. He still thought that the Norwegians would
rise against the Danes, and he was encouraged in this belief by an
adventurer, Eno Brandr0k, a son of the Norwegian naval hero Chris-
topher Trondss0n. Eno advised Erik to attack Akershus. The
Norwegians, he said, would rise in revolt as soon as the Swedes ap-
peared, and the march from Akershus to Bergenhus would be a tri-
umphal procession. Stories like these would, naturally, excite the
diseased imagination of the almost insane king. An army under
John Siggess0n was dispatched across the border into 0sterdalen, and
a wicked raid, accompanied by the plundering of the churches and
the devastation of defenseless settlements, was begun, ^sterdalen
and Hedemarken were ravaged, Hamar was taken, and Hamarhus
^ Otto Vaupell, Den nordiske Syvaarskrig, p. 113 £f.

154 mSTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

castle was plundered. But when the enemy reached Oslo, the people
burned their city rather than see it fall into the hands of the invaders.
The districts of southeastern Norway submitted, and the people were
forced to swear allegiance to King Erik XIV., but the ravages did
not cease. Swedish detachments roamed over Ringerike, Romerike,
Hedemarken, Gausdal, and the districts east and west of the Chris-
tiania fjord; Sarpsborg was burned, because the people refused to
pay war tribute ; the same fate befell Konghelle. New forces ar-
rived constantly, and it seemed as if the plundering and burning would
nev^er stop. Akershus was invested, and Erik Rosenkrans of Bergen
so'ght to aid the besieged fortress, but he experienced the greatest
diflBculty in raising forces and supplies. The war had exhausted the
resources both of Norway and Denmark, and loud complaints were
heard on every hand. Erik Munk was, finally, sent to Akershus with
reenforcements, and the Swedes had to retire. They marched north-
ward from Oslo, " crossed seven large rivers which were in their way,
and everywhere they broke down the bridges behind them, burned
everything which they found, and killed both men and women,
sparing no one." On their retreat they also destroyed Hamarhus
castle, and burned the Hamar cathedral. The great church was not
destroyed, but suffered serious damages, which were never repaired,
and the cathedral gradually fell to ruin,^

After the termination of the Norwegian campaign, the struggle
was waged principally on Swedish soil, and Norway was not seriously
molested. The war, which had exhausted all three kingdoms, was
gradually drawing to a close. King Erik XIV., who had become
permanently deranged, was finally deposed, and his brother, Duke
John, was placed on the throne as King John III. in January, 1569.
About the same time a treaty of peace had been negotiated with
Denmark, but as the king and the Estates of Sweden would not
ratify it, hostilities began anew. Frederick II., however, had soon
spent the last strength of his two kingdoms, and peace negotiations
were renewed at Stettin, July 15, 1570, and the final treaty of peace

* The cathedral, which was a structure in Romanesque style, was built
in the second half of the twelfth century. Einar Orting, Hamar Domkirke,
Symra, vol. VII., p. 95 f . N. Nicolaysen, Stor-Hamars Ruiner. L. Dietrich-
son, Vore Fmdres Verk, Christiania, 1906. C. Ramseth, Hamar Bys Historie,
Hamar, 1899. C. C. A. Lange, De norskt Klo8trea HUtorie t Middelalderen.

n NORWAY IN THE REIGN OF FREDERICK II. 155

was signed December 13 of the same year. According to the terms
of the treaty, Denmark should surrender all claims to Sweden. The
question of the three crowns in the Danish coat of arms should be
settled by a court of arbitration; but as this court was never as-
sembled, Denmark continued to use the three crowns as before.
Elfsborg should be given back to Sweden on the payment of an in-
demnity of 150,000 riksdaler. The Norwegian provinces of Jsemt-
land and Herjedalen, which had hitherto belonged to the diocese
cf Upsala, were joined to the diocese of Trondhjem. All ships and
cannons which had been taken in the war should be returned to their
respective owners, all conquered territory should be surrendered,
and Liibeck should have the right to trade with Sv/eden. In the
long struggle nothing had been gained by either power. Their rela-
tive strength, both on land and sea, remained what it had been since
1537.

23. Norwegian Internal Administration in the Reign of

Frederick II.

From 1536 till 1572 Norway had no central government which
could represent the whole people, and serve as a connecting link be-
tween the king and the royal oflBcials, as the Council had ceased to
exist, but the need of a central administrative authority within the
kingdom had been keenly felt in the war with Sweden. As each
lensherre was the highest authority within his own district, an efficient
use of the country's resources in time of danger was well-nigh im-
possible. No army was maintained, and the Norwegians had been
unable to defend themselves even against a small invading force.
In 1572 the king created the office of statholder (viceroy) of Norway,
to which position he appointed Paul Huitfeldt, commandant of
Akershus. The statholder should have supervision of the church and
clergy, the courts, and the royal demesne lands. He should exercise
authority over the lensherrer, so that they should not oppress the
people, and by a regulation of July 5, 1588, he was also placed in su-
preme command of the Norwegian military forces.^ The central-

Om Hammer och Hammer Kifibstadtz Bygning, old manuscript published by
Gustav Storm in Historisk-topografiske Skrifter om Norge og norske Landsdele.
^ T. H. Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Danmark og Norge indtil 1814i
p. 389 ff.

156 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

ization of administrative authority was especially necessary in order
to bring better order into the finances of the kingdom, which had been
reduced to a wretched state during the war. The lands belonging
to the bishops had been confiscated by the state at the introduction
of the Reformation, and all church lands should also be administered
by the government, as the. Lutheran Church was a state church.
But before the revenues could be made to flow in the proper channels,
the administrative system had to be readjusted to the altered con-
ditions. Three subordinate officers, stiftsskrivere, were appointed
to supervise the buildings, property, rents, and incomes belonging to
the churches, and rules were made regarding saw-mills and the
lumber trade, the preservation of the forests, the keeping of all public
property, and the building of war galleys. Paul Huitfeldt was per-
sonally very active. He traveled about in the united dioceses of Oslo
and Hamar, and compiled a census of the property of churches and
clergymen. A copy of this document, usually called "Paul Huit-
feldt's Stiftsbog," is still in existence.^ The lensherrer usually re-
ceived the whole income of a small len, but only a relatively small
share of the income from the principal len. The statholder, Paul
Huitfeldt, received for his services the income of the len of Troms0,
but only 10 per cent of the income of Akershus len. But besides this,
he was granted, also, the necessaries for his large household, for which
he might use three hundred chickens, ten barrels of tallow for candles,
three barrels of salmon, and five hundred flounders. The cost of
maintaining these great lords, besides the taxes which had to be paid
to church and state, often made the public burdens alarmingly heavy.
In 1571 every odelsbonde had to pay taxes to the amount of one-half
of his whole income. This was, however, a war rate ; in 1576 it was
reduced to half that amount, or 25 per cent of the income. The
revenues of the crown were derived from the following sources : ^
The landskyld, or income from rented crown lands ; income from lands
operated for the benefit of the crown, consisting chiefly of lumber

1 Yngvar Nielsen, Norges Historie, vol. IV., p. 181 f .

* The system of taxation at this time is found clearly illustrated in an
old manuscript in the Norwegian royal archives, which contains an itemized
account of incomes and expenditures of Akershus len for the years 1557-1558,
and 1560-1561. Extracts from these accounts have been published by
T. H. Aschehoug in Norske Samlinger, vol. I., p. 161 flf.

II NORWAY IN THE REIGN OF FREDERICK II. 157

sawed in the royal forests, the regular taxes, consisting of the leding
tax for the coast districts and the vis^re tax for the inland districts ;
foring, or the feeding of horses used by the government, which seems
to have been a new tax, as it is mentioned for the first time in a
statute of 1578 ; fines imposed by the court in punishment of crime ;
tithes; duties, consisting of duty on goods exported, and a certain
tax or toll on ships according to their size; sise (excise), or import
duty on ale and prydsing ; and aid paid the crown by certain districts,
probably a free donation. The taxes were collected by the provosts
and fogeds, who usually employed the lensmcend (h^nder-lensmcend)
for this purpose. As money was very scarce, the taxes were, usually,
paid in sheep, cattle, and produce of various kinds, which had to be
transported to Akershus, or some other central point, at the expense
of the crown. A part was used for the household of the statholder
or lensherre, and for the payment of servants and officials; the re-
mainder was sent to Denmark.^

After the war the army was neglected both in Norway and Den-
mark ; but considerable attention was devoted to the fleet, as Fred-
erick II. wished to maintain Danish supremacy in the Baltic. The
sea was also made insecure by numerous pirates, and it was necessary
to keep a strong fleet in active service to keep them at bay. In-
teresting incidents sometimes occurred in these pirate hunts. In 1567
Captain Aalborg sailed from Bergen to look for pirates. At Karm-
sund he discovered two suspicious looking vessels, which he brought
to Bergen for inspection. One of the vessels was found to carry
James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, the husband of Mary Stuart.
Although a fugitive, he was courteously received by Erik Rosenkrans,
commandant at Bergen, who entertained him at a banquet. In
Bergen the earl met a lady to whom he had been untrue. This was
Anna, the daughter of Christopher Trondss0n, who confronted him
with evidence that he was her husband. In Norway she was known
as "skottefruen" (the Scotch lady). She would have nothing more
to do with the faithless Bothwell, and the earl was taken to Denmark,
where he was imprisoned at Malmohus, and later at Dragsholm,
until his death in 1578.

* T. H. Aschehoug, De norske Communers Retsforfatning f^r 1837, p. 84 f.
Yngvar Nielsen, Norges Historic, vol. IV.

158 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

One of the most noteworthy characters whose names are connected
with the pirate hunts of those times is Mogens Heiness0n, who was
born of Norwegian parents in the Faroe Islands, where his name still
lives in stories and traditions. He had sailed as merchant between
Bergen and the Faroe Islands ; his ship had been robbed by pirates,
and he had gone to Holland, where he enlisted in the navy. Later
he returned and began again to trade with his native islands, though
this trade had been made a royal monopoly. Sometimes he hunted
the pirates, and at other times he was a Viking corsair, leading a life
of romantic adventure, until his old enemy, Christopher Valkendorf,
succeeded in throwing him into prison. Through Valkendorf's
influence Heiness0n was sentenced to death and executed without
proper trial. This unjust proceeding was later annulled, and Chris-
topher Valkendorf had to pay Heiness0n's widow, and his old busi-
ness partner, Hans Lindenow, a large indemnity.^

The problem of creating a just and efficient government in Norway,
where the details of law and administration could not come under the
direct control of the king and his Council, presented difficulties which
were not solved even by the creation of the office of statholder. The
old complaints of extortion and oppression by the fogeds and royal
officials continued. Unlawful taxes were often collected, and the
people felt aggrieved by many unjust and arbitrary acts on the part
of the foreign royal officers, who neither understood the local condi-
tions, nor enjoyed the good-will of the people.

However well-meaning the paternal rule of a foreign monarch may
be, it is always bad. His numerous subordinates may practice a
most exasperating tyranny, which he cannot mitigate without de-
stroying the very system of which he has become the representative.
In order that the king through his Council might exercise a more
direct influence upon the administration and the enforcement of the
laws by the courts, councils of magnates, which had hitherto been
assembled on special occasions, were held more frequently. From
1568 such councils {herredage) may almost be regarded as a perma-

^ Troels Lund, Mogens Heiness^n, Copenhagen, 1877. Ludvig Daae,

Om Mogens Heiness^n, Christiania, 1869. Lucas Debes, Feroe et Feroa

reserata, Ck)penhagen, 1673. J. H. 8chr0ter, Foer^iske Folkeaagn, Anti-
quarisk Tidsskrift, 1849-1851.

n NORWAY IN THE REIGN OF FREDERICK II. 169

nently established institution. They were to act as a higher court,
but administrative questions were also considered and settled.
Some members of the Danish Council — not above five — were sent
to Norway to hold such assizes. The measures adopted, and the
decisions made were to be regarded as if they had been made by the
Council itself, but an appeal could, nevertheless, be made to the king
and the Council.^ The king thought that all irregularities and of-
fenses could be investigated and adjusted by the statholder and the
Councils, so that no complaints would have to be carried directly to
the throne. But the Norwegians were accustomed from very early
times to bring their grievances to the attention of the king directly.
He, they thought, would not shield the offender, even if he were a,
high official; he would give them justice, and instead of appealing
to the statholder, they appointed committees to go to Copenhagen
to lay their complaints before the king himself. The king was anxious
to see justice done, but the officials and nobles against whom com-
plaints were made, sought to revenge themselves upon those who
ventured to seek justice in that way. In 1573 a committee, led by
Rolv Halvardss0n, was sent to Copenhagen, and when they had
presented their case, the king wrote a letter to Ludvig Munk, lens-
herre in Trondhjem, requesting him to aid the binder, and to see to
it that the matter was settled right. But when the committee re-
turned, they got into trouble with Ludvig Munk and his foged, and
Rolv Halvardss0n and his companions were unjustly condemned to
death and executed.^ The constant struggle between tyrannical
officials and an angry people, whose necks could not be bent, fills the
centuries of the union period with tragic episodes, and constitutes
one of its most characteristic and noteworthy features. The struggle
was not a war for national hberty, conducted by great leaders ; it was
not a general organized movement, but a dogged and persistent fight
by the people for their legal rights and their freedom as individuals,
without which a Norseman could not live, and out of which national
liberty sprang full-grown when the union with Denmark ended.

1 Yngvar Nielsen, Norges Historie, vol. IV., p. 171 and 198. T. H. Asche-
houg, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 1814, p. 382 ff.

* To Herredagsdomme af 1578 og 1679 angaaende nogle Binder i Guldalen
tern var henrettede for Landraadesag, Norske Samlinger, II., p. 31 ff. Halvdan
Koht, Fyrebuing til norsk Polilik, Hisloriske Afhandlinger tilegnet J. E.
Sars, p. 132 £f.

160 history of the norwegian people n

24. Intellectual and Socul Conditions in Norway in the
Sixteenth Century

The literary life in Norway in the sixteenth century, though it
shows a lack of creative ability, is not wholly wanting in intellectual
energy, and many valuable works were written in this period by the
Norwegian humanists. Humanism, which had spread over Europe
from Italy, had been temporarily interrupted by the Reformation, but
after Protestantism had been established in the North, it blossomed
forth again with increased vigor. In Norway, as elsewhere, the
clergy, who had studied, not only in the schools at home, but at the
universities abroad, and had acquired the spirit and culture of the
age, became devoted adherents of the new learning. Some noblemen
of literary tastes and scholariy inclinations were also enthusiastic
humanists. At the bishops' seats, and also at the parsonages, small
libraries were collected, though books were rare and expensive. The
prevalent cosmopolitan spirit, the Latin language everywhere used
by scholars, and common intellectual interests bound the humanists
in all countries together with fraternal ties. They felt themselves
to be a sacred brotherhood, constituting the universal kingdom of
learning, and theirs was the special privilege of exploring and bringing
to light the great intellectual treasures and culture of classic antiq-
uity. They turned their attention also to the past history of their
own people, and dug from obscurity and neglect the sagas of the
kings of Norway, translated them into the modern Norse tongue,
and sought to open the eyes of the people to their own past greatness.
In Bergen, where the talented humanist Geble Pederss0n became the
first Lutheran bishop, a circle of learned literary men sprang into
existence. In Nidaros, Stavanger, Hamar, Oslo, and other places
humanists were poring over old books and dusty manuscripts in their
eager search for knowledge. One of the leading Norwegian human-
ists was Mag. Absalon Pederss0n Beyer of the Bergen Latin school,
a pupil and prot6g6 of Geble Pederss0n. Mag. Absalon wrote the
" Liber Capituli Bergensis," ^ a diary which gives a picture of Bergen at

1 The work is published by N. Nioolaysen, Christiania, 1860, under the
title Ldher Capituli Bergensis, Absalon Pederss^ns Dagbog over Begivenheder
isaer i Bergen, 1552-1 57 S.

11 LITERATURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 161

that time with great distinctness of detail. He also wrote "Norges
Beskrivelse," ^ a description of Norway which is especially remarkable
because of the intense patriotic feeling expressed in it. The author
bemoans in most pathetic words the loss of Norwegian independence,
but he speaks with eloquent hopefulness when he refers to the coun-
try's future. The following quotation will show the general tenor of
the book : " Therefore begins here Norway's old age, since she has
become so old, cold, and unfruitful that she cannot give birth to
royal children of her own, who could be her rulers. Her nobility,
good heroes, and warriors died from her, part by the sword, and
part by the pestilence during the Black Death ... so that from that
time forth the Norwegian nobility has constantly decreased in num-
ber, year by year, and day by day, since their fathers either gave
their property to monasteries or churches, or forfeited it, or they
wasted it themselves through marriage, or a number of bastard sons
inherited it. Furthermore, the Norwegian nobility receive no grants
of land belonging to the crown or the dioceses, and their own suffice
little or nothing to maintain the style and extravagance which are
now so common, therefore they are becoming extinct." He compares
Norway to an old widow who must lean upon a staff in walking, but
she is only apparently, not really, weak.

"Still Norway might awaken from her sleep if she could get a
ruler, for she is not so degenerated or weakened that she could not
regain her former power and glory; for these hard mountains are
full of good butter, silver, gold, and other precious things. The
people still possess some of the old virtue, manhood, and power,
which should enable them to fight for their lord and native land, if
they could daily see him and experience his favor." ^ The author's
optimism regarding Norway's future development and the abiHty of
the Norwegian people to retain their lost national greatness, rested
on a correct anticipation, based on a thorough knowledge of local

* Published by Gustav Storm in Historisk-topografiske Skrifter om Norge
og norske Landsdele i det 16de Aarhundrede, Christiania, 1895. Yngvar
Nielsen, Af Norges Hisiorie, De norske Humanister, p. 115 ff.

* Gustav Storm, Historisk-topografiske Skrifter, Om Norgis Rige, af Mag.
Absalon Pederss0n Beyer, p. 21 flf. Rasmus Nyerup, Historisk-statistisk
Skildring af Tilstanden i Danmark og Norge i addre og nyere Tider, vol. I.,
p. 320 fif.

VOL. 11 — M

162 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

conditions. Unfortunate circumstances had, indeed, led to Norway's
union with Denmark, in which perfect equality between the two
sister kingdoms could not be maintained ; but the Norwegian people
had never been conquered, their spirit had not been subdued or
broken, sometime the irksome ties would be dissolved, Norway
would wake from her slumbers, the spirit of the people would reassert
itself, and a new era of national progress would begin. Modern
Norwegian history proves the correctness of Mag. Absalon Pederss0n's
views. We shall have the opportunity to observe how this new na-
tional awakening began long before the union with Denmark was
dissolved.

Peder Clauss0n Friis, clergyman in Undal in Agder, was a patriot
like his contemporary, Absalon Pederss0n Beyer. He wrote a work
about Norway, "Norigis Beskriffuelse," a Norwegian natural history,
and a description of the Norwegian island colonies.^ He also pub-
lished a translation of the " Sagas of the Kings of Norway," a most
important work, through which the people learned to know their
past history, as they were no longer able to read their books in the
Old Norse language. Through this work Norwegian national feeling
received a powerful stimulus. Mattis St0rss0n,2 who died in 1569
as lagmand in Bergen, translated the " Sagas of the Kings of Norway "
from the "Heimskringla" and the "Codex Frisianus," and for the
lensherre in Bergen he wrote, about 1555, "En kort Beretning om
K]'0bm8endene ved Bryggen" {i.e. a short account of the Hanseatic
merchants in Bergen).' He complained of their encroachments,
and proposed plans for improving the country's economic condition.
Gustav Storm says : " He thought that Greenland in olden times had
been a gold-mine for Norway, similar to what India was for the Span-
ish monarchy, and we probably do not err in believing that he has
translated the old *Gr0nlands Beskrivelse,' and has worked it into

* Peder Clauss0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, edited by Gustav Storm, Chris-
tiania, 1881.

> Mattis St0rs30n's work is the first translation of the sagas into modern
Danish. It was published in Copenhagen, 1594, by Jens Mortensen, and
was erroneously called ^'Jens Mortensens Sagaoversaettelse." See Gustav
Storm, Et gjenfundet Haandskrift af Mattis St^rss^ns SagaoverscetteUe, His-
torisk Tidsskrijt, anden rsekke, vol. V., p. 271 ff.

» Printed in Norske Magasin, I., p. 43-46. _.,

n LITERATURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 163

Erik Valkendorf' s accounts of Greenland, to be used on the expedi-
tions of discovery which were sent out from Bergen shortly after-
ward." Laurents Hanss0n Bonde, who lived in the neighborhood
of Bergen, translated sagas and wrote commentaries to the codes of
church laws.^ Erik Hansson Sch0nneb0l wrote "Lofotens og Vester-
aalens Beskrivelse." ^ " Bergens Fundats," written by some un-
known author,^ 1559 or 1560, contains a history of Bergen till the
time of Christopher Valkendorf and the subjugation of the Hanseatic
merchants. "Bergens Rimkr0nike," by an unknown author, nar-
rates the history of the city till the time of the Victual Brothers, and
is of importance as an historical source.^ " Gandske Nommedals
Lens Beskriifuelse Aar 1597," " Om Hammars KJ0bstads Bygning,"
1553,^ and "Norsk So " (" Die nordtsche Sau "), a bitter complaint
of moral conditions in Bergen, written about 1584, are also of un-
known authors.*

In Oslo Bishop Jens Nilss0n became the center of a large circle of

^ Grffnlands historiske Mindesmerker, III., p. 250-260, 490-494. Laurits
Hanss^ns Sagaoverscettelse, edited by Gustav Storm, Christiania Videnskabs-
Selkabs Skrifter, 1899.

2 Published by Gustav Storm in Historisk-topografiske Skrifter om Norge
og norske Landsdele. Storm has shown that Sch0nneb0l is the author,
though the work was originally published anonymously. See Historisk
Tidsskrift, tredie rsekke, vol. IV., p. 173 ff.

' Herluf Lauritss0n has been regarded as the author of Bergens Fundats
by Holberg, Nyerup, N. Nicolaysen, Yngvar Nielsen, and others; but
Gustav Storm has shown thatJLauritss0n cannot be the author. G. Storm,
Om Skriftet " Bergens Fundats " og dets forfatter, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie
raBkke, vol. IV., p. 418 ff.

* N. Wicolaysen, and likewise Yngvar Nielsen ("Bergen," p. 328) have
held that the author of Bergens Fundats has used Bergens Rimkr^nike as a
source, but Gustav Storm has shown that Bergens Rimkr^nike is based on
Bergens Fundats. See Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie rsekke, vol. IV., p. 418 flf.

' Published by Gustav Storm in Historisk-topografiske Skrifter om Norge
og norske Landsdele.

« Norske So, printed in N. Nicolaysen's Norske Magasin, vol. II. The
title was suggested by a deformed pig born at Oslo, July 7, 1581. This
caused great alarm, as the superstitious people, and the no less superstitious
humanistic scholars, regarded it as an evil omen signifying that the vengeance
of God would fall upon the people, because of their wickedness. The poem
is of importance as an historical source, as it gives us an insight into the
moral depravity in Bergen at that time, though the author is guilty of ex-
travagant exaggerations.

164 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

learned and able humanists.^ Besides his knowledge of Greek and
Latin he was well versed in Norwegian history and Old Norse. He
copied the manuscript of the " Jofraskinna," and wrote Latin songs,
in which he describes the scenery of Norway, and the life and customs
of the people, especially in the district of Telemarken, where the life
of the Middle Ages was still well preserved. His most important
work is his "Visitatsb0ger," a record of his work as bishop of Oslo-
Hamar diocese during a period of twenty-five years, in which he de-
scribes the country, the roads, the lower nobility, clergy, peasants,
and townspeople.^ Fredrik Gr0n says of Absalon Pederss0n Beyer,
Peder Clauss0n Friis, and Jens Nilss0n : " In a larger sense the hu-
manistic ideas were brought to Norway by these men. It was, at
all events, principally these three who brought humanistic thought
to the hitherto intellectually isolated educated circles in Norway, to
whom these thoughts were hitherto unfamiliar." '

Regarding the population in the North in this period only meager
data exist, as no census was taken till in the middle of the eighteenth
century. The calculations based on tax lists and the old military
system leave so much to conjecture that the results deduced by dif-
ferent authorities diverge very radically. Professor P. A. Munch
held that the population of Norway prior to the Black Death must
have been about 560,000. Professor J. E. Sars states as a result of
his investigations that prior to the great plague Norway had about
300,000 inhabitants, and that during the plague the number was
reduced to 200,000 ; at the beginning of the sixteenth century it had
again risen to 300,000, and at the end of the same century the popula-
tion of Norway numbered about 400,000.* Troels Lund has figured
out that in the year 1600 Denmark had a population of about 1,400,000,
and that the population of Norway numbered about 600,000. But

^ Among those belonging to this circle were : Halvard Gunnarss0n, author
of Latin poems and historical works, Rector Jacob Wolf, Doctor of Medicine
Peder Fleml0se, Peder Alfss0n, Claus Berg, Provost Rasmus Hjort in Tims-
berg, Povel Nilss0n of Sande, and others.

* Biskop Jens Nilss^ns Visitatsb^ger og Reiseoptegnelser, published by
Yngvar Nielsen, Christiania, 1885. See Yngvar Nielsen, Af Norges His-
torie, De norske Humanister, p. 115 fif.

* PVedrik Gr0n, Nogen medicinske Forholde i Norge i del 1 6de Aarhuvf
drede, Historisk Tidsskrift, f jerde rsekke, vol. IV., p. 399 ff.

* P. A. Mimch, Del norske Folks Historie, vol. IV., p. 439 ff.

II POPULATION IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 165

as Sars claims that this estimate is without foundation, we may
take the lowest figures as the more reliable, i.e. the total population
of Norway and Denmark in 1600 might be estimated to be about
1,500,000.^ But relatively considered, this was a large population
at that time, as Scotland did not have over 800,000 inhabitants, and
the population of England did not number above 5,000,000.

City life was but little developed, as the people lived for the most
part in the country. Bergen was still the largest city in the North,
and the most important commercial center. The population of
the leading cities in the Scandanavian kingdoms about 1600 is esti-
mated by Troels Lund as follows : Bergen 15,000, Copenhagen 13,000,
Stockholm 7000, Malmo 6000, and Trondhjem about 5000. But this
estimate, which is based on military service and tax lists, seems to be
largely a result of conjecture.^ Yngvar Nielsen estimates the popu-
lation of Bergen to have been six or seven thousand at the time of
the introduction of the Reformation (1536) ' while J. E. Sars thinks
that at this time the population of Bergen could not have been much
above 3000, Trondhjem about 1000, Oslo about 1500, and the other
cities probably had, on the average, about 500 inhabitants.^ Because
of the Hanseatic trade monopoly, many of the smaller towns, such as
Vaagen, V6ey, Borgund, Kaupanger, and Lillehammer, had either
disappeared, or had become mere market places.

From time to time foreign elements have been added to the native
population in Norway, as in all other countries. This influx of new
blood may, indeed, have been lighter in so distant a land than in
the countries more centrally located, but in the Middle Ages the
immigration became of great importance to Norway in several ways.
After the union was established, a great number of Danes settled in
the kingdom as officials, ministers, teachers, merchants, and even as
laborers and artisans. During the Hanseatic supremacy the Ger-
man merchants became an influential element in many cities, es-
pecially in Bergen, where their colony at one time is thought to have

* J. E. Sars, Folkemoengdens Bevcegelse i Norge 13-1 7de Aarh., Historisk
Tidsskrift, anden raekke, vol. III., p. 282 fif. Troels Lund, Dagligt Liv i
Norden i det 16de Aarhundrede, vol. I., p. 52 ff.

* Troels Lund, Dagligt Liv i Norden i det 16de Aarhundrede, vol. I., p. 52 fif.
' Yngvar Nielsen, Bergen, p. 285.

* J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historic, III., p. 259 ff.

166 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

numbered about 3000 persons. In the sixteenth century many
Hollanders and Englishmen settled in Norway as merchants, and
many Scotchmen, who had been brought over as mercenaries, re-
mained permanently in the country.^ The most remarkable foreign
element which came to the North in that century was the Gypsies.
The origin of this people is veiled in impenetrable mystery. In
course of time they have spread over the greater part of Asia and
Europe, and they are also found in Africa and America. In southern
Europe they appeared for the first time in 1417, and claimed to be
Egyptian pilgrims who made a vow to wander about homeless for seven
years to atone for the sins of their ancestors, who had refused to give
Jesus, when a child, a drink of water from the Nile. By the Greeks
they were called Gyphtoi, which has been changed in English to Gyp-
sies. The story which they told of their origin created sympathy
for them, and the Emperor and the Pope placed them under their
special protection. But when it was learned that the Gypsies did
not return to their own land, that they practiced witchcraft, and that
they were not to be relied upon in word or deed, they soon became the
object of hatred and persecution. In some countries they were called
Tartars (N. Tater), as they were thought to be heathens from Asia.
Led by their king or duke the Gypsies generally advanced in bands of
three hundred persons or less. A few of the leaders were mounted, the
rest of the band — men, women, and children — went on foot. They
were seen for the first time in the North in 1505. A band led by Count
Antonius Gagino, which had spent some months in Scotland, came to
Denmark, bringing a letter of recommendation from James IV., stating
that they had been peaceful. In 1511 another band led by "Junker
J0rgen of Egypt" entered Schleswig.^ In the following year the
Gypsies appeared in Sweden, and they must have entered Norway

* The influx of foreigners into the Norwegfian cities can be observed in
the Bergens Borgerbog, 1550-1751, edited by N. Nicolaysen, Christiania,
1878. During two hundred years, from 1550 till 1750, 9279 persons had
acquired the privileges of citizenship in the cities of Norway. The birth-
place of 6526 is recorded. Of these 3352 were born in Norway or in the
Norwegian colonies, and 2974 were foreigners : 1607 Germans, 758 Danes,
353 Englishmen and Scots, 147 Swedes, 103 Hollanders, five Frenchmen,
and one Spaniard.

* Troels Lund, Dagligt lAv i Norden, p. 52 fif.

THE GYPSIES 167

about the same time. They were at first treated with kindness,
but as they were given to theft and swindle, they soon became gen-
erally hated. In 1536 they were outlawed and ordered to leave
Norway within three months; any one might kill them and take
their property ; people were forbidden to shelter them or give them
any aid ; and the lensmand who did not arrest all the Gypsies within
his district was made personally responsible for any damage which
they might do.^ "The poor Gypsies were now in dire straits," says
Troels Lund. " The foxes and wolves were better situated ; but they
could not be expelled even by these measures. Adhering like burrs,
homeless as migrating birds, shy and unsusceptible to kind as to
harsh treatment, hungry as wolves, noiseless and keen-eyed like cats
in the dark, they lived only for the moment. They could rejoice
like children when they found a brief rest, but they could also endure
hardships on their endless wanderings to a degree that no mercenary
soldier had dreamt of. They did not depart ; they retreated every-
where, but remained in the country. And whither should they go?
If they went to France, they would be sentenced to the galleys ; in
Germany and the Netherlands they were outlawed. The only
thing accomplished by this order issued by King Christian III. was
to split them up into smaller bands, which were chased without plan
from one end of the country to the other, persecuted wherever they
appeared, but gone at the moment when they were to be seized ; dole-
ful, leaving no footprints, like children of the darkness." As the
Gypsies had no religion, as they practiced magic arts, and were ac-
cused, though unjustly, of sacrificing human beings, the church joined
the state authorities in persecuting them. In Sweden an order was

^ The Code of Christian V., a lawbook prepared for the kingdom of Nor-
way, 1687, contains the following article regarding the Gypsies : Gypsies
who run about and swindle people with their cheating, lies, theft, and sorcery
should be seized by the local authorities wherever they can be found, and
those who are captured by the people in the country shoiild be delivered to
the nearest h^nder-lensmand, who, with the aid of the people, shall bring them
to the foged; and all their belongings shall be seized, and their leaders shall
be punished by death; the others shall leave the kingdom by the shortest
route, and if they are afterwards seen or met with in this kingdom, they
shall suffer death like their leaders, and whoever houses or shelters them
shall pay to his lord for every night and every person Hke one who shelters
an outlaw. Book III., chapter 22, article 3.

168 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

issued to the parish priests in 1560 that "a priest must have nothing
to do with the Taters (Gypsies). He must neither bury their dead
nor baptize their children." ^ A similar order was issued by the
Bishop of Fyen in Denmark, 1578. " If Gypsies come to the land,
as sometimes happens, then shall no priest marry them, or give them
the sacrament, but he shall let them die as if they were Turks,
and they shall be buried outside of the churchyard as heathens. If
they wish to have their children baptized, they must baptize them
themselves." ^ But the united efforts of the church and state could
not crush them.^ Under the worst persecutions they seem to have
made no attempt to leave; they were not reduced in number, nor
did they adopt a different mode of life. At last the more humane
spirit of modern times freed even the despised Gypsies from perse-
cution, and suffered them to walk their own paths unmolested. But
the modern humane spirit accomplished what medieval persecution
did not achieve. The Gypsies no longer felt the necessity of wholly
isolating themselves from the rest of mankind. They accepted into
their flocks tramps and idlers of various kinds, and thereby they
gradually lost their language and their identity as a people. In
Denmark they have already ceased to exist as a distinct nationality,
and in Sweden and Norway they are fast disappearing. The Night-
men in Jutland and the Fanter in Norway are the last mixed remnants
of the Gypsies, who through the process of amalgamation will soon
be totally absorbed by the native population.^ As to their influence
on the native population Troels Lund says : " The Gypsies constituted
a distinct ingredient in the life of the North in the sixteenth century,
not only as viewed by themselves, but especially through their con-
nection with the rest. Their sneaking, noiseless existence constitutes
a mysterious ingredient in the motley mixture, and belongs to the
shady side of its existence. They help us to understand the people's
great aversion to being out after dark, the shudder which went through
all when an unusual noise was heard at night, or a light was seen in

* F. Dyrlund, Tatere og Natmandsfolk, p. 13.

* Bloch, Den fyenske Geistligheds Historic, p. 43, quoted by Troels Lund,
Dagligt Liv i Nor den, vol. I., p. 77.

* Eilert Sundt, Fante- eUer Landatrygerfolket i Norge, Christiania, 1850-
1865. * Ibid.

II INLAND TRAVEL IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 169

the forest. One might think that the fact that they seldom appeared
would have restricted this fear, but they gave name and example
to a host of light-fearing tramps, crooks, loafers, and nighthawks,
who even before had been a true scourge. The same was the case
with the sorcery and demonolatry of the Gypsies. As they were too
few to attract much attention themselves, they became the visible
and tangible expression for the superstition and fear of the devil
which characterized the age."

Inland travel was still attended with great difficulty. The jour-
neys through the mountain districts had to be made on horseback,
as no wagon roads existed. The narrow mountain trails which
wound across the mountains and through the dense forests were
often as hard to find as they were difficult to travel. This was es-
pecially the case in winter, when snow and ice made travel both diffi-
cult and dangerous. Man's best friend on these lonesome and hazard-
ous journeys was the strong Norwegian mountain pony, who might
be trusted both to find the trail and to walk it with heavy burdens,
and it is not strange that the Norseman from time immemorial has
felt a most tender attachment for his favorite animal. The dangers
and hardships of inland travel are referred to even in the Edda poems.
The "Havamal" says:

" Fire needs he
who enters the house
and is cold about the knees ;
food and clothes
the man is in need of
who has journeyed over the mountains."

And Skirnir, who is sent to J0tunheim by the god Frey to woo for
him the fair Gerd, says to his horse:

"Dark it is outside,
methinks it is time to journey
over the damp mountains
to the J0tun hosts ;
but both of us shall return,
or both shall fall into the hands of the
powerful J0tun."

("Skirnismdl")

170 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

A couple of logs did the service of bridge across the roaring mountain
torrents. The work of keeping the roads in repair consisted in t&-
moving rocks and timber which obstructed the passage. The road
overseer, appointed by the binder, rode on horseback along the middle
of the road with a spear sixteen feet long with loops on each end. If
he could pass with this spear so that the loops did not become at-
tached to any obstruction, the road was considered to be in order.^
Two main routes led from eastern to western Norway over the moun-
tains ; one from Oslo to Bergen through Valdres, across Filef jeld to
Sognef jord, and the other to Trondhjem through Gudbrandsdal across
the Dovre mountains. Until mountain stations were erected where
wayfarers might find food and shelter, these routes could be traveled
only with the greatest difficulty. But the stream of pilgrims which
yearly visited the shrine of St. Olav in Trondhjem prior to the Ref-
ormation made the erection of such stations a necessity. In speaking
of the route across the Dovre mountains the old writer Peder Clauss0n
Friis says : " But in the winter people of high estate, as well as mem-
bers of the court, travel mostly that way, because however deep the
snow may fall, it blows together on the high mountains, and becomes
so hard that men and horses can walk on it, and the hinder run over
it on ski and snow-shoes. And there are these three stations : Driv-
stuen, Herdekinn, and Fogstuen, built on the same mountain, in
order that travelers may find lodging there. And kings and arch-
bishops have given cows and land to those who dwell below the
mountains, in order that they shall keep the stations in proper order.
And at Herdekinn dwells a man who has some cows which are given
for his support, in order that he may keep the station properly, and
show the travelers the way across the mountains in the winter ; and
it is his duty always to keep a supply of fodder and dry wood ready,
for there are kettles and pots in the house, and other such utensils.
And at the other stations there are implements and dry wood for
making fire, so that the travelers may build themselves fire, and not
suffer from cold, when they have to remain over night, and cannot
find the way across the mountains." ^ On the southern route were

1 Historisk Tidsskrift, IV., p. 224 S. Troels Lund, Dagligt Liv i Norden,
vol. I., p. 93 f.

* Peder Claus80n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, published by Gustav Storm,
p. 361 f.

n INLAND TRAVEL IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 171

found Maristuen and Nystuen, and at these stations chapels were also
erected for the pilgrims and travelers.^ Because of the great in-
convenience connected with inland travel, it is natural that travel
by water was preferred wherever it was possible. On account of the
lack of proper means of communication the inland mountain dis-
tricts were thinly settled, and made slow progress. But in the six-
teenth century, as in days of old, the most generous hospitality was
shown every wayfarer. In the monasteries the traveler always
found welcome and free lodging for charity's sake, until these insti-
tutions were closed on the advent of the Reformation. But the un-
written law of hospitality was as carefully observed by the people
at large. Mag. Absalon Pederss0n Beyer writes : " Truly a pious,
godfearing, and virtuous person can journey from Bohus to Vard0-
hus, which journey is more than three hundred miles,^ and he shall
not spend above a riksdaler, yes, they are glad, and they consider it
an honor when anyone wishes to eat and drink with them. They
sometimes even give people presents if they will make merry with
them. A Norwegian sailed from here to Danzig, and stopped at an
inn. And when he was going to leave, the hostess asked him to pay
for food and ale. He asked if he should pay for ale and food, and
the hostess answered yes. He said that it was not customary in his
country to receive pay for ale and food, but the woman said that it
was custom in her country. Then said he : * O Norway, thou holy
land 1 As soon as I touch thee again, I shall fall on my knees and
kiss thee,' which he also did. And it is a strange thing that in
other lands Norway is regarded as a barren kingdom, which it is in
some respects, and still so much ale and food are given for nothing
that many are astonished." ^ After the monasteries were abolished,
the country parsonages became the hostelries for weary travelers,
where free food and lodging were cheerfully given by the hospitable
parson, who was usually an excellent host. In the cities numerous
inns offered lodging, food, and ale for a small price, but they were

*Yngvar Nielsen, Reisehaandbog over Norge, *>' Nystuen." Historiik
Tidsskrift, IV., 231-232. Norsk Turistforenings Aarbog, 1874, p. 78.

* Three hundred Norwegian miles = 2100 English miles.

' Absalon Pederss0n Beyer, Om Norgis Rige, published by Gustav Storm
in Historisk-topografiske Skrifter om Norge og norske Landsdele, p. 40 ff. a .,

172 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

usually low dives, where thieves and drunkards had their haunts,
and where no wayfarer could feel safe. These cheap inns were es-
pecially numerous in Bergen, where they numbered four hundred
in 1625. In Stavanger they multiplied so rapidly that in 1604 Chris-
tian IV. made a regulation restricting their number, as " they aroused
God's anger by drunkenness, murders, and otherwise."

The chief means of inland transportation, especially of heavy goods,
was the sleigh, and such transportation was carried on in the winter
months when the fine sleighing facilitated traflSc. The wagon was,
indeed, used in the more level districts, and had been used from the
very earliest times, which can be seen, among other things, from the
Oseberg find from about 800 a.d., where a four-wheeled wagon has
been preserved complete. But the use of the wagon as a vehicle of
transportation must have been very restricted until the time when
more modern roads were constructed.

The houses of the common people were much the same in the six-
teenth century as they had been ever since the Viking period. On
each gaard (farm) there were a number of houses erected for different
purposes, the main one being the stue (0. N. stofa), or dwelhng house,
which corresponded to the skaale. Instead of glass, which was very
scarce and expensive, windows were usually made of translucent
paper or membrane. The houses were built of logs, and the walls
were low. The spacious roof, which was made of birch-bark, covered
with sod,^ bore a rich crop of grass and wild flowers, and might at
times serve as pasture for some nimble and enterprising goat. From
the outside these houses presented no imposing appearance, but
upon entering one might find the stiie large and cozy, though the
conveniences known to modern times were wanting. The abundance
of fine pine timber enabled the Norwegians to build large houses,
and to erect separate buildings for all sorts of purposes, so that a
large gaard would look almost Hke a small village. One notable
change had taken place in the stue or skaale since earlier times. The
open fireplace in the center of the room (arinn), and the opening in
the roof above it (Ijdri), had disappeared, and an oven with chimney,
built in one corner of the room, had come to serve the purpose of
both. The room was lighted by burning sticks of pitch pine, or a
* Qustav Storm, Peder Clau8S0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, p. 136 f.

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II DWELLINGS AND CITIES 173

lamp filled with train oil. The large table at the upper end of the
room was built of substantial pine planks, the benches were made
of the same material, the dishes, vessels, and utensils were home-
made, and so were the clothes, the shoes, and even the ornaments of
gold and silver. The houses of the common man were plain even to
simplicity, dark and poorly ventilated, but they had their charm
when the floor was strewn with twigs of evergreen for holidays or
festive occasions, and not less when the family gathered about the
fireplace in the evening, each with his own work, knitting, sewing,
mending, wood carving, or making vessels and utensils for the house-
hold. Then songs and stories unlocked the stores of adventure of
ages past, and young and old lived once more with Esben Askelad,
and the heroes of ballads and the sagas. This simple rustic Hfe left
few but strong impressions, and though its comforts were few, it
fostered a vigorous and manly race.

The cities of continental Europe originated for the most part as
fortified strongholds, serving as a defense against the enemy ; but even
in early times the Norsemen built commercial towns, and the cities
of Norway are, as a rule, of commercial origin. Walls and fortifica-
tions were of later construction, and with the exception of the castle,
the city was never felt to be a fortress. But the general features of
the European cities in the sixteenth century were, nevertheless, met
with also in Norway, and a description of London or Copenhagen
would, no doubt, apply in a general way also to Bergen, Oslo, and
Trondhjem. The hmited space inside the city walls necessitated a
crowding together of the houses. Not only were the streets narrow,
but the second and third stories were often extended beyond the first,
shutting out both air and light.^ The streets were poorly paved,
dark, crooked, and filthy, as manure, ashes, garbage, and refuse of all
sorts were thrown out of doors without much regard for comfort and
well-being. Pigs were running loose, wallowing in pools of mud, and
living off the garbage heaps, and when the late pedestrian sought to
find the way home, he had to carry a lantern to avoid falling into the
cellarways, projecting into the dark and narrow passage called the
street. Numerous laws were passed to secure cleanliness and better

^ Valdemar Vedel, By og Borger i Middelalderen. Troels Lund, Dagligt
Liv i Norden.

174 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

order in the cities, but these were not heeded. People regarded them
as an infringement on their liberty, and continued in the old ways.
New lessons could only be taught by great calamities, and nature
applied the lash to dull humanity in the form of conflagrations and
pestilence, until the instinct of self-preservation finally produced the
needed improvements. Time and again the cities, consisting as
they did of wooden structures, packed closely side by side, were al-
most totally destroyed by fire. Patiently the suffering and impov-
erished inhabitants rebuilt them in the same way, until fear, at length,
gave birth to the idea of constructing wide streets and public squares,
and of rearing the buildings of less combustible material. The filth
in the narrow passages and ill-kept streets proved an even worse
enemy than fire. The summer heat turned these filthy passages into
breeding places of disease, exhaling their deadly contagion upon a
people who failed to obey nature's great law of cleanliness. Violent
epidemics harried the North in the sixteenth century with a frequency
which filled all minds with dread, and caused untold sorrow and suf-
fering. From 1550 till 1554 amahgnant pest harried the larger cities
of Norway and Sweden,^ and especially Denmark, where the uni-
versity and the schools were closed, the court fled from the capital,
and so many people died that it was feared that the country would be
depopulated. In 1563-1566 the same plague renewed its visit in
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Bergen, Trondhjem, and Stock-
holm suffered severely ; the dead were thrown into big pits by day
and by night; even birds and animals were poisoned by the con-
tagion. In 1568 the pest again visited Copenhagen, in 1572 Stock-
holm, in 1575-1578 it harried both Denmark and Sweden, and in
1580-1581 it renewed its ravages in the whole North. Copenhagen
was again visited by the dread disease in 1583, and during the next
two years it spread throughout all Denmark. In Stockholm it broke
out anew in 1588, in 1592 it was brought from Livonia to Copen-
hagen, in 1596-1598 it harried Sweden fearfully, and in 1599 it was
again raging in Denmark. What sorrow and helpless misery these
fearful epidemics left in their trail ! But at this great cost some lessons

^Absalon Pederss0n Beyer, Liber Capituli Bergensis, 1552-1572, pub-
lished by N. Nicolaysen, Christiania, 1860, p. 109. Norske Magasin, II.,
645. Troels Lund, Dagligt Liv i Norden, II., p. 67 f.

n THE WrrCHCRAIT CRAZE 175

were learned, and the instinct of self-preservation quickened human
intelligence. The study of diseases, and the science of medicine and
sanitation, which were to transform all human life, originated in these
dark periods of human helplessness and woe.

But if the suffering due to man's ignorance cast a dark shadow over
human existence, the self-inflicted horrors arising from man's cred-
ulity and superstition have often turned human society into a veri-
table inferno from which reason itself, and all nobler instincts, for a
season seem to have fled. The sixteenth century was a period when
superstition sat enthroned in the minds of all classes, high as well as
low. But of all delusions which haunted man's brain, the belief in
witchcraft with the attending torture and burning of witches was
undoubtedly the most abominable.^ It is not here the place to dwell
upon the revolting horrors of the witchcraft craze, except so far as
it has left its stain of stupid fear and brutality also in Norwegian
history. As early as 1325 a witchcraft trial was conducted in Bergen
against Ragnhild Tregagaas. After she had been kept in prison
and chains for a long time, she was finally released on the condition
that she should fast certain periods every year, amounting in all to
over half the days in the year, and that she should make a pilgrimage
to some sanctuary outside of Norway once every seven years. How
many such cases occurred prior to the Reformation is not known,^ but
witchcraft trials and executions were numerous, especially in the latter
part of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth.
The most noted case was the trial of the widow of Absalon Pederss0n
Beyer, who was condemned to death, and burned as a witch in Ber-
gen, 1590.' Any woman who knew more than the Lord's Prayer, i.e.
who possessed literary culture above the average, was in danger of
being persecuted for sorcery and secret association with the devil;

* One of the chief works on the history of the witchcraft craze is Soldan,
Oeschichte der Hexenprocesse, 2 vols., Stuttgart, 1880. Walter Scott, Letters
on Demonology and Witchcraft, London, 1872 and 1884. Bsetzmann, Hexe-
voesen og Troldskab i Norge, 1865. O. A. Overland, Norges Historic, VI.,
p. 125 ff.

* P. A. Munch, To Breve af Biskop Audfin hetreffende en Hexeproces i
Bergen Aar 1325, Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historic, vol. V.,
p. 479 ff.

' The documents of the trial are printed in Norske Samlinger, vol. I.,
p. 529 £E.

176 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

and after the craze was once started, any prank of imagination was
suflScient cause for dragging the victims of suspicion before the
courts, and subjecting them to the most cruel tortures to press from
them an admission of guilt. From the years 1592 to 1594 the "Ber-
gens Raadhus-Protokol " ^ gives accounts of several witchcraft trials.
Oluf Gausdal was condemned to death as a sorcerer. He claimed that
he had learned his magic art of two women, Marine Haldorsgaard
and Mumpe Guron, and these were burned as witches some years
later. He even implicated the bishop's wife, who was saved with
diflSculty from sharing the fate of the others. Delis R0neke was tried
for witchcraft and banished from Bergen; Johanne Jensdotter was
burned at the stake, and, likewise, Anna Knutsdotter. In 1613 two
women were burned, because "by their sorcery they had caused a
mill in Sandvik to be destroyed," and several more women were
burned at the stake, because they were thought to have caused ship-
wreck upon the high seas by their magic arts. Anna, the widow of
Herluf Lauritss0n, the supposed author of "Bergens Fundats," was
also accused of witchcraft. She was thrown into prison and on the
night of the 19th of July " her neck was twisted and broken by the
devil," says the account. Who the devil was that committed this
outrage is not recorded. One woman was tortured with red-hot irons
until she died, and another died in prison after being tortured. From
Finmarken to Oslo and Christiania witchcraft trials were carried on
with torture and executions.^ As late as 1737 Ole Hoime in Shdre
parish was tried as a sorcerer, but he escaped with a relatively mild
punishment.' This seems to have closed the chapter of witchcraft
trials, the ghastliest spectacle in Norwegian history, though com-
paratively few were executed as compared with the thousands who
suffered death in all parts of Europe. No worse outrage was ever
added to the woeful list of wrongs against humanity even in those
days of medieval darkness, and its effect upon the finer moral and in-
tellectual sensibilities of society was the more pernicious, because it

* Uddrag av Bergens Raadhus-Protokol for Tidsrummet Juli 1592- Mai
1694, published by N. Nicolaysen in Norske Samlinger, vol. I., p. 321 ff.
Daniel Thrap, Bergenske Kirkeforholde i del 17de Aarhundrede, Christiania,
1879.

9 Norske Samlinger, I., p. 525 ff.

• O. A. Pverland, Norges Historie, vol. VI., p. 125 fit.

n CRIMINAL JURIPRUDENCE 177

had been committed in the name of rehgion and justice. This reign
of r^terror and superstition breeded general callousness and mental
obtuseness, destroyed the regard for the sacredness of human life
and the rights of man, and fostered a judicial brutality which reveals
itself in all criminal jurisprudence of that period. The crude con-
ception of the rights of the individual and his value to society is sadly
conspicuous. In early days the freeman's person and honor were
regarded as sacred, and this sacredness of person (mannhelgi) was
guarded by the old laws. The greatest crimes were punished, not
by straightway taking the life of the criminal, but by imposing a fine,
or by declaring him an outlaw, thereby turning him over to the
vengeance of those whom he had wronged, but also to the mercy of
the community. In the sixteenth century the idea of sacredness of
the individual seems to have disappeared. Human life had become
cheap, and neither the body nor the honor of the individual citizen
was any longer a sacred thing which the court was compelled to treat
with respect. The trials were often accompanied by brutal torture,
and capital punishment was inflicted with a frequency which made
the hangman one of the leading city oflicials, and the public execu-
tions the amusement, not only of the jesting rabble, but of the sedate
city fathers. On passing Nordnes at Bergen one might have seen,
almost at any time, several bodies dangling from the gallows, exposed
even after death to the jeers of idlers, probably for no greater crime
than for jumping over the city wall, or stealing a few pounds of butter.
The records left by Mag. Absalon Pederss0n Beyer in his diary,
*' Liber Capituli Bergensis," gives us an insight into the way in which
crimes were punished in Bergen in the sixteenth century. A boy was
beheaded for jumping over the city wall. A man who was suspected
of having killed his wife was tortured till one joint of his thumb fell
off. At times he admitted, but again he denied his guilt, but he was,
nevertheless, executed. A baker was hanged because he had stolen
butter. A honde (farmer) was hanged because he had stolen some
train-oil on the wharf. Two young men of old noble families, rela-
tives of Christopher Trondss0n, were hanged because they had picked
locks and stolen. A young boy who served at the castle was also
hanged for theft. Examples of this kind of legal justice need not be
multiphed, nor need we mention the numerous executions for what

178 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

we would consider more sufficient reasons, for these alone, it seems,
might have satisfied the desire of judges to inflict the favorite death
penalty. Fights and drunken brawls were numerous even at wed-
dings and other social gatherings ; murders and other crimes were of
frequent occurrence. When we read the descriptions of social con-
ditions in the sixteenth century left by old writers, we feel that there
was guilt enough,^ but no shadow in the picture is deeper than that
of justice forgetting to be just, and allying itself with superstition
and bigoted cruelty. It is the one great evil which especially darkens
the physiognomy of the sixteenth century.

But the century has also its brighter side looking forward to a new
era, the first dawn of which had already broken through the medieval
darkness. New elements of progress had entered the intellectual and
spiritual life of the people with the Renaissance and the Reformation,
while new inventions, a revival of commerce, and the growth of a
native merchant class in the cities gave promise of a new develop-
ment in the economic life of the nation. The destruction of the
Hanseatic trade monopoly, and the development of Norwegian
lumber export were the important factors in this commercial and
economic development. Boards and timber had been exported, es-
pecially to Iceland and England, in very early times. King Henry
III. wrote to his baiUffs in Southampton, Nov. 13, 1253, instructing
them to buy two hundred Norwegian pine boards, and deliver them
to the sheriff of that city, to be used for wainscoting the room of his
dear son Edward in the Winchester castle.^ At the same time men-
tion is made of a purchase of 1000 Norwegian boards for the panelling
of some rooms in the Windsor castle. "Norway planks," says
Turner, "were largely imported into this country from the early
period of the century (thirteenth), and perhaps, although it is not
quite clear, at a still earlier term." The lumber export to England

^Peder Clauss0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, p. 381. Absalon Pederss0n
Beyer, Liber Capituli Bergensis. Norske So.

* Liberate Roll 37 Henry IIL, quoted in Some Account of Domestic Agri-
culture in England from the Conquest to the End of the Thirteenth Century, by
T. Hudson Turner, Oxford, 1851. See L. J. Vogt, Om Norges Udf^rsel af
Troelast i aeldre Tider, Historisk Tidsskrift, anden raekke, vol. V., p. 86 ff.
Alexander Bugge, Handelen mellem England og Norge indtil Begyndelsen af
del IBde Aarhundrede, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie rsekke, IV., p. 138 £f.

n TRADE WITH ENGLAND AND HOLLAND 179

did not become of great importance, however, till in the sixteenth
century, when the EngHsh forests no longer produced the needed
supply. A more important market for Norwegian lumber developed
in Holland and the lower districts of northwestern Germany. In a
letter issued by King Eirik Magnusson to the citizens of Hamburg,
July 31, 1296, in which he grants them various trade privileges, he
states that they shall have the right to carry from Norway in their
own ships lumber and all other kinds of goods, upon paying a fixed
export duty,^ On August 24, 1443, the city of Amsterdam received
the privilege to trade in Bergen and elsewhere in Norway, except in
the Norwegian colonies,^ and in the reign of Christian I. five similar
letters were issued in six years (1452-1458), granting trade privileges
to various cities in Holland,^ an indication of the rapid growth of
trade with the Netherlands. This lumber trade with Holland led to
an ever widening commerce with that country, as the Hollanders
did not enforce a monopoly on trade like the Hanseatic merchants,
but maintained an open market, and welcomed goods brought in
Norwegian ships as well as in their own. L. J. Vogt observes that
on December 4, 1490, the Norwegian Council issued an order for-
bidding the common and ruinous practice found in many districts
in southern Norway, that binder have and use their own ships with
which they sail to foreign lands with rafters, boards, poles, salt, and
other goods, and neglect agriculture.^ This shows that the lumber
trade at this time must have been very lucrative. The boards were
yet made by spUtting the logs into slabs and hewing them with the
ax, and they were, therefore, called huggenbord (hewn boards). New
possibilities for this trade were developed through the invention of
the saw driven by water power, which was introduced from Sweden
in the early years of the sixteenth century. Vogt shows that, while
the plane had been used in the North from earliest antiquity, the saw
was late in making its appearance, not only because of the diflSculty
experienced in giving the teeth the proper shape and position, but
especially in making a good saw-blade. Sawmills were soon in-
troduced in every district, and by 1530 they seem to have been in

1 Diplomatarium Norwegicum, vol. V., no. 33. * Ihid., vol. V., no. 720.

' L. J. Vogt, Historisk Tidsskrift, anden raekke, vol. V., p. 99.
* Diplomatarium Norwegicum, VI., no. 963.

180 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

common use. But the old method of making huggenbord with the
ax was not discontinued.

The increasing traffic with Holland stimulated also other countries
to enter into competition for the valuable Norwegian trade, as Scot-
land, England, Denmark, and Germany were all in need of lum-
ber. "At the beginning of the sixteenth century," says Vogt, "it
seems to have been an established custom that the export of Nor-
wegian lumber, without the intervention of any merchant, was free
from every place on the coast of Norway where a ship could be an-
chored and loaded." ^ The kings had sought to prohibit trade
everywhere but in the cities in order to facilitate their growth.^ A
statute given by Haakon VI. about 1380 states that all goods must
be brought to the cities, and foreign merchants are forbidden to buy
or sell in the smaller harbors along the coast. But no native mer-
chant class existed which possessed sufficient capital to control trade.
It has already been shown that the Norwegian traders in early times
belonged to the old nobility, that with the introduction of the ideas
of chivalry it came to be regarded as inconsistent with the dignity of
a knight or of a man of high station to carry on trade. Commerce
was, accordingly, left to the poorer classes, and especially in the
fifteenth century the merchant class of the cities lost both its eco-
nomic strength and its social influence ; the native aristocratic families
disappeared, and the cities were turned over, so to speak, to the con-
trol of foreign merchants. But a new merchant class in a modern
sense began to develop at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and
Norwegian cities, commerce, and navigation developed with it. Pro-
fessor Alexander Bugge has shown that Norway had her own mer-
chant class about 1300,^ but this class was almost totally destroyed
by the Hanseiatic merchants. At the time of the Reformation the

1 L. J. Vogt, Om Norges Udffirsel af Trcelast i celdre Tider II., Hiatorisk
Tidsskrift, anden rsekke, vol. V., p. 273.

* Ventilationer angacende den nordlandske Handel, etc., Samlinger tU det
norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. V., p. 590 ff.

* Alexander Bugge, Handelen mellem England og Norge indlil Begyndelsen
af det 15de Aarhundrede, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie rsekke, IV. ; Gotlcendinger-
nes Handel paa England og Norge omkring ISOO, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie
rcekke, vol. V. Oscar Alb. Johnsen, De norske Stcender, p. 42 ff. {Christiania
Videnskabs-Selskabs Skrifter, 1906).

n SEARCH FOR A NORTHEAST PASSAGE 181

whole city population of Norway, according to Sars, numbered about
9000, consisting chiefly of shopkeepers, fishermen, seamen, laborers,
and a few foreign traders and artisans. Under these circumstances
the cities could exercise no corporate strength at home, nor any com-
mercial power abroad. A new foundation had to be laid for urban
life in a more modern sense. The development was slow, but the
disappearance of the old aristocracy facilitated progress, as the gov-
ernment of the cities was thereby naturally transferred from a circle
of aristocratic families with inherited class privileges to the towns-
men, who could claim no other superiority than that given them by
their own energy and business insight. The growing demand for
Norwegian lumber created business activity and helped to centralize
trade in the cities. The freedom from the restraining influence of a
privileged aristocracy, the democratic conditions existing in the
Norwegian towns, and the growing commerce, especially in the latter
half of the sixteenth century, furnished the conditions necessary
for the development of the Norwegian cities along new lines.

Trade in the North was also stimulated by the attempt of the
English to find a northeast passage to India. This plan was ad-
vanced by the Spaniard Sebastian Cabot, who had entered the Eng-
lish service. He had read Heberstein's account of Russia, and had
studied his map, as well as Olaus Magnus' map of the North and of
the Mare Scythicum. A company of Merchant Adventurers was
formed under the patronage of the government, and three ships were
dispatched under Hugh Willoughby to discover the new route. The
expedition sailed from England May 22, 1553. On the northwest
coast of Norway the " Edward Bonaventura," under Captain Chan-
cellor, was separated from the fleet in a severe storm. Willoughby
with the remaining two ships was driven far to the northeast, but
finally he found a harbor, and landed on a barren and uninhabited
coast, where he and his followers perished from hunger. Their dead
bodies and Willoughby's testament were found later. Chancellor
was more fortunate. He rounded the northern extremity of Norway
which he called North Cape, and succeeded in reaching Vard0hus,
where he was well received by the commandant. After spending
a week as his guest, he sailed again to the northeast, and landed at
the mouth of the Dvina, where he was received by the Russian voivod

182 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

of the village of St. Nicolai. Chancellor received permission from the
voivod to go to Moscow to visit the Czar, from whom he received a
letter granting the Enghsh the right to trade at the mouth of the
Dvina. The following year he returned to England with a cargo of
Russian goods. The English lauded him as a great discoverer who
had found a new route to northern Russia, though the expedition had
failed to discover a new route to India. But this route to northern
Russia was the old way traveled by the Norwegians ever since Oh-
there first discovered it in the time of Alfred the Great. Both Den-
mark-Norway and Holland entered into competition for this trade,
and the search for a northeast passage continued for half a century.-^
The treaty of Speier, 1544, settled the political difficulties between
Denmark-Norway and Germany, resulting from Christian III.'s ac-
tive cooperation with the Schmalkaldic League, and a commercial
treaty was entered into by the two powers, which gave Norwegian
commerce a new foundation. By this treaty unobstructed trade be-
tween Norway and Holland was assured, and Amsterdam became
the chief market for Norwegian lumber, as the cities of Holland were
fast becoming the center of the world's commerce, which had devel-
oped after the discovery of America and of the new routes to India.
The rapid development of commerce resulting from these discoveries,
the increase in ship-building, and the growth of cities greatly enhanced
the demand for lumber and ship-building material. In a few years
after 1584 the English merchant marine was trebled in size, and a
heavy export of Norwegian timber to England developed. Accord-
ing to Vogt, the customs rolls show a demand for Norwegian products,
and an increase in Norwegian trade to which there is no earlier par-
allel. In 1567 Bergen exported 206 dozen boards, in 1597 2188 dozen.
From the fogderi of Nedenes twelve ships were cleared in 1528,
150 ships in 1560, and 277 ships in 1613. The lumber export is es-
timated to have risen from 102 cargoes to 1650 cargoes in 1560.^ In
the harbors where the shipping of lumber was carried on, new se»«

* Gustav Storm, Om Opdagelsen af ">' Nordkap" og Veien til '^'det hvide
Hav," Det norske geografiske Sehkabs Aarbog, vol. V., 1873-1894, p. 911 ff.

» T. H. Aschehoug, Festskri/t for Oscar II., vol. I., p. 29 ff. A. Schwei-
gaard, Norges Statistik, p. 125 ff. B. E. Bendixen, Et Omrids af Norges Handels
Historie, Bergen, 1900. G. L. Baden, Et Udkast til en Historic af Danmarks
og Norges Handel og N cEringskilder fra Oldtiden til Nutiden, Copenhagen, 1806.

n CHRISTIAN IV. AND HIS AGE 183

port towns (N. ladesteder) sprang into existence. Frederikshald,
Larvik, Brevik, Krager0, Ris0r, Arendal, etc., owe their origin to the
flourishing lumber trade. The nationahzing of trade, which had thus
begun, was an important chapter, not only in the economic develop-
ment of the Norwegian people, but also in their political and intel-
lectual progress. A Norwegian bourgeoisie was thereby created which
was to play an important part in the future struggles for political
independence and intellectual emancipation from the Danish tutelage,
which was forced upon the Norwegian people through the union with
Denmark.

25. Christian IV. and his Age

When Frederick II. died in 1588, his son Christian was only eleven
years old. The Council assumed control of the government and ap-
pointed four of their own number to act as a regency during the
minority of the prince. In 1580 he had been elected heir to succeed
his father as king of Denmark, and two years later a council of Nor-
wegian nobles at Oslo acknowledged him successor also on the throne
of Norway. Aksel Gyldenstjerne, member of the Council, and a
prominent and able nobleman, was appointed statholder of Norway.
As the personal representative of the king and regency he had royal
power both in secular and ecclesiastical matters. He was instructed
to exercise supervision over bishops and priests, so " that full concord
might be maintained, and a good example might be set the parish-
ioners." The military strength of the kingdom was to be carefully
examined, and in case of war he should summon the lensherrer into
service with the full quota of men, and assume supreme command.
This attention to the military service was a laudable forethought
at this time when the storm-clouds of the approaching European wars
already obscured the political horizon. England's growing naval
power had already encouraged her bold sea-captains to rob Spanish
treasure ships, and to plunder isolated Spanish-American settlements.
In 1587 Sir Francis Drake had even entered the harbors of Cadiz and
Coruna, where he burned the ships and galleys which Philip 11.
had fitted out for an attack upon England. The Invincible Armada
was ready to sail in July, 1588, three months after the death of
Frederick II. England, Spain's political, commercial, and religious

184 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

enemy, was to be conquered. Even Danish and Norwegian ships
and crews had been hired to join the great fleet when it arrived in
English waters, but owing to a remonstrance from the EngUsh am-
bassador in Denmark these ships were not allowed to leave the harbors.
If Philip should succeed in crushing England, Denmark-Norway as a
Protestant power could no longer feel safe, but the stormy sea and
the bravery of the English sailors destroyed the great Armada.
Many ships were driven so far north that they were wrecked on the
northwest coast of Norway ; five ships are said to have stranded in
the neighborhood of Trondhjem; England and the Protestant
North was no longer endangered by Spanish aggression.

Prince Christian, who was born April 12, 1577, was declared to be
of age when he became nineteen years old in 1596. On August 29
of that year he was crowned in Copenhagen as King Christian IV.,
and the following year he entered upon his duties as ruling sovereign.
The superstition of the age had been brought into play in connection
with the birth of the prince. A peasant had visited the king to
inform him that a mermaid had foretold the birth of a son to the
royal pair, who should "become an excellent king and lord in these
Northern lands," a prophecy which gained general credence. The
mother had the chief care of the boy's education and early training.
She had been reared according to the strict rules of her German
home, in Mecklenburg; she loved order and economy, and took
great interest in household affairs and the management of the royal
estates, a love for the practical which was inherited by the son. He
was well educated in the learning of the age, and could speak and
write several languages, but as a student he was only moderately
successful, as his interest centered chiefly on architecture, ship-
building, seamanship, and other practical pursuits, in which he ex-
hibited energy and talent, and a desire to see and do things in his
own way. In regard to his kingly duties he entertained views re-
sembling those of the Stuart kings in England, or of the Tudor Henry
VIII. He would not only be the highest power in the state, but he
would give personal attention to all details of government, so that
nothing, however unimportant, might happen which did not reflect
his royal will. As he possessed great courage, energy, and practical
insight, and was always ready to take an active part in all adminis-

n CHRISTIAN IV. AND HIS AGE 185

trative affairs, he instituted, at least in a practical way, a personal
rule which bears the marks of his own temperament and character.
He was a bold seaman, and visited Norway a greater number of times
than all his predecessors together since the union was established.
Professor Yngvar Nielsen has shown that he visited that kingdom
not less than twenty-six times during his reign. ^ In 1599 he made a
voyage to the North Cape to study conditions in northern Norway,
in order that he might be able to regulate the growing commerce in
those parts, and also to protect Finmarken, which both Russia and
Sweden would snatch from Norway at the first opportunity. He
made the voyage with a whole squadron of war vessels, and captured
several Dutch merchant ships which sought to sail to Russia by way
of Vard0hus.

His firm hand was soon felt also in the internal administration in
Norway, where the discontent was general because of the extortions
practiced by the Danish lensherrer and their fogeds, who paid little
attention to the laws, and increased arbitrarily their own income and
the burdens of the people. The Norwegian binder did not patiently
submit to injustice of that kind, but sent delegations to the king to
ask for justice. The complaint was again directed against Ludvig
Munk, lensherre in Tr0ndelagen, who had imprisoned and executed
those who on a former occasion had served as messengers to the king.
This time the old offender was made to feel the heavy hand of royal
justice. He was dismissed from his office, banished to his estates in
Jutland, and forced to pay a heavy fine.

During the union period Denmark had gradually established an
overlordship over Norway, which for military purposes, as well as
in the eyes of the world at large, made the two kingdoms one united
realm, and greatly increased Denmark's prestige and power. Not
only was the central government Danish, but nearly all the local
officials of any importance in Norway were Danes. The Norwegian
laws had been translated into Danish, which became the official
language of Norway, though it was never spoken by the common

^ Historisk Tidsskrift, f0rste rsekke, vol. III., p. 502 ff. ; f jerde rsekke,
vol. III., p. 369.

Aage Skavlan, Historiske Billeder fra den nyere Tid i Norge, Danmark og
tildels i Sverige.

186 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

people. The threat made by Christian III. that the kingdom of
Norway should be regarded as a Danish province had, indeed, not
been carried out, but intellectually as well as poUtically Norway
now stood under the egis of Danish supremacy. But the overlord-
ship was formal and exterior, and did not deeply affect the people's
everyday life. Now as before they led their own national existence,
and were governed according to their own laws and customs, and as
to social conditions the people of Norway and Denmark were more
widely separated in the sixteenth century than in any earlier period.
If the Danish lensherrer and fogeds attempted to practice in Norway
what had been regarded as common usage in Denmark, they en-
countered the firm resistance and vigorous protest of the people,
who, though they could not place a son of their own on the throne of
Norway, would defend to the utmost their individual rights.^

Denmark had not been able to get fully into the current of Euro-
pean development, which tended to bring the lower classes into
active participation in political life. In Sweden Gustav Vasa had
sought the support of the common people, and had made them a new
political factor; in France and England the commonalty had risen
into prominence, and had added new vigor to the national develop-
ment; but in Denmark the aristocracy alone grew in importance,
while the common classes were constantly depressed in the social
scale. The aristocracy isolated themselves from the rest of society,
and instead of remaining a warrior class, they became an aristocracy
of birth, wealth, and titles, who would not allow their sons and
daughters to marry outside of their caste, a restriction which brought
about their rapid degeneration as a class. Full jurisdiction over the
enslaved peasants had been established.^ The will of the noble-
born lord was the law to which they were held amenable. They had
to render free service to their lords whenever they were called upon,

* Halvdan Koht, Bondestrid, smaa"^ Segner og Upskrifter fraa Nordm^,
Christiania, 1906.

• Arild Huitfeldt writes in his Danmarks Riges Kr^nike, p. 1252: "Fred-
erick I. granted the nobles jurisdiction over the peasant's boeslod, and all
cases of forty marks, as free as the nobles of the principality of Schleswig
enjoyed it, which is a very great privilege, the like of which no king of
Denmark has before granted. In Norway the nobles have no such power,
nor in Sweden either, except those who for a short period are made counts."

II CHRISTIAN IV. AND HIS AGE 187

and had to yield the most abject obedience, not only to the lord him-
self, but also to his representatives of whatever sort, even to his
servants and stable-boys. In the rules made by Chancellor Nils
Kaas and Treasurer Christopher Valkendorf, June 5, 1578, for the
service to be rendered the "honest and noble-born" J0rgen Marsvin
by the peasants, it is stated that they shall not be forced to work
more than one or two days a week, except in the fall, when they shall
work three days a week.^ But this was the service rendered on a
royal estate, which was much more moderate than that exacted by
many an arbitrary and tyrannical lord, who could demand service
of his peasants without any restriction as to time or amount. In
many provinces the peasants lost even their personal liberty. They
had to remain permanently on the farm where they were born, and
they would have to rent such a piece of ground as the lord would
grant them, and on the conditions which he prescribed.^ The cruel
hunting-laws show even more clearly to what extent the poor Danish
peasants were oppressed and done to scorn by the arrogant nobles.
In the statute of Christian III. of 1537, any one who catches a p>oacher
is instructed to put out his eyes, or hang him on the nearest tree.
The king's officials are instructed to watch, so that no man from the
cities kill animals, either large or small, or any hares ; and that no
foged, or steward of a manor, or peasants shall keep greyhounds or
retrievers, or shoot animals, large or small, on penalty of death, or
the loss of their property.' In the statute of Frederick II., 1556, the
people in the cities, preachers and peasants, are instructed that they
must keep no dogs unless these are always tied, or that one of their
front legs is cut off. In 1573 King Frederick II. wrote to the people
of Kolding len that since he had learned that several of them kept
many dogs, which ran about in the forests and fields, and chased away
and harmed the wild animals, he wished them to take notice that no
one should keep more than one dog, and that dog should have one

1 Rasmus Nyerup, Skildringer af Tilstanden % Danmark og Norge i oddre
og nyere Tider, vol. I., p. 368 ff. Nyt dansk Magasin, vol. II., p. 167.

* Suhmske nye Samlinger til den danske Historie, vol. I., p. 197 ff., quoted
by Nyerup.

' Rasmus Nyerup, Skildringer af Tilstanden i Danmark og Norge, vol. I.,
p. 381 ff. Arnt Berntsen Bergen, Danmark oc Norgis frugtbar Herlighed,
1656, p. 147 fE.

188 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

front leg cut off above the knee. In 1577 the wild animals did so
much damage that the peasants in Lem sogn were unable to pay
their taxes. It is not strange that the Danish nobles, who were
accustomed to look upon the peasants as a class possessing no rights
which they were obliged to respect, should attempt also in Norway
to override the laws, and oppress the people. But in Norway they
did not possess the same privileges as in Denmark. Even Frederick
I. had promised in his Norwegian charter to rule the Norwegian
people "according to St. Olav's and the kingdom of Norway's laws
and good old usages unchanged in all respects." ^ As already stated
elsewhere, the freedom of the Norwegians was safeguarded in the
first place by the law of odel, which maintained a relatively large
class of free hinder who owned their farms.^

In the second place, the renters, who were more numerous, were
protected by the laws as to their personal liberty and independence
of their landlords. The amount of rent to be paid was fixed by law,
and beyond this the renter owed no obedience or responsibility to
the landlord. Since the old nobility had practically disappeared,'
Norway had virtually become a democracy, while Denmark was the
most typical exponent of aristocratic rule. This may have been the
reason, also, why the principle of elective kingship was maintained in
Denmark, while Norway always inclined to the hereditary principle,
which had also been introduced in Sweden by Gustav Vasa. The
aristocratic social organization, and the elective principle, proved a
weakness which sapped Denmark's strength, and retarded her prog-
ress, though at the time she exercised dominion over Norway. On
the other hand, the democratic conditions in Norway, though they
had pushed the Norwegians for a season into the background, fostered
powers and possibilities for a new national development.

The Danish lensherrer and fogeds, who looked upon the Norwegian

* Kong Fredrik den f^rstes norske HaandfcBstning af 1524, Samlinger til
det norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. I., p. 1 ff.

* Professor J. E. Sars has shown that of the ca. 30,000 farms in Norway
at the time of the Reformation about 10,000 were owned by odelsh^nder,
and 20,000 were operated by renters. J. E. Sars, Norge under Foreningen
med Danmark. Om [Folkemoengdens Bevcegelse, by the same author, in His-
torisk Tidsskrift, anden rsekke, vol. III.

* Yngvar Nielsen, Af Norges Historie, p. 77.

n CHRISTIAN IV. AND HIS AGE 189

laws as a restriction upon their privileges, sought to introduce the
Danish system also in Norway. The crown-lands had been increased
through the secularization of monasteries, and the confiscation of
church-lands until the crown owned over one-fourth of all the taxable
lands in the kingdom. The Danish lords began to demand service
of the tenants living upon these crown-lands, and gradually also of
the renters dwelling on their own estates. Many of the minor lens
had been granted them in return for a fixed sum of money paid
by them to the crown, or for service, i.e. for furnishing a certain
number of men for the army. Some lens had been granted them
" kvit og frit," i.e. so that each lord should have the whole income
from his len. In this way the power of the lensherre had been greatly
increased, and the king, who was far away, could have no intimate
knowledge of the methods used by the lensherrer and fogeds to swell
their income.

Another and, if possible, greater power was given the lensherrer
and fogeds in connection with the execution of the decrees of the
courts of justice. Not seldom did they influence the fogeds to inflict
the heaviest penalties, as death or banishment, upon the offenders.
The lensherre would then, out of kindness of heart, commute the
sentence by substituting a fine which was usually so large that the
offender had to deed his property to the lensherre in order to escape
a worse fate. In this way the lensherrer and fogeds could gradually
increase their personal holdings. Statholder Aksel Gyldenstjerne
wrote to the government in Copenhagen, October 9, 1590: "In like
manner, if any poor man commits an offense so that he has to pay
the foged or the lensherre for his neck, he is not executed for such a
crime, but the lensherre or foged imposes so high a fine for the offense
that he cannot pay it, and a poor fellow promises willingly, in order
to save his life, more than he or his family at any time can pay.
Then he has to give the lensherre or foged a deed on his farm and pos-
sessions, as if the same had been bought. This has certainly happened,
and it seems, therefore, advisable that a royal letter should be issued
to all lensherrer, fogeds, and clergymen in all Norway that they
should in no wise buy or confiscate any property, unless it is for-
feited to the crown." ^ But with all their power and systematized

^ Quoted by J. E. Sars in Udsigt over den norske Historie, vol. III., p. 333.

190 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

injustice the Danish lords were unable to force their system upon
Norway. Their most crafty schemes and their ruthless greed proved
of little avail in a contest with the martial spirit of the Norwegian
hinder and their uncompromising love of freedom. In their moun-
tain homes the binder still retained their old character and customs.
They came to the thing as well as to the church, armed as of old
with sword, spear, battleax, shield, bow, and arrows. If they felt
wronged, if their temper was aroused, the sword was their most
convenient argument, and many a bloody tumult occurred at the
things when they felt that justice had not been done. At times they
assembled things and passed resolutions without paying any atten-
tion to the government officials. Stiff-necked and turbulent they
often were, impatient of all restraint, and utterly unwilling to sub-
mit to the arbitrary rule of the Danish lords.^ Peder Clauss0n Friis,
who as clergyman sympathized with the Danish officials, says of
them in speaking of the origin of the Norwegian people : " However
this may all be, the inhabitants of this country have their origin and
descent from a hard people, because they have always been a hard,
stubborn, disobedient, obstinate, restless, rebellious, and blood-
thirsty people, which I cannot deny they still are, especially in places
where they keep their old customs, that is, among the mountains
far away from the sea ; there dwells still a wild and wicked people."
In another place he calls the binder of Telemarken "a wicked, im-
pious, hard, wild, and rebelHous people — some shameless, devilish
fellows, guilty of adultery, murder, manslaughter, heresy, licentious-
ness, fights, and other vices beyond any that live in this country.
It was their greatest joy in olden times to kill bishops, priests, fogeds,
and commandants, which is also shown by the fact that in one
parish in that district seven clergymen have been killed, in other
parishes one or two, and in some a greater number." Professor J. E.
Sars remarks : " The many irksome schemes and impositions invented
by the lensherrer and fogeds seem to have caused among the binder a
restlessness and agitation in which their strength degenerated into

1 Peder Clauss0n Friis, Samlede Skrifter, p. 225, 257 ff., 300. Fifty fogeds
and clergymen are said to have been killed, and many others to have been
driven away in Nedenes len. L. Daae, Historisk Tisskrift, f0rste rakke,
vol. IV., p. 305. C. F. Allen, De nordiske Rigers Historie, vol. T., p. 251 ff.,
648.

n CHRISTIAN IV. AND HIS AGE 191

brutality, and their combative and head-strong character assumed
traits of insubordination and resistance to all forms of restraint. The
efforts of the lensherrer and fogeds to reduce them to a subordination
akin to that of the Danish peasants, instead of frightening or sub-
duing them, only increased their defiance. They employed force
against force, and throughout the whole land they seem to have
risen in arms against all officials who in any way sought to exercise
authority over them. . . . These irregular outbursts of a spirit of
liberty, which lacks guidance and a fixed aim, do not make a pleasant
impression, but it must not be forgotten that they have played a
part in the country's history which is by no means unimportant.
We may view as a whole the endless variety of complaints of fogeds
and other functionaries, of riots and assaults and the violent taking
of justice into their own hands on the part of the people, of which
the documents of our history from that period bring evidence ; where
the issue seems to be trifling matters without any connection — real
or imaginary injustice against some individual — and we can see in all
these clashes between the binder on the one side, and the lensherrer,
fogeds, and clergy on the other, a single long-continued struggle in
defense of what must be called the chief product of the people's
earlier pohtical development, and the most important condition for
their national future — popular freedom and the right to own property.
And in this struggle the Norwegian binder became the unqualified
victors." ^ The spirited resistance of the binder compelled the
lensherrer and fogeds to respect their rights, and to avoid, at least to
some extent, more serious conflicts with them. The Norwegian
people's bravery and love of liberty became proverbial in Denmark,
and the government feared that a general uprising might take place,
if the officials were allowed to unduly oppress the people. For
this reason the king listened to the complaints made by the Nor-
wegians, and many an offender, even of high rank, was severely
punished. But many a just complaint was also left unheeded,
and in too many instances the vindictive officials found opportunity
to wreak vengeance on those who had sought to bring them to justice.
King Christian IV. was especially anxious to win the good-will of the
Norwegians. When J0rgen Friis succeeded Gyldenstjerne as stat-
* J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historie, vol. III., p. 336 ff.

192 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

holder, the king himself was present, and the new official had to
pledge himself under oath that he would "listen and pay dihgent
heed to the complaints of the poor people and help them to secure
justice." Towards the Estates: nobility, clergy, citizens, and
common people of the kingdom, he should so act that the king should
not on his account hear any complaints from the people. In 1604
the king himself held court in Bergen to decide a quarrel between
the people and the lensherre, Peder Grubbe. Peder Clauss0n Friis
was also involved in the trial, but both Friis and the people were
held to be innocent, while Grubbe was found guilty, and was removed
from his len.

Even in the courts of law, justice often miscarried because the
old codes were no longer understood by the lagmcend and officials.
Since the union was established, the Norwegian jurisprudence had
received no attention. Magnus Lagab0ter's code, which was still
in use, had not been revised, and many new statutes, passed from
time to time, had not been incorporated in it. A revision of the code
was sorely needed, and in 1602 Christian IV. ordered the Norwegian
lagmoend to prepare a new code, which should be printed and put in
use throughout the kingdom. The new lawbook, known as the
"Code of Christian IV.," was submitted to the king in 1604,^ and
after he had caused it to be read before an assembly of nobles and
lagmasnd in Bergen, it was formally authorized and printed. The
new code was only a translation of Magnus Lagab0ter's laws, and
the work was wretchedly done, as many old legal terms had been
misunderstood; but it was, nevertheless, an improvement, as the
laws were reduced to a code which could be read and understood,
and which was everywhere accessible in printed form. The new
code was also introduced in the Faroe Islands, but Iceland had its
own laws, and did not adopt it, nor was it introduced in the Shet-
land or Orkney Islands, where the old Norse laws were still in force.
The church laws were not embodied in the code, but the king caused
a new church ordinance to be prepared, which was formally pro-
claimed at a council in Stavanger, 1607.

The religious outlook was beginning to cause no small anxiety at

* Kong Christian den fjerdes norske Lovbog af 1604, edited by Fr. Hallager
og Fr. Brandt, Christiauia, 1855.

CHRISTIAN IV. AND HIS AGE 193

this time. The CathoHc reaction against the Reformation, organized
by the Council of Trent, had gained great strength, owing to the en-
thusiastic propaganda of the Jesuits and the vigor of the inquisition.
The CathoHc Church had risen to do battle for its spiritual supremacy,
to regain what it had lost. Also in the North the Jesuits began a
stealthy agitation, which did not escape the attention of King Chris-
tian. A Norwegian Jesuit, Lauritz Nilss0n, with the latinized name
of Laurentius Nicolai, also called Klosterlasse (Closterlassius) had
found welcome in Sweden, where King John III. inchned toward
Catholicism. A higher school was organized, where Closterlassius
should teach. At first his church affiliations were to remain a secret,
and he was to appear only as the learned scholar, a form of agitation
adopted for the purpose of gaining influence in the schools, and of
encouraging the students to attend the CathoHc universities. If the
students, who would become ministers in the church, could be won
for Catholicism, that faith could in time be reintroduced among the
common people, and great efforts were, therefore, made to create the
belief that the Catholic universities were better than the Protestant,
and that they enjoyed a higher reputation for learning. But Clos-
terlassius did not accomplish much in Sweden.^ He became arro-
gant, forfeited the good-will both of the king and the people, and
had to leave Stockholm. The Jesuits directed their attention also
to Norway, where the Reformation had still wrought but an imperfect
conversion of the people to the Lutheran faith. Disguised as mer-
chants they traveled about in the country, and sought to persuade
young men to go to Catholic schools in foreign lands. After these
young men had completed their studies, they often returned to
Norway to be ordained as Lutheran ministers in order to be able to
carry on a secret propaganda among their parishioners. Closter-
lassius wrote several works against Protestantism, among others,
"A Letter from Satan to the Lutheran Ministers," and though he
never returned to Norway, he actively supported the Jesuits there.

1 Andreas Brandrud, Klosterlasse, et Bidrag til den jesuitiske Propagandas
Historie i Norden, Christiania, 1895. M. Kubberud, Jesuiterne i Norge,
Elverum, 1897. Bishop Nils Glostrups Visitatser i Oslo og Hamar Stifter
161 7-1637, edited by Ludvig Daae og H. J. Huitfeldt-Kaas, p. 21. L. Daae,
Bidrag til den katholske Reaktions Historie i Norge i Christian IV.'s Tid,
Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie raekke, vol. III., p. 306 ff.
VOL. n — o

194 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

At a council in Bergen, 1604, the Norwegian bishops called the king's
attention to the Jesuit agitation. He seems to have been alarmed
by the reports, and issued a royal letter forbidding any one who had
been educated by the Jesuits to serve in the church or schools of the
kingdom. In 1606 Closterlassius was banished from Denmark,'where
he had arrived on a visit, and in 1613 the Jesuit priests in Norway
were summoned before a council in Skien, where they were sen-
tenced to have forfeited their office and inheritance, and they were
immediately banished from the kingdom. After this time but few
traces of Catholicism were found in Norway.^

This episode had also opened the king's eyes to the necessity of
improving the schools of the two kingdoms, so that Norwegian and
Danish students would not need to go to foreign institutions. In
1604 a new plan of instruction for secondary schools was prepared,
and better textbooks were introduced. Gymnasiums were estab-
lished at the Latin schools of Roskilde, Odense, Ribe, Aarhus, Lund,
and Christiania, in order that the students could be better prepared
for their university studies. Three or four professors were appointed
for each gymnasium, who would give more advanced instruction
in the classical languages, besides giving lectures on theology, logic,
natural science, mathematics, botany, and anatomy. But this very
laudable attempt to place secondary education on a higher level was
unfortunately rendered abortive by later events. Only the gym-
nasium of Roskilde existed towards the end of the sixteenth century,
and that of Odense till towards the end of the eighteenth. The
academy of Sor0 was founded in 1623, and the University of Copen-
hagen was much improved. Seven new chairs were created, and
the king donated to the university a large part of his own library, in
all 1100 volumes.

King Christian was a great builder and erected more castles and
fortresses, and founded more cities, than any other king in the union
period. In Norway he founded the city of Christiansand,^ and when
Oslo was almost totally destroyed by fire, August 17, 1624,'he founded

IN. Slange, Christian IVJ's Historie, p. 205 f.

' Af Nicolai Wergelands utrykte Christiansanda Beskrivelse, edited and
published by Ludvig Daae, Historiak Tidsskrift, anden rsBkke, vol. III.,
p. 44fiE.

IJ CHRISTIAN IV. AND HIS AGE 195

the new city of Christiania so near to the ruins that Oslo has long since
been incorporated in the capital city of Norway. The castles of Akers-
hus and Bohus were enlarged and surrounded by strong walls, and at
Akershus he erected a palace which still Ufts its towers above the city.^

The ever active and energetic king showed a great interest also for
the Norwegian mining industry, which in the reign of Frederick II.
had been wholly neglected. So great an impetus was given to this
industry in this reign that it may almost be said to have been founded
by Christian IV. A large number of new mines were opened, but
for want of the necessary skill and science they yielded no profit.*
The most important were the R0ros copper mines, opened 1644, and
the great Kongsberg silver mines, discovered in 1623, which led to the
founding of the two cities, R0ros and Kongsberg. As many as 4000
men were employed at Kongsberg, but the mines were often operated
at a loss, till in 1830, when they began to yield profitable returns.

Christian IV., who was intensely interested in navigation, enter-
tained a fond hope of being able to reestablish communications with
the Norse colonies in Greenland. Some attempts had been made
also in the previous reign to reach the distant island. Frederick II.
sent an expedition in 1579 under the Enghsh captain John Alday,
and another in 1581 under Mogens Heiness0n, the great Faroe sea-
captain, but both failed to reach their destination because of fog and
icebergs. In 1585 the English navigator John Davis reached the
west coast of Greenland, but he found no traces of white people, and
thought that he was the real discoverer of the land. In 1605 King
Christian sent three ships under the Danish nobleman G0deke Linde-
now and John Cunningham, a Scotchman, with the Englishman
James Hall as pilot. Cunningham succeeded in landing on the
west coast, and took possession of the country for the king, while
Lindenow made an unsuccessful attempt to land on the east coast.^

1 Gustav Storm, Akershus Slot fra Midten af 17 de Aarhundrede, Chris-
tiania, 1901. Norske Samlinger, I., p. 633 ff.

^ Ludvig Daae, Det gamle Christiania, Christiania, 1891. Joh. Dyring,
Kongerigei Norge, p. 151 £f. I. Chr. Berg, Aktstykker til Bergverkernes
Historic, Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. III., p. 1 ff,
Arnt Berntsen Bergen, Danmark oc Norgis frugtbar Herlighed, p. 274 ff.

* Af . M. Rosches Optegnelser fra Nordlandene 1581-1639, Norske Sam-
linger, vol. II., p. 496.

196 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Two more expeditions were sent out, one in 1606, and another in
1607, but as no traces of the colonists were found, the project was
abandoned. The king turned his attention instead to the search
for the northwest passage, and sent an expedition to the Hudson
Bay under Jens Munk in 1619.^ In 1636 he organized the Green-
land Company to trade with Greenland, and to carry on whaling at
Spitzbergen, but the trade with Greenland fell mostly into the hands
of the Hollanders and the English. In harmony with the practice of
the age. Christian IV. created many similar companies with exclusive
trade privileges in certain parts of the world. In 1616 he chartered
the "East India Company" to trade with the East India Islands,
China, and Japan. This company raised a capital stock of 190,000
riksdaler, and secured Tranquebar on the Coromandel coast, which
became the chief seat of its commercial operations in the far East.^
In 1619 a company was formed to trade with Iceland, and in 1625 a
Danish "West India Company" was organized.

It was King Christian's manifest ambition to increase his power
at sea, and this desire was strengthened also by the necessity of
being well armed both on sea and land because of the great wars
waged by Philip II. in the Netherlands, and the strained relations
between the Emperor and the Protestant princes in Germany.
Much attention was therefore devoted especially to the navy. At
his accession to the throne, Denmark-Norway had a fleet of twenty-
two vessels, large and small, and some of these were very antiquated.
The king hired Scotch ship-builders to assist the ablest men within
his own kingdom in constructing a number of new warships of the
best type, and in a few years the Danish-Norwegian fleet was by
far the most powerful in the Baltic Sea. In time of war the sailors
and marines serving on the new fleet seem to have numbered about
six thousand.

1 Daniel Bruun, Det h^ie Nord, Fcerfiernes, Islands og Gr^nlands Udforsk-
ning, p. 182 ff. Two books about Greenland and the Norse colonies were
written at this time : Relation om Gr^nland, by Jens Bjelke, an almost
worthless product, and Lyscander's Gr^nlandske Chronica, a work of some
merit.

' A riksdaler was at this time equal to a speciedaler (foMi kroner), or a
little more than an American dollar.

ii foreign relations. the kalmar war 197

26. Foreign Relations. The Kalmar War

In internal administration Christian IV. had shown great energy
and talent. An earnest desire to increase his own personal influence
and the power and prestige of his realm are features characteristic
of his reign. He showed such quickness and originality of thought
and such executive ability that the people regarded him as a truly
great king, to be compared with the most illustrious monarchs in
history. But this view represents nothing but the fondness with
which people are wont to cherish a talented ruler who possesses
charming traits, and knows how to win their admiration by a jolly
straightforwardness and bold artlessness of speech and conduct. It
is true that Christian IV. instituted many useful reforms, but he was
not a true reformer. There is not to be found in his many praise-
worthy undertakings and happy innovations any constructive prin-
ciple aiming at the gradual uplifting of the people through a steady
improvement of their social and economic condition. He did noth-
ing to rescue the Danish peasants from the wretched condition to
which they had been reduced by the nobility. He confirmed all the
old statutes aiming at the preservation of the privileges of the aris-
tocracy, and only increased the burdens of the poor by unnecessary
wars and extravagant building projects, though in minor things he
was so saving that, as he informed the Council, he could not afford
to get properly married. Morally he was weak, and intellectually
not much above the ordinary. Though a man of great courage, he
was neither an able general nor a far-sighted statesman. His ambition
often led him into undertakings which were beyond both his means
and his ability, and which brought upon his kingdom suffering and
disaster. He lacked the statesman's intuitive foresight. He spent
much of his time in a multitude of details in which he was unable to
distinguish the important from the unimportant, and his foreign
policy was often dictated by personal pique and ambition rather than
by a wise forecast of political events.

In 1597 the king married Anna Catharine of Brandenburg, who bore
him six children, three of whom died in childhood. The queen died
in 1612, but even before her death he had formed illicit attachments.
In 1615 he acknowledged Christine Munk, a daughter of Ludvig

198 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Munk, to be his legally wedded wife, though nothing is known of the
marriage ceremony, and he never gave her the title of queen. She
bore him twelve children, but the marriage was finally terminated by
a divorce accompanied by a scandal.^ He had many illegitimate
children with different mothers. His illegitimate sons. Christian
Ulrik, Hans Ulrik, and Ulrik Christian, received the surname of
Gyldenl0ve. Even in that age of no very delicate tastes, the
king's moral laxity must have been a constant source of scandal and
offense.

In Sweden serious clashes between the Protestants and the party
representing the Catholic reaction had led to important changes.
King John's son, Sigismund, an ardent Catholic, who had become
king of Poland, succeeded his father on the throne of Sweden, but in
1599 he was deposed because of his attempt to overthrow the Lutheran
faith. The Duke of Sodermanland, a younger son of Gustav Vasa,
and brother of King John HI., was placed on the throne as Charles
IX. The new king possessed some of the ability of the great Vasa
dynasty, which was to place Sweden in the front rank of European
powers, but he assumed from the outset a very aggressive and un-
compromising attitude towards Denmark-Norway, due in part,
perhaps, to the fact that Christian IV. had shown himself a friend of
Sigismund, if not an open supporter of his party. In 1610 Charles
founded the city of Gottenborg, which would give the Hollanders a
new harbor, where they could unload their cargoes, and avoid pay-
ing the toll for passing through the Sound. The Swedish aggressions
in Finmarken, which had caused trouble in the previous reign, became
more pronounced than ever. Charles IX. called himself "King of
the Lapps in Nordland," collected taxes as far as Malangen and
Titisfjord, a distance south of Troms0, and gave the merchants of
Gottenborg right to trade from Titisfjord to Varanger,^ Christian
IV., who wished to maintain a naval supremacy both in the Baltic
and the North Sea, resisted these encroachments vigorously, but
neither protests nor negotiations could influence the independent

^ Aage Skavlan, Historiske Billeder fra den nyere Tid.

•Oscar Alb. Johnsen, De norske Sloender, p. 131. N. Slange, Christian
IV.'i Hislorie, p. 256 ff. Amtmand G. Hammer, Hislorisk Underretning om
Finmarkens Handel, Samlinger tU det norske Folks Sprog og Historic, vol.

m., p. 261 ff.

n FOREIGN RELATIONS. THE KALMAR WAR J99

and haughty King Charles IX. The Northern Protestant powers
were thus drifting towards open hostihties at a moment when their
German brethren stood confronted by the Empire and the papacy,
who were marshaling their forces for the last great assault on Protes-
tantism, the Thirty Years' War. In 1608 the "Protestant Union"
was formed with Elector Frederick of the Palatinate as Director, and
the following year the "CathoHc League" was organized with Elec-
tor Maximilian of Bavaria as commander-in-chief. The "Union"
sought the support of Henry IV. of France, and of Christian IV. of
Denmark-Norway, but King Christian chose to wage war with
Sweden rather than aid his Protestant brethren in Germany. In
1611 he finally forced the Council to declare war against Sweden.
It appears that he did not only intend to protect his realm against
encroachments, but that he entertained a hope of being able to con-
quer Sweden, and to establish once more the union between the three
Northern kingdoms. He invaded Sweden with an army of about
6000 men, and while he laid siege to the city of Kalmar with the
greater part of his force, he dispatched Sten Sehested with a portion
of it against Elfsborg. The army was supported by the fleet, which
was superior to that of Sweden. The Norwegian forces were stationed
in the border districts, and were instructed not to enter Swedish ter-
ritory unless special orders were given.^ On May 27 Kalmar, with
the exception of the castle, was taken, an event which gave to the
struggle the name of the Kalmar War, and on July 17 an undecisive
battle was fought with the Swedish army under King Charles IX.,
who had arrived in the neighborhood of the city. The day after
the battle Kalmar castle was treacherously surrendered by its com-
mandant, and in a similar way Oland fell into the hands of the Danes,
though Gustavus Adolphus, the brave son of King Charles IX.,
recaptured the island before the campaign was closed in the fall. On
October 30 King Charles IX. died at Nykoping castle, and Gus-
tavus Adolphus ascended the throne of Sweden. He wished to
conclude peace with Denmark, but Christian IV., who dreamed of
large conquests, would accept no reasonable terms, and the war was
continued. In March, 1612, King Christian had greatly strengthened
his army in southern Sweden, but he made the tactical mistake of
^ Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. III., p. 221.

200 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

dividing his forces, which proved of great advantage to Gustavus
Adolphus, who had only a weak army of peasants, as the Swedish
nobles took no part in the conflict. With his main force King Chris-
tian turned towards the city of Gottenborg, which he destroyed after
having taken the fortresses of Elfsborg and Gullborg. But the fleet,
though superior to the Swedish, accomplished nothing, and he had
won no decisive victories. After unsuccessful operations against
Jonkoping, the king returned in August to Copenhagen, whence he
again advanced with his fleet against Stockholm. But Gustavus
Adolphus hastened to the succor of his capital, and Christian sailed
away without venturing an attack on the city. This was the last
important event of the war. Through the efforts of England peace
was concluded at Knser0d, January 20, 1613. Sweden relinquished
all claims to Finmarken, and agreed to pay a war indemnity of one
million riksdaler. All conquered territory was relinquished, both
countries should have the right to use the three crowns in their coats
of arms, and they should both enjoy the same trade privileges and
freedom from tolls. The war had produced no marked result except
that of destroying lives and property, of creating bitter enmity
between the closely related Protestant nations of the North, and of
increasing taxes and public burdens.

Some of the Norwegian forces seem to have taken part in the
operations against Elfsborg, but the Norwegians were not much
interested in the war. Some of the officers in charge of their forces
were incompetent, and the soldiers were often disobedient and un-
willing to fight. But two minor episodes occurred, one of which
especially became of great importance to the Norwegian people.

In the Kahnar War both Christian IV. and Gustavus Adolphus
enlisted foreign mercenaries. A Flemish officer and colonel in the
Swedish army, Jan von Monkhoven, was sent by Gustavus Adolphus
to the Netherlands and Scotland, where he raised a force of 1200 or
1400 men with which he hoped to capture Trondhjem. He lost one
ship, but arrived at Trondhjem with the rest of the force, some 800
men ; but the people defended their city well, and he sailed to Stj0i^
dalen, where he landed his troops. A force of 250 soldiers and 1000
binder which had been assembled was scattered without difficulty,
as the lensherre, Sten Bilde, was a cowardly and incompetent man,

NORWAY

BEFORE 1645

UnfrafJorJ

Sole,

j'Bohus
Konghelle

Williama Eniirsving Co., Sew York

II FOREIGN RELATIONS. THE KALMAR WAR 201

who did little or nothing for the defense of the country. Monk-
hoven crossed the mountains into Herjedalen and Jaemtland, where
he harried and plundered unmolested. He fought at Kalmar, and
fell in the siege of Gdof in Ingermanland, 1614.^ The second corps
of mercenaries, raised in Scotland for the Swedish service, met a
different fate. The enlistment was intrusted to James Spence of
Wormiston, who died later as a Swedish baron. He employed
Colonel Andrew Ramsey to conduct the recruiting, and James I.,
king of England and Scotland, who was married to King Christian's
sister, Anna,^ and probably would not have offended his brother-in-
law, learned nothing of the recruiting until it was too late to prevent
the enlisted soldiers from leaving. A small force, possibly 350 men,
succeeded in departing, led by Lieutenant-colonel Alexander Ramsey,
under whom served the captains Bruce, James Money penny, James
Scott, George Hay, and George Sinclair. On the 19th and 20th of
August, 1612, they came to anchor in the Romsdalsfjord, and landed
their troops at Klungnes, near a cliff which still bears the name of
Skothammaren. They forced two binder to act as guides, and began
their march through Romsdal. The people fled at their approach,
and as they were a small force, they did not venture to harass the
settlements through which they marched,^ but hastened on their

^ Chr. Lange, Nye Bidrag til Kalmar Krigens Historic, Norske Samlinger,
vol. I., p. 262 ff. ; vol. II., p. 41 ff. Yngvar Nielsen, Nogle Notitser om
Johan von M^nnichhofen, Historisk Tidsskrift, f0rste rsekke, vol. IV., p.
109 ff. N. Slange, Christian IV.'s Historic, 312 ff. I. Chr. Berg, Bidrag til
Historien af Christian den fjerdes Krig med Sverige i Aarene 1611 og 1612,
Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historic, vol. III., p. 219 ff. Yngvar
Nielsen, Jens Bjelke til 0straat, p. 40 ff.

^ Norske Samlinger, vol. I., p. 454 ff., Bcrctninger af Prindsesse Annas
Giftermaal med Kong Jakob den 6te af Skotland.

^ The Norwegian statholder, Enevold Kruse, wrote to Christian Friis
and Breide Rantzau, October 3, 1612: '''We have also since learned that
those Scots who were defeated and captiired on their march through this
country have absolutely neither burned, murdered, nor destroyed anything
either in Romsdal or Gudbrandsdal, except only a Dane, S0fren Setnes by
name, who dwells in Romsdal. From him they took a chest full of silver
articles, etc." Norske Samlinger, vol. II., p. 288 ff.

The Zinklar Vise, a popular ballad written about this battle by Edward
Storm (1742-1794), is based on popular traditions, and abounds in exaggera-
tions, as ballads usually do. See H. P. S. Krag, Sagn om Slagct ved Krin-
gelen. The following stanza may serve as an example:

202 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

way, and crossed the mountains into Gudbrandsdal. But news of
their approach had been received, and the brave lensmand Lars Hage
had assembled the men of Lesje, Dovre, Vaage, Fron, Lom, and
Ringebu, who under the command of the foged Lars Gram took their
position on a mountain side overlooking Kringen, where a road
passes at the foot of the mountain along the Laagan River. Their
exact number is not known, but in a song written shortly after the
battle they are said to have numbered 500, which seems to be ap-
proximately correct. The officers who were taken prisoners stated
that the Scots numbered 350 men.^ The binder gathered piles of
stone and timber on the mountain side, and everything was ready
when the Scots arrived on August 26, 1612. The advance guard
was allowed to pass, but when the main body arrived, the signal was
given,^ and an avalanche of stone and timber swept down upon them.
Many were killed outright, and many were swept into the river and
drowned. The rest, attacked in front and rear, were forced to sur-
render. The advance guard was also captured, but most of them
were put to death after they were taken prisoners. Only eighteen
were escorted to Akershus, among whom were the oflBcers Ramsey,
Bruce, Moneypenny, and Scott, who were sent as prisoners to Copen-
hagen. Hay and Sinclair had fallen. Some of the Scots remained
in Norway, and some enlisted in the Danish army. Insignificant as
this episode was from a military point of view, it was, none the less,
the spark which kindled the national patriotism, and roused the
martial spirit of the Norwegians. Hitherto they had been too in-
different even to defend themselves ; henceforth their valor became
proverbial. A stone slab was erected on the battlefield of Kringen
fifty years later bearing the inscription : " Here Colonel Sinclair was
shot on the twenty-sixth of August, 1612." This slab was replaced

And with him fourteen hundred men :
On mischief all that band were bent ;
They spared nor young nor aged then,
But slew and burnt as they went.

The song has been translated by Thomas Michell, History of the Scottish
Expedition to Norway in 1612, part II.

1 Olav Kringen, Fra Snelandets Hytter, Decor ah-Posien, October 1, 1907.

* The tradition says that a girl, Hilar Guri, was stationed on a mountain
top, opposite Kringen, and that she gave the signal by blowing a trumpet.

11 FOREIGN RELATIONS. THE KALMAR WAR 203

in 1733 by a wooden cross bearing a bombastic rhymed inscription
which King Christian VI. read on his visit in Gudbrandsdal.^ A new
stone slab with the inscription : " In memory of the bravery of the
b0nder 1612 " was erected in 1826. This was again replaced by a new
stone monument August 26, 1912.

King Christian had learned two things in the Kalmar War. In
the first place, that his army organization was antiquated and wholly
inefficient, and secondly, that Denmark could no longer seek terri-
torial aggrandizement in Sweden. As soon as the war was over,
he began to improve the army both in Norway and Denmark. In
1614 he issued an order for the creation of a small national militia,
which should always be ready for military service. In Norway this
force was to consist of 2100 men, but the order does not seem to
have been systematically carried out, and the plan was soon aban-
doned. In 1617 the firearms which had been provided for this
army were finally sold to the people. Not till after Denmark's sad

1 This inscription reads :

Courage, loyalty, bravery, and all that gives honor,

The whole world 'midst Norwegian rocks can learn.

An example is there seen of such bravery,

Among the rocks in the North, on this very spot :

A fully armed corps of some hundred Scots

Was here crushed like earthen pots ;

They found that bravery, with loyalty and courage,

Lived in full glow in the hearts of the men of Gudbrandsdal.

J0rgen von Zinelair as the leader of the Scots,

Thought within himself, "No one will here meddle with me."

But, lo I a small number of b0nder confronted him,

Who bore to him Death's message of powder and ball.

One Northern monarch. King Christian the Sixth,

To honor on his way we have erected this ;

For him we are ready to risk our blood and life

Until our breath goes out and our bodies lie stiff."

This not very happy translation is found in Thomas Michell's History of
the Scottish Expedition to Norway in 1612. The original is found in Bing's
Norges Beskrivelse, p. 348. H. F. Hjorthoy's Beskrivelse over Gudbrandsdalen,
ch. II., p. 27. H. P. S. Krag, Sagn om Slagel ved Kringelen, Christiania,
1838. A. Fabrieius, Minder fra Nordens Historie. O. O. Olafsen, Skotte-'
toget efter Folkesagnet og Hisiorien, Molde, 1877. Norske Samlinger, II.,
p. 288 ff.

204 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

experience in the Thirty Years' War was the plan of a better mih-
tary organization carried out.^

In 1618 the Thirty Years' War broke out, and nearly all nations
of western Europe were drawn into its bloody vortex. Bohemia
became the first theater of war. In 1620 the troops of the Emperor
and the Catholic League defeated the Protestants in the battle of
the White Mountain, near Prague, and Frederick V. of the Palat-
inate, who had been chosen king of Bohemia, had to flee, and was
later outlawed by the Emperor. Tilly, the general of the armies of
the League, wasted the Palatinate with fire and sword; Bohemia
was fearfully ravaged, and the Catholic religion was reestablished.
This encouraged the fanatic Emperor Ferdinand II. to make a general
assault on the Protestants in Germany. In order to make himself
independent of the League, he placed in the field a new imperial
army under Wallenstein. The Protestant princes were in dire
straits. Spain had also joined the Catholic alliance, and, by dangling
before the eyes of King James I. of England a possible marriage
between his son Charles and a Spanish princess, succeeded in keep-
ing him inactive. France, though hostile to the House of Habsburg,
was a Catholic power, and Holland lay bleeding and exhausted after
the wars with Philip II. In their distress the Protestants again
turned to Christian IV. Elizabeth, the daughter of his sister Anna
and King James I. of England, was married to the exiled King
Frederick of Bohemia. He sympathized with the Protestants, and,
what possibly weighed still more, he had for some time been trying
to extend his influence in lower Germany in the hope that he might
be able to obtain some of the secularized bishoprics for his sons, and
also to gain control of Hamburg and Bremen. He did not fear the
consequences of a war with the powerful Catholic coalition, but the
Council would not embark on so hazardous and expensive an under-
taking. The king, however, turned a deaf ear to their remonstrance.
A promise of aid from England, and the fear that Gustavus Adolphus
might become the leader of a Protestant aUiance, led him to decide

^ A. C. C. Drolsum, Del norske Folk og dels Forsvarsvcesen, p. 25 ff. I. Chr.
Berg, Aktstykker til den staaende Hcers Historie, Samlinger til det norske Folks
Sprog og Historie, vol. III., p. 404 ff. ; vol. IV., p. 1 ff. Didrik Schnitler,
Det f^rste Aarhundrede af den norske Hcers Historie, Christiania, 1874.

PLATE V

Christian IV.
Hannibal Sehested. Peder Griffenpeld.

II FOREIGN RELATIONS. THE KALMAR WAR 205

for war. In May, 1625, he entered Germany with an army of about
20,000 men, and the reenforcements sent him by the Protestant
princes increased his available forces to about 30,000 men, the
greater part of which consisted of German mercenaries. But Chris-
tian's operations were slow. He wasted much time in minor skir-
mishes which could lead to no decisive result, and nothing was ac-
complished in the first campaign. In 1626 Wallenstein defeated the
Protestant forces under Mansfeld at Dessau, while Christian was
facing Tilly with an army which was rapidly being reduced in num-
bers through sickness and desertions. Money was scarce, and the
aid given by England was of little real value. At length Christian
risked a decisive battle, August 17, at the village of Lutter am Barn-
berg, near Wolfenbiittel, but suffered a crushing defeat. The retreat
turned into a rout; panic seized the fleeing army, and the king
barely escaped falling into the hands of the enemy. When he reached
Wolfenbiittel, he was accompanied by eighty horsemen, who had
gathered about him in the flight. After this defeat Christian
showed remarkable energy. He raised another army for the cam-
paign of 1627, but the resistance which he could make proved use-
less. In July Tilly crossed the Elbe, and united his army with that
of Wallenstein, and the two generals began the invasion of Den-
mark. The whole peninsula was soon overrun and subjected to the
wildest ravages, not only by the lawless warriors of Tilly and Wallen-
stein, but by the mercenaries in King Christian's own army, who
turned brigands and marauders. Denmark was on the verge of
utter ruin, and Emperor Ferdinand II. and Wallenstein were already
laying plans for extending the borders of the Empire, and of estab-
Hshing its control over the Baltic and the North Sea. This grave
danger brought Gustavus Adolphus into the arena. The imperial
forces laid siege to the city of Stralsund, but it received help from
Sweden and Denmark, whose fleets controlled the Baltic, and Wal-
lenstein failed to take the city, though he is said to have sacrificed
12,000 men in the attempt. Gustavus Adolphus wished to form an
alliance with Christian IV. for the defense of the North and the
Lutheran faith, and nothing could have seemed more advantageous
for Denmark at this moment, as Wallenstein offered Gustavus to
partition the kingdom of Denmark and Norway in such a way that

206 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Sweden should receive Norway, while Denmark should be the portion
of the Emperor. But Christian's suspicion and jealousy prevented
an alliance of the Protestant kingdoms of the North at this critical
moment. It may be urged in his defense, however, that by avoid-
ing an aUiance with Sweden he could obtain more favorable tenns
of peace. On May 12, 1629, he signed the treaty of peace with the
Emperor at Liibeck. He had to reUnquish all claims to German
possessions for his sons; he had to resign as commander of the
Protestant forces in Germany, and had to promise not to meddle
with German affairs in the future ; but he lost no territory, nor was
he forced to pay any war indemnity. These easy terms were not
granted by the Emperor and Wallenstein from any kindness of heart,
but because they wished to have their hands free for the coming
struggle with Gustavus Adolphus. But though Christian had suc-
ceeded in making peace on better terms than could have been expected,
Denmark had paid dearly for his participation in the war. The
ravages and suffering brought upon the kingdom seem to have
destroyed its vigor, and the battlefield of Luther am Barnberg marks
the beginning of Denmark's national decHne.

In 1628, while the realm was in its deepest distress, the king began
in earnest the reorganization of the army. According to an order
issued on January 18 of that year to the Norwegian statholder Jens
Juel, four farms (gaards), or eight half farms, or sixteen quarter
farms should form a IcBgd, which should furnish and maintain one
soldier. According to this plan, an army was raised, consisting of
five regiments : Trondhjem, Bergenhus, T0nsberg, Akershus, and
Bohus, and three joenniker: Stavanger, Agdesiden, and Jaemtland.
After peace was concluded at Liibeck, this organization was again
abandoned, because of the resistance of the people to military burdens,
but it was reestablished by the ordinance of September 19, 1641,
which united the Stavanger and Agdesiden fcenniker into a sixth
regiment. Each regiment numbered about 1000 men, and was
divided into three companies, except the regiment of Bergenhus of
1300 men, which was divided into four companies. Cavalry was
organized through rostjeneste; i.e. mounted service demanded of
nobility, clergy, and odelsb^nder. According to the military ordi-
nance of 1641, the cavalry numbered 520 arquebusiers and 500 dra-

NEW NATIONAL GROWTH 207

goons, but the latter, which was selected from the infantry, might be
regarded as mounted infantry. Through the ordinance of 1628
fourteen city companies, each numbering about 100 men, were also
organized ; two in Trondhjem, four in Bergen, two in Christiania*
and one in each of the cities of Fredrikstad, T0nsberg, Skien, Kong-
helle, Marstrand, and Udevalla. These companies totalHng 1400
men were recruited among the citizens of these cities, and were to
serve as a sort of garrison for their protection. The fortresses in
Norway at this time were: Vard0hus, Trondhjem with Munkhol-
men, Bergenhus, Akershus, Bohus, Fredrikstad, Marstrand, and
the redoubts of Vinger, Fiekker0, and Fr0s0en in Jsemtland. These
fortresses had permanent garrisons, which were greatly strengthened
by Christian IV. The term of mihtary service was fixed at three
years, and no one could rent land or own or operate a farm who had
not rendered the required military service.^ Norway had thus
received a national army, which in time became an invaluable aid
in the struggle for national hberty, and which was of far greater
value to the country in time of need than the lawless foreign mer-
cenaries employed at that time in the wars in all countries.

27. New National Growth. Hannibal Sehested. A New
War with Sweden

Immediately after the introduction of the Reformation, which
destroyed what was still left of the old spirit of independence, Nor-
way reached its lowest ebb of national weakness. But signs of a
new social and economic growth soon began to manifest themselves,
and before a century passed, considerable progress had been made
towards a new and more vigorous national life, which was charac-
terized, however, by a more distinct stratification of social classes. A
Lutheran clergy had arisen, generally well educated, and imbued with
the love of learning and the more advanced ideas of the Renaissance.
A new merchant class sprang up in the cities, and a new nobility,
springing partly from the old Norse nobiUty, and partly from im-

1 Didrik Sehnitler, Det f^rste Aarhundrede af den norske Hoera Historie.
Barstad, Norges Landforsvar 1604-1634- Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Hannibal
Sehesteds Statholderskah, p. 30 ff.

208 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

migrated noblemen, also came into existence.^ The growth of these
new classes resulted, however, in increased burdens for the binder,
who, prior to the Reformation, had enjoyed a very high degree of
social and economic independence. Christian IV., who needed
money for his expensive wars and buildings, increased the taxes, and
augmented the military burdens through the new army organiza-
tion, while the three upper classes, whose interests were not identical
with those of the hinder, sought to increase their own privileges and
powers.^ The binder, who up to this time had virtually constituted
the whole nation, were gradually reduced to the fourth and lowest
estate. But their freedom was not destroyed ; their spirit was not
broken, nor was their economic well-being and independence seriously
impaired, though they lost much of their former power and social
prominence. Four distinct "estates" were gradually developed:
nobility, clergy, merchants, and binder, and Assemblies of Estates
replaced the old lagthings. From 1548 such Assemblies of the four
Estates were summoned to do homage to a new king, but in the latter
part of the reign of Christian IV. they also took part in the levying
of taxes and in the making of laws. The new social classes, though
often grasping and selfish, represented in many ways a more en-
lightened patriotism than the binder, who loved intensely their rights
and freedom, but who failed to understand the demands which new
ages bring, and lacked the scope of vision necessary to develop the
country along national Hues. The development of the four estates
was a distinct organization of new forces which were to lift the
nation to a higher plane both politically and intellectually. The
new national army, the fortification of the cities, the creation of
coast defenses, and other timely improvements were made possible
through their support.

Closely associated with the development of the estates was also

* Oscar Alb. Johnsen, De norske Stcender, p. 27 ff. Christiania Viden-
skabs-Selskabs Skrifter, 1906.

' Lorens Berg says: "Christian IV. deserves to be branded as an op-
pressor of the binder in spite of his many boastful phrases about 'guarding
the interests of the common people.' For example: In 1640 he was on
the point of stopping all the sawmills in the land by his letters of taxation.
In great numbers the people sought 'gracious permission' at the things to
shut down their sawmills." Historiak Tidsskrift, fjerde rsekke, vol. V.,
p. 60.

II HANNIBAL SEHESTED 209

the consolidation of the government officials into a distinct and influ-
ential class — a bureaucracy. In 1547 Norway received again its
own chancellor, who was the keeper of the seal, and exercised super-
vision over the courts of law, and in 1572 the lensherre of Akershus
was made statholder of Norway. Christiania, as his residence city,
became the center of Norwegian administration, the place where
the Assembly of Estates met, where kings were hailed,^ where the
leading men of the kingdom assembled, a center from which social
and political influence began to emanate ; the new city, though small,
was becoming the capital of the kingdom.

In 1642 Hannibal Sehested, a Danish nobleman, was made lens-
herre of Akershus and statholder of Norway, and the same year
he married King Christian's daughter Christiane. The new statholder
was a gifted man of fine appearance and noble bearing. In company
with one of the princes he had visited Rome, Naples, Paris, and
London ; he had been sent on important missions, and had become
acquainted with the leading statesmen, and especially as the king's
son-in-law he could appear with royal dignity in his high oflBce,
though he was yet only thirty-four years of age. On his arrival in
Norway Sehested entered upon the important duties of his office
with great energy and earnestness. He studied conditions closely,
and aimed to make all possible improvements with the aid and ad-
vice of the Estates, which he summoned to meet in Christiania. He
sought to perfect the yet incomplete military organization, to secure
firearms for the army, and to aid the mining industry, which was in
great need of encouragement and able assistance. In these efforts
he was aided chiefly by the nobility, the clergy, and the cities, while
the binder held aloof or showed opposition, partly because their
burdens were already heavy in proportion to their income, but partly,
also, because they still lacked understanding of the value of national
improvements. With his good judgment and administrative ability,
Sehested might have done great things for Norway, if his work had
not been suddenly interrupted by a new war with Sweden.

The crushing defeat of the Danish army in Germany, and the
phenomenal victories of Gustavus Adolphus, which shed the brightest

1 Assemblies of Estates were held in Christiania, 1626, 1628, 1631, 1639,
1643, 1648, 1657, and 1661. Ludvig Daae, Det Gamle Christiania, p. 98.
VOL. II — p

210 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

luster on Swedish arms, and filled all Europe with acclaim, suddenly
changed the political aspect in the North and awakened the keenest
jealousy of the ambitious King Christian. Not only was Sweden
assuming pohtical leadership in the North, but the hitherto insig-
nificant kingdom was becoming one of the great powers of Europe,
while Denmark, which but recently had treated Sweden as a depend-
ency, was sinking into obscurity. Gustavus Adolphus' brilliant
career was closed on the battlefield of Liitzen, 1632, but the great
Swedish generals still wielded the sword valiantly. The foreign
policy of Sweden was wisely guided by the sagacious statesman Axel
Oxenstjerna, and an alliance with France made her position quite
secure. By pursuing a friendly poHcy King Christian might have
profited by the new situation, but would he, could he admit that Den-
mark-Norway had lost the coveted leadership in the North? No
bitterer chaUce could be brought to the hps of so proud a king. He
would still oppose Sweden ; not openly, but he began to systemati-
cally annoy the Swedish government by posing as a peacemaker,
and by trying to prevent Sweden from securing possessions in Ger-
many. In the fall of 1637 he even offered the Emperor to resist
with armed force any attempt of Sweden to secure German territory.
In vain Peder Vibe, the Danish minister in Stockholm, warned him.
The king thought that the course which he was pursuing was not
dangerous. But Sweden was not in a humor at this moment to
bear patiently with a jealous and meddlesome neighbor. The Kal-
mar War and the indemnity which Sweden had been forced to pay
by the peace of Kn8er0d were not forgotten, and Axel Oxenstjerna
was much irritated by King Christian's duplicity. In 1643 orders
were given the Swedish field marshal, Lennart Torstensson, to march
against Denmark. The order reached him in Moravia in September,
and he immediately put his army in motion. On December 12
he entered Holstein, and by New Year he stood in Jutland. Both
King Christian and the Council were taken by surprise. Before the
end of January the whole Danish peninsula was in Torstensson's
hands, and General Gustav Horn occupied Sk&ne with an army of
eleven thousand men. Louis de Geer was sent by Axel Oxenstjerna
to the Netherlands to attempt to secure an aUiance against Den-
mark, as the Hollanders were opposed to the Sound-toll, which hin-

A NEW WAR WITH SWEDEN 211

dered their commerce in the Baltic. But they did not like to see
Denmark annihilated, and Sweden too powerful, and de Geer only
succeeded in collecting a fleet of thirty vessels, which was sent under
command of Thijssen to cooperate with the Swedish forces. In
Denmark all was consternation, and no one knew what to do ; the
king alone retained his presence of mind. He placed his confidence
in the fleet, and Norway might be able to give some assistance, since
it now possessed an army. Statholder Sehested was in favor of
an aggressive pohcy on the part of Norway, a plan also favored by
King Christian, but the Norwegians strenuously opposed an attack
on Sweden. The quarrel was not theirs. They would never, they
said, attack Sweden, for their Swedish neighbors wished them no harm,
and they well knew that if they touched Sweden, it would be to their
own misfortune.^ Their opposition to the statholder in this matter
grew very bitter, and it must be admitted that their view was justified
by the situation, as it was proven to be correct by the issue of the
war. But the Danish lords cared but httle for the public senti-
ment in Norway. Jakob Ulfeld in Jaemtland had already opened
hostilities by sending forces to raid the neighboring Swedish districts,
but they had to withdraw before the Swedes, who occupied Jaemtland.^
Daniel Buschovius, a chaplain from Elfdalen, also advanced from
Dalarne with 200 men into the districts of Indre and Sserna in 0ster-
dalen, and persuaded the people to swear allegiance to Queen Chris-
tina, the daughter of Gustavus.' The Norwegians again advanced,
captured M0rsel redoubt, and recovered Jgemtland, which remained
in their possession during the rest of the war. In the meantime
Sehested had made preparations to invade Vermland with a force

^In a letter to Admiral Gedde, January 30, 1845, Sehested wrote: "It
is to be heartily deplored that the people of this kingdom are so refractory
that they publicly swear and protest that they wiU not advance one foot
across the border, neither have they been willing to be stationed here between
Halland and the border of Sweden." Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog
og Historie, III., p. 70. Statholder Hannibal Sehesteds Copiebog for Aarel
1 645. This was an exaggeration at the time, as the Norwegians had already
made several expeditions into Sweden, but in order to make pohtical capital,
he bases this statement on the well-known fact that the Norwegians were
opposed to the war.

^ Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Hannibal Sehesteds Statholder skab, p. 55 flf.

* Yngvar Nielsen, Om Indre og Scerna, Historiak Tidsakrift, III., p. 195 ff.

212 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

of 2000 men, assisted by a similar force under Henrik Bjelke. But
he was ordered to cooperate with the king, who had already spent
some time before Gottenborg. On the arrival of Sehested King
Christian departed to take charge of the naval operations. On May
16, 1644, he met Thijssen's fleet, and defeated it in the battle of List
Dyb, off the west coast of Schleswig, and after a second engagement
a few days later, Thijsseh had to return to Holland. On July 1
King Christian and Admiral Vind fought the great naval battle
of Kolberger Heide, off Kiel, with the Swedish fleet under Klaes
Fleming. The old king showed the greatest bravery. Even after
he was so severely wounded that he lost the sight of one eye, he stood
on the deck of his flagship, "Trefoldigheden," and encouraged his
men. As a result of the battle the Swedish fleet was bottled up
in the harbor of Kiel, but through the negligence of the Danish
admiral Gait it managed to escape. Gait was sentenced to death
and executed, and Eirik Ottess0n Orning, a Norwegian captain,
became chief admiral. When Thijssen had repaired his ships, he
again put to sea, sailed through the Sound under the thundering can-
nons of the Kronborg, and joined the Swedish fleet. A Danish
squadron of seventeen ships under the Norwegian admiral, Pros
Mund, was attacked and destroyed; only three frigates escaped
into the harbor of Copenhagen.

Sehested did not engage in active operations till in June, when he
attacked and destroyed the newly founded city of Vernersborg, and
sent George von Reichwein across the border from Vinger and Eid-
skog. Morast redoubt was taken, but the Swedes dispatched Gabriel
Oxenstjerna to recapture it. Sehested now joined the Norwegian
forces, which numbered 2825 men with eighteen field-pieces. A seri-
ous battle was fought, in which the Norwegians were victorious;
Henrik Bjelke entered Dalsland, and took the city of Am&l, but
the Norwegian forces found it necessary to withdraw again to the
border, and in May, Morast redoubt was the only point in Swedish
territory in their possession. The newly organized Norwegian army
had proven that it could render eflScient service, but the active part
which Norway had been forced to play in the war could not avert
the disastrous outcome. After the destruction of Pros Mund's
squadron, Denmark's strength was so nearly exhausted that King

n A NEW WAR WITH SWEDEN 213

Christian was compelled to negotiate for peace. The representatives
of the two powers met at Br0msebro, on the border between Blekinge
and SmMand, where peace was finally concluded August 13, 1645.
Christian had to cede permanently to Sweden the islands of Goth-
land and Osel, and Halland for a period of twenty-five years. He
also had to cede the Norwegian provinces of Jaemtland and Herje-
dalen. The districts of Indre and Sserna, where the people had
sworn allegiance to the queen of Sweden, were not mentioned in the
treaty, but they were retained by Sweden, as they were regarded
by the Swedes as a part of Herjedalen.^

The Norwegians, who had been dragged into the, war against their
will, and had defended their territory successfully, suffered the great-
est loss, and might well regard themselves as the victims of Danish
politics. But the peace was, none the less, welcomed with joy,
because of the oppressive burdens caused by the war. In Bergen
the news of peace was hailed with the firing of guns, the flying of
banners, and thanksgiving services in the churches.^

King Christian's unfortunate wars not only destroyed Denmark's
preponderance in the North, and transferred the leadership to Sweden,
but they affected distinctly also the relation between Norway and
Denmark, It became evident to a far-sighted statesman like Hanni-
bal Sehested that Norway, which was making rapid commercial
and economic progress, and was so near a neighbor to Denmark's
powerful rival, could no longer be treated as a mere dependency,
administered in the interest of Denmark, and defended by a few
companies of soldiers, placed as garrisons in the leading fortresses
of the kingdom. The altered situation had created new demands.
Neither King Christian nor the Danish statesmen regarded the peace
of Br0msebro as permanent; they would await the opportunity
to regain what had been lost; but in a new conflict Norway might
prove a source of weakness rather than of strength from a military
point of view, if the old system was continued. Sehested would

^ Yngvar Nielsen, Om Indre og Scerna, Historisk Tidsskrift, vol. III.,
p. 195 fif. L. Holberg, Danmarks Riges Historie, III., p. 48 ff., p. 229. Sam-
Unger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. V., p. 478 ; vol. VI., p. 470.
Yngvar Nielsen, De nordenfjeldske Begivenheder 1657-1660, p. 47 fif.

* Norske Magasin, II., 211. Historisk Tidsskrift, vol. I., p. 28. Oscar Alb.
Johnsen, Hannibal Sehesteds Statholderskab, p. 74 ff.

214 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

institute a new policy. Norway was to be made a power with suffi-
cient military and administrative autonomy to act of her own ac-
cord ; the kingdom was not to be a weak dependency which had to
be defended, but an active partner in the union. He had discovered
Norway's strength in the war with Sweden, and saw that by a wise
policy of administration the strength might be rapidly increased.
He won the old king for his plan, and received such a plenitude of
powers that he became virtually acting king of Norway. During
the war the king had given him the supervision and highest authority
over the Norwegian army, a power which was not curtailed even
after the peace was concluded, and he soon succeeded in obtaining
control also of the finances of the kingdom. He could use the money
in the Norwegian treasury at his own discretion ; he was authorized
to levy taxes in order to improve the defenses of the kingdom, and
to borrow money in the name of the king and the realm. The reve-
nues, which, to a great extent, had been sent to Denmark, were now
largely used in the kingdom, and Sehested finally convinced the king
of the wisdom of using all the Norwegian revenues at home. On
July 2, 1647, King Christian issued an order that all the taxes should
be used in Norway for the support of the militia and for the payment
of the debt. Sehested sought the active cooperation of the Norwe-
gian Estates, as he needed their aid to carry through his reforms as
well as the information which they could give him as to conditions
in various parts of the country, and he summoned them often to
give advice in nearly all matters touching the administration of the
kingdom.^ "At this point," says Professor Johnsen, "he appears
as a third power in the government beside the king and the Council.
He is more than statholder, more than viceroy, he is the representa-
tive of a definite political policy, the representative of the interests
of a whole kingdom in direct opposition to the one power, the Council,
and in alliance with the other, the king ; but, in fact, the one in the
alliance who takes the initiative, who is both the propelling and the
guiding force." ^ In October, 1645, Sehested submitted a plan for
a permanent military organization to the assembled Estates, and

^ Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Et Aktstykke fra StcBnderforhandlingen i Christiania
1646. Hiatorisk Tidsskrift, fjerde raekke, vol. IV., p. 81 ff.

* Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Hannibal Sehesteds Statholderskab, p. 91.

U A NEW WAR WITH SWEDEN 215

the result of the dehberation was that the German cavalry which
had served in the war should be kept. This cavalry was, however,
dismissed by royal order in 1647. The regiments should be kept
up and strengthened, and able officers should be employed. Accord-
ing to Sehested's proposition, sanctioned by the king, the regiments
of Bohus, Akershus, and Trondhjem were to be maintained, and
these were increased respectively to 2000, 3000, and 3000 men. The
fortresses were to be repaired, and the garrisons strengthened, and
as they were far apart, forts were also to be erected at other places.
Sehested sought also to create a separate Norwegian fleet of thirty
vessels, but failed to carry out the plan, as it received no general
support.

The Danish nobility, and the Council led by Korfits Ulfeld, another
son-in-law of King Christian, were bitterly opposed to the policy
pursued by Sehested and the king in regard to Norway. They
scouted the idea that Norway should have a separate army and navy,
that the finances of the kingdom should be administered for Nor-
way's own benefit, and that no contributions were to be sent to the
Danish treasury. This policy, they believed, would lead to Norway's
complete independence. The king was now old and weak, and when
he lost his oldest son. Prince Christian, who had been elected succes-
sor to the throne by the assembled Danish Estates, the Council
gained full control. The reform policy in Norway was abandoned,
the expenditures for the Norwegian army were reduced, the Danish
chancellor was given control of the Norwegian finances, and the
lensherrer were instructed to send their contributions directly to
Denmark. On the charge of malfeasance in office, to which he pleaded
guilty, Sehested was dismissed, and lost all his possessions. But,
though he was overthrown, his reform plans in Norway were
destined to be revived. He had given the kingdom an army;
he had organized a centralized administration separate from that of
Denmark, and had placed autonomy as the goal towards which Nor-
way should be striving. Such a lesson in self-government could
not be wholly forgotten, and the Norwegian army remained as a
result of what had been done, as a new repository of national strength
to be used in future struggles.

216 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

28. Frederick III

King Christian IV. died at Rosenborg palace in Copenhagen,
February 28, 1648, and as the elected successor to the throne, Prince
Christian, had passed away in 1647, a new king had to be chosen.
Prince Frederick, the king's next oldest son, born in 1609, seemed
to be the logical candidate. He was statholder of the duchies of
Schleswig-Holstein, to which he was the sole heir. During his broth-
er's lingering illness both he and his ambitious wife, Sophia Amalie
of Braunschweig-Liineburg, had made it their aim to obtain the
throne, if a vacancy should occur, and the prince styled himself in
all public documents "Heir to the throne of Norway," But the
nobles opposed him, because of his pronounced autocratic ideas.
There could be no doubt that if placed on the throne, he would at-
tempt to strengthen the royal power to the greatest extent possible,
but as he was the king's only legitimate son, his election could not
be prevented. On the 18th of April, 1648, he was chosen king of
the united realms, and on August 24 he received the homage of the
Norwegian people in Christiania.^

According to usage, the king had to sign a charter by which the
nobility safeguarded their privileges and powers.^ The attempt was
made to introduce a stipulation with regard to Norway which would
have revived the long-forgotten clause in the charter of Christian III.,
and would have once for all reduced that kingdom to a Danish prov-
ince. The nobles proposed that Norway "shall forever remain
an inseparable province under the crown of Denmark," and that
the king "shall have no rights thereto either by inheritance or
otherwise," but to this the king would not subscribe. The charter,
as finally signed, created restrictions on the royal power which had
never yet been imposed on a Danish king, but as a final compromise
Norway was not mentioned. The charter became a purely Danish
document. But while the Danish nobles would regard Norway as

1 Andreas H0jer, Jus Publicum eller Statsforfatning og Rettigheder for
Danmark, Norge og Fyrstend^mmerne, Christiania, 1783, p. 32 f. J. E.
Sars, Udsigt over den norske Hislorie, vol. IV., p. 41.

* Samlinger til del norake Folks Sprog og Hislorie, vol. I., p. 13 ff. Yngvar
Nielsen, Frederik Ills Hylding i Christiania 1648, Historisk Tidsskrift,
vol. I., p. 23 ff.

n FREDERICK III 217

a province of Denmark, the national spirit was again awakened
among the Norwegians. Through the development of the Estates
they had again received a national representation, after the Nor-
wegian Council had disappeared.^ It is true that the Estates num-
bered many Danish nobles and oflBcials, but it was, nevertheless, a
representation which could speak in behalf of Norwegian interests.
This they had done quite effectively when the question arose of
using Norwegian revenues in the kingdom instead of paying them
into the general treasury, and it is evident that the Danish govern-
ment did not dare to disregard Norway's rights as a separate king-
dom. When Frederick III. was to be hailed in Christiania, the
Danish chancellor in a speech to the Norwegian Estates asked them
to swear allegiance to the new king, but he did not mention with a
word the clause which had been inserted in the " Code of Christian
IV." that "whatsoever lord or prince the Danish Council, nobiHty,
and Estates shall choose to be king of Denmark shall also be king
of Norway." He offered an apology for the failure to summon the
Norwegian Estates to take part in the election, but said that it was
owing to the haste with which the election had to be made. The
native-born Norwegian chancellor, Jens Bjelke, replied that the Nor-
wegian Estates would take the oath of allegiance to King Frederick
III. as heir to the throne of Norway, as no one had a better right to
the throne than he.^ King Frederick's position in Norway was not
made clear, but the Norwegians had feariessly maintained that

^ Yngvar Nielsen, Norges Historie, vol. IV., 2, p. 269. J. E. Sars,
Udsigt over den norske Historie, vol. IV., p. 41 ff. F. Hammerich, Fire
kj^benhavnske Rigsdage, Nyt historisk Tidsskrift, vol. V., p. 396 f.

* Yngvar Nielsen, Frederik Ills Hyldingi Christiania 1648, p. 40 f., Histo-
risk Tidsskrijt, f0rste rsekke, vol. I., p. 23 ff. T. H. Aschehoug, Statsfor-
fatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 1814, P- 361 f. Yngvar Nielsen, Jens
Bjelke til 0straat, p. 365. Professor Alb. Johnsen shows that the use by
various Danish kings of the title "Heir to the throne of Norway" gave them
no hereditary right to the throne. He says concerning hereditary kingship
in Norway: "The people clung to the hereditary kingship so long as it
served their interests and the country's welfare, but they abandoned it and
opposed the hereditary kingship and the hereditary principle when in the
union period these were becoming a danger to the country and the nation;
finally they again recognized the king's hereditary rights when, under altered
conditions, the hereditary principle could promote the honor of the country
and the people's happiness. When in 1814 the Norwegians refused to recog*

2X8 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

their kingdom was an hereditary monarchy, a position in which they
were supported by the king and the statholder, Hannibal Sehested.
The Danish nobihty were clearly put on the defensive to maintain
the old elective system with which their power was so closely identi*
fied. The rent thus made in the antiquated Danish pohcy was
still to increase until the system itself was overthrown.

King Frederick III. was very unHke his father. He was quiet
and given to reflection. He spoke little and wrote still less. He
was much interested in literature, art, and science, and especially
in alchemy, to which he devoted special attention.^ He loved power,
and felt confident that his future success was preordained by des-
tiny. He possessed a high degree of self-control; he was a keen
observer, and kept impressions well in mind; but his anger was
often of the vindictive kind which might prove dangerous to those
against w^hom it chanced to be directed. When he ascended the
throne, King Christian's sons-in-law had formed a political party,
and had gained full control of the government. The leader of the
party was Korfits Ulfeld, who was married to Christian's daughter
Leonora Christina. Much more gifted and scarcely less influential
was Hannibal Sehested, statholder of Norway. Korfits Ulfeld rose
to the highest position in the realm through royal favor, but he pos-
sessed also the royal favorite's pride and arrogance, and became
generally hated by the nobility. Sehested's overthrow has already

nize Christian Frederick's hereditary right, and when in 1905 they refused
to retain an hereditary king who had become unable to perform his duties
as ruling sovereign, they acted in reality in perfect harmony with the policy
of their forefathers." Historisk Tidsskrift, femte rsekke, vol. II., p. 190 £E.
Om del norske Folks Opfatning av Tronf^lgen f^r 1 660. G. L. Baden, Oprin-
delsen til de Schleswig-Holstenske Hertugers Titel: Arving til Norge, AJhand-
linger, vol. II., p. 61.

1 King Frederick III. wasted large sums of money on the Italian alchemist
Burrhi, who instructed him in alchemy. He gave this teacher a laboratory
in the palace gardens at Rosenborg. To what degree Burrhi enjoyed the
king's favor can be seen from an order which he issued to General Ahlefeldt :
" It is our most gracious will and command that you hereafter daily let 300
men with their officers accompany Burrhi to work in our gardens at Rosen-
borg and elsewhere where he may need it for our service, and that to this end
you gradually change the people as you deem it necessary." P. Brock, Den
Oldenborgske Kongeslegt, isaer under Enevoelden, belyst ved den chronologiake
Samling paa Rosenborg Slot, p. 55.

n FREDERICK HI 219

been mentioned, but he humbled himself before the king, admitted
his faults, received pardon, and was destined to rise again to the
highest influence and power. Ulfeld, who was stiff-necked, pursued
another course, and fell to rise no more.

The relations between Korfits Ulfeld and Frederick III. were
strained from the outset. The king well knew that Ulfeld was re-
sponsible for the restrictions placed upon the royal power by the
charter, and the proud magnate could not gracefully submit to the
authority exercised by the new king. The ambitious Queen Sophia
AmaUe also looked with jealous disfavor on the gifted and beautiful
Leonora Christina, whom she regarded as a rival. Ulfeld secretly
left Denmark, and went to Sweden, where he was well received by
Queen Christina. King Frederick instituted an investigation into
the way in which he had conducted his high office as steward of the
kingdom, and Ulfeld, who refused to return to answer to the charges
before the Danish Council, became more and more an open enemy of
his king and his country. His foul treason and the long imprison-
ment of his innocent wife cast a dark shadow upon the reign of Fred-
erick III,^ The overthrow of such powerful magnates as Ulfeld
and Sehested could not but weaken the Danish nobility, and render
them less able to resist the king, who aimed to curtail their power,
if not to destroy it. In 1650 his eldest son, Prince Christian, was
elected successor to the throne, but the election was made only in
behalf of Denmark, and when the royal successor was to be hailed
in Christiania, 1656, the question again arose whether he was to be
regarded as heir to the throne, or as elected crown prince. On this
occasion a treatise entitled "Norges Rige Arve-Rige," written to
prove that Norway had always been a hereditary monarchy, was
submitted to the king. The author is thought to have been a Dane,
Jens Dolmer,^ who had been the tutor of King Christian's ille-
gitimate son Ulrik Christian Gyldenl0ve, and who at the time of the

* Lenore Christine Ulfeldt, Jammers-minde, published by S. Birket
Smith. Copenhagen. Lenore Christine Grevinde Ulfeldt's Levned, Copen-
hagen, 1870.

^ Gustav Storm, Om Forfatteren til del statsretslige Skrift fra 1656 "Norges
Uige Arve-Rige." Historisk Tidaskrift, anden rsBkke, vol. IV., p. X14 ff.
Dolmer also translated the Hirskrd, Hird-Skraa udi det gamle Norske
Sprog retteligen oversat paa Danske, Copenhagen, 1666.

220 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

festivities was granted a yearly pension from the royal purse. Pro-
fessor Gustav Storm says : " When the document was submitted to
the king at a Norwegian council by a man who was personally so
well acquainted with him, and who a few days later received a pen-
sion from the royal treasury, it is evident that the author has written
it at the instigation of the king, and expresses the views of the king
and his surroundings. The treatise is, therefore, a link in the chain
of utterances by the king regarding the hereditary kingship in Nor-
way, and reveals the plans which were maturing at the court."
That King Frederick should welcome such a plan to increase his
power is quite natural, but he was -less favorably disposed to a petition
submitted by the Norwegian merchant class, or third estate, aiming
at securing new improvements and privileges for Norway. The
petitioners prayed that Norwegian officers might be employed in
the army instead of foreigners; that Norway might get a chamber
of commerce, a superior court, and a university.^ These were all
timely and useful improvements, but no attention was paid to the
petition, though it was renewed the following year. Even though
hereditary kingship and absolute power were established, Norway
might derive but slight benefit from the change.

After the death of Gustavus Adolphus his gifted but eccentric
daughter Christina succeeded to the throne of Sweden, after a regency
had conducted the government during her minority. She became
of age in 1644, and ruled till 1654, when she abdicated, and her cousin,
Charles Gustavus, became king of Sweden as Charles X. King
Frederick III. had been longing for an opportunity to regain the
provinces lost in the late war with Sweden, and when Charles X.,
shortly after his accession to the throne, became involved in a war
with Poland, he thought the time had come for the inevitable con-
test with the rival power. Without much preparation, and without
weighing carefully the possible outcome, the king signed the declara-
tion of war, July 1, 1657. " Seldom has a war been.declared more from
pure motive of revenge, and the feelings associated with it," says
Professor Yngvar Nielsen.' In his work, " Adelsvaeldens sidste Dage,"

' Becker, Samlinger til Danmarks Historie under Fredrik III., vol. I., p.
118. Quoted by Sars, Udsigl over den norske Historie, vol. IV., p. 43.
• Yngvar Nielsen, Norgea Hiatorie, vol. IV., 2, p. 284.

n FREDERICK III 221

J. A. Fridericia says : " Weak and poor was the Idngdom (Denmark)
when the war began, dismembered and ruined when it ended. No
single man can be made responsible for its weakness and poverty,
the reasons for which lie deep in the people's history, in exterior mis-
fortunes, in unfortunate errors made by kings and statesmen, in
the absence of a powerful merchant class ; but especially in the arro-
gance, demoralization, and worthlessness of the nobility. Perhaps
this weakness and poverty would sooner or later have led to the
same dismemberment and devastation which the kingdom now
suffered, but for the misfortunes as they happened in these years,
that prince whose will was the war of 1657 cannot be wholly free
from blame." ^ The Norwegian army was able to render able service
during the war. Attacks were made against Sweden both from
Tr0ndelagen and from Bohuslen. Peder Vibe was commandant
of Trondhjem, but the expedition against Sweden in this quarter
was to be led by J0rgen Bjelke, probably the ablest officer in the
Norwegian army at that moment. His forces numbered 2000 men,
who had been recruited chiefly in Tr0ndelagen. With this force
he invaded Jsemtland and Herjedalen, drove out the Swedish garri-
sons, and placed the two provinces once more under Norwegian ad-
ministration. In the northern districts, Preben von Ahnen, com-
mandant of Bod0gaard, raised a small force, and attacked and
destroyed the Swedish silver mines at Nasafjall and Silbojocki.
The expedition from Bohuslen was led by Iver Krabbe, commandant
of Bohus. He was successful in a battle at Hjertrum, but failed to
effect a junction with the Danish army, which had crossed the border
further south.

While Sweden was attacked by the Norwegians in Jsemtland and
Bohuslen, and by a Danish force operating from Sk§.ne, the prin-
cipal Danish army was assembled in Holstein to march against
Sweden's German possessions. But King Charies X. Gustavus was,
above all, a warrior. He was a great tactician and a resolute and
energetic general, who was always ready for new military exploits.

^ J. A. Fridericia, Adelsvoeldens sidste Dage, p. 260. Yngvar Nielsen,
Kampen om Trondhjem, Festskrift, Trondhjems 900-aars Jubilceum, 1897.
Yn^ar Nielsen, De nordenfjeldake Begivenheder 1657-1660, Cbristiania,
1868.

222 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

When the declaration of war reached him in Thorn in Prussia, he
put his army in motion, and advanced by forced marches to the
borders of Holstein. The Danish commander, Anders Bille, had
kept his forces scattered, and the unexpected encounter with the
Swedish main army under King Charles's own command created
such consternation and disorder that no effective resistance could
be made. Charles Gustavus did not stop to take the scattered for-
tresses throughout Holstein, but hastened forward, crossed the
border of Schleswig, August 23, and pitched his headquarters at
Kolding, as it was found necessary to lay siege to the important
fortress of Fredriksodde.^

The Danish army operating in Sk§,ne under Aksel Urup met with
no success. Urup was defeated in the battle of Genevad Bro, and
although he succeeded in defeating the Swedes under Gustav Sten-
bock at Kattorp, the advantage gained was of httle value, as he
failed to make a junction with the Norwegian forces in Bohuslen.
At sea Denmark was more successful, though no signal victories
were won. After the undecisive naval battles, September 12-14,
the Swedish fleet withdrew to the harbor of Wismar, where the Danish
admiral, Henrik Bjelke, succeeded in keeping it shut up for the rest
of the war.

Denmark had already been placed in a most diflBcult situation,
but new hope was created by an alliance with Poland. Austria also
attacked the Swedish forces stationed in that kingdom, and Branden-
burg joined the enemies of Sweden. King Charles succeeded in form-
ing an alliance with the Duke of Gottorp, but the situation was, never-
theless, so complicated that he consented to attempt peace negotia-
tions. Councilor Sten Bjelke, and the traitor Korfits Ulfeld, who
was now in the service of Sweden, were empowered to treat with
Denmark, but it could scarcely be expected that the Danish govern-
ment would treat with the traitorous Ulfeld, and the attempt was
abandoned. Denmark received no aid worth mentioning from her
allies. On October 24 the fortress of Fredriksodde was taken by
storm ; 1000 Danish officers and soldiers fell, and over 4000 were
made prisoners, a defeat so crushing that it filled the people with

* Fredrik Ferdinand Carlson, Sveriges Historia under Konungarne af
pfahiska Huset, part I., p. 270 fif.

JX FREDERICK III 223

despair, and aroused their anger against the nobles, who were accused
of incompetence and treason to the country. After the fall of
Fredriksodde King Charles crossed the Little Belt on the ice to
Fyen, defeated and captured the Danish army of 4000-5000 men
at Tybring Vig, and seized the island. He did not tarry, but rode
across the Great Belt with 2000 horsemen to Langeland, which sur-
rendered without resistance. On the 8th of February he entered
Falster, and on the 11th he stood in Seeland, where Gustav Wrangel
joined him with the rest of the Swedish army. There was now noth-
ing left for Denmark to do but to conclude peace, no matter how
humiliating the terms. Peace negotiations were begun, and after
a preUminary protocol had been agreed upon, the treaty was finally
signed at Roskilde, February 26, 1658. Denmark had to cede Skane,
Halland, Blekinge, and Bornholm; Jsemtland and Herjedalen had
to be evacuated, and Bohuslen and Trondhjems len in Norway
were given to Sweden. King Frederick III. was, furthermore, to
give King Charles 2000 horsemen; he had to agree to abrogate all
hostile alliances against Sweden, and to seek to prevent any foreign
fleet, hostile to either of the two realms, from passing through the
Sound.^ For the second time Norway had become the victim of a
Danish foreign policy aiming solely at the maintenance of the power
and glory of Denmark. Norway's interest had never been consid-
ered, and the peace of Roskilde not only alienated great portions of
Norwegian territory, but almost destroyed the kingdom by dividing
what remained into two dissevered halves. But in those days war
was still a royal sport, and Frederick III. did not appear to be very
downcast by the overwhelming misfortunes which he had brought
upon his realm. He invited King Charles to visit him at Fredriks-
borg palace, where a great festival was arranged in his honor. For
several days the two monarchs feasted, drank, chatted, and made
merry; and when Charles departed from Denmark, the batteries
of the Kronborg gave royal salute in honor of the victor.

^ FVedrik Ferdinand Carlson, Sveriges Historia under Konungarne og
pfalziska Huset, part 2, p. 324 ff. J. A. Friderioia, Adelsvceldens sidste Dage,
p. 311 ff. Yngvar Nielsen, Kampen om Trondhjem 1657-1660; Freden i
Roskilde. C. F. Allen, Haandbog i Fcedrelandets Historie, p. 408 f. Dan-
marks Riges Historie, vol. IV., p. 394 £E. Sveriges^Historie, vol. III. Norges
HistoHe, vol. IV., 2, p. 283 fE.

224 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

Both kings were, however, dissatisfied with the terms of the treaty
of Roskilde. King Frederick III., because he had lost so much terri-
tory, and Charles Gustavus, because he did not take more when he
had the opportunity. With regard to Trondhjems len the treaty
was very vague, and King Charles claimed that the district of Romsdal
as well as Nordland and Finmarken were included in the cession.
Romsdal was recognized to be a part of Trondhjems len, but King
Charles still planned to renew the war. In July, 1658, he decided
in a meeting with his Council at Gottorp to attack Denmark, and Gus-
tav Wrangel was instructed to begin operations against Copenhagen.^
The city was invested, and a siege begun. Kronborg was surrendered
to General Wrangel without much resistance, but animated by the
desperate situation, the Danes concentrated their forces within their
capital, which they were resolved to defend to the last extremity.
The unprovoked attack, and the fear that Sweden would gain abso-
lute control in the North, soon moved other powers to intervene
in behalf of Denmark. Holland sent a fleet of forty vessels and
twenty-eight transports with a force of 2200 men under Jakob van
Wassenaer Opdam to Danish waters. This fleet passed through
the Sound in spite of the fire from the fortresses of Kronborg and
Helsingborg, defeated the Swedish fleet, joined the Danish squadron,
and sent the transports with provisions and reenforcements to Copen-
hagen. Brandenburg and Poland also commenced war against
Sweden, and sent an army into Holstein, which forced the Duke of
Gottorp, King Charles's ally, to remain neutral.

King Charles Gustavus had planned this time to take possession
of all Norway, but the Norwegians were determined, not only to
defend their country, but to recover the lost possessions. The people
of Tr0ndelagen regretted bitterly that they had been forced under
Sweden. The Swedish commissioner, Lorentz Creutz, who acted
as governor of the province, was ordered by King Charles to raise
a force of 3000 men for the Swedish army, but this was so violently
opposed by the people that the order could be carried out only with
the greatest diflBculty. Finally 2000 men were impressed to fight

1 J. A. Pridericia, Adelsvcddens sidste Dage, p. 349 ff. Fredrik Ferdinand
Carlson, Sveriges Historia under Konungarne af pfalziska Huset, part 1, p.
354 ff.

n FREDERICK III 225

in Sweden's foreign wars. They were ordered to be sent to Livonia,
and the king wrote to John Oxenstjerna to watch carefully so that
the Norwegians did not desert. Many escaped, but about 1400 were
transported to Livonia, few of whom ever saw their native land again.
The Swedish king did nothing to win the favor of the Norwegians.
His only thought had been to raise men and money in the conquered
provinces. The taxes were increased, and the Tr0nders, who had
hitherto been well disposed towards the Swedes, were now eager to
aid in any undertaking which promised freedom from the foreign
yoke.^ King Charles issued a manifesto to the Norwegian people,
asking them to separate from Denmark and join Sweden, but such
a thought did not exist in Norway at that moment. A new national
feeling had been awakened ; the people would now fight for freedom
from Swedish oppression, and J0rgen Bjelke, who had been placed
at the head of the Norwegian army, undertook to recover Tr0nde-
lagen. As soon as the war broke out. King Frederick III. sent word
to Norway to statholder Nils Trolle and to J0rgen Bjelke that they
should resist to the utmost. Communications with Denmark were
soon destroyed, however, and Bjelke became the leader of the mili-
tary operations. His father, the old chancellor, Jens Bjelke, en-
couraged the people of Tr0ndelagen through private letters to break
away from Sweden, "in which they also succeeded," says an old
writer.^ A formal manifesto signed by the statholder, the chancel-
lor, and J0rgen Bjelke, addressed to the Estates of the lost provinces,
asking them to renew their allegiance to the old government, was
also published. Bjelke would lead the campaign in southern Norway,
and dispatched George von Reichwein to Tr0ndelagen. Reichwein's
forces increased as he advanced, until they numbered about 2000 men,
and another force from Bergen under Reinhold von Hoven was
dispatched to Trondhjem by sea to cooperate with Reichwein. Nord-
land also sent a detachment. The new Swedish governor, Claes
Stjernskold, felt alarmed. Everywhere the people arose against

^Yngvar Nielsen, Kampen om Trondhjem 1657-1660; Trondhjems Stad
og Len under svensk Styrelse.

* Yngvar Nielsen, Jens Bjelke til 0straat, p. 375 ff. ; Kampen om Trondhjem
1667-1660. Om Trondhjems Tilbagetagelse af de Norske, Samlinger til det
norske Folks Sprog og Historic, vol. VI., p. 195 ff. H. G. Heggtveit, Trondhjem
i Fortid og Nutid, p. 187 ff.

VOL. II — Q

226 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

the Swedes, and the detachments which he sent out to reconnoiter
met the advancing Norwegian troops, and were forced to fall back
on Trondhjem. King Charles, who had not failed to understand
the gravity of the situation in Tr0ndelagen, speedily sent a force
of 500 men to reenforce Stjernskold. If this force had reached the
city, the Swedish governor might have been able to successfully de-
fend it, as he would then have had a garrison of about 1200 men.
But Eilerik Visborg, who had been sent to Vserdalen with a part of
the forces from Bergen, met and defeated the Swedish reenforcements,^
and the Norwegian forces, numbering about 4000 men, laid siege
to Trondhjem. The garrison of the city numbered about 750 men,
but as many of these were Norwegians, desertions occurred almost
daily. The supply of provisions and war material in the city was
small, and after a siege lasting from October 3rd till December 11th
Stjernskold capitulated, and Trondhjems len again became Norwe-
gian territory.

J0rgen Bjelke was personally leading the defense of the southern
districts, where he had raised an army of about 4000 men. Sep-
tember 13, 1658, the Swedish general, Harald Stake, crossed the
Swedish border with a force of about 1500 men, and marched upon
Halden (Fredrikshald), which was defended by 900 men, of whom the
greater part were volunteers. This force, led by Peder Nordmand
and Mathias Bj0rn, took up a position in the hills east of the town,
where they resolutely attacked the Swedes when they arrived.
After a battle lasting from eight o'clock in the morning till three
o'clock in the afternoon, the Swedish general was forced to retreat,
and he led his army back to Sweden. A second attack was com-
menced in February ; this time by an army of 4000 men, also com-
manded by Stake. The town was defended by a force of 1800 men
under J0rgen Bjelke and T0nne Huitfeldt, who defeated the Swedish
general, and forced him to retreat to Bohuslen. After the attack
had been repulsed, Huitfeldt began to construct more efficient forti-
fications around Halden, and Bjelke advanced into Bohuslen in
the fall of 1659, and attempted to wrest that province from the Swedes.
But a Swedish army of 4500 men under Marshal Kagg was advancing

^ Yngvar Nielsen, Eilerik Visborgs Kamp med de Svenske 1668, Historiak
Tidsskrijl, f0rste raekke, vol. IV., p. 286 £f.

rr FREDERICK III 227

to renew the attack on the small Norwegian fortress, and Bjelke
had to return. He increased the garrison of the place to 2100 men,
and placed Huitfeldt in command.^ In January, 1660, the Swedes
attempted to take the fortress by storm, but the attack was success-
fully repulsed. In the meantime Bjelke had raised an army of
3800 men, with which he had hoped to reenforce the garrison of
Halden. The army was attacked by Kagg at Hundebunden, and a
stubborn battle was fought, in which the Norwegians were victori-
ous. A second assault on the fortress on February 13th was like-
wise repulsed, and a third attack on the 20th was also unsuccessful.
On February 22d the siege was raised, and Kagg led his forces
back to Sweden, where he received the news that the warrior king,
Charles X. Gustavus, had died in Gottenborg, February 13, 1660.

The defense of Halden and the capture of Trondhjem were events
of the utmost importance to Norway, Even from a military point
of view they were great achievements which awakened the people's
self-confidence and national pride. Hitherto the Danes had looked
upon Norway as wholly incompetent in mihtary affairs, but the late
events had awakened such admiration of the bravery of the Norwe-
gians that when Frederick IV. visited Norway about forty years
later, he caused a coin to be struck, bearing the superscription :
" Courage, loyalty, bravery, and all that gives honor, the whole world
among the rocks of Norway can learn." This was, undoubtedly,
done by the king to flatter the Norwegians, but they had shown in
these wars with Sweden that they could defend their country, and
that they could bring victory home from the fields of battle, even
in struggles with experienced generals and the best troops of Europe-
The disasters which had befallen Norway in the wars between Sweden
and Denmark, and the struggles through which the people had to
pass to throw off the Swedish yoke, and to defend their country,
were instrumental in finally rousing them from their national lethargy.
They had now regained the most important part of the lost terri-
tory, and had become animated with a new self-consciousness. The
Norwegian borders had been permanently fixed, and a national
aspiration, born of the people's firm resolve to lead their own free

1 H. J. Huitfeldt-Kaas, T^inne Huitfeldt til Throndstad, Historisk Tidsskrift,
tredie rsekke, vol. II., p. 156 fE.

228 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

existence, had become deeply rooted in all hearts. An efficient anny
had been developed, and able and patriotic leaders had appeared.
These distinct gains were doubly important since they would con-
stitute the basis for a new national development.

The war was still continued, but the end was, nevertheless, in
sight. Copenhagen resisted bravely, and when the Swedes attempted
to take the city by storm they were repulsed with heavy losses. As
England and France as well as Holland were interested in preserv-
ing Denmark's independence, Sweden's plan of subduing the whole
kingdom was becoming ever more hopeless. Holland's great ad-
miral, Michael de Ruyter, was dispatched to Danish waters with a
large fleet, and when the Swedish army in Fyen was defeated and cap-
tured, the three western powers, Holland, France, and England, finally
came to an understanding as to the terms of peace to be offered the
belligerents. Norway should retain Trondhjems len with Romsdal ;
Sweden should keep Sk&ne, Halland, and Blekinge, together with
Bohuslen; and Bornholm, where the Swedes had been driven out,
should be returned to Denmark. These terms were at length agreed
to, and the treaty of peace was signed at Copenhagen, May 26, 1660.

29. Hereditary Kingship. The Introduction of Absolutism

The peace of Copenhagen was hailed with joy, but the people both
in Denmark and Norway had been brought to the brink of ruin, and
suffering was intense in both kingdoms. An Assembly of Estates
met in Copenhagen, September 10, 1660, to consider the difficult
problems confronting the Danish people. The aristocracy still
insisted on retaining the privilege of freedom from taxation, though
the feeling against them had become very bitter ; but the clergy and
the third estate united and demanded equal privileges. When the
nobles were finally forced to yield, the opposition had become strong
enough to control the situation.^ Under the leadership of Mayor
Hans Nansen of Copenhagen and Hans Svane, Bishop of Seeland,
they resolved to overthrow the rule of the aristocracy by means of
a coup d'Hat. The city gates were closed, the harbor was blockaded,
and the garrison was held in readiness ; if the nobles should refuse

*T. H. Asohehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtil 18H,
p. 464 ff.

II HEREDITARY KINGSHIP. INTRODUCTION OF ABSOLUTISM 229

to submit, force would be used. Their resistance was soon broken,
and on October 13th they signed a declaration that they would join
the other estates in acknowledging the hereditary principle. The
charter was returned to the king as a token that the restrictions on
his royal power therein expressed were annulled,^ and on October 18,
1660, Frederick III. was formally hailed as hereditary king of Den-
mark. The right to the throne was vested in his family, both in
the male and female hue. Under the date of January 10, 1661, a
document was drawn up entitled " Instrument eller pragmatiskSank-
tion om Kongens Arveret til Danmarks og Norges Rige," which made
the king not only heir to the throne, but granted him all royal prerog-
atives and sovereign privileges as absolute hereditary king. This
document was circulated in the kingdom to be signed by nobles,
bishops, chapters, priests, and cities, in order that formal sanction
might be given to the introduction of absolutism in Denmark.

In accordance with the power which had been granted him by
the assembled Estates, the king undertook to prepare the new consti-
tution, the "Kongelov" {lex regia), which should outline in detail
the various powers which he was to exercise. This document bears
the date of November 14, 1665. The author of the law was Peder
Schumacher (Griff enf eld). ^ The document, which was long kept
secret, was finally published, and remained the constitution of Den-
mark and Norway till 1814. According to this document, the king
had the right to change, make, and annul laws, to appoint all higher
oflScials, to disregard all established customs, to declare war and make
peace, to levy taxes and coin money. He is declared to be subject
to God alone, and to be above all laws, except the fundamental laws
of the realm. The second article states : "The king has the highest
and most unlimited power, for he is the supreme head here on earth,

^ The charters subscribed to by the Danish kings had long since ceased
to be a guarantee for the people's liberty. Like the -pacta conventa of the
kings of Poland, they had become documents by which the nobles gradually
destroyed the royal power, and perfected and increased their own privileges.
Molesworth, An Account of Denmark as It Was in the Year 1692, p. 44 ff.

* A. D. J0rgensen, Peder Schumacher Griffenjeld, vol. I., p. 195 ff. Chr.
Bruun, Enevceldens Indf^relse i Danmark, og Kongelovens Tilblivelse, p. 114.
J. A. Fridericia, Kongeloven og dens Forhistorie, Dansk historisk Tidsskrift,
femte raekke, vol. VI. O. A. Pverland, Norges Historic, vol. VII., p. 107 ff.,
contains thirty of the forty articles of the Kongetov.

230 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

elevated above all human laws, and he recognizes no other judge,
either in secular or spiritual matters, than God Almighty." The
seventeenth article states further that " he can take no oath, or make
any declaration of any kind whatsoever, either orally or written, as
he, being a free and unrestrained absolute monarch, cannot be bound
by his subjects through any oath or obligation," ^ The Emperor of
ancient China could possess no more unlimited autocratic power.

In introducing absolutism and the principle of hereditary kingship
in Denmark, nothing had been said about Norway, but the king
claimed that he was already heir to the throne of that kingdom. The
Norwegian Estates were summoned to meet in Christiania in order
to hail him as hereditary king, May 27, 1661, but as he could not be
present, he sent the crown prince, Christian, together with Hannibal
Sehested ^ and five commissioners to act as his representatives. A
draft of a new fundamental law for the kingdom of Norway introduc-
ing absolutism was submitted, and the Estates signed the same,
August 7, 1661. This was a counterpart to the Danish act, and
granted the king the same absolute power as he had received in Den-
mark. The Norwegians had reason to be satisfied with the change.
Hereditary kingship had been established, and Norway was freed
from the rule of the Danish nobility, which had treated the kingdom
as a province to be administered by the Danish Council for their
benefit. Norway now had the same constitution as Denmark, and
was, henceforth, regarded as equal in rank with the sister kingdom,
as the basis for Danish supremacy, the usurped power of the Danish
Council to choose a king for both realms, had been removed.^ The
two realms were usually called the "Twin Kingdoms," and the citi-

^ Andreas H0jer, Jus Publicum eller Statsforfatning og Rettigheder for
Danmark, Norge og Fyrstend^mmerne forklaret ved private Forelaesninger,
Christiania, 1783. O. A. 0verland says of the Kongelov that it had no proto-
type in any European constitution. It was based chiefly on the ideas of
Thomas Hobbes, expressed in his works De Give and Leviathan.

' T. H. Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Danmark og Norge indtil 181^, p.
464 ff. Hannibal Sehested had again won the favor of the king, who had
appointed him royal treasurer. J. A. Friderioia, Adelsvaldens sidste Dage,
p. 164, 478 fE.

* E. Holm, Danmark-Norgea indre Historic under Enevcelden fra 1660
til 1720, vol. I., p. 71 flF. T, H. Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og
Danmark irtdtU 1814, p. 579. L. M. B. Aubert, Norges folkeretslige Stilling,

n HEREDITARY KINGSHIP, INTRODUCTION OF ABSOLUTISM 231

zens of one realm might hold any oflSce in the other. Under the
rule of an absolute monarch the Norwegians could hope that their
affairs would be more fairly and impartially dealt with than under
the old regime. This they found was also done to some extent, and
it would possibly have been done to a much higher degree if the abso-
lute kings of the House of Oldenburg had been gifted men and able
rulers. But their incompetence and lack of ability often rendered
them unable to exercise a power in any manner answering to the
fullness of their authority. Professor Sars says of them : " The
most gifted^of them did not rise above mediocrity ; those among them
who devoted themselves most diligently to administrative duties
became absorbed in official routine and trifles, and never developed
to become what may be termed independent and capable rulers,
howsoever low a standard we may establish. A couple of them were
wholly unfit to govern, and their rule was purely a nominal one.
Among those who formed the immediate surroundings of these kings

— their favorites, councilors, and ministers in a more special sense

— only two attempted to assume in the name of the king the power
which according to the constitution belonged to him, namely Grif-
fenfeld and Struensee, and both were overthrown after a short rule."
" The place which through the constitution was given the king re-
mained in many ways vacant throughout the period here mentioned.
Contrary to what might have been expected, judging from the prin-
ciples expressed in the new constitution (Kongeloven) , the govern-
ment became of a very staid and impersonal character. According
to the letter of the constitution, the government should have been
distinctly monarchical, but in reality it became distinctly bureau-
cratic. Its center was not formed by the kings personally, nor by
their Council (Geheimeraad, Privy Council), or their ministers in
a more limited sense, but by the Colleges, placed at the head of the
administrative departments. The Danish-Norwegian government
in the period 1660-1814 was, with the exception of a few interrup-
tions, essentially a government by the Colleges with all the faults
and advantages which usually characterize such a rule." ^

^ J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historie, vol. IV., p. 49 f . J. A. Fride-
ricia, Adelsvceldens sidste Dage, p. 489 ff. Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Norges His-
torie, vol. v., 1, p. 3 ff.

232 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

Shortly after the hereditary kingship had been estabhshed, King
Frederick III. created five Administrative Colleges (or committees)
by the ordinance of November 4, 1660, among which the various
administrative duties were divided.^ The Geheimeconseil (Privy
Council) was also created, consisting of the five presidents of the
Administrative Colleges. The Council convened daily in the pres-
ence of the king, and exercised, quite naturally, a great influence
upon his decisions. In his "cabinet" the king kept protocols and
private secretaries for receiving petitions and communications. These
matters would either be passed upon by the king personally, or he
would turn them over to the Administrative Colleges.^

A new judicial tribunal, the H^iesteret, was also created. This was
a court of final jurisdiction for Norway, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland,
as well as for Denmark. It represents a very marked improvement
over the old method, according to which the councils of magnates
acted as a higher court. But it was an essential drawback that the
new court was a purely Danish institution, which always convened
in Denmark, where Norwegian cases could not be properly investi-
gated. But the king, who exercised as absolute power in judicial
matters as in other affairs, was superior even to this court, and could
act as supreme judge.

The oflice of Statholder of Norway was retained with about the
same powers and duties as before. The statholder was to exercise
supervision over all subordinate oflicials, and he should so encourage
the economic development of the country that the royal revenues
might increase. He had to watch the relations with Sweden, keep
army, fortresses, and magazines supplied with the necessary stores
and equipments, and guard against the violation of treaties with
foreign nations touching Norway's commerce; but he retained no
power over the revenues of the kingdom, as in the days of Hannibal
Sehested.

As a result of the introduction of absolutism, the nobles lost their
exclusive right to the lens, and these might now be granted to any

* The five departments were : admiralty, war, treasury, commerce, and
state, or foreign affairs.

' T. H. Aschehoug, Statsforfatningen i Norge og Danmark indtU 1814,
p. 582 ff.

II HEREDITARY KINGSHIP. INTRODUCTION OF ABSOLUTISM 233

one whom.the king might see fit to appoint. In 1662 Frederick III.
abolished the name len, which still reminded him of the time when
the king's power was limited, and substituted the German name
ami. As the name indicates, the amts became mere administrative
districts, and over these he placed oflBcers called amtmoend, who were
not always of noble family. They received a fixed salary, and had
to render strict account of income and expenditures. Under Fred-
erick's son and successor. Christian V., Norway was divided into
four stiftsamter : Akershus, Christiansand, Bergenhus, and Trond-
hjem, each of which consisted of one principal ami and two of subor-
dinate rank, except in the case of Bergenhus, which had three sub-
ordinate amts. The power of the amtmoend was much more limited
than that of the lensherrer, who had exercised both civil and mili-
tary authority within their len. The amtmcBnd were only civil
oflScials, and their power was much curtailed, as they could not ap-
point subordinate officials, such as fogeds, mayors, and councilmen,
who were all appointed by the king. Their office was, nevertheless,
one of great dignity and power, as they were the king's deputies
and personal representatives in the local administration. The
enforcement of the laws, the management of public property, and
the supervision of the work of subordinate officials were some of
the more important executive duties delegated to them. But they
should also act as the guardians of the common people in protecting
them from oppression and injustice. They were to be watchful
in preventing fogeds from collecting excessive taxes, and merchants
from cheating the binder, and they were given special instruction
to see to it that the renters were not unjustly treated by their land-
lords.^ The stiftsamtmcend were superior to the others in rank, and
acted as superintendents over the amtmcBud, fogeds, and skrivere
(judges) within their stiftsamt The oflBce of Stiftsamtmand of
Akershus was connected with that of Statholder of Norway, that of
Stiftsamtmand of Christiansand with the office of Vice-statholder,
created in 1669, and in Trondhjem and Bergenhus the stiftsamt-
rruBnd were respectively chancellor and vice-chancellor of the king-
dom. The management of the finances was left to new fiscal officials

1 Edvard Holm, Danmark-Norges indre Historie under Enevcelden fra 1660
til 1720, vol. I., p. 84 ff. Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Norges Historie, vol. V., 1.

234 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE fl

called kammererer, later stiftsskrivere, who acted as local treasurers,
and had to render account to the royal treasury in Copenhagen.
But the collection of the taxes was left to the fogeds, as before.^

In conformity with the principles of absolutism, all officials of
whatever rank, even the mayors and councilmen in the cities, now
became royal officials, deriving their authority as well as their office
from the king himself, who was the source and fountain of all official
power. The local communities lost their autonomy. The parishes
could no longer call their own ministers, and the University of Copen-
hagen could not appoint its professors ; every change, in fact every
public act, would henceforth depend on the royal will.^ Gradually
the central government left more freedom and power to the local
authorities, especially in the cities, where this became quite necessary,
but the fundamental idea that the king was the source of all power and
authority, that the will of the people no longer existed as a factor
in administration and government, could not be altered.

The transfer of political power from the aristocracy to the king
and his officials resulted also in a new alignment of social classes,
as the officials, especially in Norway, appeared as a new upper class,
a bureaucracy.^ This class was partly recruited from the aristocratic
families, who possessed learning and culture, and still wielded a great
social influence; but as rank and birth were no longer necessary
qualifications, many wealthy and influential men, especially from the
cities, were appointed to various higher offices.* As the power and

^ Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Norges Historic, vol. IV., 1, p. 15 ff. T. H. Asche-
houg, De norske Communers Retsforfatning f^r 1837, p. 182 ff,

* Ludvlg Daae, Trondhjema Stifts geistlige Historic, p. 113.

' T. H. Aschehoug, Statsfor/atningen i Norge og Danmark indlil 1814, P- 601 ff.

* "Certain it is that all sorts of places, civil and military, are filled more
by foreigners than by gentlemen of the country : and in their disposal of
of&ces it is remarkable that such as are of ordinary birth and fortunes
are much sooner preferred than tho se of contrary qualities : so that there
may be found several in the most profitable and honorable employments
who have formerly been serving-men, and such like ; and these prove
the best executors of the will and pleasure of arbitrary power, and therefore
are caressed accordingly. There is one further advantage in the promotion
of these kind of men ; that after they are grown rich by extortion, and have
sucked the blood of the poor, when clamors grow loud against them, the
court can with ease squeeze these leeches, laying all the blame of its own
oppression at their doors; and this without the danger of causing the dis-

II HEREDITARY KINGSHIP. INTRODUCTION OF ABSOLUTISM 235

influence of this new class depended on their office, and not upon their
rank, the development of a new aristocracy was arrested, and the
aristocratic families existing in Norway at that time were too few to
exercise any real power. The royal officials were haughty and
arbitrary enough in their dealings with the common people, but their
origin as well as their interests bound them to the common classes,
and in the future political struggles for national independence and
political freedom they became the leaders of the people, and showed
a devotion to their cause which could not have been expected of
an aristocracy.

A very important administrative reform in Norway introduced
by Frederick III. was the taking of a census, and the registration
and valuation of all taxable property, which should constitute a new
basis for the levying of taxes. Hitherto the various taxes — land-
tax, leding, faring, tithes, etc. — were levied upon each gaard (farm)
without reference to its value, and a very unjust distribution of
pubhc burdens resulted. Some property was taxed too low, and
some too high, so high that it had to be abandoned. The king
appointed a commission of fifty members, who were instructed to
list every farm, its value, its occupants, and all notable advantages,
and on the basis of this census new tax tables were to be prepared.
In 1669 the work was finally completed, and it was decided that the
taxes should be based on the valuation of the property found in the
new tax-lists. The work had been very imperfectly done, however,
owing largely to the unwillingness of the people to give the necessary
information, as they feared that their taxes would be increased.^
But taxation had, finally, been based on a correct principle, and a
great advance had been made towards an equitable distribution.
The total income from all sources of revenue in the kingdom of Nor-
way at this time has been estimated to be about 650,000 riksdaler
($650,000). Of this amount about 200,000 riksdaler were used in
Norway for the maintenance of the Norwegian army, and the pay-
ment of officials. The balance, 450,000 riksdaler, was sent to Copen-
hagen to be used for the support of the joint court and navy. "-^

content of any of the nobles upon the score of kindred or alliance." An
Account of Denmark as It Was in the Year 1692, p. 75 f.
1 Historisk Tidsskrift, vol. IV., p. 507.

236

HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE

Hannibal Sehested's successors in Norway, Nils TroUe and Iver
Krabbe, were men of mediocre talents, who showed no trace of orig-
inality or special administrative ability. In 1664 King Frederick's
illegitimate son, Ulrik Frederick Gyldenl0ve, was appointed stat-
holder. He was a young man, accustomed to the splendor and excit-
ing social life of the higher
circles of the Danish capital,
and people feared that he
would be wholly unfit to
shoulder the irksome bur-
dens of this high office. But
Gyldenl0ve, who possessed
talents, as well as will and
energy, became a worthy
successor of Hannibal
Sehested. He studied condi-
tions in Norway very closely,
and became the ardent advo-
cate of many important re-
forms. Some of these had, in-
deed, already been suggested
by Sehested, but through
Gyldenl0ve's efforts the gov-
ernment was finally persuaded to take action. He advocated
the simplification of the system of taxation, and the valuation
and registration of taxable property. He urged the creation of
a Norwegian fleet of smaller war vessels for coast defense, the
improvement of Norwegian fortresses, the creation of a Norwegian
superior court, from which an appeal could be made to the king
alone, and, finally, the revision of the " Code of Christian IV." After
encountering much indifference and opposition, he finally succeeded
in persuading Frederick III. to decide in favor of some of these re-
forms. By royal edicts it was decreed that Norway should have a
separate superior court, Overhofretten, from which, however, an appeal
could be made to the H^iesteret in Copenhagen. It was also decided
to revise the "Code of Christian IV.," a work which was done under
Frederick's successor Christian V. Gyldenl0ve became very popu-

FiQ. 4. — Ulrik Frederick Gyldenl0ve.

II HEREDITARY KINGSHIP. INTRODUCTION OF ABSOLUTISM 237

lar, as he knew how to win the people's favor by straightforward
manners and cheerful good- will. Karl Deichman has described his
popularity as follows : " The Norwegians regarded Gyldenl0ve as
their patron saint, and they had a peculiar veneration for this lord,
because of his excellent conduct, democratic spirit, brave leadership,
and gay life. He extended his protection to all, especially to the
common people, whom he defended against seizures and unjust
impositions. He could persuade the nation to do whatever he pleased.
He listened to the people's complaints, and seldom did he leave them
unconsoled. The binder in the mountain districts always addressed
him "thou Gyldenl0ve." Many stories are told that he often trav-
eled about in disguise in order to learn if the people's love for him
was to be relied upon." ^ Molesworth says of him: "He is about
fifty-six years of age, has been one of the handsomest, and continues
one of the finest gentlemen that Denmark has produced." ^

The Faroe Islands retained their old judicial system of six syssel-
things, and the Lagthing as a superior court. But appeal could be
made from the Lagthing to the H0iesteret in Copenhagen. Frederick
in. granted these islands as a fief to his favorite Gabel and his son
Frederick. These lords and their fogeds oppressed the people sorely,
and though the king would seek to redress the wrongs when the com-
plaints grew loud, no marked improvement was made in th6 people's
conditions till after the death of Frederick Gabel.

Also in Iceland the old system of sysselthings and lagthings was
suffered to remain ; but here as in Norway and the Faroe Islands the
H0iesteret in Copenhagen became the highest court of appeal, while
the administrative colleges and governmental departments in Den-
mark gradually assumed the functions of government for the island.
In 1683 a landfoged was appointed to receive the taxes and revenues,
after these had been collected by the sysselmcBnd. The following
year a stiftsamtmand was appointed, and two years later an amtmand
was added to the list of crown officials, an indication that the adminis-
tration was being directed from Copenhagen.^ But as the stiftsamt-

^ Quoted by Ludvig Daae in Det gamle Christiania, p. 113.

* Robert Molesworth, An Account of Denmark as It Was in the Year 1692,
p. 145. Roar Tank, Ulrik Frederik Gyldenl^ve og Nordmcendene, Sproglige og
historiske Afhandlinger viede Sophus Bugges Minde, Christiania, 1908.

' Edvard Holm, Danmark-Norges indre Historic under Enevadden, vol. I.,
p. 88 ff. Jdn Sigurdsson, Om Islands statsretslige Forhold, Copenhagen, 1855.

238 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

mand never visited the island, the royal government must have been
limited principally to the collection of taxes and revenues, while
the domestic affairs must have been largely left to the local authori-
ties.

30. Foreign Relations

Of the powers which had aided Denmark-Norway in the war with
Sweden, only Holland maintained the alliance until peace was con-
cluded. But the relations had grown less friendly as the war pro-
ceeded, and Denmark began to look around for other allies. In
1663 a treaty was formed with France, and Denmark joined the
Rhenish alliance which had been formed between France, Sweden,
and some of the German states for the defense of the peace of West-
phalia. This step was taken by Frederick HI. in the hope of being
able to force France and Sweden apart. In this he failed, but
France promised to pay Denmark a subsidy in case it was again
attacked by Sweden. In 1665 the great naval war for commercial
supremacy, which Holland and England had waged with such fury
in 1652-1654, was formally renewed, after hostihties had already
lasted about a year. England was jealous of Holland's commercial
superiority and extensive carrying trade, which she had sought to
harm by navigation acts.^ Sweden concluded a defensive alliance
with England, and the English king, Charles II., sought to form an
alliance with Denmark-Norway against Holland, but Frederick III.
hesitated ; different opinions prevailed among his councilors, and no
definite step was taken, though he secretly favored England through-

^ Molesworth says: "The exaotest computation that I have known made
of the English, Dutch, and French trades to these parts in times of peace,
ran thus: Of English there passed the Sound yearly, from two hundred
vessels to three hundred ; of Dutch from one thousand to eleven hundred ;
of French from ten to twelve, and the like proportion to Norway." An
Account of Denmark as It Was in the Year 1692, p. 110. In 1656 the English
trade was only one-fifth as large as Holland's, and still in 1696 Holland's
merchant marine measured 900,000 tons, England's 500,000 tons, the rest
of Europe 200,000 tons. O. A. 0verland, Norges Historic, vol. VII., p. 203.
This agrees quite well with the figures given by H. von Treitschke, Die
Republik der vereinigten Niederlande, in Historisch und politische Avjsdtze,
neue Folge II., Leipzig, 1870, p. 608 ; quoted by Ludvig Daae in Nordmaends
Udvandringer til Holland og England i nyere Tid, p. 21 f.

n NORWEGIAN EMIGRATION IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 239

out the war. This favor he even displayed in a manner which throws
a dark stain upon his character. As a result of their naval victories,
the English became masters of the North Sea, and in the summer of
1665 a large fleet of Holland merchantmen sought refuge in the
neutral harbor of Bergen. Sir Gilbert Talbot, the English ambassa-
dor in Denmark, suggested to Frederick III. that he should cooperate
with an English squadron in capturing this merchant fleet, and the
booty should be divided between the two kings. Frederick should
publicly protest his innocence, and Charles II. should reprimand
his admirals for violating the neutrality of Denmark-Norway.
King Frederick consented to this plot, and ordered his general Ahle-
feld at Bergen to seemingly protest, but to do nothing to hinder
the English from attacking the Hollanders. But Ahlefeld received
the orders too late. He aided the Hollanders, and trained the can-
nons of the forts upon the English squadron, which was defeated
after a sanguinary battle. The plan had miscarried, and Denmark's
peace was greatly endangered. But Frederick's vacillating foreign
policy again changed. In 1666 he formed an alliance with Holland,
but the hostilities which broke out with England in consequence of
it were terminated by the peace of Breda, 1667.

31. Norwegian Emigration to Holland, England, Russia and
America in the Seventeenth Century and Later

The great development of commerce and naval activity in Holland
and England had created a great demand for seamen. As recruit-
ing was not yet prohibited, sailors were enlisted in large numbers
in Norway, especially for the fleets of Holland.^ So great was the
number of young men who left their homes in the seacoast districts
that it amounted to a veritable emigration. And though some re-
turned, by far the greater number settled permanently in Holland,
or lost their lives fighting her great naval wars.^ Robert Moles-

^ J. C. de Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewesen, vol. II. This
trafi&c was prohibited by article 7, chapter 4, book 6 of the Code of Christian
v., for Norway, 1687, which imposed the penalty of death on any one who
undertook to enlist seamen in Denmark and Norway without the king's
permission.

2 When Jens Mimk made his voyage to Greenland, he went to Holland
to hire seamen for the expedition; and Christian IV. sought to persuade

240 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

worth says : " The best seamen belonging to the king of Denmark
are the Norwegians ; but most of them are in the service of the Dutch ;
and have their families established in Holland; from whence it is
scarce likely they will ever return home, unless the Dutch use them
worse, or the Danes better than hitherto they have done; for the
Danish sea-provision is generally very bad." In 1670 Markus
Gj0e, the Danish-Norwegian minister to The Hague, wrote to his
government that a great number of the king's subjects lived in Hol-
land, and that most of them were Norwegians. He added that
they were sailors and officers of lower rank, as the Hollanders were
too jealous to make them lieutenants or captains; but Admiral
Nils Juel, who had been in the Dutch service for many years, stated
a few years later that the officers who were good for anything were
mostly Norwegians and Englishmen who had come to Holland to
enlist.^ Even church history shows that many Norwegians and
Danes settled in Holland. In 1634 King Christian IV. gave three
hundred riksdaler to a Lutheran church in Amsterdam, and in 1663
a Danish-Norwegian congregation was organized there, whose first
clergyman. Christian Peders0n Abel, published a hymnbook for
his congregation.^ Many Norwegians fled to Holland, either
to escape punishment for crimes and misdemeanors, or because of
religious intolerance at home ; in time of war also to avoid military
service.^ But the greater number had emigrated with their families
because of the higher pay and better opportunities offered in the
service of the Dutch. With the growth of Norwegian lumber export
to Holland, the communications with that country became very
active, and young men of the seacoast districts found new oppor-

the Norwegian and Danish seamen to return home. For this purpose he
issued a general pardon for those who had committed any wrong, except
those who were guilty of murder and incest. In 1700 Jens Juel went to
Holland and hired 500 to 600 seamen, evidently Danes and Norwegians ; and
Peter Tordenskjold hired 150 sailors in Holland in 1713. Ludvig Daae,
Nordmcends Udvandringer til Holland og England i nyere Tid, p. 22 ff.

^ Ludvig Daae, Nordmcends Udvandringer til Holland og England i nyere
Tid, p. 14. Chr. Bruun, Curt Sivertsen Adelaer, p. 215 f.

* Andreas Faye, Christiansands Stifts Bispe- og Stiftshistorie, p. 255.
Holger Fr. R0rdam, Anders Christensen Arrebos Levnet og Skrifter, vol. II.,
p. 161.

* Andreas Faye, Christiansands Stifts Bispe- og Stiftshistorie, p. 255 fl.

II NORWEGIAN EMIGRATION IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 241

tunities for adventure and profitable employment as Dutch seamen.^
Even in the early part of the seventeenth century many Norwegian
sailors had gone to Holland, and in the war with England in the
time of Cromwell (1652-1654) the Dutch had enhsted such a num-
ber of Norwegian seamen that England's jealousy was aroused. In
the war of 1658-1660 the Hollanders aided Denmark-Norway against
Sweden, and sought to persuade Frederick HI. to cede to them Trond-
hjem's len; but the English protested, because they saw the advan-
tage which Holland would thus be gaining. In an official English
document, the following comment is made upon this attempt:

"If ye English should suffer ye Hollanders to become masters of
Dronthiem there would thereby accrue to ye Hollanders an incredible
strength at sea, seeing that province alone by ye occasion of ye great
fishing, that is upon that coast, is able to set forth in short time some
thousands of seamen, whereof ye English have the proof in ye war
between ye Hollanders and them, at which time they had only ye
King of Denmark's leave to leavy seamen there, and then wee may
easily guesse, what is to be expected, if ye Hollanders should come
to bee wholly masters there." ^

Also in the Dutch merchant marine a large number of Norwegian
sailors had found employment, and took part in the voyages to
the Cape Colony, East India, Greenland, and other distant countries.
The same relations between Norway and Holland continued to
exist also in the eighteenth century. The emigration to Holland
continued, but the Dutch, nevertheless, deplored that a smaller
number of Norwegian and German sailors flocked to their country
than formerly, and recruiting officers were sent to Norway in spite
of the drastic measures taken by the Danish government to stop
the traflfic. The emigration to Holland was greatly deplored by
Norwegian and Danish writers, as well as by the government au-
thorities. Gerhard Sch0ning (1758) considered this emigration one
of the chief hindrances to the development of Norwegian agri-

^ P. Coucheron in Theologisk Tidsskrift, published by Caspari, vol. I. Lud-
vig Daae, Nordmcends Udvandringer til Holland og England i nyere Tid, p. 18 f .

* The passage is quoted by Ludvig Daae in Nordmcends Udvandringer til
Holland og England i nyere Tid, p. 13, from Saga, et Fjerdingsaarsskrift,
published by J. S. Munch, Christiania, 1806, vol. I.

VOL. 11 — K

242 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

culture, and regarded it as a calamity even worse than the Black
Death. As to the number of emigrants who yearly left Norway
but few and incomplete statistical data exist, but we get a general
idea from the statements of contemporary writers. Erik Pontoppidan
(1698-1764) states that when the merchant fleets returned from
the East Indies, the West Indies, Greenland, and other countries,
the Norwegian, Danish, and Holstein sailors assembled in Amster-
dam numbered 8000 or 9000 "by a conservative estimate." ^ "Some
of these visit their homes about every three years, and finally, in
their old age remain at home to Hve on their earnings, but a great
number remain abroad all their lives, not to speak of those who lose
their lives in the service." ^ L. F. R0mer, who was born in Holland,
says : " We have aided the Dutch in that many thousand Norwegian,
Danish, and Holstein seamen and officers yearly have left their homes
to earn something abroad, since we have nothing for them to do."
Such yearly losses of the ablest youth of the country would naturally
be felt as a calamity, especially in the districts along the seacoast,
which were most directly affected by the emigration. The govern-
ment bewailed the decrease in the quota of army recruits, a truly
alarming thing for the Danish kings, who "esteemed soldiers their
only true riches, " as Molesworth puts it. But the losses, real or "
apparent, caused by the emigration were probably more than com-
pensated for in other ways. What the Norwegians needed at this
time was stimulus strong enough to stir them to mental and physical
action ; experiences of a kind which could invigorate the phlegmatic
and bloodless national organism. Such a stimulus was given by the
life of adventure and enterprise in the Dutch maritime service.
Many private accounts show that it was a hard service. Often the
Norwegian sailors in the cities of Holland were kidnapped and
brought by force aboard the ships, which were to sail around Africa
to India, across the Atlantic to the West Indies or distant Green-
land. The life on board was hard, and the punishments inflicted
for offenses were barbarous. Often they were in danger of attack

^ Erik Pontoppidan, Menoza en asiatisk Prinds; and Det f^rste Forsfig
paa Norges naturlige Historic, vol. II., p. 380.

* Ludvig Daae, Nordmcends Udvandringer til Holland og England i nyere
Tid, p. 42 flf. L. F. R0mer, Tilforladelig Efterretning am Kysten af Guinea,
p. 249 f., quoted by Ludvig Daae.

II NORWEGIAN EMIGRATION IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 243

by pirates, or of falling into the hands of Moorish corsairs, who would
carry them into slavery. But this hard school again showed the
Norwegians the path to greatness — the sea. Once again, as of
old, they became skillful and daring navigators, inured to the hard-
ships of the sea, and fascinated with its freedom and adventures.
New ideas, capable seamen, a spirit of enterprise, knowledge of the
world and its commerce, and a desire to go abroad were the returns
which Norway received for her losses. The old spirit was rekindled,
and the Norwegian merchant marine was created, largely through
this new impulse. Ludvig Daae says : " Historical research re-
garding the great, yea even remarkable development of our merchant
marine will undoubtedly prove that it is due directly to the rela-
tions with Holland, which I have here tried to elucidate." ^ Hol-
land's sea power was declining, and in the war with England, 1780,
and, finally, in the French Revolution and the Napoleonic period
it was crushed. But Denmark-Norway rose to new significance as
a maritime and naval power. As neutrals at the time of the
American Revolutionary War, they developed a great carrying
trade,^ and in course of the next century, Norway developed a
merchant marine of which Joh. Dyring says that it is "of greater
relative importance to the Norwegian people, even when we con-
sider its size, than that of any other country on the globe." ^ In
view of modern development we are able to see the question of the
emigration to Holland in a new light, and to put the proper con-
struction on the pessimistic views of old writers.

The emigration from Norway was not wholly limited to Holland.
Many also went to England, especially because of the flourishing
lumber trade with that country. Ludvig Daae cites the following
interesting passage from a book of travel written by Judge Christian
Gram of Christiania, who visited England and France in 1757.
While he was staying at Dover, says the judge, "a strange incident
occurred. A Dutch ship was brought to that city by a British pri-
vateer. The Dutch republic was indeed neutral in that war, but

^ Ludvig Daae, Nordmoends Udvandringer til Holland og England i nyere
Tid, p. 63.

* Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 40 ff. B. B. Bendixen, Et Omrids av Norges
Handelshistorie, p. 33 ff. ^ Joh. Dyring, Kongeriget Norge, p. 165.

244 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

the Dutch refused to be searched by the Enghshmen, and a combat
followed in which hard blows were dealt on both sides, until the
English privateer was finally victorious." "The remarkable thing
in connection with this occurrence," he continues, "was that the
captain of the English privateer, as well as of the Dutch ship, were
both native-born Norwegians, who under foreign flags had given each
other a thorough drubbing. The captain of the Dutch ship was a
somewhat old man from the west coast of Norway, who had estab-
lished himself in Amsterdam thirty years before. . . . The captain
of the English privateer was a young man from Christiania." ^
This incident illustrates the situation in a striking way. The Nor-
wegians who had begun to seek remunerative employment abroad
were also found in the English service in considerable numbers, and
in these wars with Holland they often fought against their own
countrymen. The lumber trade also brought many Norwegian mer-
chants to England, and the sons of rich burghers came to London
to study commerce, and to form friendships, which might be of value
in the carrying on of trade. A Norwegian-Danish congregation
was organized, and in 1694-1696 a Norwegian Lutheran church was
built in the English capital, which was described as beautiful by a
traveler at the time of the Seven Years' War. Early in the eight-
eenth century a Norwegian-Danish club was organized in Lon-
don, and towards the close of the century Det nordiske Selskab, a
truly Scandinavian society with members from all three Northern
countries, was founded.

The war between England and France during the reign of Napoleon
put a sudden stop to the Norwegian emigration to Holland and
England. In 1806 Holland was made a feudatory kingdom by the
French Emperor, with Louis Bonaparte as king, and Holland's mili-
tary forces had to join the French armies. Through Napoleon's
"Continental. System " Holland's commerce was destroyed, and
when Louis Bonaparte abdicated in 1810, the kingdom of Holland was
incorporated in the French Empire, and the Norwegian sailors in
Holland were forced into the French service. The Danish diplomat

* Christian Gram, En kort Journal eUer Reise-Beskrivelse forfattet udi
et Brev til en god Ven, Christiania, ea. 1759 ; quoted by Ludvig Daae, Nord-
moends Udvandringer til Holland og England i nyere Tid, p. 95 f.

II NORWEGIAN EMIGRATION IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 245

J. G. Rist writes that the transportation of seamen from Holland
took its beginning in the winter 1809-1810, and that at Hamburg
he turned about 2000 seamen over to the French authorities. "It
pained me," he writes, " to see these healthy men, of whom the greater
part were Norwegians, carried as prisoners to the unhealthy Vliesingen.
A mutiny broke out among the men, because of the bad treatment
accorded them, and several oflBcers who were implicated were sent
home as prisoners, among others Hans Holsten. In the beginning
of 1811 the crews for two warships were again sent, and these sea-
men remained in the French fleet till 1815." ^ England's attack on
Denmark-Norway led to a war which terminated all intercourse
with Great Britain. When peace was established after the down-
fall of Napoleon, the old relations were not reestablished either
with England or Holland with regard to emigration. New condi-
tions had been created, and the remarkable development of the
United States of America soon offered far better opportunities to
the Norwegian emigrants.

Of the Norwegians staying in Holland not a few went to the Dutch
colonies in America during the seventeenth century. Mr. Torstein
Jahr of Washington, D.C., who has made special investigations
of the Norwegian emigration to the Dutch New Netherland, shows
that the great patroon Van Rensselaer, received a large tract of
land near the present city of Albany, in the state of New York, on
the condition that he should bring over fifty colonists within four
years. In 1630, he sent nine colonists, of whom three were Norwe-
gians. In 1631 he again made a contract with nine men to go to New
Netherland. Four of these were Norwegians, but only two finally went
to America. In 1636 Van Rensselaer made a contract with Albert
Andriessen of Fredrikshald, Norway, who sailed from Amsterdam
September 25 with the ship " Rensselaerwyck " and thirty-eight col-
onists, of whom many were Norwegians. Among these colonists
were six women, one of whom was Captain Andriessen's wife, Annetje,
who on the voyage gave birth to a child, which was baptized in Eng-
land, and received the very suggestive name of Sturm van der Zee.
The colonists arrived safely at Manhattan, March 4, 1637, and many

1 J. G. Rist, Lebenserinnerungen herausgegeben von G. Poel, Gotha, 1880,
quoted by Ludvig Daae, in Nordmoends Udvandringer, p. 123.

246 - HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

of Albert Andriessen's descendants still live in and about the city
of Albany. Among the pioneers in Schenectady, New York, were
also many Norwegians. Jahr says : " In all the Dutch settlements
in New Netherland one can find more or less distinct traces of the
Norwegians. Those about whom we have any knowledge were
capable and honest people, who have done their share and deserve
their part of the honor for the colonization of the new land, and they
fostered strong and energetic descendants to continue the work of
increasing the homesteads of their fathers." ^

Among the more prominent Norwegian settlers in New Nether-
land the same author mentions especially Anneke Jans (Jansen)
and her husband, Roelof Jansen, who came over in the ship "Een-
dracht" in 1630. Roelof became overseer of Van Rensselaer's farm
de Laetsburg in 1632, and in 1636 he received deed to a sixty-two-
acre tract of land now included between Warren and Canal streets,
Broadway and the Hudson River, in the city of New York. He built
a house, and began to clear and cultivate his farm, but he soon died,
and his widow, Anneke, married Rev, Eberhardus Bogardus, the
first regular clergyman in the colony.^ Her mother, Trina Jonas,
came to the colony in 1633 as practicing midwife in the employ of
the Dutch East India Company. She received deed to a parcel of
land near the foot of the present Pearl Street, where she built a
house. Trina Jonas had also another daughter, Maritje, who also
came to New Netherland with her husband, Tymen Jansen. These
people became wealthy and influential, and Jahr observes that the
New York families De Lancey, De Peyster, Gouverneur, Jay, Knicker-
bocker, Morris, Schuyler, Stuyvesant, Van Cortland, and Van Rens-
selaer became related to them through marriage, and that nearly all
the old famihes in New York state, who pride themselves on being
the genuine Knickerbockers, can trace their lineage to the Norwe-

* Torstein Jahr, Nordmoend i Nieuw-Nederland, Symra (Decorah, la.),
vol. v., p. 66 ff.

* Torstein Jahr, Nordmand i Ny-Nederland, Anneke Jans fra Marstrand,
hennes Farm og hennes Slekt, Symra, vol. IX., p. 9 ff. Nordmrnnd i Ny-
Nederland, in Dagsposten (Norway), November 19, 1905, by the same author.
Torstein Jahr, Nordmoend i Nieuw-Nederland, Ervingen (Decorah, la.), vol.
II., p. 1 f . I. B. Frich, Bidrag til de Forenede Slaters Kirkehistorie, Evangelisk
Luthersk Kirketidende (Decorah, la.), 1907, p. 211 ff., 237 ff., 265 ff., 321 ff.,
348 ff., 403 ff., 430 ff., 459 ff., 487 ff.

n THE CLOSE OP THE REIGN OF FREDERICK III 247

gian midwife Trina Jonas, and her daughter Anneke Jans Bogardus.
It is noteworthy in this connection that on April 7, 1909, Mrs.
Mary A, Fonda began a lawsuit against the Trinity corporation of
the city of New York for the possession of a part of the Trinity
church property, of which she claimed she was the rightful owner,
because she descended directly from Anneke Jans Bogardus.^

The new development of Russia in the time of Peter the Great
and Catharine II. induced many Norwegians to enter the Russian
service. The most noted of these is the Norwegian naval officer,
CorneUus Creutz, formerly employed in Holland, who was engaged
by the Czar to organize and equip the Russian navy. He received
the rank of vice-admiral, and played a similar role in the Russian
fleet as Kort Adelaer did in the navy of Denmark-Norway. He em-
ployed so many foreign naval officers that a reliable writer states
in 1715: "Most of the Czar's naval officers are Hollanders, Nor-
wegians, and Danes." Creutz was a leader of the Russian fleet
in the wars with Sweden, 1705-1713, and served with great dis-
tinction. In the Russian army as well as in the navy a great num-
ber of Norwegians were employed.^

32. The Close op the Reign op Frederick III. Christian V.
The Gyldenljz^ve War

On February 9, 1670, King Frederick III. died. His reign had
been more eventful than successful. He had accomplished much
in the direction of increasing his own power, which seems to have
been his chief aim, as it was the passionate ambition of his proud and
pleasure-loving queen, Sophia Amalie. But in war and diplomacy
he had been unsuccessful, and he did not attempt to use his great
power to improve the condition of his poverty-stricken subjects.
Jf any reforms were instituted, they were wholly due to the energy
and forethought of others. He basked with self-satisfaction in
the glory of his own autocratic power, which only hardened his heart
against the much-abused common people, whose misery, especially
in Denmark, only served to fill him with unsympathetic pride and

1 New York American, April 8, 1909, cited by Torstein Jahr, Nordmcend i
Ny-Nederland, Symra, vol. IX., p. 34.

^ Ludvig Daae, Nordmcend og Danske i Rusland i del attende Aarhundrede.

248 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

arrogant disdain. During the latter part of his reign he devoted him-
self to alchemy and fantastic speculation rather than to the care
and development of his kingdom. He used unnecessary harsh
methods in collecting taxes from his impoverished subjects. A
sordid love of gain had led him into the vile bargain with Talbot,
and it was probably avarice and superstition rather than true scien-
tific interest which made him an enthusiastic alchemist. Auto-
cratic power had isolated him from his fellow men, and he developed
symptoms of the mental eccentricity and the suspicion and fear of
others peculiar to autocrats. His people ceased to love him, and
though they continued to show him the most humble courtesy, his
heart must have felt that it was hollow mockery, empty ceremony.
He would probably have retired more and more from the world,
but the queen did not allow it. She needed him to grace her luxuri-
ous carnivals, which were arranged with gaudy splendor. Enormous
sums were spent in royal entertainments and other like wasteful
and unprofitable ways.^ Some nobleman or favorite might receive
a present of 200,000 riksdaler, while taxes were wrung from the peasants
by selling their bedclothes, their wooden chairs, and the very coats
on their backs at public auction. Molesworth says: "Yet upon
the occasion of the late poll tax I heard that the collectors were forced
to take from this and other towns (in lieu of money) old feather beds,
bedsteads, brass, pewter, wooden chairs, etc., which they took vio-
lently from the poor people, who were unable to pay, leaving them
destitute of all manner of necessaries for the use of Hving." ^ But
conditions were no better a decade or two earlier. King Frederick
ni. and his proud queen seem to have entertained ideas of their
duties as sovereigns akin to those of their younger contemporary,
Louis XIV. of France, that the state existed for the monarch, not
the monarch for the state. The common people had ceased to be
thought of except as soldiers, taxpayers, and common drudges.

King Christian V. was born in 1646, and was twenty-four years
of age at his accession to the throne. In character and tempera-

1 '•'Hannibal Sehested had a present of 200,000 crowns, Svan (Svane),
the superintendent or bishop, was made archbishop, and had 30,000 crowns.
The president or speaker Hansen, 20,000 crowns." Molesworth, An Account
of Denmark, p. 68. An English crown was a little more than a riksdaler.

'Molesworth, An Account of Denmark as It Was in the Year 1692, p. 78.

n CHRISTIAN V 249

ment he resembled his grandfather, Christian IV., but he was less
gifted, and lacked his interest for intellectual pursuits. He was
a great hunter, a fine horseman, lively and energetic, and though he
was not good-looking, he made a good impression by his fine bearing.
He was friendly and good-natured, well liked, but weak in character,
and easily influenced by his surroundings. In 1667 he had been per-
suaded to marry Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Cassel. She was very
devoted to him, learned to speak Danish, and sought to win the good-
will of all. She was one of the kindliest and most popular queens
which Denmark-Norway ever had, but her wedded life became an
unhappy one, for even before his marriage the king seems to have
become attached to a young lady, Sophia Amalie Moth, daughter of
his former teacher, on whom he bestowed all his affection. Her
numerous relatives, who all sought promotion through royal favor,
soon came to exercise great influence at the court. His mother,
the proud and imperious Sophia Amalie, also continued to wield
a great influence, especially during the early part of his reign.

As a prince Christian V. had visited France, England, Holland,
and Germany, where he had become acquainted with absolutism
in all its splendor, and it became his aim to imitate as far as possible
the great model of all autocrats, Louis XIV. of France. His corona-
tion was celebrated with great splendor, and with all the devotional
veneration and supplicant obeisance shown monarchs in that age
of autocracy. Edward Holm says : " A new crown had been made,
of another form than the old one, as a sign that the royal power
had been changed, and it was so rich and elegant that it was at first
estimated to cost 700,000 to 800,000 riksdaler. New were also the
scepter, the orb, and the sword, and their value answered to that of the
crown. As the royal power was the gift of God, and not of men, the
king could not receive the crown and the symbols of royal authority
and other regalia from human hands. He therefore placed the
crown on his own head, and took the regalia before he went to church
to be anointed, a ceremony which he said he regarded as an act of
devotion by which he with the All-ruling God did more firmly and
closely connect and unite himself. When a king was crowned in
days past, the charter was read, and the king had to confirm it with
an oath, but now the * Kongelov ' with its recital of the greatness of

250 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

royal power was read. The one of the bishops present who took it
from its cover made a deep obeisance before it. The language used
by Bishop Vandel of Seeland in his speech in connection with the
anointing was keyed in a lofty tone which corresponded to tliat used
in his great work about absolutism written a few years earlier. * It
is,' he said, 'the king's right and dominion, and the people's proper
subjection, that the king shall rule over the persons of his subjects —
likewise that he shall rule over their goods and possessions, their fields
and vineyards, their best oliveyards, their grain, cattle, and asses.' " ^
With such phrases of cringing flattery, and disavowal of every right,
the people welcomed the new custodian of their destiny and welfare.

King Christian did not retain his predecessor's advisers, but chose
new ones, the chief of whom were Ulrik Frederick Gyldenl0ve,
Frederick Ahlefeld, and Peder Schumacher, the author of the " Konge-
lov," a young man of rare ability, who soon became the real leader
of the government. He was later raised to the nobility under the
name of Griffenfeld, by which name he is generally known.^ Through
his influence, the king was persuaded to organize the Order of the
Danebrog and to create two new classes of nobles; the counts
(grever) and the knights (friherrer), the purpose being to gradually
destroy the old nobility, which was hostile to the monarch, and to
create a new one wholly subservient to him. The new nobihty was,
therefore, regarded as higher in rank than the old. A number of
new titles were also introduced, and the royal officials were placed
above the old nobility in rank. All honor and distinction was to'
radiate immediately from the court, as in France. In Norway the
new court nobility never became very numerous, but Ulrik Frederick
Gyldenl0ve became Count of Larvik, and Peder Count of Griffen-
feld received Lem, near Tunsberg, later also the barony of Rosendal
in Kvindherred.

The talented and popular Gyldenl0ve returned to Denmark when
Christian V. mounted the throne, but his eagerness to suggest vari-
ous reforms again manifested itself. In 1670 he was commissioned,

^ Edvard Holm, Danmark-Norges indre Historie under Enevmlden fra
1660 til 1720, vol. I., p. 12 f. R. Meiborg, Billeder fra Livet ved Christian
den femtes Hof, p. 11.

• A. D. J0rgensen, Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld, Copenhagen, 1893.

n CHRISTIAN V 251

together with J0rgen Bjelke, to propose plans for the betterment
of Norway, and the two submitted a document advocating reforms
in Norway's internal administration, in its defenses, in taxes and
revenues, trade and commerce. The kingdom should henceforth
consist of four stifts, four principal amts, nine subordinate amts,
fifty-six fogderier, and nine chartered cities. They showed that by
aboHshing many unnecessary civil offices, and reducing the salaries
of others, 30,000 riksdaler a year could be saved. They complained
of the excessive burdens which had been placed upon the people, and
advocated a reduction of taxes. The importance of commerce was
strongly emphasized, and the building of minor warships for defense,
which could also be used as merchant vessels, was urged. It was
pointed out how important it was to get foreign seamen into the
kingdom, and especially to prevail on the thousands of Norwegian
seamen in foreign service, chiefly in that of Holland, to return to
their own country. The number of civil officials was reduced, and
the taxes were lowered from 236,000 riksdaler to 156,000 a year, but
many of the more important suggestions were passed by. In 1673
Gyldenl0ve again returned to Norway as statholder}

Griff enf eld's ambition led him to snatch for ever higher power.
The system of administrative departments or colleges he found too
cumbersome, especially since they checked his will and limited his
influence. He persuaded the good-natured king that it would be
more convenient to rule with the assistance of one "minister of
quality" than with the Colleges, and in 1673 he was made count,
and chancellor of the Idngdom. In this high office he exercised
the supreme influence in administrative and diplomatic affairs,
and no important matters could be decided except with his counsel.
His political views, wrought into a permanent system, and carried
out in diplomacy and administration, became the chief feature of
the reign of Christian V. As author of the " Kongelov," Griffenfeld
had already formulated the theory on which the new absolutism was
based; it was left for him as chancellor and virtual head both of
internal and foreign affairs to elaborate it into a fixed policy, which

1 A. D. J0rgensen, Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld, vol. I., p. 288 £f . Roar
Tank, Ulrik Frederik Gyldenl^ve og Nordmoendene, Sproglige og historiske
Afhandlinger viede Sophus Bugges Minde. Historisk Tidsskrift, vol. II., p. 337.

252 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

permanently effected Denmark's future political development.
According to his views the people had no rights either as individuals
or as a nation, except what the king would graciously grant them.
To the king belonged all the power ; the kingdom and all its posses-
sions were his. But how these possessions were originally acquired,
by what rights they were held, the historical reasons for existing
conditions, and the people's right as a nation to safeguard their
own development and future destiny were ideas for which there
was no place in the system of political science formulated by this
astute politician, this keen but shortsighted statesman. He worked
for the interest of the king ; the welfare of the nation and the realm
he never clearly understood. For the future development of the
Danish people it would have been of the greatest importance to join
the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein more closely to the Danish king-
dom ; but he did not attempt it, not because it was impossible, but
because the king had some sort of title to them, and as everything
was regarded as the king's personal possessions, it made no differ-
ence by what title he held them. Neither do we find that Griff en-
feld with his great talents and still greater power attempted to insti-
tute any reforms which could serve to develop the nation socially
and economically. He devoted his attention chiefly to diplomacy
and foreign affairs, in which he had gained a great reputation and
exercised great influence, but so far as Norway especially was con-
cerned, the reforms instituted were chiefly due to the initiative of Stat-
holder Gyldenl0ve.

War clouds again obscured the political horizon of Europe. Louis
XIV. was preparing to seize the Spanish Netherlands, and no one
could doubt that an attack would also be directed against Holland.
The danger of French preponderance had for some time alarmed the
statesmen, and a triple alliance of England, Holland, and Sweden
had been formed in 1668 to resist the ambitions of the French king.
But Louis XIV. used his excellent diplomatic service and his treasury
to destroy the alliance, an effort in which he was quite successful, as
Charles 11. of England was induced by large subsidies to join France,
and Sweden soon followed a similar course. In the meanwhile Wil-
liam of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland, the most sagacious statesman
of his time, sought to form a new coalition against France. Frederick

II THE GYLDENLJZ^VE WAR 253

William of Brandenburg and Emperor Leopold of Germany were
persuaded to form an alliance with Holland, and Christian V. of
Denmark-Norway was also strongly urged to join. An alliance with
Holland under these circumstances would probably mean war with
Sweden, the ally of France, but Christian V. nevertheless favored
this course, while some of his advisers, notably Griffenfeld, advocated
neutrality. The war party gained the upper hand, and on June
30, 1674, Denmark formed an alHance with Holland, and promised
to place 16,000 men in the field, if France received aid from any other
power. As Brandenburg and Spain soon began war against Louis
XIV., and Sweden rushed troops into Brandenburg to aid France,
the die was cast, and the rival Northern powers were launched upon
a new struggle. It seems that this war ought to have been averted,
especially since Denmark had not recovered from the ravages of
the wars waged in the previous reign, but the hope of recovering
Sk&ne and other possessions tempted Christian V. to hazard a new
armed conflict.

As soon as circumstance pointed to the possibility of a new war,
Gyldenl0ve was sent as statholder to Norway, 1673, to organize
the military forces, and strengthen the defenses of the kingdom.
He made a tour of inspection through the country, and found that
neither the army nor the fortresses were in so good a condition as
they ought to be, but the recommendations for improvements
which he submitted were opposed, especially by Griffenfeld, until
the war was on the point of breaking out, when some concessions had
to be made. Griffenfeld seems to have feared that Gyldenl0ve was
becoming too powerful in Norway, and he sent a trusted friend, Jens
Juel, to assist him, and to watch his movements. But to Gylden-
l0ve, who needed help in his many duties, Juel was not unwelcome.
Together with the generals Russenstein and L0venhjelm the two
formed a council of war, which henceforth directed all military
preparations in Norway. In the summer of 1675, 1800 men were
kept at work on the fortresses of Akershus, Fredrikstad, and Fred-
rikshald, and the king authorized the creation of a war fund of 100,000
riksdaler to be used in case of emergency.^ Instructions were also

^ I. Giilowsen, Gyldenl^vefeiden 1676-1679, Christiania Videnskabs-Sel-
skabs Skrifter, 1906.

254 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

given in a royal proclamation regarding Bohuslen, that the people
of that province should, be induced "by fair promises" to leave
Sweden, and renew their allegiance to the government of Denmark-
Norway.

However faulty the mihtary organization might be in minor de-
tails, Norway was much better prepared for the war at this time than
m any of the previous conflicts with Sweden. The army numbered
about 12,000 men, consisting of five regiments of infantry, six com-
panies (800) of cavalry, and an artillery division of seventy-six
field pieces. A sixth regiment of infantry, numbering 1000 men,
had been sent to Denmark. The war between the Scandinavian
countries was fought partly in Germany and partly in Sk§,ne and
along the Norwegian border. In Danish history it is called the War
in Sk^ne, in Norway it is generally known as the Gyldenl0ve War,
because the statholder was commander in chief of the Norwegian
forces.^

Denmark had, especially, been making progress as a naval power
under the able management of the great admiral Kort Sivertson
Adelaer, who was placed in supreme command of the Danish-Norwe-
gian navy by Frederick III. in 1663. Adelaer was a Norwegian by
birth, but like many of his countrymen he had gone to Holland,
where he enlisted in the navy, and became an able seaman. In
time he became the owner of a ship with which he entered the ser-
vice of the Venetian Senate, and upon his return to Holland he be-
came very prominent. Frederick III. invited him to Denmark,
made him chief admiral of the Danish navy, granted him a large
salary, and finally raised him to the nobility. Adelaer possessed
great administrative ability, and brought the fleet to a point of eflS-
ciency which soon made Denmark-Norway a great naval power.
He died shortly after the war broke out, and was succeeded by
Admiral Nils Juel, the great Danish naval hero.^ Christian V. had

^ Didrik Selmitler, Det ffirste Aarhundrede af den norske Hcers Historic,
p. 52 ff. Osoar Alb. Johnsen, Norges Historie, vol. V., 1. I. Gulowsen,
Gyldenl^vefeiden, Christiania Videnskabs-Selskabs Skrifier, 1906. C. O.
Munthe, Fredrikshalds og Fredriksstens Historie indtil 1720, p. 321 ff.

• Kort Adelaer' s achievements have been variously estimated. He has
had his enthusiastic admirers and his bitter opponents among the histori-
ans. See A. F. Fabricius, Minder fra Nordens Historie, "Kort Adeler."

II THE GYLDENL^VE WAR 255

planned to direct his first attack against Sweden's German provinces/
and war began in August, 1675, when a Danish army of 16,000 men
marched into Mecklenburg. The main part of this force advanced
into Pomerania, while some minor detachments besieged Wismar,
which was taken before the campaign closed for the year. In Bremen
a smaller Danish force had cooperated with the alHes, and a greater
part of the bishopric was taken. The operations along the Nor-
wegian border had commenced with minor skirmishes in which
the combatants tested each other's strength. The Swedish general
Ascheberg had taken a position at Svarteborg with 2000 men, and
a similar army of reserves was quartered in Vermland, while the
Norwegians concentrated 4000 men at Fredrikshald under General
Russenstein, and kept the mountain passes well guarded. No
important battle was fought in this campaign. Gyldenl0ve sent
a force of 1000 men on galleys along the coast of Bohuslen with orders
to land at Saltkallan, and cut off Ascheberg's retreat, but the Swe-
dish general had been informed of the plan, and both Swedes and
Norwegians went into winter quarters in the border districts. The
success gained by the Danes in Germany was undoubtedly due
in a large measure to the superiority of the Danish-Norwegian fleet,
which under Kort Adelaer had gained full control of the Baltic Sea.
At this time the Swedish fleet was in such a wretched condition that
it could not even seriously attempt to maintain communications
with Germany, which had become the theater of war, and where its
armies were in need of reenforcements ; a situation which shows that
Sweden was ill prepared to expose her scattered dominions to the
dangers of a new war. A young and untried king, Charles XL,
had just ascended the throne, and the armies in the field had been
hampered in their operations through jealous rivalry among the
generals.

The success gained in the first campaign strengthened the influ-
ence of the Danish war party. Duke John Adolph of Pl0en was
chosen commander-in-chief of the army, and a vigorous campaign

Chr. Bniun, Curt Sivertsen Adelaer. Axel Larsen, Dansk-Norske Heltehistorier,
''Curt Sivertsen Adelaer," and "Nils Juel."

^ By the treaty of Westphalia, 1648, Sweden received the city of Wismar
and the greater part of Pomerania, together with Riigen, and the bishoprics
of Bremen and Verden, but not the city of Bremen.

256 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

for the conquest of Sk&ne, supported by an attack on the Swedish
border provinces by the Norwegian army, was planned for the fol-
lowing year. GrifFenfeld, being an advocate of peace, not only
opposed the war, but he sought still through diplomatic negotiations
to maintain friendly relations with France, the ally of Sweden.
Great power, flattery, and royal favor had made him very arrogant,
so that he even offended the king himself, and aroused the hatred
of the nobles. He continued to take bribes in spite of continued
warnings, and as his diplomacy and statesmanship began to take a
course ever more opposed to the policy of the king and his generals,
who were determined to push the war with vigor, it became easy for
his enemies to undermine his influence, and bring about his over-
throw. His most powerful opponents were General Frederick Arens-
torf and the king's mistress, Sophia Amalie Moth, who was created
Countess of Sams0, and became the head of a court camarilla, which
virtually controlled the king. But Griffenfeld also had numerous
personal enemies, especially in the court circles, and no man in so
exalted a position possibly ever had fewer real friends. On the morn-
ing of March 11, 1676, when the chancellor arrived at the palace to
lay the latest letters before the king, he was accosted by General
Arenstorf, who informed him that he had been ordered by the king
to arrest him. His house was placed under guard, his papers were
seized, and the distinguished prisoner was locked up in the citadel.
After being tried on several grave charges, among others, perjury,
simony, treason, extortion, and the taking of bribes, he was sen-
tenced to be executed, and to have forfeited all his honors, titles,
and possessions. He had already placed his head on the block, when
he was pardoned by the king, and his sentence was changed to life
imprisonment. Griffenfeld was undoubtedly innocent of many of
the gravest offenses with which he was charged, and the sentence
was manifesty unjust, but he had himself created the conditions
which brought about his fall, and by his conduct in his high office
he had made himself justly liable to severe punishment. For twenty-
two years he remained imprisoned. In 1680 he was transferred from
Frederikshavn to the castle of Munkholmen, near Trondhjem, where
he stayed till 1698, when he was liberated from prison, and allowed
to stay in the city, because of his failing health. He died in Trond-

n THE GYLDENLJ2ivE WAR 257

hjem, March 12, 1699, and his body was brought to Denmark, where
it rests in the cemetery of Vaer church in Jutland.^

The Swedish king, Charles XL, exerted himself to the utmost to
bring Sweden's military forces, both on sea and land, to the highest
state of efficiency for the next campaign. He would send a fleet
to Germany with sufficient reenforcements to protect his German
provinces, while an army should attack Seeland, and carry the war
to the very heart of the Danish kingdom. But Nils Juel, who had
succeeded Kort Adelaer as admiral of the Danish-Norwegian fleet,
seized Gothland and concentrated his whole fleet of twenty-six ships
near Bornholm. The Swedish fleet of fifty vessels carrying 1100
guns advanced to attack him, but as Juel had strict orders not to
engage in battle with a greatly superior force, he retreated towards
the coast of Sk§,ne, and anchored behind Falsterbo Reef, followed
closely by the Swedes. Here he received reenforcements of five
Danish and four Dutch ships, but had to turn over the chief com-
mand to the Hollander Cornelius Tromp. After some maneuvering
the two fleets finally joined in battle off Oland, June 1, 1676, where
the Swedes suffered a serious defeat. Both flagships were destroyed,
the two admirals, Creutz and Ugga, lost their lives, and many ships
were captured. This defeat so crippled the Swedish fleet that the
contemplated invasion of Sk&ne could be undertaken without fear of
serious opposition. Gyldenl0ve fortified the pass of Kvistrum, and
seized Uddevalla without encountering much opposition. Veners-
borg was also taken after a sharp engagement. An attempt to
seize Gottenborg was unsuccessful, but Gyldenl0ve turned towards
Bohus, where he was joined by reenforcements under T0nne Huit-
feldt, which increased his forces to 5000 men. In their operations in
Skine the Danes were very successful, as their countrymen in that
province welcomed them as liberators. Helsingborg opened its
portals to the invaders, Landskrona was taken without great resist-
ance, and Kristianstad was forced to surrender after a severe engage-
ment. As the people of Sk§,ne also rose in arms, and organized bands
of guerillas (Snaphanerne), who everywhere attacked the Swedes,

lA. D. J0rgensen, Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld. Paludan-Miiller, Grif-
fenfelds Stigen og Falden, Copenhagen, 1879. O. Vaupel, Rigskantsler Grev
Griffenfeld, 1880. O. A. 0verland, Norges Historic, vol. VII., p. 226 ff., 348 ff.

VOL. II — S

25S HiSTORt OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Charles XL was obliged to withdraw from the province. Sweden
had been placed in a most critical position. Its German provinces,
with the exception of the strongest fortresses, were held by the armies
of the allies, its fleet was unable to render efficient service, Gothland
and Sk&ne had been seized by the Danes, and Bohuslen was occupied
by the Norwegians under Gyldenl0ve. The time seemed to have
come when Denmark would get revenge for past defeats and losses,
but Christian V., who appears to have had a jealous and irritable
temper, threw away the final victory at the moment when it seemed
to be within reach. Having taken offense at Duke Pl0en's haughty
bearing, he lent such willing ear to his opponents that the duke
resigned as commander-in-chief of the Danish armies. The king
himself assumed command, but proved to be wholly incompetent,
and misfortunes befell the Danish arms in rapid succession. A force
which had been sent into Halland under the Scotch general Duncan
was destroyed by Charles XL at Fyllebro. Duncan fell, and only
a few hundred men escaped from the field. This victory, which
gave the Swedes new hope, and increased their confidence in their
king, was of no slight military importance, as it prevented any further
cooperation between Gyldenl0ve and the Danish army in Sk&ne.
When he heard that a large Swedish army was approaching to attack
him, Gyldenl0ve raised the siege of Bohus, and withdrew from Bohus-
len. More disastrous still was the battle of Lund, December 4,
1676. When Charles XI. learned that the Norwegians had left
Bohuslen, he advanced into Sk&ne, and sought to surprise the Danes
in their winter quarters. His movements were discovered in time,
but a bloody battle ensued, in which the Danes were defeated with a
loss of several thousand men, together with artillery and baggage.^
This victory reestablished the self-confidence and reputation of
the Swedes, and gave the Danes a stunning blow from which it was
difficult to recover. The people of Sk&ne submitted to King Charles
XI., and Helsingborg received a Swedish garrison. But some

* O. Vaupel, Den danske og norske Hcers Historie, vol. I., p. 136 ff. Abra-
ham Cronholm, Skanes politiske Historia, vol. II., p. 181 £E. Fredrik Ferdi-
nand Carlson, Sveriges Historia under Konungarne af pfalziska Huset, part II.
I, Gulowsen, Gyldenl^vefeiden. G. Bj0rlin, Kriget mot Danmark 1676-1679,
p. Ill flf.

U THE GYLDENL0VE WAR 259

sinews of strength still remained to Christian V., his superior fleet
and the undefeated Norwegian army.

King Charles' plan for the campaign of 1677 was to strengthen
his fleet to such an extent that he could reestabhsh communications
with his army in Pomerania under Konigsmark, and by an attack
on Seeland force the Danes to withdraw from Sk&ne. But Chris-
tian v., who aimed to regain what had been lost by the defeat at
Lund, hurried reenforcements across the Sound as soon as the cam-
paign opened in the spring. During the winter the Norwegian army
had been increased to 17,000 men. In July Gyldenl0ve with a small
Norwegian force captured the fortress of Marstrand, and advanced
to join General L0venhjelm, who was marching into Bohuslen with
the main Norwegian army. At Uddevalla they encountered a
Swedish army of 8000 men under General de la Gardie. In the
battle which ensued the Swedish general was outmaneuvered, and
ordered a retreat which soon turned into a disastrous flight. A great
part of his force were made prisoners of war ; his artillery and nine-
teen standards fell into the hands of the Norwegians, who gained
control over the whole of Bohuslen with the exception of Bohus
castle. This defeat also affected the campaign in Sk&ne, where
the Swedes had continued to make progress. The siege of Kris-
tianstad was raised, and Charles XL hastened into Halland to fore-
stall an invasion by the Norwegian forces in Bohuslen. In August
of the same year a force of 2000 men from Tr0ndelagen under Rein-
hold von Hoven and Christian Schultz marched into Jsemtland,
and drove out the Swedish detachments under Count Sparre. But
though they were well received by their countrymen, no effort was
made to take permanent possession of this old Norwegian province,
as General von Hoven soon withdrew his forces in obedience to an
order from the king.

At sea the united forces of the two kingdoms were very successful,
and won some of the greatest victories in Danish-Norwegian naval
history. In the battle of Rostock, or M0en, Admiral Nils Juel almost
annihilated a Swedish squadron under Admiral Sjoblad, and on July 1
he fought the memorable naval battle of Kj0ge Bay with the Swedish
main fleet under Admiral Horn. The Swedes suffered an overwhelm-
ing defeat. Their admiral lost twenty ships with 700 cannons, and

260 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

3000 men were killed or captured. After the great battle many of the
foreign captains who served under the great admiral were court-
martialed for incompetence or negligence. Jan Peppe was dismissed,
Jan Vogel escaped a worse fate by timely flight, and three others were
sentenced to pay fines. But the Norwegians had served with great
distinction, notably Mickel Tennissen, Morten Pedersen, Hans
Sch0nneb0l, Thomas Seerup, and Hans Garstensen Garde.^ These,
and many other brave Norwegian oflBcers, had learned their seaman-
ship in Dutch and English service, and their bravery and compe-
tence to a large extent made these victories possible. The great naval
wars between Holland and England had been a severe military school,
in which the Norwegian sailors and sea-captains had been such apt
pupils that they often surpassed their teachers in bold adventure and
clever seamanship.^

The success gained by the Norwegian army and the fleet was,
however, neutralized by new defeats inflicted on the Danish land
forces in Sk§,ne. In a fruitless attack on Malmo Christian V.
sacrificed 4000 men, and after a crushing defeat at Landskrona, the
plan of capturing Sk&ne had to be abandoned. In the next cam-
paign confidence would chiefly be placed in the Norwegian army,
which was reenforced with Danish troops, and efforts would be made
to occupy new Swedish territory in Germany. Already in September,
1677, Christian V. seized the island of Riigen with an army of 6000

' Ludvig Daae, Nordmcends Udvandringer til Holland og England i nyere
Tid, p. 25 S.

* Attempts were repeatedly made to induce the Norwegian and Danish
seamen in Holland to return home. Daae says: "The same attempt was
repeated diiring the war in Sk&ne, and from among those who returned, the
officers for the fleet were chosen."

In 1690 the higher officers in the Danish-Norwegian fleet, with the excep-
tion of admirals, schoutbynachts, and cadets, numbered sixty-seven persons.
In Nils Juel's Conduiteliste over Marinens Officerers Personale, Anno 1690
four commander-captains, three second-class captains, two third-class cap-
tains, one captain-Ueutenant, and seven lieutenants, in all seventeen, are
especially mentioned as Norwegians. There was possibly a similar number
of Danes ; the rest were foreigners. Ludvig Daae, Nordma;nds Udvandringer
til Holland og England % nyere Tid, p. 28. J. E. Sars says: "The Norwegian
marines constituted throughout one-half of the total complement of men in
the fleet, and even more, and it is certain that they were not the least able
and respected part." Udsigt over den norske Historie, vol. IV., p. 113.

II THE GYLDENL|ZivE WAR 261

men, but General Konigsmark defeated the Danes, and recaptured
the island. Gyldenl0ve entered Bohuslen, and laid siege to Bohus
castle. All the outer works were carried, the stronghold would
have been taken, but he was so embarrassed in his operations by orders
from the Danish Council of War, and by the disloyal conduct of the
generals Giese and Degenfeld, who commanded the Danish auxiliary
forces, that the opportunity was wasted, and when a large Swedish
army under Otto Stenbock approached, he raised the siege, and re-
treated to Uddevalla. Hostilities continued also during the next
year, but no important military event occurred. The two powers
still held the same territory as before the war, but the border districts
of Sk§,ne and Bohuslen had been severely harried by the plundering
soldiers, both friend and foe. The hope which Christian V. had en-
tertained of humbling Sweden, and recovering the lost provinces,
gradually but surely vanished with the breaking up of the coalition
against France. The peace of Nimwegen between Holland and Louis
XIV. was signed July 1, 1678, after protracted negotiations, and in
January of the next year the German Emperor concluded peace with
France and Sweden. Only Elector Frederick WiUiam of Brandenburg
now supported Denmark-Norway against France and Sweden, and
it was certain that Louis XIV. would subscribe to no terms of peace
derogatory to the interests of his ally. When Brandenburg also
concluded peace with France, and a French army threatened the
duchies of Schleswig-Holstein, the situation became critical. But
the war spirit had finally ebbed away, and peace between Denmark
and France was signed at Fontainebleau, August 23, 1679, stipulating
that all territory taken from Sweden should be returned, and that the
terms of the peace of Roskilde should remain in force. In September,
1679, a peace between Denmark-Norway and Sweden was signed in
Lund, reaffirming the conditions already established in the treaty of
Fontainebleau, and providing also for a defensive alliance between
the Northern kingdoms, which should remain in force for a period of
ten years. The unfortunate war had ceased, but only after the three
Scandinavian peoples had wasted the strength which they should
have employed in peaceful development, or which they might have
preserved for resisting more dangerous foreign foes.

262 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE

33. Internal and Foreign Affairs in the Reign of Christla.n V.

In civil as in military affairs Christian V. sought to retain all power
and influence in his own hands in conformity with the principles of
absolutism, but he lacked the ability to develop an eflficient personal
rule. He hated the old nobility, as he suspected that they would use
any favorable opportunity to reestablish their former power, and
after the overthrow of Griffenfeld, he was also careful lest any of his
councilors should become too powerful. Among his advisers were
many from the commons whom he had elevated to high positions be-
sides the prominent men of noble birth like Ahlefeld and Gyldenl0ve,
but no one enjoyed his full confidence. As he hated any restrictions
upon his own personal influence, the Administrative Colleges were not
allowed to exercise any independent activity, but in all matters the
decision was to be left to the king. In military affairs he demanded
an account even of the minutest details of the service, not even the
purchase of necessaries for the fleet exceeding 500 riksdaler would be
valid without royal sanction. In diplomacy and foreign affairs he
was equally careful to centralize all influence in his own hands. After
the fall of Griffenfeld his instructions to his new chancellor, Frederick
Ahlefeld, were, that all communications with representatives of
foreign courts, "how insignificant soever the matter may be," should
bear his own signature, and that all dispatches from abroad should
be placed before him without delay.^ The creation of commissions
which gradually absorbed the greater part of the duties of the Admin-
istrative Colleges was a part of the general plan to strengthen his
own influence, as these commissions, which could be dissolved at
any moment, would be in the highest possible degree subservient to
the royal will.

King Christian had a jealous dislike for those who could \\an popu-
lar favor and exercise great influence. He would not only wield all
power, but he could not bear any one who towered above him intel-
lectually, a weakness not uncommon in small minds. Of Griffenfeld,
the special object of his hatred, he could have said as Macbeth did of
Banquo :

* E. Holm, Danmark-Norges indre Historie under Enevadden, p. 51.

n INTERNAL AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS 263

" He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety. There is none but he
Whose being I do fear : and under him
My Genius is rebuk'd, as it is said
Mark Antony's was by Caesar."

And Griffenfeld, the only statesman who possessed sagacity enough
to guide the state through this stormy period, was overthrown at a
moment when his experience and insight was most indispensable.
Duke Pl0en, the general who successfully conducted the campaign
in Sk§,ne, was dismissed, because the king did not like him. Chris-
tian himself would be chief general, a position for which he was as
little qualified as for that of diplomat. Armies were destroyed, and
opportunities wasted through lack of competent leadership, until
Louis XIV. could dictate the terms of peace. In matters of internal
administration, his efforts to play autocrat and emulate the great
French king only brings to light a lack of ability which forms a glaring
contrast to his unlimited power. During a long reign of twenty-nine
years he was unable to develop a well-systematized form of ad-
ministration, and we look in vain for new ideas, or an effort to create
better economic and social conditions. By the wars with Sweden,
and the extravagance of the court, public burdens had been increased
to an almost unbearable degree, and as the peasants were unable to
pay the taxes, the government resorted to the scheme of making the
larger landowners responsible for the revenues, in return for which
they were exempted from taxation. The German-born nobles, who
had emigrated to Denmark in large numbers, owned a great portion
of the largest estates, but they resided in Copenhagen, and their es-
tates were managed by overseers (ridefogeds) , whose business it
became to extort the taxes from the peasants. The wooden horse
and other instruments of torture were invented by them, and the
condition of the peasants grew even worse under the rule of the
nobles. Agriculture fell into decay, and no progress was made by
the cities. Rather than to seek to ease the people's burdens, and to
further economic and social development, he would maintain old social
conditions, and play guardian of his people in minor domestic af-
fairs, where his meddlesome interference could do nought but harm.
The king showed no interest for scientific research, but his solicitude

264 HISTORY OF THE iJORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

for the religious and moral life of his people was of the most anxious
kind. He ordered that the daily hours of devotion in the city
churches should be better attended, and that in the country districts
the people with their children and servants should spend some time
in prayer both morning and evening. If people did not go to church,
it was to be regarded as sacrilege, and by the ritual of 1685 the deacons
were instructed to be present and observe who went to communion,
and to write their names in a book kept for the purpose. Against
luxury of all kinds the king instituted a vigorous campaign,^ and
sought to regulate in detail the people's daily life. Regulations were
issued regarding funerals, describing in what sort of coffins people
of the various classes should be buried, and the ceremonies to be used
for each class. To give food and drink to those who carried the
coffin to the grave was forbidden, likewise also the burning of candles,
or excessive decorations of the house of mourning. Funeral orations
could be delivered only if the deceased were persons of quality, and
if the funeral took place in the evening, the oration should not last
over fifteen minutes.

Still more annoying were the royal orders issued by Christian V. in
1683 regarding attire, weddings, parties, etc. In a solemn introduc-
tion the king declares that he "perceives how the extravagance in
attire as well as food and drink at weddings, confinements, and parties
is carried to such extremes that God thereby must be highly offended,
and as one will not be inferior to the other in such matters, they
waste their means until they are utterly ruined." He then proceeds
to lay down rules, says Holm, as to " who are to be allowed to wear
gold and silver embroidery, precious stones, lace, gold, and silver
brocade, flowered velvet, rings above a certain price, etc. Only
those belonging to the highest classes were numbered among these
especially favored ones. There was one kind of attire ; for example,

^ Efforts to limit luxury had been made also in the previous century both
by the kings and the clergy. The sixteenth century was especially the
period of luxury-laws. France took the lead, and other nations followed her
example. In thirty years, from 1545 till 1575, not less than eight statutes
were issued against luxury in France. In Denmark Frederick I. began to
legislate against luxury in 1528, and laws on this subject appeared at brief
intervals, but usually to no piu-pose. See Troels Limd, Dagligt Liv i Norden,
vol. IV., p. 130 ff.

n INTERNAL AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS 265

black or plain colored velvet, which all persons of rank, as well as the
nobles, might wear. Regulations were also made how promoti doc-
tores in theologia and promoti doctores in other faculties should be
attired. Those who had studied abroad, the principal royal oflficers
who were not of 'rank,' the thirty-two members of the city council
of Copenhagen, etc., were regarded as equal to these. Those who
belonged to this class might wear mantels of black velvet or other
suitable attire of silk, grofgr0n, tersonel, ferandin, taffeta, and other
plain silks manufactured in this country, and likewise, also, all kinds
of India silks which are brought hither with the Company's ships,
and rings to the value of a hundred riksdaler ; lynx, martin, and squir-
rel, and other lining of reasonable price. All others were forbidden
to wear silk, nor could they wear any rings save plain gold rings.
Regulations were made as to the length of the train of ladies' dresses
according to rank, what ornaments they should wear, what kind of
braid people should use on the uniforms of their lacqueys, what kind
of carriages they should drive in, etc. A series of regulations for
weddings, banquets, and childbirth parties were made to correspond.
It was stipulated how everything was to be done at engagement
feasts and weddings, according to people's rank, and a fixed grada-
tion was established regarding the decorations of the bridal bed, from
gold and silver fringes for privy councilors, counts, and knights, down
to craftsmen and servants, who were permitted to use ' woolen cloth
which can be made in this country, but without fringes, tassels, or
braids.' People were in general allowed to invite twelve couples to
a wedding, besides their nearest relatives, but a limit was placed on
the number of meals to be served, and it was expressly forbidden to
offer the guests more than eight different dishes, and no pyramids of
confectionery were allowed to be placed among the victuals. Crafts-
men and servants should not invite more than six couples, and they
should serve a frugal meal of only four dishes. Not more than eight
couples should be invited to a country wedding, and not above six
ordinary dishes should be served. A general provision, which was
made binding upon all, specially forbade the giving or receiving of
wedding presents by any one whatsoever ; but parents might give
their children presents according to their means, and wedding presents
might also be given to servants." ^

^ E. Holm, Danmark-Norges indre Historie under Enevoslden, vol. I., p. 300.

266 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

But while the king sought to Hmit so strictly what he tenned the
luxury of the common people, he would not in any way curtail his
own pleasures, or the excessive extravagance of the nobility. The
old hunting laws were kept in force, as it was the king's chief care to
preserve the game and maintain the pleasures of the chase. Whether
the wild animals destroyed the people's grain fields, or the fox killed
their geese and chickens was a matter about which the royal con-
science felt no compunction. But such barbaric punishments were
inflicted on all poachers, i.e. any one outside the privileged classes
who ventured to kill a bird or animal, that it seemed a less offense to
kill a human being than a deer or a partridge. Ordinary poaching
was punished by flogging, branding, or life imprisonment. If a land-
owner who possessed the right to hunt, killed a deer on the royal
hunting grounds, the fine was 1000 riksdaler, for a bird 200 riksdaler,
but if the offender was a servant he would be punished by death even
for shooting a snipe.

In order to carry numerous provisions of this kind into effect it
was necessary also to increase and extend the police service of the
kingdom. In 1682 Christian V. appointed the first chief of police
in Copenhagen, and delegated to him such a multitude of duties that
it would have required a whole army of police officers to attend to all.
He was not only to maintain general order in the city, but all servants
were placed under his special supervision, and it was his duty to pun-
ish disobedience, dishonesty, and carelessness on their part. The
cleaning and lighting of the streets, the waterworks, and the fire
department were also placed under his command. It was his duty
to prevent strangers from staying in the city on an unlawful errand,
and he should give good heed that no cheating was done with coin,
weight, or measure; that the lawful prices were maintained, and
that the rules for crafts and guilds were enforced. He should
also watch over the Lutheran Church, so that no writings against re-
ligion, or other forbidden books were offered for sale, and that no
lampoons were published ; and he was especially delegated to insure
the proper observance of the royal decrees regarding weddings,
parties, funerals, rank, and wearing apparel. But his activity should
not only extend to the city, but to the whole kingdom of Denmark.
He should watch lest any unlawful trade was carried on in any city

n INTERNAL AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS 267

in the kingdom, that travelers were carried from place to place at
the stipulated rates, that inns and taverns along the main routes were
properly equipped, etc. In this way a police regime was created
which possessed some good features, but which in many respects
would have been intolerable if it had been in any degree efficient.
The kind of administration created by Christian V. shows the king's
own mental caliber, and illustrates in general the character of the
seventeenth century absolutism. The government was chiefly oc-
cupied with a multitude of trifles which ought to have been intrusted
to the care of local authorities, if they could not be left, as they ought
to have been, to the good judgment of the private citizen. Not only
was all political liberty destroyed, but the most private domestic
affairs were to be controlled by royal decrees to an extent which made
the state resemble a well-regulated home for orphans. Society was
stratified into ever more sharply demarcated classes, based on rank,
titles, and special privileges, and as no encouragement was given to
individual enterprise, as small room was found within this system for
originahty and real abihty, the government suffered in nearly all
departments from a dull incompetence which made it unable to
meet a crisis with resolute energy. Royal favor was looked upon as
the source of promotion rather than talent and energetic individual
effort. Titles, pensions, or even a smile or nod from the absolute
sovereign was esteemed of more value than solid achievements in art
or industry, a most serious impediment to true social progress. Some
improvements might occasionally be made, but they were happy
accidents rather than part of a systematically pursued plan of
national development.

Among such improvements must especially be mentioned the " Code
of Christian V.," a new lawbook prepared for the kingdom of Norway.
The "Code of Christian IV." of 1604 which, as already stated, was
but a wretched translation of the "Code of Magnus Lagab0ter"
(Landsloven) of 1276, had become so antiquated that it had become
almost useless, and the plan of preparing a new code had been con-
sidered even by Hannibal Sehested and Jens Bjelke. Many changes
had also resulted from the introduction of absolutism, and the need
was more imperative than ever of bringing the laws into harmony
with the new conditions. In Denmark the preparation of a new code,

268 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

which had been begun in 1661, was finally completed in 1683. After
some abortive attempts four Norwegians, among whom was the able
and learned jurist Christian Stockfleth, were appointed to prepare a
new lawbook for Norway.^ This was indeed an important concession,
as the judicial affairs of the two kingdoms would thereby remain
separated, and special attention would be paid to local social en-
vironment in Norway. The work submitted by this commission was
naturally based on the laws of Norway, but the king, who favored
strongly a uniform system of laws for both kingdoms, subjected it to
revisions which brought it into close harmony with Danish juris-
prudence. But the law of odel and other laws governing the tenure
of land in Norway were, nevertheless, retained, and in regard to
hunting the Norwegian code contains few and very liberal provisions.
The code was completed 1687. The following year it was put into
use in Norway and the Faroe Islands and in part, also, in Iceland. In
conformity with the spirit of the times it prescribed the most cruel
punishments for crime. A long list of offenses was punishable by
death, while maiming, banishment, and life imprisonment were fre-
quently inflicted for no very grave crimes.^ But the code contains
some good features. It attempts especially to maintain the prin-
ciple of equality before the law, and to insure a degree of personal
liberty quite uncommon in those times. The code was received in
Norway with general good-will, as it met a long-felt want, but much
confusion was caused by the introduction of Danish laws which were
not adapted to Norwegian local conditions. It must also be regarded
as a distinct national loss that the old system of Norwegian juris-
prudence, the codes of St. Olav and Magnus Lagab0ter, had been
discarded, and the Norwegian code had been based on principles
largely foreign to the people.

* N. Prebensen og Hj. Smith, Forarbeiderne til Kong Christian den femtes
norske Lov.

* "Whosoever is engaged to one and afterward marries another shall
leave the king's realms and domains." Kong Christian den femtes norske
Lov (Code of Christian V.), Christiania, 1883, book vi., eh. 13, article 23.

"Whosoever is convicted of blasphemy against God or his holy name,
word, or sacrament, his tongue shall be cut from his mouth while he lives,
his head shall be cut off, and together with his tongue shall be placed on a
stake." Ibid., book VI., eh. I., article vii.

II INTERNAL AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS 269

During King Christian's reign the Norwegian army and defenses
were greatly strengthened. At the outbreak of the war in Sk§,ne,
1675, the Norwegian army numbered 12,000 men, by 1683 it had been
increased to 16,300, and in 1700 it had reached a total of 21,000 men.^

The joint Danish-Norwegian fleet experienced an even greater
development under the efficient leadership of Kort Adelaer and Nils
Juel. Through purchase, as well as by the building of new ships, a
relatively strong fleet was created before the outbreak of the war
with Sweden, and by encouraging the Norwegian merchants to con-
struct ships which could be converted into war vessels, a valuable
auxiliary squadron of "defense ships" had been created, which was to
be used for the protection of the Norwegian coast. In 1674 the fleet,
together with the "defense ships," numbered sixty-three vessels,
of which seventeen carried fifty guns, and forty-six were "defense
ships." By 1679 the fleet had been increased to 107 vessels, of which
only seventeen were "defense ships." In 1700, after some reduction
had been made in the number of vessels, it still numbered thirty-three
ships of the line, carrying 2778 guns. Denmark-Norway had become
one of the leading naval powers.^

The fortresses of the kingdom were much improved, and new forts
were built under the direction of Gustav Wilhelm Wedel, a German
by birth, who was made commander-in-chief in Norway, 1681, during
the absence of Statholder Gyldenl0ve. Fredriksten was strengthened
by the building of new forts, and the Glommen River was made a
strong line of defense through the construction of several fortresses
and redoubts, a work which proved to be of great value in the next
war with Sweden. Vinger was completed in 1682, Kristiansfjeld,
Blakjser, and Basmo were founded the following year, and the Kongs-
vinger and Sponviken fortifications were also erected at this time.

In 1685 Christian V. visited Norway, and the people welcomed
him on all occasions with enthusiastic loyalty. From Christiania
he journeyed across the Dovre Mountains to Trondhjem, and after

1 J. Chr. Berg, Aktstykker til den staaende Hcers Historie, Samlinger til
det norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. IV. Didrik Schnitler, Det f^rste
Aarhundrede af den norske Hcers Historie.

^ Edvard Holm, Danmark-N orges indre Historie under Enevoelden, vol. I.,
p. 455 ff. Robert Molesworth, An Account of Denmark, p. 131 ff. Oscar
Alb. Johljgen, N orges Historie, V, 1, p. 127 ff.

270 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

visiting Bergen, Stavanger, and the towns of southern Norway, he
returned home.

King Christian was neither broad-minded nor very gifted, but he
was conscientious, and devoted himself with great diUgence to the
numerous routine duties which devolved upon him as absolute ruler.
He was a lover of moderation, always kind and good-natured, and by
his gentle manners he won the hearts of the people to quite an unusual
degree. Molesworth speaks of him as a prince of singular abihty
and good nature, but adds that "he is often overruled by those
about him, to whom he leaves the whole management of affairs,
because he neither loves nor has a genius for business." ^ He died
August 25, 1699, at the age of fifty-three.

Touching his policy of internal administration in Norway Professor
Oscar Alb. Johnsen says : " He regarded Norway and his other pos-
sessions with a feeling akin to that with which a landed proprietor
looks upon his estates and his subordinates. Everything existed for
the benefit of himself and his family, and was to be administered in
such a way that it yielded him and his family the greatest and most
lasting profit. He sought to promote the interests of the binder,
because they were good taxpayers. He was interested in shipping,
for without it there would be no able seamen to serve in the wars.
From his diary it is clear that it was principally the more elementary
features of administration which interested him, — the defenses, taxa-
tion, and economic conditions." ^

With regard to Norway, he pursued a policy of political amalgama-
tion with a definite aim to obliterate as far as possible the national
existence of the Norwegians, and to reduce the two kingdoms to one
country. This policy comes to view especially in the Norwegian
code of laws, which is based almost exclusively on the laws of Den-
mark. He wished to introduce a uniform code for both kingdoms,
and the same laws were henceforth made to apply as far as possible
to both kingdoms, even when they were not adapted to Norwegian
local conditions. In the administration the two countries were also
treated as one estate, and the specific Norwegian interests were often
ignored or neglected. Norway received no university or central ad-
ministration, though an earnest desire for these very necessary im-

^ An Account of Denmark, p. 139. * Norges Hiaiorie, vol. V., 1, p. 130 f.

n INTERNAL AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS 271

provements had long been expressed, neither did the kingdom have
a bank or a capital city/ all features which would have tended to
unite its scattered cities and separate communities into a more firmly
consolidated state, and would have given a new impetus to the de-
velopment of national patriotism. But the kings of the period of
absolutism, like the kings during the union period from the time of
Queen Margaret, wanted a strong Denmark, not a strong Norway.
The kingdom united with Denmark should lose its own individuality,
in the hope that it would gradually become an integral part of that
realm. This short-sighted statesmanship, which was of no benefit
to either kingdom, often resulted in a wanton neglect of Norway's
most vital interests, and retarded, though it could not wholly arrest,
the national development of the Norwegian people. The absolute
kings, like their earlier predecessors in the union period, did not
attempt to further the true development of either nation. Their
interests were personal, dynastic, and wholly self-centered, which
made their rule a monotonous routine, or a greedy desire for lands
and revenues, usually barren of all good results.

In Sweden the late wars had caused great losses. The fleet had
been destroyed, cities burned, and the German provinces, as well as
the border districts of the kingdom, had been devastated by repeated
raids. A great public debt had been created, and the burdens upon
the common people were excessively heavy, while the nobles were
still exempted from paying taxes. A change had also taken place
in the government. Though the old forms were to all appearances
maintained, the Council had been pushed into the background, and
the king had begun to act with more independence than before, partly
because the stress of circumstances had made it necessary, but partly
also because his growing popularity enabled him to assume more
direct control of the affairs of government. In order to meet as well
as possible the exigencies of the situation, the Estates were assembled
at Stockholm in 1680. The commons demanded that the crown-lands
which had been given or sold to the nobles should be confiscated and
that the royal power should be strengthened. The Council and the
nobles had to yield, and the king became virtually absolute also in
Sweden.

* J. E. Sars, Historisk Indledning til Grundloven, p. 78 f.

272 history of the norwegian people ii

34. Economic and Social Conditions in Norway in the
Seventeenth Century

After the overthrow of the Hanseatic merchants, the Norwegian
cities found new opportunities to develop, and they gradually as-
sumed a character very different from the surrounding rural com-
munities, from which they had at first been but slightly differentiated
as to economic interests and mode of life.^ The development once
begun struck a rapid pace, and soon wrought an important change in
the social as well as the economic life of the nation. At the assembly
of the Estates in Oslo, 1591, the burghers and the binder appeared
for the first time as two distinct estates,^ and this division of the
commons into two separate classes with diverging social tendencies
and economic interests grew even more distinct, until it developed into
a social struggle of far-reaching importance.'

The cities had been regarded from the outset as a part of the dis-
trict in which they were situated, and the rural communities had
been the local units of government and religious life.* In course of
time the new urban development inverted the order, and the cities
through their growing influence and power became commercial, social,
and cultural centers to which the rural districts were attached as
tributary territories. The burghers were rapidly rising, and the
binder were correspondingly depressed in the social scale. The
growth of the cities was favored, not only by an increasing com-
merce, but especially through privileges granted by the kings, who
became their special patrons, and sought to force their development.
Limited privileges had been granted the cities by various statutes from
quite early times, and from 1299 the right of the rural districts to carry
on trade was restricted in favor of the cities.^ But more radical
measures were taken by Christian IV., who, among other things,

* T. H. Aschehoug, De nor she Communers Retsforfatning f^ 18S7, p. 19 f.
^ Oscar Alb. Johnsen, De norske Sioender, p. 112, 115 f.

^ Halvdan Koht, Bonde mot Borgar i nynorsk Historie, Historisk Tids-
skrift, femte rsekke, vol. I., p. 29 ff.

* Absalon Taranger, Oslos celdste Byprivilegium, Historiske Afhandlinger
tilegnet J. E. Sars. Alexander Bugge, Studier over de norske Byers Selvstyre
og Handel. L. J. Vogt, Historisk Tidsskrift, anden rsekke, vol. V., p. 80 ff.,

273 ff.

* T. H. Aschehoug, De norske Communers Retsforfatning f^r 1837, p. 19.

II ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 273

issued a royal decree commanding the people of the neighboring
towns to move into the new cities of Christiania and Christiansand,
which he had founded.^ Each city was to have its own fixed district,
inside of which it had a trade monopoly, and all harbors within a dis-
tance of twenty-one miles should be abandoned. Christiansand
was especially favored, as the kings were determined to make it a
metropolis in southern Norway. The bishop's seat, the Latin
school, and the stiftsamtmand were moved from Stavanger to Chris-
tiansand by royal decree ; all the smaller towns in its neighborhood
except Mandal, Arendal, Psterris0r, and Flekkef jord were abandoned,
and Stavanger's city charter was revoked. In 1685 Christian V.
even decreed that all inhabitants in Mandal, Arendal, 0sterris0r, and
Flekkefjord who did not move to Christiansand before New Year
should pay a double amount of taxes, " It was manifestly the plan
of the government," says Holm, "that the four stift cities {i.e. Chris-
tiania, Christiansand, Bergen, and Trondhjem) should be the trade
centers of the kingdom. Bergen occupied the same privileged posi-
tion in Bergens stift as Christiansand did in its stift, and farther
to the north the four so-called "sj0-len" (naval districts) {i.e.
Romsdal, Nordm0r, Fosen, and Namdalen) as well as the coast
along the Trondhjemsfjord belonged to the trade district of Trond-
hjem.^ In the privileges granted this city March 7, 1682, it was
stipulated that the inhabitants of the thriving towns of Molde and
Fosen (Christiansund), who lived as burghers, should either move to
Trondhjem, or build within that city in a year a home as good as
the one in which they were living. The villagers and those who
dwelt by the harbors in the neighborhood were also ordered to
move to the city." But although towns were not allowed except at
a certain distance from the chief cities, the burghers were instructed
to erect trading posts at convenient places within their district, in
order to facilitate trade and to enable the people to reach a market.
The government also issued regulations regarding the importa-
tion of goods and the carrying on of trade. The wares should be

^ Edvard Holm, Danmark-Norges indre Historie under Enevcelden, vol. I.,
p. 245 ff.

" Ibid., vol. I., p. 253. I. Chr. Berg, Ventilationer angaaende den nordlandske
Handel, Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. V., p. 655. A.
Schweigaard, Norges Statistik, p. 126 ff.

VOL. 11 — T

274 HISTORT OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

bought directly from the producers, or where it was most natural
and convenient to obtain them. Wine should be imported from
Spain and Portugal, French wines and salt from France, Rhenish
wine from Holland, iron and steel from Sweden and Prussia, etc.
Any one could engage in wholesale trade who could handle the re-
quired amount of goods, but the retail trade was governed in detail
by a multitude of regulations aiming at the prevention of encroach-
ment by one kind of merchants upon the other. In most cities the
merchants were divided into classes having exclusive right to deal in
certain specified commodities. The merchants of Trondhjem agreed
to organize into fourteen classes. In Christiania a similar arrange-
ment was made, but not in Bergen. This classification and close
supervision was in harmony with the activity of the absolute govern-
ment in all other lines, and coincided in general with the spirit of
the cities where guilds and crafts still flourished; but it did not
prevent the development of a powerful class of merchant princes,
who sought to gain full control of all lucrative trade. In Christiania
the complaint was made as early as 1643 that "there was not thirty
solvent merchants who without debt could carry on their small
trade," and in 1653 the cry was raised that " some of the rich burghers
had usurped all the trade with feathers, elk skins, goatskin, butter,
tallow, and caraway, by purchasing these articles in the country,"
and the city magistrate proposed that such purchasing in the coun-
try districts should be stopped.^ It is natural that the more opulent
merchant class, whose influence was increasing with their wealth,
would not rest satisfied until they had gained control of the more
important branches of trade. In 1656 and 1661 they formulated
special demands for the whole burgher class of the kingdom, and as
a result, a series of privileges were granted in 1662 to all Norwegian
cities, which marks a new epoch in Norwegian commercial juris-
prudence.^ The two chief articles of export on which Norwegian
commerce largely depended were : the fish trade in the northern and
western districts, and the lumber trade in the southern and eastern
districts. The lumber trade with England was rapidly increasing

*Ludvig Daae, Del gamle Christiania, p. 51.

• Halvdan Koht, Bonde mot Borgar i nynorsk Historic, Historisk Tids-
$krift, femte raekke, vol. I., p. 31. Ludvig Daae, Dei gamle Christiania, p. 55.

n ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 275

at this time, as Norwegian pine lumber was in great demand for ship-
building. Even Milton alludes to it in his "Paradise Lost" (1658-
1665), where he says :

His spear to equal which the largest pine
Hewn on the Norwegian hills, to be the mast
Of some great ammiral, were but a wand.^

A new stimulus was given this trade by the great fire in London,
September 3, 1666, which destroyed eighty-nine churches and 13,000
houses. Three hundred streets, about two-thirds of the city, were
laid in ashes. Lumber for the rebuilding of the city was eagerly
sought, and the greater part of it was imported from Norway. Bishop
Jens Bircherod writes in his diary March 7, 1667: "I heard a cap-
tain, who had come from Norway, tell of the great profit which the
inhabitants of Norway had of the great fire which occurred in Lon-
don last fall, and that their timber, which was needed for the re-
building of the city, was constantly exported in unusual large quan-
tities, so that the people could ask as high a price as they wished to
demand. For although there should at present be war between us
and England, our king, nevertheless, permitted such export of timber
from Norway, because of the good money which was brought to the
country. And it had already become a proverb among the Nor-
wegians that the Norsemen have warmed themselves well at the
London fire." "This communication with England," says Daae,
"did not cease with the rebuilding of London, but continued unin-
terrupted through ages, and became an important factor in the
development of Norway."

By the privileges of 1662 the merchants of the cities received
exclusive right to carry on lumber trade, and clergymen, fogeds, and
judges (sorenskriver) were forbidden to carry on trade. This tended
to concentrate the lumber trade in the cities, and to give the mer-
chant class greater solidity and strength.^

In order to gain still greater advantage, the merchants demanded
that the hinder should bring the timber to the city, where they again

* Paradise Lost, book I., v. 292 ff.

2 Ludvig Daae, Nordmcends Udvandringer til Holland og England % nyere
Tid, p. 100 fl. P. E. Bendixen, Et Omrids av Merges Handelshistorie, p. 23 ff-

276 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

used the opportunity to pay a very low price. In order to protect
the binder from this crying injustice, the king gave them pennission
to sell their timber to foreign buyers, if the merchants would not pay
the full value, and receive it at the customary places of delivery.
Later fixed prices were established, but with the proviso that the
right to the lumber trade should remain with the cities and their
inhabitants, and the attempts to regulate the trade were generally
lame and unsuccessful.

In the northern districts the situation was still more unfavorable
to the binder. We have already seen how the Hanseatic merchants
of Bergen had gradually reduced the small native traders, the Nord-
farer, who brought fish from Nordland to Bergen, to a sort of com-
mercial serfdom by keeping them continually in debt, and these
conditions were not improved when the native merchants gained
control. They had learned from the German merchants how to
take advantage of the fishermen from Nordland, who every year
brought their catch to the great central market of Bergen, where
they also bought their supplies for the coming year. In Peter Dass'
descriptive poem of Nordland, the "Nordlands Trompet," from about
1700, the swindle and extortion practiced by the Bergen merchants
in their dealings with the fishermen of Nordland are described with
great vividness, sometimes with humor, but always with characteristic
sympathy for the oppressed.^ Occasionally the king sought to put a
stop to their cheating and extortion. He even reduced the amount
of indebtedness of the binder, ^ and sometimes even cancelled their
old debts, but these attempts at regulation did not alter the general
relation between the burgher class and the binder.

In the early part of the seventeenth century until the loss of
Bohuslen, Norway had ten chartered cities {kj^bstceder) , ranking as
follows, according to a tax levied in 1599 to pay the bridal outfit

* Halvdan Koth, Bonde mot Borgar i nynorsk Historie. A. E. Erichsen,
Peter Dass* Sarrlede Skrifter, vol. I., p. 11 fif. Alexander Bugge, Nordlands
skiftende Skjoehne, Historisk Tidsskrift, f jerde rsekke, vol. V., p. 423 S. Amund
Helland, Nordlands Amt, p. 210 ff., Norges Land og Folk. Erik Hansen
Sch0nneb0l, Lofotens og Vesteraalens Beskrivelse, Historisk-topografiske
Skrifter om Norge og norske Landsdele, edited by Gustav Storm.

* I. Chr. Berg, Ventilationer angaaende den nordlandske Handel, Samlinger
til del norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. V., p. 659 ff. Edvard Holm,
Danmark-Norges indre Historie under Enevoelden, vol. I., p. 168 f.

n ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 277

for one of the princesses: Bergen (250 riksdaler), Christiania (125),
Trmdhjem (100), Marstrand (100), Fredrikstad (37|), Tunsherg (25),
Stavanger (25), Kongelv (25), Skien (12^), Oddevald or Uddevalla (12|).
With the loss of Bohuslen in 1660 the number was reduced to seven,
as Marstrand, Kongelv, and Uddevalla were located in that province ;
but before the close of the century the number had been increased to
eleven, the new cities being : Fredrikshald, Krager^, Drammen, and
Larvik. Of the more important towns Moss, Holmestrand, 0sterris^r,
Arendal, Molde, Lille-Fosen {Christiansund) , and Tr^ms^ became
cities in the eighteenth century.^ The population of the cities at this
time cannot be determined with any degree of accuracy. J. E. Sars
has estimated that in the latter part of the seventeenth century
Christiania had between 3000 and 3500 inhabitants,^ but Ludvig Daae
considers this estimate too low.' Roar Tank holds that the popula-
tion of Christiania in 1683 was about 4000,"* which agrees in the main
with the estimate of A. CoUett, who thinks that the population of
the city in 1654 was about 4000.^ The population of Fredrikstad is
estimated by Tank to have been 900 in 1683.' According to the tax
levied in 1599, Bergen would have 8000 to Christiania's 4000, and
Trondhjem and Stavanger would have 3500 and 800, respectively.
Oscar Alb. Johnsen estimates that before 1660 Marstrand had 1400
inhabitants, Kongelv 500, and Uddevalla less, probably about 400.'
Skien probably had a similar number. It is clear, however, that the

^ I. Chr. Berg, Ventilationer angaaende den nordlandske Handel, Samlinger
til del norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. V., p. 613 flf. Ludvig Daae. Bidrag
til Christiansands Historie indtil 1814, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie raekke,
vol. II., p. 293 ff. Molde and Lille-Fosen were chartered as cities in
1742, and Lille-Fosen was called Christiansund. In 1701 Lille-Fosen is
estimated to have had 600 inhabitants. O. C. Bull, Adskilligt om Kj^b-
staden Molde, Topografisk-statistiske Samlinger udgivet av Selskabet for
Norges Vel, vol. I., p. 73 £f.

2 Norge under Foreningen med Danmark, p. 99.

^ Det gamle Christiania, 2d edition, p. 51.

* Studier i Christiania Bys Folkemcengde % det syttende Aarhundrede, His-
torisk Tidsskrift, f jerde raekke, vol. V., p. 478 fif.

^ Gamle Christiania Billeder, p. 98.

^Fredrikstad 1660-1699, Historisk Tidsskrift, f jerde raekke, voL V., p.
284 ff.

^ Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Befolkningsforholdene i Bohuslen f^r Afstaaelsen,
Historisk Tidsskrift, fjerde rsekke, vol. III., p. 247.

278 HISTOEY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

burgher class was rapidly growing in number, not only through the
increase of the population of the old cities, but also through the rise
of new ones.'^

A danger to the independence of the hinder, greater than any
other, was the practice of the wealthy burghers to buy land in the
country districts. After they had gained control of the lucrative
lumber trade, their next attempt was to get possession of the forests,
and when crown-lands were sold, they were the heaviest buyers. In
the latter part of the seventeenth century a number of large private
estates (proprietcergods) were created, and the areas of land owned
by the burgher class was rapidly increasing. Lorens Berg has shown
that in Brunla len they owned fourteen per cent of the land in 1661,
and eighteen per cent in 1703, while the holdings of the binder did
not increase.^ At this time not above one-third of the binder were
freeholders, the rest were renters. A large part of the soil was
owned by the crown, which had gradually acquired possession of the
estates of the Catholic Church and of the old noble families who be-
came extinct.^ The crown finally owned about one-third of all the
land in the kingdom, while the rest belonged to the noblemen, officials,
burghers, and rich landowners among the binder} During the wars
with Sweden these opulent classes had loaned money to the crown,
and the kings, who were generally short of funds, hit upon the idea
of paying their creditors with lands. What remained after these
debts were liquidated, they sold in order to replenish their treasury.
From 1660 till 1670 crown-lands were thus disposed of for the amount of
1,300,000 riksdaler, mostly to rich burghers, officials, and noblemen.^

^ Many towns which have later become cities arose at this time along the
southern coast. Fredrikshald, Moss, Soon, Dr0bak, Bragernes, Holmestrand,
Larvik, Brevik, Krager0, Ris0r, and Arendal owe their existence to the flour-
ishing lumber trade. A. Schweigaard, Norges Statistik, p. 126.

" Lorens Berg, Historisk Tidsskrift, fjerde rsekke, vol. V., p. 202 f. Ibid.
Andabu, p. 56, 276, 327 ff., 336 ff.

' Osoar Alb. Johnsen, Fraa Leilending til Sj^lveigar, Syn og Segn, 1910,
p. 349 ff. L. J. Vogt, Om Norges Udf^rsel og Troelasl i osldre Tider, Historisk
Tidsskrift, anden rsekke, vol. V., p. 306 fP.

* Henrik Heliesen, Udsigt over Belfibet af offentlig Jordegods i Begyndelsen
af det 17de Aarhundrede, Norske Samlinger, vol. I., p. 513 ff.

' Osoar Alb. Johnsen, Fraa Leilending til Sj^lveigar, Syn og Segn, 1910,
p. 281 fif.

H ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 279

A class of rich landowners thus sprang into existence, and the
binder, who were forced to rent lands from them, soon found that
they were worse off under these greedy masters than they had been
as tenants under the crown. In order to make their investments as
profitable as possible, these landlords increased the rents, and intro-
duced methods of oppression resembhng those in vogue in Denmark,
and the bitterest resentment was awakened among the Norwegian
b^Tider, who understood that they were threatened with complete
subjugation. Their spirit of resistance was aroused, and according
to old custom they brought their complaints directly to the king-
Deputations were sent to Copenhagen to ask for redress of grievances,
but as the request involved the redemption of the alienated lands,
the king neither would nor could grant the reUef sought. Finally
Statholder Gyldenl0ve, who foresaw that serious troubles might
arise, espoused the cause of the binder, and urged the king to grant
them relief by curbing the greed of the landowners. "In Norway,"
he said on a later occasion, "the government differs so much from
that of other lands that there it consists of the binder, and is main-
tained by them." — "The prosperity of the binder is the main thing,
the root and basis for the preservation of the whole kingdom," ^ a
statement pregnant with a fundamental truth, which had been clearly
perceived by the statholder. So long as Griffenfeld remained in
power, Gyldenl0ve's advice remained unheeded, as he was opposed
by the powerful chancellor, but after the king assumed more direct
control of affairs, he took steps to insure the Norwegian binder against
oppression by the landlords. In 1684-1685 regulations were pub-
lished fixing the rate of rent to be charged, and limiting the amount
of free service to be Tendered by the peasants.^ The farm had to be
leased with all its conveniences to the leaseholder for his whole fife-
time, the rent had to be stipulated by mutual contract, and fixed
prices were established for the products by which the farmer paid his
rent. The jurisdiction exercised by Danish landlords over their

^ Norske Samlinger, vol. I., p. 549, For slag og Betcenkning angaaende
Lettelser for den norske Almue, Statholder Gyldenl^ves Forslag af 2den Januar
1693.

* These laws remained in force only a short time, as they were replaced
by the laws for tenants in the Code of Christian F., of 1687, book III.,
oh. 14.

280 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

peasants was not allowed in Norway. Heavy fines were imposed on
any landlord who charged excessive rents, or in any way wronged or
abused the leaseholders, and the main provisions of these laws could
not be abrogated even by contract. Some features of these laws
were so favorable to the leaseholders that they could not be en-
forced at once, but they served to insure the renters fair treatment.
Under these conditions the landowners found it little profitable to
own extensive areas, and they sold the greater part of their holdings
in smaller portions to their renters, thereby increasing the number of
freeholders.

"The struggle with the landlords had in general a wholesome
effect upon the renters," says Professor Johnsen. "It roused them
from their slumber. Now for the first time they understood the
importance of owning their own farms, and they saved money so
that they could buy land. After 1680 the king again began to sell
land, but what he now sold was mostly separate farms, small places,
and parts of farms, and the binder bought the greater share."

The laws of 1684-1685 were also intended to protect the binder
against extortion and injustice practiced by the royal officials. After
the lensherrer had been replaced by amtmcBnd, who could exercise
but slight control over their subordinates, who also ranked as royal
officials, abuses of that sort had been increasing.^ In order to right
these wrongs the laws established fixed rates of charges for clergy-
men and other officials, and imposed other necessary restrictions.
But as the laws were to be enforced by the selfsame officials whom
they were supposed to govern, it is natural that in too many instances
they were allowed to remain inoperative. The binder were hard
pressed both by the officials and by the burgher class. They were
not only reduced to a worse situation socially and economically than
in any earlier period, as the burghers and officials gradually intrenched
themselves in a position of power such as no class outside of the old
nobility had hitherto enjoyed, but they were also forced into the
background politically, after absolutism had eliminated all partici-

1 T. H. Aschehoug, Aktstykker om Finmarken i Aaret 1667, Norske Sam-
linger, vol. I., p. 120 ff. L. Daae, Fern Dokumenter til Oplysning om Avgift-
emes Belfib i det syttende Aarhundrede, Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog
og Historic, vol. V., p. 485 ff. These documents consist of supplications and
complaints of the people of various districts in the kingdom.

n ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 281

pation of the people in affairs of administration and government.
But the binder had awakened to the reahzation of the situation, and
a determined struggle began, which constantly increased in bitterness.^
Scattered uprisings grew more frequent, able popular leaders appeared
in various districts, and the growing social conflict stirred the people's
love of their rights and liberties, not to a momentary enthusiasm, but
into a permanent attitude of mind, which was destined to shape all
future national development in Norway. This school of adversity
made the Norwegian hinder vigilant patriots, and their national
independence was cradled in these bitter local struggles against
oppression and injustice which were waged with ever increasing in-
tensity, especially throughout the eighteenth century.

The struggle between the binder and the new upper classes was
aggravated, also, by the fact that the burghers, as well as the officials,
consisted largely of foreigners, who came to Norway to seek new
opportunities. They felt in no direct touch with the common people,
and treated them with an offensive haughtiness, and not infrequently
with an insolent arrogance which engendered the most innate class
hatred. J. E. Sars says: "The Norwegian burgher class, which
arose under the union with Denmark, was to a large extent of foreign
origin. Danes, and still more frequently Germans and merchants
from Schleswig-Holstein, moved to the Norwegian cities, and because
of their good connections they were often able to play a leading r61e.
Danish had become the spoken language in the cities after the Refor-
mation, and thereby the burgher class, whether they were foreigners
or native-born, became separated from the rest of society by a deep
chasm, so that they stood over against the rest of the people as half
foreigners.

" The same was true, even in a higher degree, of the oflScial class.
In the period immediately following the Reformation the lack of
higher schools in Norway, and the generally neglected and benumbed
intellectual conditions, resulted in the frequent appointments of
Danes to office in the kingdom. Afterwards when Norway was
better able to shift for herself in this respect, it continued to be a
general practice to give the Norwegian offices to Danes, while Nor-

1 Nedenes Lens Opsoetsighed mod 0vrigheden 1 658-1 669, Norske Samlinger,
vol. II., p. 81.

282 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

wegians were frequently appointed to oflfice in Denmark. The
government had a fixed purpose, which was constantly becoming
more clearly defined, of commingling as far as possible the two
peoples so that they might learn to feel as one. At every period of
the union with Denmark the Norwegian ojfficial class was, therefore,
strongly mixed with Danish elements, especially in the higher and
leading circles. Of the Norwegian members of this class, as well as
the Danish, it was true that they had studied at the University of
Copenhagen; that they had spent their happiest and most im-
portant years in the Danish capital, and had often formed friend-
ships there which lasted through their whole lifetime. The higher
they rose intellectually, the stronger they must have felt attracted
by the memories of their youth spent among friends, both Danes
and Norwegians, in study and in the intellectual pastime of the
clubs, while they must have felt almost as strangers, as exiles, when
they became established at home as officials in the lonely country
districts, or in a small Norwegian town, where the people's minds
were occupied with freight rates and lumber prices." ^

The new classes were, nevertheless, of great importance to the
future development of the Norwegian people. They gradually came
to represent the economic strength of the nation, and as they estab-
lished close relations with the outside world, not only commercially
but also intellectually, they were in position to transplant to Nor-
wegian soil new ideas from abroad, elements of higher culture, intel-
lectual interests, and taste for art and elegance which had an elevating
and stimulating influence on the otherwise so democratic Norwegian
society. After a generation or two those who were of foreign
descent learned to feel as native-born citizens, and were ready to
bear their full share in defending the kingdom, and in building its
institutions; but the social conditions which have been outlined
made them unable to deal justly with the binder, nor were they able
to realize what secret strength lay hidden in the ardent love of free-
dom and the unsubdued will of the common people.

The commercial activity was chiefly controlled by three principal
cities : Bergen, Trondhjem, and Christiania. Bergen especially had
developed a considerable commerce and a strong class of merchants,
* J. E. Sars, Historisk Indledning tU Grundloven, p. 88 f.

11 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 283

who maintained trade with all western countries of Europe. They
even ventured into the Mediterranean Sea in spite of the Barbary
pirates, and attempts were made to carry on trade with the West
Indies, Greenland, America, and the west coast of Africa. Trond-
hjem retained the right to trade in the four "sj0len," Namdalen,
Fosen, Nordm0r, and Romsdal, but the trade with Nordland was
open to the merchants of both cities. Bergen received the trade
monopoly and the control of the local administration in Finmarken,
but this great power was so abused by the Bergen merchants that
after six years of systematic extortion an amtmand was again ap-
pointed for the province.^

In the southern towns and cities the lumber trade was growing
rapidly. In the last decade of the seventeenth century, when Eng-
land and Holland were carrying on war with France, the commerce
of these powers decreased, and Norwegian trade received an impetus
which marks a new epoch in the development of Norway's merchant
marine. The trade with France increased steadily, as the Norwegian
articles of export, tar, lumber, masts, iron, and fish,^ were in great
demand. England and Holland sought to stop this trade, but in
1691 the Northern kingdoms formed an alliance in defense of neutral
trade, and both powers had to abandon their attempts at interference
with the trade of neutral nations. Home industry was encouraged
through protective tariff or the exclusion of foreign wares, and the
high duties placed on goods imported in foreign vessels also favored
Norwegian trade. Christiania had a fleet of twenty-three merchant
vessels in 1696. Bergen's merchant fleet rose from forty-six ships
in 1680 to 146 in 1690, and similar progress was made by other cities
and towns. In 1707 the Norwegian merchant marine numbered
568 ships,' a remarkable increase from fifty merchant vessels in 1648.

Also in the fisheries considerable progress is noticeable in this

1 Amtmand Frederik Sohort of Finmarken wrote in 1667 that besides the
profit made in selling the fish, the Bergen merchants made 33 1 per cent in
buying it from the binder; that they also cheated them on the weight, and
that for these reasons the binder could not pay their taxes. Aktsykker om
Finmarken, Norske Samlinger, vol. I., p. 120.

* Robert Molesworth, An Account of Denmark as It Was in 1692, p. 63.
B. E. Bendixen, Et Omrids af Norges Handelshistorie, p. 23 ff.

3 Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Norges Historic, vol. V., 1, p. 106. A. Schweigaard
Norges Statistik, p. 127 f.

284 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

period. The catching of ling and halibut on the Storeggen banks,
about a hundred and ten miles from the coast, was begun at this
time, the gill net and other implements for the cod-fisheries were
invented, and the export of lobster, especially to Holland, was begun.
The whale-fisheries near the coast of Greenland and Iceland were
encouraged, and stations for the manufacture of train-oil were built.
The commerce with the East Indies, which had long been inter-
rupted, was again revived through the organization of a new East
India Company, and a West India Company was also organized.

Industry was making slow progress for want of the necessary
capital and experience, but some attempts were made which show a
growing spirit of enterprise, and the influx of new ideas. J0rgen
thor M0hlen of Bergen was especially active in originating new indus-
trial enterprises in his home city. In 1684 he was also instrumental
in founding the Bergen chamber of commerce. He erected rope,
salt, soap, and train-oil factories in Bergen and neighborhood, canvas
and woolen mills, tanneries and cooper shops, powder mills, and nail
factories. He managed the trade with Finmarken and Greenland,
and carried on commerce with Guinea and the West Indies. These
attempts were in complete harmony with the mercantile economic
ideas of the times, and he was generously encouraged by the govern-
ment in the hope that factories might soon be erected in different
cities to supply the demand for manufactured articles. But M0hlen
engaged in too hazardous ventures. Before the end of the century
he was financially ruined, and the enterprises which he established
soon proved unsuccessful. Some lasting progress was, nevertheless,
made. About 1700 the first oil mill was built in Norway, and about
the same time the first paper mill was also erected. This marks the
beginning of the paper industry, which was destined in time to be-
come one of the best paying branches of Norwegian manufacture.
In full accord with the mercantile spirit was also the encouragement
of mining, as well as the restrictions placed upon the number of saw-
mills in the interest of the preservation of the forests. These restric-
tions would, naturally, tend to eliminate the small producers. Lum-
bering became a monopoly controlled by rich dealers and mill owners,
who grew to be a class of capitalists.^

* A. Sohweigaard, Norges Statiatik, p. 118 ff. Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Norges
Historie, vol. V., 1, p. 117 ff.

ii norwegian literature in the seventeenth century 285

35. Norwegian Literature in the Seventeenth Century

The seventeenth century or, more correctly, the period from 1620
till 1720 was a century of lifeless formalism and unproductive learned
pedantry in Norwegian Uterature as well as in that of many other
countries of Europe. In Germany the literary and intellectual life
which had begun to flourish at the beginning of the century was
crushed by the ravages of the Thirty Years' War, and poetry became
the servantmaid of Latin learning and Protestant theology. German
had, indeed, replaced Latin as the literary language, but Latin learn-
ing and classical mythology still constituted the chief contents of
most of the poetry written. The pedantic metric laws formulated
by Martin Opitz had gained an absolute authority,^ which checked
all development of verse and meter, and the poets imitated, as well
as they could, the empty bombast of the Italian poet Marino, and
the hollow pathos of the Frenchman Ronsard, and the French
tragedy, fostered in the atmosphere of the court of Louis XIV. A
fine literature of hymns and religious songs was produced by poets
like Spec, Scheffler, Gerhardt, Tersteegen, Rist, Dach, and others.
Religious prose writers like Arnd, Spener, and Scriver wrote works
which have exercised a lasting influence upon religious life and
thought also in the North, but the secular poetry consisted largely
of songs for birthday parties, weddings, funerals, or in congratulation
of princes and persons of wealth and quality, whose favor was
sought through the most servile flattery. At the same time the poet
considered it essential to make a boastful display of his own learning
through frequent classic allusions, the use of mythological elements,
and phrases and expressions borrowed from classic authors. The
drama was represented by traveling companies of entertainers who
adopted to their own use selections from Italian, French, Spanish,
Dutch, English, and Latin writers.

In the North the German literature exercised a great influence?
and in Sweden, especially, Martin Opitz was accepted as the great
pattern and authority. In Norway local conditions did not favor a
systematic adherence to foreign patterns, but German influence
made itself felt both directly and indirectly, and the literary taste
* Martin Opitz, Buck von der deutschen Poeterey, 1624.

286 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

and spirit of the age gained full control. In 1664 sixteen Gennan
comedians came to Bergen and acted almost daily near the custom-
house, "and the students of the cathedral school played 'heathen
histories' in the New Church." ^ During Lent mysteries and miracle
plays were also presented in the churches. But the German literary
influence was principally exerted indirectly through Denmark, where
the Norwegian students received their higher school training at the
University of Copenhagen, and where German intellectual culture
had made a profound impression, especially after the introduction
of the Reformation. We find, accordingly, also in Norwegian htera-
ture of this period the customary varieties of poetic productions —
didactic poems, lamentations, religious poems, songs for various
occasions, and rhymed descriptions of different parts of the king-
dom, much of it almost wholly devoid of poetic merit. By contem-
poraries this kind of poetry must have been received with favor,
possibly even with generous praise, but the interest which it awakened
was transient, and a literary historian has aptly characterized it as
"the forgotten literature,"^ as most of it has long since been rele-
gated to oblivion. Few really gifted poets graced literature at this
time. Most of those who devoted themselves to poetic production
were mere rhymers, who might weave their couplets deftly enough
into light verses for a festive occasion, or who, with infinite patience,
tortured their muse in the vain effort to produce a great epic on a
subject which could better be dealt with in a prose treatise ; but in
most of these efforts we discover the author's erroneous idea that
poetry is the art of making rhyme according to an acknowledged
system of metric rules.

But the "forgotten literature" of the seventeenth century repre-
sents the first faltering steps in modern poesy, aside from the popular
ballads and folk-tales, and it is not without its interest and value to
the modern student who would understand the intellectual culture
and social life of this period.

The first poet of this period, and, in a sense, the originator of this
class of poetry in Norway, was, characteristically enough, a Dane,

^ L. Dietrichson, Omrids af den norske Poesis Historie, p. 58.
^Ihid., p. 51 ff. Peter Friedrich Suhm, Samlede Skrifter, part VII., Om de
Norskes Fortjenester i Henseende tU Videnskaberne.

n NORWEGIAN LITERATURE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 287

Anders Christensen Arrebo (1587-1637), a gifted and dashing young
scholar, a favorite of King Christian IV., who had been made Bishop
of Trondhjem, and according to J. H. Schlegel "deserves to be com-
pared with his contemporary Opitz." ^ Arrebo could not at the out-
set have been influenced by Opitz, as his "Kong Davids Psalter," a
paraphrase of the Psalms of David, was completed in 1623, a year
before the "Buch von der deutschen Poeterey" was published, but
R0rdam says that "it is clear enough that Opitz' useful effort to
purify his countrymen's taste and their poetic style has exerted a
beneficial influence upon him towards the close of his career." ^
The socially inclined bishop with the poetic temperament mixed with
unrestrained mirth in the frolicsome merry-makings which in those
days were the chief features of weddings and social gatherings. He
was guilty of no moral wrongdoing, but his powerful enemies Tage
Thott, royal lensmand of Trondhjem, and Peder Lauritsen, the city
foged, found an opportunity to accuse him of conduct unbecoming a
bishop, and he was dismissed from his high oSice, 1622. After a
few years he became clergyman in Vordingborg in Denmark, where
he died in 1637, fifty years of age. The disgrace and sorrow which
had thus darkened Arrebo's life brought his poetic gifts to full ma-
turity. He completed his paraphrase of the Psalms of David in
1623, and after 1629 he was persuaded to undertake a translation of
Guillaume Barat's epic poem " La premiere Sepmaine." Arrebo did
not translate the poem, but gave a free elaboration of its theme and
thoughts in his "Hexaemeron," a poem about the creation, in Alex-
andrine verse, which became very popular, and continued to be held
in high esteem even in the following century. The poem was not
published till twenty-four years after the author's death, but it
gained for him a great reputation, especially among younger contem-
poraries.

Through Arrebo's works, especially his paraphrase of the Psalms,
which was first published, a great stimulus was given to poetry. He
found many imitators in Denmark, and in Norway numerous versi-.
fiers appeared. Michel Mogenss0n (1590-1654), clergyman at N8er0

1 J. H. ScWegel's Werke, vol. V., p. 267.

* Holger Fr. R0rdam, Anders Christensen Arrehos Levnet og Skrifter, paxt
I., p. 244.

288 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

in Namdalen, wrote a lamentation over a storm which caused great
loss of lives and property along the seacoast/ and poems of that
type continued to grow in number. Hans Mortensen Maschius,
engraver and clergyman at J0lster, has left an engraving of the
Trondhjem cathedral, to which he has added a poem lamenting the
ruin of the great church.^ Claus Hansen Gantzius, or Gaas, clergy-
man at Ulvsteen in S0ndm0r, wrote a lamentation about a great
avalanche,' and Dorothea Engelbrechtsdatter of Bergen wrote poems
about the great fire in that city.

Samuel Bugge (1605-1663), and Roland Knudson, city foged in
Krager0, wrote didactic poems, and religious songs were written,
especially by Samuel Olsen Bruun ^ and Dorothea Engelbrechts-
datter ^ (1635-1716). By contemporaries Dorothea was lauded in the
most extravagant terms. She was called the tenth muse, the wonder
of the North, etc., but her productions are mostly dull and trivial
rhymes expressing a fervent religious feeling, but lacking the qualities
of great art. Only a few songs, or, rather, fragments of songs, in
which she has succeeded in striking deep and true chords of religious
sentiment, still continue to be numbered among the cherished Lu-
theran hymns. Dorothea Engelbrechtsdatter was the daughter of
a Bergen clergyman. At the age of seventeen she married her father's
successor, Ambrosius Hardenbech, with whom she became the
mother of nine children. But she experienced many sorrows, as she
survived her husband and all her children. She died at Bergen in
1716, eighty-one years of age.

The barren monotony of the seventeenth century as to literary

* Threnologia Numdalensis eller Numdal, Tenck derpaa. Del er et s^r-
geligt Klagemaal om den store Haffsn^d oc S^skade i Numdah Len udi Thrond-
hjems Slift, Copenhagen, 1627.

* Norwegia religiosa eller Norrig gudelig tildreven beseer og beklager sin Herrens
Huus, Christiania, 1661.

* En Klage Dicht offuer del Tilfald i Bergenshuus Lehn paa Sundm^er d.
6 Februar, 1679, Copenhagen, 1681.

* Samuel Olsen Bruun, Siungende Tidsfordriv eller Korsets Frugt, 1695.
The work appeared in many new editions in Copenhagen.

* Dorothea Engelbrechtsdatter, Sjcelens Sangoffer, 1678 ; Taareoffer Jor
bodfcerdige Syndere, 1685, together with a new edition of Sjcelens Sangoffer;
Et christeligt Valet fra Verden og Lcengsel efter Himmelen, 1698, united with
the two first works in a new edition, 1699. See Nordahl Rolfsen, Norske
Digtere, and Henrik Jsger, Norsk Literaturhistorie, vol. I., p. 204 ff.

II NORWEGIAN LITERATURE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 289

life is, nevertheless, relieved by one distinguished name, Petter Dass,
the first truly great poet in modern Norwegian literature. His
father, Peter Dundas, fled from Scotland to Norway during the re-
ligious persecutions in the time of Charles I., and settled in Bergen,
where he became a merchant. After his marriage to Maren Falch,
a daughter of the foged Peter Falch in Helgeland, he moved to his
father-in-law in Nord-Her0, where his son Petter Dass was born in
1647. Petter attended the Latin school at Bergen, and in 1665 he
entered the University of Copenhagen. His father died, and as his
mother was left with five children in straitened circumstances, he
could continue his studies only two years, whereupon he received
holy orders, and after serving for sixteen years as curate, he was
appointed rector of the church of Alstahaug in Nordland in 1689.^
His whole life work both as rector and poet is inseparably connected
with this part of the country. He was a born leader, a man of
unique talents, who through his powerful personality and amiable
traits of character became, not only the favorite poet, but the per-
sonified ideal of the people of Nordland. He was a dignified and
earnest rector, strong in faith, firm in convictions, unbending in
authority, and exercised a powerful influence as spiritual adviser and
moral teacher. He was also an eminently capable man in all prac-
tical affairs, to whom the people could always turn for advice. The
impression became general among his parishioners that he could con-
trol even the powers of evil, and numerous tales were told of his
struggles with the devil, in which he was always victorious. The
custom still prevalent among the Nordland fishermen of fastening
pieces of black cloth to their sails as a token that they mourn the loss
of Petter Dass shows to what extent he had become the hero of the
common people.^ As rector of the largest parish in Norway, an
extensive region which at present embraces eight parishes with over
30,000 inhabitants, he had many assistants and was in fact a real

^ His biography has been written by his grandson, Albert Dass, in the
introduction to his edition of the Nordlands Trompet, Copenhagen, 1763.

* Petter Dass, Samlede Skrifter, edited by A. E. Erichsen, introduction,
p. i-lxxv. J. S. Welhaven, Digteren fra Alstahaug, Petter Dass; Samlede
Skrifter, vol. VI., p. 109 ff. Dr. A. Chr. Bang, Kirkehistoriske Smaastykker,
p. 232 ff. L. Dietrichson, Den norske Poesis Historie, p. 76 £f. Henrik Jaeger,
Norsk Liter aturhistorie, vol. I., p. 240 ff.

VOL. II U

290 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

chieftain. But in this large district, where all travel had to be done
by boat among the shoals and breakers of a storm-swept seacoast,
he had to lead a life full of hardships and hazards which taxed his
strength and courage to the utmost, and he refers to it ironically by
saying that " the clergymen of Nordland do not dance on violets and
roses." He was always of good cheer, social and full of sparkling
humor, but the constant struggles with the angry sea he describes
in many places with touching pathos and powerful reahsm. He
shows how the fishermen sail through the roaring breakers until their
boats are upset, the usually unsuccessful attempts to ride the up-
turned boat to safety, how the people gather on the shore where the
empty boats have stranded, and count the knives which their dying
fathers, husbands, and brothers have plunged into the upturned boat
to learn how many have found a grave on the stormy deep. So
clearly and truthfully are the social conditions, the environment,
life, and character of the people of Nordland reflected in the poetry
of Fetter Dass, that it becomes true of him in a very special sense
that he who wishes to understand the poet must know the land
which fostered him. But the converse is no less true, that he who
wishes to become acquainted with Nordland and its people as they
were in the seventeenth century must study Fetter Dass.^

His pastoral duties and the religious instruction of his parishioners
were always his chief care, and he wrote several collections of re-
ligious songs in order to give the Christian doctrines a pleasing and
striking form.^ The most popular of these works are his " Kate-
kismus Sange," i.e. Luther's Catechism turned into songs, which
have remained the cherished reading of the common people. But
his principal work, and the one on which his reputation as a poet
chiefly rests, is the "Nordlands Trompet," which retains its place

^ Bj0rnstjeme Bj0mson wrote after a visit in Nordland : "Every traveler
in Nordland must own the 'Nordlands Trompet,' but it should not be read
until one is on the return voyage, and knows how incomparably true it is."
Petter Dass, Samlede Skrijter, edited by A. E. Erichsen, introduction, p. LV.

* His principal works of this kind are : Aandelig Tidsfordriv eller bibelsk
Vise-Bog; Dr. Morten Luthers lille Katekismus forfattet i bekvemme Sange
under f^ielige Melodier; Epistler og Evangelier sangvis forfattet udi bekvemme
Melodier; Trende bibelske B^ger, nemlig Ruth, Ester, og Judith, udi dansk
Rim forfattet.

II NORWEGIAN LITERATURE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 291

among the classic productions in Norwegian literature. Although it
is a description of Nordland and its people which pictures with the
minuteness of a geography the nature and the climate, the economic
and social conditions of the people, it is written with a taste and
skill which makes it a true work of art. " It is a book more popular
than any other secular work in our literature," writes A. E. Erich-
sen; and Just Bing says that "the people's life and work has
fascinated Petter Dass, and his description of nature turns into a
picturing of the life of the people. It would be futile to attempt to
distinguish between nature and the people in his works, as he has
viewed them together, not apart. Yes, it is when nature bears a
direct relation to human life that it becomes interesting, according
to his opinion, and their point of contact is, so to speak, the basis of
operation in his nature-description. At the point where nature
begins to influence the lives and deeds of man, Petter Dass dwells
upon natural phenomena, and the reader gets the full impression of
the great might of nature, its activity and power. At this point,
also, the reader's imagination forms a clear picture. It is not the
description of nature itself which makes us shudder, however strong
expressions the author might use, — but when we hear how the storm
has caused death and sorrow in many families; when we see that
all human power, as compared with the storm, is a mere nullity which
is swept away ; when we see men's vain efforts to save their lives,
how they strive convulsively to gain the bottom of the upturned
boat, to cling fast to it, and that the waves, nevertheless, carry them
away; when we see corpses and wreckage drifting in the sea, the
picture becomes powerful. We feel the great might of the elements,
we see them overwhelm men irresistibly, destroying the happiness
of one generation after the other. In other words, the description
of nature becomes impressive when we see the power of nature
pictured in its effect upon the inhabitants of the country." ^ Some
of Petter Dass' minor poems have become favorite folk-songs; as,
"Norsk Dalevise" and " Jephtse L0fte." 2

Of other poets who flourished towards the end of the period may
be mentioned especially Povel Juul, an eccentric person of real

1 Just Bing, Norske Digte og Digtere, p. 154 ff .

« J. S. Welhaven, Samlede Skrifter, vol. VI., p. 147 ff.

292 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

poetic talent, who wrote "Et lyksaligt Liv" and "En god Bonde
og hans Gjerning"; and Ole Camstrup, who became known as the
writer of humorous verses for various festive occasions. His most
typical poem is a song written in the Norwegian dialect about a
wedding. This song was later imitated very successfully by Nils
Heyberg in the very popular ditty, "Bonden i Bryllaupsgarden,"
written in 1734.^

Norse history, literature, and runic inscriptions were diligently
studied by the Danish scholar Ole Wormius, who in 1643 published
his " Monumenta Danica, ' ' a large work on the runic inscriptions. In
his study of old Norse literature he was ably assisted by Bishop
Brynjulf Sveinsson of Skalholt, and the learned Icelander Arngrim
Jonsson, "the Restorer of Icelandic Literature." In Sweden Olof
Verehus (1618-1682), and Olof Rudbeck, the author of " Atlantica s.
Manheim Japheti Sedes et Patria," were emphasizing with one-sided
enthusiasm the importance of the Scandinavian countries in history.
This revival of interest in Northern studies led to the creation of a
new historical school in the North, whose most prominent members
were the Icelanders Ami Magnusson, the originator of the great
collection of Icelandic manuscripts which bears his name, and Thor-
mod Torfseus, the most distinguished name in the prose literature
of this period. In 1662 Torfseus was sent by Frederick III. to Ice-
land to collect manuscripts, a work in which he was very successful.
In 1682 he was made royal historiographer, and in 1711 he published
his large and in many respects important work " Historia Rerum Nor-
wegicarum," a history of Norway from the earliest times till 1387.
The Dane Arnoldus de Fine also undertook to write a history of
Norway in Latin, but left the work unfinished. Of great value to
modern scholars are the historical typographical writings and shorter
annals of this period, works which were left unpublished at the time,
but which of late years have been edited and published in the interest
of historical research. Edvard Edvardss0n, conrector of the Bergen
Latin school, wrote an elaborate history and description of the city
of Bergen.'^ Melchior Augustinuss0n wrote annals of Trondhjem
and Tr0ndelagen, 1670-1705, and Hans LiUienskjold (1703) wrote a

^ L. Dietrichson, Den norske Poesis Historie, p. 95 f .

• Norske Samlinger, vol. I., Uddrag af Edvardss^ns Bergem Beskrivelae.

II NORWEGIAN LITERATURE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 293

large and still unpublished work " Speculum Boreale " an historical-
geographical description of Finmarken. Gert Henriksen Miltzow is
the author of several local personal-historical works dealing with Ber-
gens stift, but most of his writings have been lost ; and Diderich Brinch
in Nordland published in 1683 " Discriptio Lacefodse Norwegia."
Hans Noble's " Indberetning til Kongen om Forholdene i 1716,"
"Aktstykker om Finmarken 1667," by Frederik Schort, and Johan
Vilhelm Kliiver's " Beretning om den Norske Hsers Indfald i Sverige
1719" may be classified as public documents.^ An extensive religious
prose literature was also produced, consisting chiefly of sermons and
devotional books. Among the common people the folk-poesy con-
tinued to flourish, and throughout this dull period it maintained an
untutored literary life, and fostered the true instinct for poetic art,
which formed a healthful contrast to the pedantic rules and lifeless
learning of the age.

As true poesy in this period is chiefly to be sought in the folk-
literature of the common people, so art was still found mainly as
handicrafts among the hinder, who from very eariy ages had been
skilled wood carvers, goldsmiths, etc. Fine embroidery, and especially
the weaving of fine tapestry, which had been the pride and pastime
of ladies of rank in eariy ages, was at this time, and still continues to
be, a highly developed art in Norway. The carving of wood and
ivory was brought to a state of perfection which has never been
excelled in the North. Even country lads, using no other tools
than their knife, were able to produce real pieces of art, which are
still preserved as treasures in the art museums. The most noted
name in this field is that of Magnus Berg of Gudbrandsdal (1666-
1739), of whose wonderful carvings in ivory thirty-eight pieces are
still preserved in Rosenborg palace in Copenhagen. Nearly every
district had its own adepts in the various arts and handicrafts, who
wrought with rare genius such works of beauty and imagination that
many a trained artist would find difficulty in imitating them.^

1 Norske Samlinger, vol. I., p. 121 flf., 136 ff., 176 ff., and 153 ff.

* See Kristofer Visted, Vor gamle BondekuUur, Christiania. O. A. 0ver-
land, Norges Historie, vol. VIII., p. 113 ff. Erik Pontoppidan, Det J^rste
Fors^g paa Norges naturlige Historie, vol. II., p. 392 ff. L. Dietrichson,
Den norske Elfenbensskjcerer Magnus Berg, Christiania, 1912.

294 history of the norwegian people h

36. Education and the Church

Norway had no university, but secondary or Latin schools were
found in nearly all the principal cities in the kingdom. The main
stress was laid on the study of Latin, which the pupils should learn
to read, write, and speak ; but Greek was also read, and in the highest
class Hebrew, logic, metaphysics, and rhetoric were studied. Much
time was devoted to devotional exercises and singing, but mathe-
matics and history were almost wholly neglected, and until 1668 no
schoolbook existed in the mother tongue,^ and no attention was
paid to it. The discipline was very severe. Corporal punishment
was often inflicted, and fines were imposed on the scholars for various
offenses. This bred a rude and insolent spirit in the pupils, and the
school became the scene of constant jarrings between scholar and
schoolmaster, who regarded each other as hostile forces. Ludvig
Holberg says with the characteristic exaggeration of the humorist:
"Every schoolmaster was at that time a sovereign, and the pupils
lived in profound awe. Their lacerated backs, their swollen fore-
heads, their bruised cheeks proclaimed that every school was like a
Lacedemonian gymnasium." At the head of the school stood the
rector, who was assisted by the conrector. According to royal
decree of March 17, 1675, no one could become rector or instructor
unless he had received the degree of baccalaureus artium.^ It has
already been stated that one-fourth of the tithes, the hondelut, was
used for the support of poor students, but at a meeting in Skien,

1 Erik Eriksson Pontoppidan, Bishop of Trondhjem, 1673-1678, wrote
Grammatica Danica in Danish, 1668. Nyerup og Kraft, Literatur-Leksikon.
Andreas Faye, Christiansands Stifts Bispe- og Stiftshistorie, p. 266. R.
Nyerup, Tilstanden i Danmark og Norge i celdre og nyere Tider, vol. III.
The church ordinances of 1537 made the provision that there should be one
Latin school in each city, and that all other primary schools should be closed.
Only Latin shoidd be taught, "as the Latin schools are easily spoiled by the
Danish and German schools, since those who have founded these schools
have looked more to their own profit than to the welfare of the children."
See W. Rein, Encyklopddisches Handbuch der Pddagogik, Langensalza, 1903,
vol. I., p. 933 ff., Deutsches Schulwesen. A. V. Heffermehl, Folkeundervis-
ningen i Norge indtil omkring 1 700, Christiania, 1913.

2 Ludvig Holberg, Bergens Beskrivelse, p. 194 ff. E. Holm, Danmark-
Norges indre Historie under Enevoslden, vol. I., p. 384 ff. A. Faye, ChriS'
tiansands Stifts Bispe- og Stiftshistorie, p. 265.

PLATE VI

WuODCAKVING ON AN OlD

Church Door in Sogn.

WOODCARVING ON AN OlD ChURCH

Portal at Hurum.

n EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 295

1575, of the nobles, bishops, lagmcend, and leading binder it was
decided that a spand ^ of grain should be paid for each mandsverk ^
for the maintenance of the school, while the hondelut should be
kept by the hinder for the support of the poor. This was ratified by
royal decree of 1578, but the binder were often unwilling to pay the
school tax, and it could not always be collected.

The Reformation brought no marked improvement in primary
education, as the reformers both in Norway and Denmark were
chiefly concerned with the education of ministers for the Lutheran
Church. No public schools were organized, and the education of the
common people was so far neglected that not above one-tenth could
read and write.^ Some provision was, nevertheless, made for the
religious instruction of the people. Bishop Palladius of Seeland says
in his " Visitatsbog" : "The congregation has two servants, one
especially for the older, and the other for the younger church. As
the clergyman teaches and instructs the old, so the sexton should
teach the young. When he has rung the church bell for the first
time on Sunday, then he shall strike the bell fifteen or sixteen times
as a signal to the children. The young people shall come to church
and seat themselves on the first benches, and the sexton shall stand
in the midst of them, and instruct them with pleasure and kindness
according to a sexton's book published in Copenhagen, and he shall
also teach them religious songs. But to those who do not dwell in
a church village, the sexton shall come at least once a month, when
the sun shines brightly, and the children can be out of doors. He
shall encourage the parents to send their children to the sexton, but
if they will not come, they shall then be forced with the whip to do
so." This system of religious teaching, which was the same both
in Norway and Denmark, must be regarded as the first "attempt at
systematic public instruction, the germ of the common schools. As
an aid to ministers and sextons in instructing the children. Bishop

^ Spand = en sjaellandsk skjeppe (Faye, ibid., p. 174) = 17.372 liter, or
about half a bushel. J. Brynildsen, Norsk- engelsk Ordbog.

2 Mandsverk, a certain area of land. Norges gamle Love, anden raekke, vol.
I., Ord og Sagregister by Oscar Alb. Johnsen. Daniel Thrap, Bergenske
Kirkeforholde i det 17de Aarhundrede, p. 101 ff.

' W. Rein, Encyklopddisches Handbuch der Pddagogik, vol. VI., p. 287 ff.
A. V. Heffermehl, Folkeundervisningen i Norge indtil omkring 1700, 1913.

296 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

Palladius published a translation of Luther's Catechism, 1538, to
which he added, in 1542, " Brevis Expositio Catechismi pro Parochis
Norwegiae," a work which was translated into Danish in 1546. But
as the majority of the people could not read, and as they had diffi-
culty in understanding the Danish language, they could not derive
much direct benefit even from books of this kind.* The great dis-
advantage of the prevailing illiteracy was keenly felt, especially by
the clergy, and in the preliminary drafts of the church ordinance
issued by Christian IV. the desire was expressed that the people in
the larger towns should keep a school teacher, that they should build
a schoolhouse, and that the more well-to-do citizens should make
donations for this purpose. It is clear that there was a growing
demand for popular education, and that some attempts were made
to provide for the instruction of the common people, but because of
frequent wars and oppressive taxes, slight progress was made in the
seventeenth century.

Through the introduction of absolutism changes had also to be
made in the laws and ritual of the church. In 1685 a new ritual
was published, which was introduced in Norway in 1688, and about
the same time the Danish-Norwegian Church also received a new
hymnbook, pubhshed by the great psalmist Thomas Kingo, Bishop
of Fyen. In Catholic times, and even after the introduction of the
Reformation, the old Latin hymns were sung in the churches, but
Hans Thomiss0n's " Danske Salmebog " of 1569 had gradually come
into general use, and so many additions had been made to it that it
was deemed necessary to get a new hymnbook. Thomas Kingo
was commissioned by the king to edit one. The first part of Kingo's
hymnbook appeared in 1689, but the book was not authorized for
general use till in 1699.

The bishops and many other ecclesiastics were men of learning
and high character, who wrote collections of eloquent sermons, devo-
tional books,^ hymns and religious songs, and who labored earnestly

* A. Faye, Christiansands Stifts Bispe- og Stiftshistorie, p. 138.

' Bishop J0rgeii Erichsson of Stavanger published in 1592 a collection of
sermons, 'I'Jonae Prophetes skj0nne Historia udi 24 Prsedigener begreben,"
about which A. Faye says : "This collection of sermons is not only the most
remarkable religious work written in Norway in the century of the Reforma-
tion, but it is one of the best collections of sermons which even till the present

II EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 297

to improve the religious and intellectual life of the people, but the
church as a whole was, none the less, in a rather deplorable state.
"Everything was for sale," says Andreas Faye. "In Denmark not
only the churches were sold to the highest bidder, but even the right
to appoint clergymen for the parishes in which they were located.
In Norway the king had at his free disposal the revenues of the
church, which were often used for military purposes. The income
of the church was farmed out, or granted, in part, as donations.
Christian V. granted, among other things, the rich estates of the
provosty of Tunsberg to Peder Griffenfeld, and after his downfall,
to U. F. Gyldenl0ve, together with the right to make all ecclesiastical
appointments in the counties of Jarlsberg and Larvik. At times one
was granted the tithes of a church, another its fees or its estates. . . .
The public church service was looked down upon, and this, together
with the ridiculous passion for rank, led to private communion, to
marriages and baptisms at home among the finer classes, who imitated
French language, manners, and customs, while the attention of the
common people was especially directed to the exorcising of the devil,
to witchcraft, and other superstition."

time has been written in this country." Christen Bang, clergyman at
Romedal in Hedemarken, 1621-1657, published an explanation of Luther's
Catechism in ten volumes, and many devotional books. Michael Leigh,
rector of the Stavanger Latin School, and later clergyman at Thvet, wrote
'•'Guds B0rns Herlighed her i Naaden og hisset i ^ren" (1680), and "Gileads
Slave" (1682), books which were pubUshed in many editions. Of psalm-
ists may be mentioned Niels Arctander, of Overnes, who became Bishop of
Viborg, author of ^'Psalmer og aandelige Viser" (1607); Peder Mathieson
Of rid, of Indherred, who wrote a collection of hymns called ^' Aandens GlsBde " ;
Peder Olufsson Svenning, clergyman at Stord0en 1648-1671, left a collection
of hymns " Aurora eller den nye Morgenr0de" ; John Brunsmand of Tr0nde-
lagen, author of 'I'AandeUge Sjunglyst" (1676) and "Sjungende Himmellys"
(1687) ; Erik Eriksson Pontoppidan, Bishop of Trondhjem, author of
"Sjelens Opl0ftelse til Herren " ; Knud Sevaldsen Bang prepared a hymnbook
for his congregation in Toten (1662). See Andreas Faye, Christiansands
Stifts Bispe- og Stiftshistorie, p. 272 f. Erik Pontoppidan, Norges naturlige
Historie, vol. XL, p. 397 ff.

Translations of the Bible both into Danish and Icelandic had long existed.
In 1550 the whole Bible, translated from Luther's German Bible by Chris-
tiern Peders0n, was printed in Danish. A new revised folio edition of this
translation was published in 1589. In 1607 a literal translation of the Bible
from the original languages was published, and in 1633 a large folio edition
of Frederick II.'s Bible of 1550, the Bible of Christian IV,, appeared.

298 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

The period was one of general moral laxity and lack of religious
spirit, and among the common people drunkenness and coarse man-
ners were prevalent. Bishop J0rgen Erichsson of Stavanger says
in his first sermon of "Jonae Prophetes skj0nne Historia": "What
vices and offenses against God Almighty are to be found among the
lower classes, the common people know well enough how to complain
of; for there are very few married folks who live together in peace
and good understanding. Parents and older people give the children
poor training, and rather set them a bad example in everything
which is contrary to God's holy commandments. Children and
servants will not be governed by any one, but resent all chastisement
and rebuke. Among the people cursing and swearing, immorality,
theft, cheating, falsehood, and slander, and other such evils prevail ;
for they are so wicked and perverse that we see among all classes
sin and vice prevail in the highest degree and most damnable form, so
that we must complain with the holy Poly carpus : O Lord, why didst
thou suffer us to live in such pitiful and miserable times ? " Though
this is a piece of pulpit oratory, other evidence shows that it can be
taken more literally than is usually the case with religious complaints
about the wickedness of mankind. Even the clergymen were often
rude and violent, and not seldom intemperate and immoral. In the
year 1594 four rectors in Christiansands stiff alone were dismissed
for grave offenses of that kind. The seventeenth century was the
age of orthodoxy. The Lutheran Church laid great emphasis on
the purity of doctrine, and its teachings were adhered to by all
classes with the firmest faith and conviction. But the spiritual life
of the people was not deeply affected by the cold formalism and
lifeless reiteration of dogmas into which the church service had
degenerated. Bishop A. Chr. Bang says : " As people believed with-
out scepticism, they also observed diligently all rehgious ceremonies.
They had time and patience to listen to a sermon which lasted for
five hours, but the faith and the religious exercises, which in a manner
were sincerely enough meant, were able to exert but slight influence.
The people of those times were all dualists to a greater or less degree.
They were divided into two personalities, the pious and the licen-
tious, and they seemed to live happily in this duahsm without being
aware of its inconsistency. They were equally orthodox, equally

II EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 299

pious, even if they were at times caviling and quarreling, and given
to fighting and drunkenness, to barbaric rudeness and a moral licen-
tiousness which, to say the least, was half pagan."/ But the church
itself was largely responsible for these conditions. Bishop Bang
continues : " As a people is, so are their priests, says the prophet.
In the age of orthodoxy the clergy were in every way imbued with
the spirit of the times, the character of the age. The sermons which
they delivered can, as a rule, not be rated very high. They were
often earnest in chastising the people for their sins and vices, but
these legal philippics frequently degenerated into pure invective, not
to mention the instances when the preacher would thunder the
anathemas of his wrath upon his audience, and wish that the devil
himself might take them all. ... On the whole, the sermon in the age
of orthodoxy was unpractical, uncultured, pedantic, and long drawn
out. The Christian truth which it undoubtedly contained was
drowned in the circumlocutions, introductions, and subdivisions, the
examples and learned quotations which belonged to the style of preach-
ing in that age. . . . The views of religion, society, and government
were largely that of the Old Testament, and the Bible was, therefore,
regarded as one of the chief codes of law. People were sentenced to
death, not only according to the civil laws, but also according to the
Deuteronomy, and they also sought and found in the Deuteronomy
the rules for waging war in a manner pleasing to God." That this
type of preaching and Christian instruction should fail to produce
a true spiritual regeneration is not strange, especially as the ministers
themselves were often addicted to drunkenness and immorality. On
March 27, 1629, an ordinance "Regarding the Office of the Church
and its Authority over the Impenitent, together with some Conditions
of the Clergy" was published. The complaint is made that the
preaching of the gospel, the royal ordinances, and the sharpened
threats and punishments had been of small avail, and that wicked-
ness has so daily increased "that the people in the clear evangelical
light kindled in these countries lead a more reckless, offensive, and
godless life, a great number with the idea that the true service of

^ A. Chr. Bang, Udsigt over den norske Kirkes Historic efter Rejormationen,
p. 52 f . See also Edvard Holm, Danmark-N orges Historic Jra den store nordi-
ske Krigs Slutning til Rigernes Adskillelse, vol. I., p. 556 ff.

300 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

God consists in the exterior church service, the use of the sacraments,
singing, praying, etc." Various remedies are prescribed by the ordi-
nance. The rectors were to choose some of the best members of the
congregation as assistants {medhjelpere), and in the country districts
the lensmand and provost should appoint two of the best men as kir-
keverger to assist the rector in his duties. Those who swore and
cursed should be put in the pillory, and the ministers should preach
according to the church ordinance, so that their sermons did not
become too long and tiresome. Baptisms and marriages should be
solemnized in the churches, and not in the private homes. This was
a well-meant effort to remedy the evils in church and society, but
there is no evidence that the conditions were improving in the seven-
teenth century. Government regulations or other coercive measures
have not the power to impart new life or to create new ideals. The
forces which are to regenerate society and lift it to a higher intel-
lectual and moral level must have a higher source, and the Nor-
wegian people were destined to wait another century before the great
spiritual awakening came which made faith a matter of the heart,
and turned Christianity into a new spiritual and social force.

37. Frederick IV. The Great Northern War

When Christian V. died, August 25, 1699, his son, Frederick, who
was twenty-eight years of age, ascended the throne as Frederick IV.
The prince had taken little or no part in public affairs, and his edu-
cation had been much neglected. A. H0jer says that King Chris-
tian V. was persuaded by his ministers, Gabel, Knuth, and others,
who had not much opportunity to study in their youth, that a prince
did not need to be educated, that it only tended to obscure his
natural ability if his brain was filled with too much learning, but
these arguments only served to conceal the thought that they and
their families would be more indispensable to the future sovereign
if he remained ignorant and without understanding of his royal
duties.^ Frederick's greatest fault, however, was not his scant educa-

^ A. H0jer, Friederich des J^ten glorwurdigstes Lehen. G. L. Baden, De danske
Kongers og del oldenborgske Hus Karakteristiker. Edvard Holm, Danmark-
Norges indre Hiatorie under Enevoelden, vol. II., p. 15 f. Niels Ditlev Riegels,
Fors^g til fjerde Friederichs Historie, vol. I., p. 48.

II FREDERICK IV. THE GREAT NORTHERN WAR 301

tion or lack of literary interests, but his frivolity and disgracefully
immoral life. In 1695 he married Louise of Mecklenburg, but his
open cohabitation with various mistresses proved that he was devoid
of moral feeling, a lascivious wanton, who wholly ignored the laws,
which if broken by his subjects would bring upon the offender the
severest punishment. The most noteworthy of his mistresses was
Anna Sophia Reventlow, daughter of Count Reventlow, the king's
chancellor. The king had met the young countess at a masquerade,
and though her mother tried to prevent it, he enticed her from her
home, and she became formally "wedded" to the king's left hand
while his queen still lived, the marriage service being read by a
conrector, who was liberally rewarded for his pHable conscience. In
a similar way he had been "wedded" to Helen Viereck, who died
not long after the marriage. This form of illegal polygamy could
give the union neither legality nor sanctity, but this gave the king
no concern, as he considered himself elevated above all laws. His
queen, Louise, died in 1721, and he was formally wedded to Anna
Reventlow on the day after the funeral.^ The reports of these events,
following so closely upon each other, caused a great scandal. One
day the funeral of the good Queen Louise, and the king's "profound
grief" were described in eloquent terms; the next day the king's
marriage and his "great joy" was heralded in glowing colors. His
brother Charles and his sister Hedevig were so offended that they
left the court, and a permanent estrangement resulted between the
king and his son and successor. Christian. King Frederick IV. was of
a weak and sickly appearance ; he was not very gifted, and he possessed
no graces which could serve to distinguish him, but his goodness and
great kindness of heart won for him the love of the common people.
In his duties as king he was energetic, diligent, and conscientious,
though somewhat stubborn and narrow-minded. "Frederick IV.
belonged to those kings who, while void of any higher intellectual
range, can view many relations soundly and ably, and he also had a
marked interest for administrative matters, especially if they per-
tained to financial and military affairs." ^ He wished to become

^ Edvard Holm, Danmark-Norges Historie jra den store nordiske Krigs
Slutning til Rigernes Adskillelse, vol. I., p. 34 ff.

' Edvard Holm, Danmark-Norges indre Historie, vol. II., p. 25.

302

HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE

personally acquainted with conditions in his realms, and he was
actively engaged in introducing needed reforms. The not very great
honor seems to be due him of being regarded as one of the best kings
of the house of Oldenborg.

In Norway Frederick's accession to the throne led to the retire-
ment of Statholder Gyldenl0ve, who, because of advancing age, was
no longer as energetic or mindful of official duties as formerly. He

resigned from his office, and
retired to Hamburg, where
he spent the closing years of
his life. No new statholder
was appointed, but Frederick
Gabel, who was made vice-
statholder, was placed in
temporary charge, and Q. V.
Wedel was made command-
er-in-chief of the Norwegian
army.

The first half of the eight-
eenth century was a period of
almost constant warfare, in
which nearly all nations of
Europe took part. The great
struggle of England, Holland,
and Germany against France
was being waged for the Spanish succession and the maintenance of
the principle of balance of power, and in eastern Europe Sweden
fought the Great Northern War against Russia, Poland, and Den-
mark-Norway for the preservation of her prestige as a great power.
It is not strange that in so critical a period the chief features of the
reign of Frederick IV. should be those of war and diplomacy rather
than of administration.

Ever since the wars with Sweden in the sixteenth century, when
the princes of the part of Schleswig called Gottorp gained full auton-
omy, a hostile feeling existed between these princes and the kings of
Denmark-Norway. This hostility was intensified by the support
which Sweden always gave the dukes of Gottorp. From Sweden's

Fig

Frederick IV.

II FREDERICK IV. THE GREAT NORTHERN WAR 303

German provinces armies might easily be sent against Denmark,
and past experience had shown that Gottorp would serve as an open
door through which they could enter. Christian V. had tried to
establish Danish overlordship over Gottorp in 1675, but he was
forced to acknowledge the full autonomy of the dukedom in the
treaty of Lund, 1679, after the war with Sweden.^ The desire of
Denmark to gain control of Gottorp seems a rather excusable am-
bition, especially when we view it in the Hght of European politics
of that age. It was not only in perfect accord with the general policy
of land-grabbing, so universally practiced in the eighteenth century,
but it would increase the king's revenues, and greatly lessen the
chances of an attack on the southern border of the kingdom. If a
favorable opportunity should present itself, the temptation to renew
the attempt against the duchy would be very strong, and such an
opportunity seemed to have come when the seventeen-year-old Charles
XII., who was considered to be a gay and incompetent youth, as-
cended the throne of Sweden in 1697. The relations between Got-
torp and Denmark-Norway again became strained, and Sweden
showed as active a sympathy with the duke as ever. In 1698
Christian V. formed an aUiance with August II. of Poland, and
Saxony, and in 1699 with Czar Peter of Russia against Sweden. No
special cause of war existed, and no valid reason for an attack on
Sweden at this moment could be given, but such considerations did
not weigh much with eighteenth century monarchs. They found the
moment opportune, and the negotiations were carried on with the
greatest secrecy, in order that Sweden might be surprised and over-
whelmed by an unexpected attack. If the plot proved successful,
Poland should receive Livonia and other provinces which Sweden
had seized, Russia hoped to get some Baltic seaports, and Frederick
IV. would subjugate Gottorp, and probably recover some of the
provinces lost in the late wars.

At the beginning of the year 1700 a Danish army of 18,000 men
was concentrated at Rendsburg in Holstein. The Norwegian army
was also mobilized, and four regiments were sent to Denmark, partly
to reenforce the Danish army, and partly to render service on the
fleet. When spring came, a Saxon army invaded Livonia, and the

1 Robert Molesworth, An Account of Denmark, p. 184 ff.

304 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

Great Northern War, destined to continue for over twenty years, had
begun. The Danes took the forts of Husum and Stapelhohn, but
failed to take the fortress of T0nningen, and when an army of Swedes
and Liineburgers arrived, they had to raise the siege and withdraw.
But the war now took a raither unexpected turn. As both England
and Holland were greatly concerned about maintaining peace in the
North, they viewed with alarm and resentment this unwarranted
attack on Gottorp, and sent a large fleet of thirty-nine ships under
the English admiral Rookes to the Baltic. This fleet joined the
Swedish fleet numbering thirty-eight ships, and a naval force thus
suddenly appeared with which the Danish-Norwegian fleet was un-
able to cope. Seeland and Copenhagen were almost wholly un-
protected, and Charles XII. seized the opportunity to land a force of
10,000 men in the neighborhood of Copenhagen. But before he
could begin the bombardment of the city, Frederick IV., who had
already begun peace negotiations, succeeded in concluding the peace
of Traventhal in Schleswig, August 18, 1700. He agreed to pay the
Duke of Gottorp an indemnity of 260,000 riksdaler, and to acknowl-
edge his independence. To these terms Charles XII. had to accede,
and the war between Sweden and Denmark-Norway was terminated
without much loss or gain to either side. The administration in Nor-
way had been severely criticized by Commissioner of War Hans
Rosencreutz in a report to the king, and later by Vice-statholder
Gabel, who pointed out that the administration of Norwegian affairs
was wholly dictated by the regard for the interests of Denmark and
a few royal officials, whereas it ought to be conducted in such a way
that it could subserve the best ijiterests both of the king and the
realm. King Frederick realized that some change ought to be made
in the Norwegian administrative system, and in 1704 a commission
was created in Chri^tiania called "Slotsloven paa Akershus," con-
sisting of one military and four civil members, who should assist
the vice-statholder, and in general perform the duties which the
statholder had hitherto had. The military member was a German
officer, Tritzschler, and three of the civil members were Norwegians,
who might be supposed to have more direct knowledge of Nor-
wegian affairs. But Slotsloven showed little competence or
interest. They were satisfied with adhering to the old system.

n FREDERICK IV. THE GREAT NORTHERN WAR 305

and no improvement could be noticed either in the miUtary or
civil service.

The same year King Frederick also visited Norway, where he was
received with great honors. On the souvenir coins struck in honor
of his visit he caused the following motto to be inscribed : Mod,
troskab, tapperhed og hvad der giver csre, al verden han hlandt norske
klipper loere. This was, perhaps, done in acknowledgment of the
efficient service which the Norwegians had rendered in past wars,
but possibly also to stimulate their warlike spirit, so that military
service should be more willingly rendered when the gates of war
should again swing open, or when the king should deem it prof-
itable to sell more mercenaries to fight in the bloody wars raging
on the Continent.

In 1701, when England, Holland, and the German Empire began
the great struggle against France, known as the War of the Spanish
Succession, both sides sought the support of Denmark-Norway.
Frederick IV. avoided any active participation in the war, but he
favored the opponents of France. In return for a yearly subsidy
and the promise of aid in case of need, he hired 20,000 mercenaries
to the English king, about 6000 of whom were Norwegians. This
system of sacrificing the young men of the kingdoms on foreign battle-
fields for no worthier purpose than to secure a few million crowns for
the royal treasury was quite universally practiced at that time, and
had been resorted to also by Christian V. Molesworth says that
the Danes sent 7000 soldiers to England "which are yet in His
Majesty's pay." ^ These were losses far exceeding those caused by
the emigration to Holland and England, but none raised a voice
to bemoan it as a calamity "worse than the Black Death," or to
proclaim it the "cause of the decHne of Norwegian agriculture."
We cannot but feel the truth of Molesworth's rather bitter words :
"At present soldiers are grown to be as salable ware as sheep and
oxen, and are as little concerned when sold ; for provided the officers
be rendered content by the purchaser, in having liberty to plunder
the laborious and honest country people in their marches, and a fat
winter quarter, with a permission to defraud their own men of their
pay ; the common soldier goes with no more sense than a beast to
^ An Account 0/ Denmark, p. 200.

VOL. II — X

306 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

the slaughter ; having no such sentiment as love of honor, country,
religion, Uberty, or anything more than fear of being hanged for a
deserter." ^ Even during the intervals of peace the nation's best
blood was being shed on distant battlefields, and these poor mer-
cenaries could not even feel that they were giving their lives for
their country.

After the peace of Traventhal Charles XII., "the Swedish lion,"
turned against Russia and Poland, and fought a series of brilliant
campaigns which dazzled Europe. After he had crushed the Rus-
sians at Narva, he marched into Poland, drove out August II., and
placed Stanislaus Leszczynski on the throne. He then entered
Saxony, and forced August II. to conclude a humiliating peace at
Alt-Ranstadt. In 1707 he again turned against Russia with an
army of 40,000 men, probably the best drilled and officered army in
Europe at that time. The situation became critical, and both
Czar Peter and August II. implored Frederick IV. to come to their
aid. Frederick was still hostile to Sweden, and he continued to
quarrel with Gottorp, but he would not risk a new war with Charles
XII. until the situation should be more favorable. He made instead
a pleasure trip to Italy, which was prolonged till 1709, when he re-
turned by way of Saxony. He met King August II., and an alliance
was now concluded between the two kings. August II. should again
receive the throne of Poland, and Frederick IV. should seek to recover
the provinces which Sweden had taken from Denmark-Norway.

While hard pressed by the Swedish armies, Czar Peter of Russia
had offered Frederick IV. the sum of 300,000 riksdaler and a yearly
subsidy of 100,000, if he would come to his aid, but Frederick, who
hoped to get still more, did not accept the offer. Now the situation
was wholly changed. On July 8, 1709, Charles XII. was defeated
at Pultava, and his army was destroyed. Russia replaced Sweden
as the leading power in the North, and the Czar withdrew his offer.
Frederick, who realized that he had lost his opportunity, nevertheless
entered into an alliance with him, on the best terms obtainable, and
began war with Sweden in November of the same year by sending
an army of 15,000 men under Count Reventlow into Sk&ne. The
Norwegian army was also mobilized, and received orders to support

^ An Account of Denmark, p. 118.

n FREDERICK IV. THE GREAT NORTHERN WAR 307

the Danes by invading the Swedish border districts. Seven thou-
sand men were concentrated at Fredrikstad, but after Gyldenl0ve's
retirement, the Norwegian army had been so woefully neglected that
it was in no condition to render active service. Not only were sol-
diery, cavalry, and commissariat in a deplorable state, but all effi-
cient leadership had disappeared through the mischievous practice
of appointing to the higher military offices in Norway old men who
were incapable of active military service, and considered their
appointment only as a sinecure. In the Swedish wars at the time
of Sehested and Gyldenl0ve the Norwegians had distinguished them-
selves, but this time they had to take the field without proper arms,
equipments, or leaders. The vice-statholder, Vibe, was a sickly man,
over seventy years of age. H. E. Tritzschler, who was appointed
commander-in-chief, was utterly incompetent, and General Schultz,
who commanded the forces in northern Norway, was an aged man,
over seventy-seven years old. The campaign became a ludicrous
example of hesitation and procrastination. All opportunities were
wasted, and nothing was accomplished. So wholly incompetent
were the commanders that the Norwegian troops spent all their
time in camp, and could not even hold in check any of the Swedish
forces who under the able general Magnus Stenbock advanced against
the Danes in Skane. In the battle of Helsingborg, February 28,
1710, the Danes suffered a crushing defeat, losing 5000 men dead
and wounded, and 2600 who were made prisoners of war. Sk&ne
was speedily evacuated by the remnant of the Danish army, which
retreated across the Sound to Seeland. Even after this defeat
Frederick IV. would have sent a new army into Sweden, but he was
prevented by the Swedish fleet.

Not many important naval engagements occurred in this war,
but on October 4, 1710, an undecisive naval battle was fought in
Kj0ge Bay, which was made memorable by the death of the Nor-
wegian naval hero Ivar Huitfeldt, who anchored his burning ship,
"Danebrog," so as not to endanger the rest of the fleet, and con-
tinued to fight until the vessel was destroyed by the explosion of its
powder-magazines. The attempt of seizing Sk§,ne was not re-
newed, and Frederick was prevented by various circumstances from
taking further active part in the war till 1712.

308 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

The utter incompetence of the Norwegian administration, which
had been one of the contributory causes of the disastrous defeat at
Helsingborg, had been brought to the king's attention in various
ways. H. C. Platen, whom he sent to Norway to examine conditions,
wrote : " There is not the proper energy and vivacity in the adminis-
tration, nor the subordination which there ought to be, for though
there is much talking and arguing, very little is done." The king,
therefore, appointed a new statholder, U. F. V. L0vendal, an able and
experienced general, son of the former statholder Ulrik Frederick
Gyldenl0ve. L0vendal soon brought new order and energy into the
Norwegian administration, and persuaded the king to send more
warships to Norway for the protection of the Norwegian coast and
commerce.^ In 1711 he was instructed to make an attack on Sweden
for the purpose of holding in check the Swedish forces, and of pre-
venting reenforcements from being sent to Pomerania, where the
allies intended to make their next attack on Charles XII. These
instructions he carried out successfully by leading an army of 7000
men into Bohuslen, which was occupied by a strong Swedish force
under Burenskjold. No battles of importance were fought, but the
object of the expedition was, none the less, attained. In popularity
as well as ability L0vendal resembled his noted father, but he did
not remain long in Norway. Already in 1712 he was recalled to
Denmark, and he soon returned to Poland, where he became King
August II. 's minister and lord high steward.

After the battle of Pultava Charles XII. sought to fight his adver-
saries with the assistance of the Turks, and Magnus Stenbock at-
tempted to come to his aid with an army of 17,000 men. But the
transportation of such an army across the sea and through territory
occupied by the enemy was connected with insurmountable obstacles.
At Gadebusch in Mecklenburg he defeated the Danes, but large
armies of Saxons and Russians blocked his way. Turning west, he
burned Altona, and entered Holstein, but mild weather made the
roads impassable, and he retired to the fortress of T0nningen, which
was opened to him by the Duke of Gottorp. On May 16, 1713,
he was forced to surrender with his whole army, and after four

^ I. Gulowsen, Fra Valdemar L^vendals Tid, Historisk Tidsskrift, f jerde
raekke, vol. VI., p. 90 ff.

n KING CHARLES XII. IN NORWAY 309

years of close confinement the great general died in a Danish prison,
1717.1

Stenbock's defeat and capture exhausted Sweden's last strength,
and made further resistance impossible. Charles XII. was a prisoner
in Turkey, and after the situation became so critical that the Estates
threatened to conclude peace if the king did not return, Charles left
Turkey, and reached Stralsund in November, 1714. He hoped to
defend Pomerania against his enemies, but Frederick IV. formed an
alliance with George I. of England-Hanover, and Frederick William
of Prussia, and while the Danish-Norwegian fleet made it impossible
to send reenforcements across the Baltic, a Danish-Prussian army
besieged the city, which was forced to capitulate, December 23, 1715.

38. King Charles XII. in Norway

Two days before Stralsund capitulated. King Charles XII. boarded
a Swedish man-of-war and set sail for Sweden. He succeeded in
eluding the Danish-Norwegian fleet, and landed at Trelleborg at
daybreak on Christmas eve, 1715. The homecoming was not a
joyful one. The condition of the kingdom was deplorable in the
extreme, and the people desired peace at any cost, but King Charles
had not yet abandoned hope of success, and refused to listen to any
proposals of that kind. Through proscriptions, forced loans, and
other coercive methods he succeeded also this time in raising the
required forces. The attack was to be directed against Frederick
IV., against whom he felt a special resentment. Had the winter been
cold enough, he would have crossed the Sound on the ice, and in-
vaded Seeland, but this plan had to be abandoned because of mild
weather, and he decided to seize Norway, which he hoped to take by
a swift and energetic attack.

After the departure of L0vendal, the Norwegian administra-
tion, directed by Slotsloven and the new vice-statholder, Frederick
Krag, had relapsed into its old inactivity and incompetence. General
Hausman, the commander-in-chief of the army, and the military

1 Felttoget i Skaane 1 709-1 710, ved den danske Generalstab, Copenhagen,
1903. Paludan-Miiller, Omrids af Kong Fredrik IV's Kamp med Grev
Magnus Stenbock og Baron Gorlz, Dansk historisk Tidsskrift, fjerde reekke,
vol. VI. Still, Kriget i Skane, Stookholm, 1903.

310 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

member of Slotsloven, who had proven himself both able and
conscientious, and had brought the army into a fairly high state of
efficiency, was dismissed shortly before the war broke out, because
the government feared lest his warlike spirit should lead him to act
with too much haste. The country was ill prepared for war, though
the military burdens, as well as the size of the army, were continually
augmented until they passed all reasonable limits.^ The treasury
was empty, and the army, which numbered 24,000 men, of whom
4000 had been sent to Germany, lacked clothes, medicine, tents, and
provisions. The officers were, to a large extent, foreigners, often
without military experience, and devoid of interest for the country's
welfare. The new commander-in-chief, Lutzow, was a German by
birth, but he had married a Norwegian lady, and had settled per-
manently in the kingdom. He was upright and competent, but
extremely cautious, and not very energetic. When the report was
received that Charles XII. might attack Norway, some efforts were
made to mobilize the Norwegian army, but there was a conspicuous
lack of promptness and energy. Lutzow and his assistants, as well
as Slotsloven, felt convinced that Charles would not begin a new
campaign in the winter, and nothing of importance was done to safe-
guard the country against invasion. But Charles XII. was used to
take advantage of situations of that kind. His army of invasion,
consisting of 12,000 men, was ready to march at any moment, and
in the beginning of March he started from Vermland with a corps
of 3000 men, infantry and cavalry. It was his aim to march straight-
way upon Christiania. General Carl Gustav M0rner, governor of
Bohus, was ordered to advance to his support with a force of 4000
men, and General Aschenberg was instructed to operate against
Fredrikshald and Fredriksten with a third division. On the night
before the 9th of March, 1716, the burning varder on the mountain-

^At the beginning of Frederick's reign the Norwegian army numbered
10,000 men. In 1727 it was increased to 18,000, and through new enlist-
ments, and especially by adding a force of reserves of 9300, it was raised to
30,000 by 1742. The length of the required term of military service was
increased from three to ten years, so that many remained in the army from
sixteen to twenty years. J. E. Sars says that scarcely a government in
Europe drew so heavily on the people's strength for military purposes. Sars,
Udsigt over den norske Historie, vol. IV., p. 68 S. J. C Berg, Om Land-
voernet, p. 32 ff. A. C. Drolsum, Del norake Folk og dels Forsvaravcesen, p. 40 ff.

KING CHARLES XII. IN NORWAY

311

tops suddenly announced that the enemy had entered the country.
Charles XII. had crossed the border with a force of 1000 men, and
as he found all strategic points unguarded, and the road open, he
hastened forward with a cavalry troop of 600 men to H0land parson-
age. The Norwegian troops stationed there under Lieutenant-
Colonel Briiggemann and Colonel Kruse were quartered on different
farms in the neighborhood.
Briiggemann was surprised
and captured with eighty-two
men without being able to
make resistance, but Kruse,
who had collected 200 men,
attacked the Swedes, and a
bloody battle ensued, in
which King Charles' favorite.
General Poniatovski, and his
brother-in-law. Prince Fred-
erick of Hessen, were severely
wounded, and Charles him-
self barely escaped being
captured. But the tide of
battle soon turned. Kruse
was wounded and captured,
and his small band was scat-
tered. He was treated with
the greatest courtesy by the chivalric Swedish king. His bravery was
admired by all, but he had acted in too precipitous a haste. Had
he waited a few hours, and collected all his forces, which numbered
700 to 800 men, he might have won an important victory, and King
Charles might have been made prisoner. Kruse was tried by a court-
martial, and sentenced to pay a fine, but Frederick IV. accorded him
full pardon.^

^ A. Faye, Carl XII. i Norge. O. A. 0verland, Borgerne paa Fredrikshald.
Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Norges Historic, vol. V., 1, p. 164 ff. Fredrik Ferdi-
nand Carlson, Sveriges Historia under Konungerna af pfalziska Huset, part II.
Voltaire, Histoire de Charles XII. Robert Nisbet Bain, Charles XII. and
the Collapse of the Swedish Empire. King Oscar II., Charles XII. Anders
Fryxell, Carl den tolftes Historia.

FiQ. 6. — Charles XII.

312 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

King Charles' unexpected approach caused the greatest conster-
nation in Norway, where the members of Slotsloven had neglected
to take proper steps even for protecting Christiania. King Charles
was now only thirty-five miles away, but cold and stormy weather
prevented him from pursuing his march for some days. This delay
enabled the government to collect an army of about 7000 men in the
city, but when King Charles had effected a junction with M0rner,
who was advancing from Bohus, General Lutzow and other members
of Slotsloven considered it prudent not to risk a battle. A garri-
son of 3000 men was placed in the fortress of Akershus, Lutzow evacu-
ated Christiania, and retired to Gjellebek, in the neighborhood of
Drammen, and the Swedes occupied the city without resistance,
March 21, 1716.

So far Charles had been successful. Christiania had been taken,
and he had found ample stores of provisions, and good quarters for
his soldiers during the inclement season of early spring. But serious
obstacles were soon thrown in his way. For want of artillery he
could not besiege Akershus castle, which trained its guns upon the
city, and killed many of his men by firing along the streets. The
people were everywhere hostile, a circumstance which soon made all
his operations diflBcult. Foraging parties had to fight with the
binder, and the smaller isolated detachments were often attacked and
destroyed. A force of over 400 men which he had left at Moss in
charge of the commissariat was annihilated by Henrik J0rgen Huit-
feldt, and large quantities of ammunition were taken, though the
greater part of the stores had already been removed. In the latter
part of March a cavalry force of 600 men under Axel L0ven was dis-
patched by King Charles into Hakedal, Hadeland, and Ringerike to
burn stores, and also to destroy the rich silver mines at Kongsberg.^
They were everywhere opposed by the hinder, who felled trees across
the roads, and offered what resistance they could without fighting
any pitched battle, and they were so delayed that they did not reach
Norderhov parsonage till ten o'clock in the evening, March 28.

* A. Paye, Bidrag til den nor she Krigs-Historie under Kong Fredrik IV, Sam-
linger til del norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. III., p. 182 fif. Haakon H.
Breien, Svensketoget til Norderhov i 1716, Historisk Tidsskrift, fjerde rsekke,
vol. v., p. 454 ff.

II KING CHARLES XII. IN NORWAY 313

Here they were surprised by the Norwegians under Oetken. Colonel
L0ven and a large number of his men were taken prisoners, and the
rest of the force was scattered. A fairly well founded tradition
relates how the parson's wife, the brave Anna Colbj0rnsdatter,
entertained the Swedish officers while word was sent to the Nor-
wegians to hasten to Norderhov.^ Through these and similar mis-
haps King Charles' position soon became critical. General Aschen-
berg had retreated across the border, his line of communication had
been broken, and the Norwegians destroyed roads and bridges. The
Norwegian forces were constantly increased, and when the regiments
which had been sent to Germany returned, and Danish reenforce-
ments had been received, the commanders resolved to block King
Charles' line of retreat, and to isolate him in the district between
Christiania and the Glommen River. An attempt which Charies
made to turn the flank of the Norwegian army failed, and Moss was
taken by Vincence Budde and Henrik J0rgen Huitfeldt. Falken-
berg, the Swedish commander, was mortally wounded, and the garri-
son of 800 men were killed, captured, or scattered. Charies now
found the situation so critical that he suddenly left Christiania in
the night of April 29, and marched across the Glommen River to
Fredrikshald. The townspeople of that city made a determined
resistance under the leadership of the brothers Peter and Hans
Colbj0rnsen, half-brothers of Anna Colbj0rnsdatter, but King Charles
seized the city, and hoped to capture the citadel, the fortress of
Fredriksten.^ On the night of July 3 he sought to take it by storm,
but the citizens fired the town, so that the enemy could find no
shelter, and the attack was repulsed. King Charles losing 500 men
and many of his best officers.' He now decided to lay siege to the
fortress, as soon as his fleet of transports should arrive with the

^ Bernt Moe, Aktstykker til den norske Krigshistorie under Kong Fredrik
den fjerde, vol. II., p. 3 ff. A. Faye, Carl XII. i Norge, p. 48 ff. Oscar
Alb. Johnsen, Norges Historie, V., 1, p. 171. Haakon H. Breien, Svensketoget
til Norderhov, Historisk Tidsskrift, fjerde rsekke, vol. V., p. 455 ff.

* C. O. Munthe, Fredrikshalds og Fredrikstens Historie indtil 1720. Offi-
cielle Raporter og Meldinger, Norske Samlinger, vol. I., p. 403 ff. Bernt
Moe, Aktstykker til den norske Krigshistorie under Kong Fredrik den fjerde,
vol. II., p. 37 ff.

» The whole city was burned. In all, 330 houses were destroyed. Only
a few houses in the southern part of the city remained.

314 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

necessary siege guns and war material, but this hope was shattered
by the Norwegian naval hero Peter Tordenskjold.

This remarkable man, the son of John Wessel, a sea-captain and
later innkeeper and alderman in Trondhjem, was born in 1690, and
was at this time about twenty-six years of age. In his boyhood he
was placed in school, but he loved adventure and the sea more than
books, and several episodes from his school-days reveal the temper
of the future sea-fighter. One day a larger boy had given him a
beating, but Peter Wessel vowed that he would have his revenge.
The next day he returned to the combat with his hair cut close and
his head greased, and this time he worsted his opponent. When
Frederick IV. visited Norway in 1704, the restless youth found an
opportunity to follow his retinue to Denmark, where he hoped to
become a cadet. Failing in this, he hired out as a sailor, and later as
mate on a ship going to the East Indies. On his return to Den-
mark, the war with Sweden had begun, and he became officer on the
fleet, with the rank of lieutenant. A little later he was sent to Nor-
way with dispatches to Baron L0vendal, who liked the young officer
so well that he made him captain of a small privateer, an opportunity
which enabled Wessel to develop his talents unhampered by superiors.
He rendered such valuable service that L0vendal soon placed him
in command of a new ship of some size, "L0vendals Gallei,"
of eighteen guns, and on his first cruise he captured a Swedish ship
of nine guns, which was also placed under his command under the
new name of "Norske Vaaben." He was soon ordered to rejoin
the Danish fleet under Admiral Gyldenl0ve, and he distinguished him-
self to such a degree that he won the admiral's lifelong friendship and
the special favor of the king. Again he was allowed to return to
the coast of Norway to fight the enemy. His remarkable exploits,
his distinguished service in the regular fleet, the number of prizes
which he captured cannot be dwelt upon in detail, but the king so
admired his rare talents that in spite of powerful opponents and
jealous rivals who sought to harm the young officer, he raised him
to the nobility with the name of Tordenskjold, February 24, 1716,
before he had reached the age of twenty-six years.* In the month of

^W. Caratensen og O. Ltitken, Tordenskjold. Constantinus Flood,
Tordenskjold. Jacob B0rresen, Kontreadmiral Tordenskjold, Christiania,
1901. W. Coucheron-Aamot, Tordenskjold.

II KING CHARLES XII. IN NORWAY 315

June of that year Tordenskjold submitted to the king and the ad-
miralty a plan for the defense of Fredrikshald, and for an attack on
the Swedish coast squadron, which was bringing supplies to Charles
XII. The plan was accepted, and the king ordered a small squadron
to be placed under Tordenskjold's command for its execution. On
July 2 he weighed anchor, and sailed for the Swedish coast with
seven small vessels, including his flagship the "Hvide 0rn," which he
had captured from the Swedes, and a small frigate, " Vindhunden,"
commanded by his chief companion in arms, Lieutenant-Captain
Grip. .When he approached the coast of Bohuslen, he learned from
some fishermen that the whole Swedish squadron of over forty sail
under Rear Admiral Stromstjerna lay anchored in the harbor of
Dynekilen, about twenty miles from Fredrikshald. This was the
fleet transporting siege guns and supplies to Charles XII., on which
the outcome of the Swedish king's attack on Fredrikshald and
Fredriksten at this moment depended. But could Tordenskjold
with seven small vessels attack so formidable a fleet, anchored in a
harbor where the narrow entrance was well defended both by in-
fantry and shore batteries? It was a daring adventure of the kind
which always tempted Tordenskjold. At daybreak, July 8, he set
sail for Dynekilen, and had almost passed the narrow entrance,
which is about three miles long, before the signal of his approach
reached the Swedish fleet. But before he could enter the inner
harbor he was met with a brisk fire from the fleet, and also from the
battery of six twelve-pound guns planted on an island in such a way
that its fire could rake the entire mouth of the harbor. Tordenskjold
did not return the fire till he could place his vessels as close as pos-
sible to those of the enemy. The real combat then began, and the
ships were soon enveloped in a thick smoke of gunpowder which
made all maneuvers difficult. After the incessant roar of cannons
had continued for about three hours, the fire from the Swedish fleet
began to weaken, and when Captain T0nder at about one o'clock
captured the battery on the island, Tordenskjold closed in on the
enemy, and at three o'clock in the afternoon, after a battle lasting
seven hours, he was master of the harbor. The Swedes ran their
ships aground and fled, leaving only a few men on each vessel to set
it on fire, or to blow up its powder-magazines. But the situation was

316 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

still critical, as Swedish troops and artillery had been stationed along
the narrow entrance channel, which is only 160 to 180 paces wide.
Also the capture of the ships, even after they had been abandoned,
could be accomplished only with the greatest difficulty, as most of
them had been mined or set on fire. But the work was undertaken
by Tordenskjold's men with the most resolute daring. Nine war
vessels and five transports with ammunition and supplies were towed
out of the harbor; the others had been sunk, beached, or crippled.^
The proud squadron had been destroyed, and with it disappeared
King Charles' hope of taking Fredrikshald. Upon receiving the dis-
couraging news he withdrew from Norway. His campaign had
failed, not because of any great ability shown by General Lutzow
and Slotsloven, who had distinguished themselves chiefly by their
inactivity, but because a nation had risen against him to fight for
their country and their homes.

39. King Charles XII. 's Second Invasion op Norway

The unsuccessful Norwegian campaign and the losses it entailed
would in themselves have been sufficient at this moment to create a
critical situation in Sweden, but new dangers now threatened to
overwhelm the kingdom with general ruin. Before King Charles
retreated from Norway, he had received the news that Wismar, his
last German possession, had fallen into the hands of his enemies,
Finland and the Swedish Baltic provinces were in the hands of Czar
Peter the Great, and both Russia and Denmark were ready to invade
Sweden with large armies. Charles' available forces did not exceed
20,000 men, of whom many had endured the greatest privations, and
his country seemed to have exhausted its last strength in a hopeless
and uneven struggle. But neither dangers nor misfortunes could
make the king yield to peace proposals. His mind was of that
strange kind which under the pressure of ill fortune becomes more
rigidly fixed in its resolves even to a point of eccentricity. Victory,

^ Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Norges Hiatorie, vol. V., 1, p. 175, and O. A. Over-
land, Norges Historie, vol. VIII., p. 251, state that nine war vessels and five
transports were taken. The statement made by W. Coucheron-Aamot,
Tordenskjold, p. 15 ff., and A. Faye, CaH XII. i Norge, p. 7, that eleven
war vessels were captured, seems to be incorrect. See also W. Carstensen
og O. Liitken, Tordenskjold, 1902.

n KING CHARLES XII. 's SECOND INVASION OF NORWAY 317

which in his early career had accompanied him on many a battle-
field, continued in his hours of adversity to buoy him up as a hope,
but it had long since changed into a mad delusion which goaded him
onward to his tragic end. With incredible energy, which was only
equaled by the harshness of his methods, he succeeded in a short
time in raising an army of 60,000 men, of which 48,000 should be
used in an attack on Norway. In order to secure well-protected
depots for supplies, he fortified Stromstad, which together with
Marstrand and Gottenborg would constitute a line of communica-
tions easily defended. Neither the Danish government nor the higher
military authorities in Norway understood the significance of this
step, but the alert Peter Tordenskjold saw it, and tried to frustrate
the plan. On May 14, 1717, he made an attack on Gottenborg, and
July 19 on Stromstad, but at both places he was repulsed, though the
attacks had been well planned.

The situation now seemed more hopeful for Charles XII. As Czar
Peter had ceased to cooperate with Frederick IV., there was no
immediate danger of an attack from Russia ; he could turn his whole
army against Denmark-Norway, and a second invasion of Norway
was begun in the fall of 1718. An army under General Armfelt was
sent into Tr0ndelagen with instructions to seize Trondhjem, and the
main army of invasion under the king's own command advanced
a little later towards Fredrikshald.^ The city was invested, fort
Gyldenl0ve fell December 6th after a bloody struggle, and trenches
were dug towards the main fortress. But on December 11th, while
watching the progress of this work, the king was hit by a bullet from
the fortress and instantly killed.^

1 The size of these armies has been variously estimated. O. A. 0verland
in a treatise, Armfeldts Tog nordenfjelds 1718, Historisk Tidsskrift, anden
rsekke, vol. II., p. 193 ff., shows that Armfelt's forces, according to the gen-
eral's own statement, numbered 14,540 men. See also Danmarks Riges
Historic, vol. V., p. 77, and H. G. Heggtveit, Trondhjem i Fortid og Nutid,
p. 233. Sveriges Historia, edited by Hildebrand, vol. III.-2, p. 365, and
Oscar Alb. Johnsen, Norges Historic, V., 1, p. 177, state that Armfelt's
army numbered 7500 men. Danmarks Riges Historic says that Armfelt
should march into northern Norway with about 14,000 men, and Charles
would soon advance with 30,000 men into southern Norway. See also A.
Faye, Carl XII. i Norge, p. 129, footnote.

2 The story, which was given some credence by older historians, that Charles

318 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

The grief which filled the hearts of his brave soldiers and com-
panions when the news of his tragic death passed from mouth to
mouth was accompanied by a sigh of relief and a feeling of satis-
faction that the fearful drama of war, perchance, was over, and that
thoughts of home and peace might again be entertained. The words
attributed to the Frenchman Megret, who was with the king when
he fell, seem expressive of a general sentiment : " La piece est finie,
allons souper!" The body was brought back to Stockholm, and
buried in the Riddarholm church. In 1860 a fine monument was
erected by the Swedish army at the place where he fell.

In northern Norway General Armfelt had advanced against
Trondhjem, which was held by Vincence Budde, who commanded
an army of 6900 men. His march had been slow, as he had been
opposed at every turn by the people, as well as by the Norwegian
military forces. Provisions could be secured only with great diffi-
culty, the Swedish soldiers were dissatisfied to a point of mutiny, and
the long northern winter was at hand. He reached Trondhjem
and laid siege to the city, but sickness decimated his ranks, and
reduced the efficiency of his forces to such a degree that instead of
risking an attack on the fortifications he felt compelled to withdraw
into Vserdalen, where he could await reenforcements and supplies.
King Charles gave the brave general a sharp reprimand, and ordered
him to take the city immediately, but when he again advanced, the
garrison had been reenforced, and four warships had anchored in
the harbor.^ Armfelt isolated Trondhjem by cutting off all com-

XII. was slain by an assassin, is now considered to be wholly unfoxmded.
Henrik Wergeland, Notitser om Carl den iolvtes Felttog i Norge 1716-1718
Jra E. M. Fant, Samlinger til del norske Folks Sprog og Historie, vol. III.,
p. 193 ff. Bernt Moe, Aktstykker til den norske Krigshistorie under Fredrik
den fjerde, p. 248 ff. C. O. Munthe, Fredrikshalds og Fredrikstens Historie
indtil 1720, p. 696 ff. P. A. Munch, Den sidste JJnders^gelse af Kong Carl
XII.'s Lig tilligemed Bemerkninger om hans D^dsmaade, For Hjemmet, vol. II.,
p. 385. Illustreret Nyhedsblad, vol. VIII., p. 161. Langes Tidsskrift, vol. IV.,
p. 317. Paludan-Miiller, Nyl historisk Tidsskrift, I. S. A. S0rensen, Karl
XII.'s Fold ved Fredriksten, Historisk Tidsskrift, fjerde rsekke, vol. II., p. 158
ff. Norske Samlinger, vol. II., p. 560 ff.

1 0. A. 0verland, Armfelts Tog nordenfjelds 1718, Historisk Tidsskrift,
anden rsBkke, vol. II., p. 193 ff. Yngvar Nielsen, De gamle Kampe om
Trondhjem, Trondhjem i Fortid og Nutid, edited by H. G. Heggtveit. Norske
Samlinger, vol. II., p. 517 ff.

11 KING CHARLES XII. 's SECOND INVASION OP NORWAY 319

munications with the inland districts, but supplies could reach the
city from the sea, and General Budde sent out light detachments
which constantly harassed the enemy. The final assault had to be
postponed from time to time, and sickness reduced Armfelt's avail-
able forces to 4000 men, who were compelled to camp in the open, in
want of clothes, food, and proper shelter. The besieged city also
suffered severely, and of the garrison alone 1500 are said to have
died. When Armfelt received the news of the death of Charles XII.
during the last days of December, he immediately began his retreat
across the mountains to Sweden ; but severe storms and cold weather
made his passage across the pathless mountains in the middle of the
winter resemble Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. His sick and
hungry soldiers dropped from cold and exhaustion, and a large part
of his force perished on the way.^ Emahusen, who led a detachment
of Norwegian ski-runners in pursuit of the enemy, says : " I am un-
able to describe the destruction of the Swedish army as I saw it.
On the whole mountain no wood was to be found, and when the last
companies arrived there, a storm began which lasted three days. It
was a sad and fearful "sight I The soldiers lay dead in groups of
thirty, forty, fifty, or more, in full uniform, with their knapsacks
on their backs, some with their guns in their hands; others lay
dead by the wayside with food in their hands and even in the
mouth ; the cavalry-men stood on their heads in the snowdrifts,
as they had been thrown from their horses. Some had broken the
stocks of their muskets to build a fire, — no, I cannot describe it !
The farther we came up the mountains, the more dead men and
horses we saw. Only a few either of the cavalry or the infantry

^ The number of those who perished on the homeward march has been
variously estimated and often grossly exaggerated. Yngvar Nielsen says :
"The probability is that the statement is correct which gives the following
figures: 600 dead, 200 injured by cold, 300 sick, besides the drivers of the
baggage wagons. It has been said that 4000, and even 7000 perished on the
mountains." De gamle Kampe om Trondhjem, Trondhjem i Fortid og Nutid,
by Heggtveit, p. 239. Professor Oscar Alb. Johnsen thinks that probably
2500 men perished. Norges Historic, vol. V., 1, p. 182. Sveriges Historia,
edited by Hildebrand, says: ''More than 2200 men, almost a third of the
whole force, froze to death. Horses, artillery, and baggage were totally
destroyed. Only remnants of the army, partly unfit for further military
service because of frozen limbs, retiirned to Swedish soil."

320 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

could have gotten across the mountains, and those who did must
be hurt, of what rank soever they may be, for the weather and
the cold were too penetrating." ^

With the retreat of the Swedish armies from Norway, military
operations ceased for a time, as neither Norway nor Denmark were
prepared to follow up the discomfiture of the enemy with an aggres-
sive movement.

In Sweden the fall of Charles XII. led to important changes.
That Sweden's dream of empire had vanished had to be admitted,
and the sentiment of the whole nation was united in a desire to
obtain peace on any acceptable terms whatsoever. The absolute
power of the sovereign was abolished, and King Charles' younger
sister, Ulrika Eleonora, was placed on the throne with very limited
power; not through the recognized right of inheritance, but by
election, the guidance of state affairs being intrusted chiefly to the
Rigsdag, or Estates of the realm, in which the nobility exercised marked
preponderance. The allies which had hitherto fought against Sweden
were no longer on friendly terms. England's jealousy of Russia's
growing power had developed into open hostility, a circumstance
which enabled Sweden to conclude peace with England by ceding
Bremen and Verden, November 20, 1719. Peace was also made with
Prussia, which received the larger part of Swedish Pomerania, Usedom,
Wollin, Damm, and GoUnow, by paying Sweden two million crowns.
But no such concessions were offered King Frederick IV. of Den-
mark-Norway, who was instead asked to make concessions to Sweden,
a rather strange demand under the circumstances. The war was
continued, and Frederick now planned a new invasion of Sweden
to be undertaken from Norway, where he collected an army of 34,000
men. In June he came to Norway accompanied by the crown
prince, and in July, 1719, he led his army into Bohuslen. When the
king had established his headquarters at Stromstad, Tordenskjold
succeeded, through a brilliantly executed attack, in capturing Mar-
strand with its citadel Carlsten. Securing entrance to the fortress
disguised as a vender of fish, he found opportunity to examine the
fortifications, and to determine the strength of the garrison. The
attack was as skillfully carried out as it was daringly planned. On
* Heggtveit, Trondhjem i Fortid og Nutid, p. 241.

KING CHARLES XII. S SECOND INVASION OF NORWAY

321

June 23 he seized the five batteries defending the harbor, captured
the city, and destroyed the Swedish squadron of warships stationed
under its guns. Four warships and one merchant vessel were
taken, and the remaining vessels were sunk in the harbor. The
citadel of Carlsten could not be taken by assault, but by a ruse
Tordenskjold prevailed on the commandant to surrender the strong-
hold. King Frederick was so pleased that he made Tordenskjold
vice-admiral.

The capture of Marstrand was the only important event of the
campaign. Frederick IV. had become politically isolated through
the breaking up of the coali-
tion against Sweden, but as
England exerted her influ-
ence to bring about peace,
both powers finally yielded
to her solicitations, and a
treaty of peace was signed
at Fredriksborg, July 3,
1720. Sweden was to pay
600,000 riksdaler, and Den^
mark-Norway was to evac-
uate the Swedish possessions
Riigen, Pomerania, Wismar,
and Marstrand. Frederick
IV. retained the possessions
of the Duke of Gottorp in
Schleswig, and united these
with the duchy, and Sweden
promised never again to aid the duke against Denmark. The
peace treaty with Russia was signed at Nystad, 1721. Russia
received Ingermanland, Esthonia, Livonia, Osel, and southeastern
Karelen, with Viborg len in Finland. Sweden had lost her position
as a great power ; her warrior king, who made her final struggle for
supremacy so dramatic, had met his death in a foreign country in
the darkest hour of national misfortune. But Peter Tordenskjold,
his great antagonist, was also snatched away in the noonday of life,
in the height of his glory. At the age of thirty he fell in a duel in
VOL. 11 — y

Fig. 7. — Peter Tordenskjold

322 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

Hamburg, four months after peace had been concluded at Fredriks-
borg.^

Throughout the war the Norwegians had distinguished themselves
both on sea and land. The attack on their country had been repulsed
at every point, and not a foot of territory had been lost; but eco-
nomically the kingdom had suffered a noticeable decline. The great
military burdens, together with heavy taxes, exhausted the energy
as well as the means which should have been employed in industry
and trade. The flourishing export trade which had been developed
before the war, though not destroyed, was greatly reduced, and all
business was crippled, as all available means were employed for
military purposes. The city of Fredrikshald had been burned;
Tr0ndelagen and the districts of southeastern Norway, the most
productive sections of the country, had been harried by hostile armies
until the people were reduced to beggary. Still, these hardships
were borne with patience and fortitude, as the war had developed
into a national struggle. The invasion of the country by large armies
made a deep impression, and an intense patriotism was engendered,
as the people felt the war to be their own cause. For the first time
in centuries the nation had been stirred to heroic efforts, and great
leaders showed the way to victory and national honor. Norway had
received a new national hero, Tordenskjold, who, like another Olav
Tryggvason, came from the unknown, dazzled with his brilliant
achievements, and died young. Deeds of valor, and heroic sacrifices
like the burning of Fredrikshald, which made those days memorable,
have continued to live in song and story till the present. If Norway
lost in national well-being, she gained in national regeneration.
Time and again the Norwegians had been compelled to fight battles,
and to suffer losses for the sole interest of their partner in the
union, but the Great Northern War taught them the lesson of
patriotism, which became the starting-point of a new national
development.

* Kong Carl og han, de skulde f0lge8 sammen
i livets tvedragt og i d0dens fred,
i daadens glans og rygtets evighed ;
thi de var tvilling-skud af asastammen.

(C. Ploug.)

II THE CLOSING TEABS OP THE REIGN OF FREDERICK IV. 323

40. The Closing Years of the Reign of Frederick IV.
Social and Economic Conditions

The Great Northern War closed an epoch in the history of the
Scandinavian kingdoms. Sweden had succeeded Denmark as the
leading power in the North, but her preponderance, which had lasted
since the Thirty Years' War, was now destroyed, and an equilibrium
had been established which would be the best guarantee for the
maintenance of peace. Both Sweden and Denmark had been reduced
to their natural boundaries, and their old rivalry for supremacy
would have to be abandoned. Russia had become a powerful and
dangerous neighbor to the east, and as conditions had so changed
that they could no longer hope to play a prominent part in European
affairs, an opportunity would be given for the development of the
pursuits of peace. When the dream of empire had vanished, and the
paths to martial glory had been closed, the people's energy and
talents could be devoted to the improvement of economic and social
conditions, and the creation of the high intellectual culture, which
was destined to shed a more benign luster upon the three sister
kingdoms.

Frederick IV. was in no respect a great ruler. He was very sus-
picious, and entertained an almost superstitious fear of the nobility,
but he lacked the ability to free himself from the influence of in-
triguing officials and court favorites. The Norwegian binder, how-
ever, enjoyed the king's special good-will. They had won his heart
by their bravery and fidelity in the war with Sweden, and he was
always inclined to favor them, and to take their part against the
grasping and unjust officials.

After the war with Sweden some changes were made in the Nor-
wegian administration. "Slotsloven paa Akershus," which had
proven ineflBcient, was abolished, and Ditlev Vibe was appointed to
succeed Baron Krag as statholder. Vibe was a man of ability and
fine character, but as he was inclined to favor the common people
when he found that they suffered injustice, he was opposed by the
corrupt bureaucracy, and especially by the rather unscrupulous
Bishop Deichmann of Christiania. The bishop succeeded for a while
in ingratiating himself with the king by arousing his suspicion against

324 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

Vibe, and a commission was appointed to examine conditions among
the royal officials in Norway. Vibe was shown to be wholly inno-
cent, but corruption was revealed on every hand. Malversation
and the taking of bribes had become a common practice among the
under-paid royal officials, who could urge in their defense that their
salaries were too small to afford them an honest living. Among
those who were guilty of these corrupt practices was Bishop Deich-
mann himself, who seldom refused a bribe. The king sought to
remedy these defects by increasing the salaries of many officials,
and by restricting the sale of public offices which had hitherto been
so common.

The king had placed Deichmann at the head of a commission to
prepare a new tax register for Norway, a work which involved the
listing and valuation of all real estate in the kingdom. It was an
important undertaking, but as it was done with little care, the work
when completed suffered from many serious defects, and it was not
accepted. It is, nevertheless, important as a document throwing
light on the conditions of agriculture in Norway at the time.

During the last ten years of his reign King Frederick devoted
special attention to the revenues of the kingdom, and the paying of
the national debt, which had been increasing during the long war.
The war indemnity of 600,000 riksdaler paid by Sweden, and the
acquisition of the Gottorp provinces in Schleswig, had been a wel-
come aid, but as the king succeeded in reducing the debt by several
million riksdaler, besides maintaining a large standing army, he
found that the revenues were too small in spite of the very heavy
taxes, and the sale of property belonging to the crown was again
resorted to. In Norway the remaining crown-lands were sold in
smaller parcels, and as the purchasers usually were the renters and
tillers of the lands, the class of freeholding binder was increased by
these sales. The king's chief care, however, was to replenish his
treasury ; the care for the well-being of the individual citizen seemed
to be purely accidental. Not only were the crown-lands sold, but
also the church-lands and the churches themselves. With the intro-
duction of the Reformation the state assumed control of all church
property, the idea being that the state should administer it for the
benefit of the church. But the kings soon swept the incomes from

II SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS 325

the church-lands into their own coffers. The absolute kings regarded
themselves even as the owners of the churches, and when the sale of
crown-lands was resumed, Frederick IV. sold the churches with their
lands and revenues to the highest bidder. In all, 620 churches were
sold, some to the congregations, but the greater number were bought
by private individuals who wished to get possession of the lands and
incomes belonging to the churches. The understanding was that
the purchasers should spend a part of the revenue in keeping the
churches in repair, but as the kings themselves had been remiss in
the performance of this duty, it could scarcely be expected that the
individual purchaser should be more conscientious, and the churches
were most deplorably neglected. A great change was, nevertheless,
taking place in religious life and thought. Pietism, which had been
developed in Germany by pious and able men like Johan Arnd and
Christian Scriver, was finally promulgated as a regenerated system
of Christian faith by Philip Jacob Spener and August Hermann
Francke. It demanded that Christianity should not consist only in
orthodox Christian faith, but that faith should express itself as a
living force in human life and conduct, a truth which, together with
the strong appeals to the heart and the feelings, and the often undue
emphasis laid on the sentimental side of religious life, made Pietism
appear as a violent reaction against the dead formalism of ortho-
doxy. The time for such a reaction had come, and Pietism swept
through the North as a spiritual tidal wave which culminated in
the reign of King Frederick's successor, Christian VI. The first
important manifestations of the change are noticeable in King
Frederick's reign in a tendency among many of the ablest men to
emphasize especially the ethical side of Christianity. Even the king
himself inclined towards Pietism during his later years, though his
lax morals conformed little to the cardinal principles of the new
teaching. Pietism awakened a new religious life, which soon mani-
fested itself in a very earnest and successful missionary activity.
The two great missionaries whose work was of special importance
were Hans Egede, who carried Christianity to the Eskimos in Green-
land, and Thomas v. Westen, who began missionary work among
the Finns in northern Norway.

Egede was born on the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway,

326 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

January 31, 1686. He became a clergyman in these islands, but very
early he became enthusiastically interested in a plan to reestablish
commercial relations with Greenland, and to become a missionary
in the old Norse colonic, which he thought still existed there. In
1721 he finally succeeded in obtaining from people in Bergen the
necessary aid to fit out an expedition. On May 3d he set sail for
Greenland, and landed two months later on the island of Imeriksok,
where he founded the colony of Godthaab. The Council of Missions
had appointed him a missionary, and the Greenland Company of
Bergen had made him manager of the commerce with Greenland,
but neither the government nor any one else understood the impor-
tance of his undertaking, and he received but little assistance. Aided
by his faithful wife, Gertrude Rask, Egede labored for fifteen years
among the Eskimos under the greatest privations and difficulties.
His own words may be placed as a motto over the self-sacrificing
life-work of this devoted couple. "God's honor alone, and the en-
lightenment of the ignorant people has been, is, and shall ever be
my sole aim, yes, my heart's constant desire until my death." His
hope of finding the old Norse colonists was not realized. He dis-
covered the ruins of their homes and churches, but not a white man
was found in the island. But his work was crowned with success
both religiously and commercially, and led to the recolonization of
Greenland. The Greenland Company was dissolved in 1727, but
the king had become interested in the undertaking, and sent other
missionaries to Greenland to assist Egede. When his wife died in
1735, Egede left his son Paul Egede in charge of the mission and
returned to Denmark. He was created bishop and devoted his
remaining years to the writing of several works about Greenland.^

Hans Egede was an adherent of orthodoxy, but his contemporary,
Thomas v. Westen, born in Trondhjem in 1682, was strongly in-
fluenced by Pietism. In 1709 Westen was appointed rector of
V^y church in Romsdal, and found opportunity to cooperate with

^ Hans Egede, Det gamle Grfinlands nye Perlustration eller Naturhistorie,
Copenhagen, 1741. Omstcendelig Relation angaaende den gr^nlandske Mis-
sions Begyndelse og Fortsoettelae, Copenhagen, 1738. Kort Beretning om den
gr^nlandske Missions Beskaffenhed, Copenhagen, 1737. Eilert Sundt,
Egedes Dagbog i Udtog, Christiania, 1860. Hans Penger, Hans Egede og
den gr^nlandake Missions Historie 1712-1760.;, Gustav Nieritz, Hans

II SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS 327

several other Pietist ministers of that district. This little fraternity,
known as " Syvstjernen, " constituted a sort of collegium pietatis.
They met to discuss ways and means for improving the people's
moral and religious life, they distributed hymnbooks and collections
of sermons among their parishioners, and urged the government to
sell Bibles and catechisms so cheap that* the people could afford to
buy them, an appeal which led to the reduction of the price of Bibles
from ten to one riksdaler. They pictured the ignorance and moral
depravity of the people in the very darkest colors, and urged that
schoolmasters should be employed, at least one in each parish.
Thomas v. Westen writes as follows : " The common people are for
the most part so little versed in Christian knowledge that they do
not even know who Christ is. Many do not believe in the im-
mortality of the soul or the resurrection of the body, while others,
who are educated, are usually given to pride, drunkenness, covetous-
ness, hardness of heart, disregard of God's word, cursing, and break-
ing of the Sabbath .... All this is the kingdom of the devil ;
therefore we demand, and Christ through us, that, for the sake of the
first named, catechizing and schools be everywhere instituted, and
that, for the sake of the others, church discipline be revived in its old
apostolic vigor ; that, for the sake of both, priests be appointed who
are filled with the spirit of God, and can set their flock a good ex-
ample." ^ The demand raised by the Pietists for better popular
education bore no immediate fruit, but their suggestion and agita-
tion brought the matter to the attention of the government in such
a way that steps were soon taken to improve conditions.

In 1716 Thomas v. Westen began his missionary work among the
Finns (Lapps). From 1716 till 1722 he made three trips to Fin-
marken to bring the gospel to these nomads. The efforts which had
hitherto been made to Christianize them had been of small importance,
and they were yet almost wholly heathen. Thomas v. Westen urged

Egede, Missionary to Greenland, translated from the German by Rev. Wm. H.
Gotwald, Philadelphia, 1873. Daniel Bruun, Det h^ie Nord, p. 188 ff. Ed-
vard Holm, Danmark-Norges Historie fra den store nordiske Krigs Slutning
til Rigernes Adskillelse, vol. I., p. 563 ff. De norske Findlappers Beskrivelse,
Copenhagen, 1790. J. Quigstad, Historisk Oversigt over Oplysningsarbeidet
blandt Finnerne i Finmarken, 1907.

^ Daniel Thrap, Thomas von Westen og Finne-missjonen, Christiania, 1882.

328 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

strongly that missionary work among them should be done in their
own language, and he succeeded in organizing a Seminarium Lap-
ponicum in connection with the Trondhjem Latin school, where
missionaries might be properly educated. When he died in 1727,
no one was found who at once could continue his work, but he had
opened a new field for missionary activity, and had laid foundations
for successful work in the future.

In his old age Frederick IV. was wholly converted to Pietism,
which in his gloomy mind developed into religious pessimism, and a
fanatic solicitude for the spiritual welfare of his subjects. He felt
that the state ought to take more drastic measures to make people
pious and moral, and in 1730 he issued his notorious Sabbath ordi-
nance, which virtually destroyed every vestige of religious freedom.
Fines were imposed for not attending church, and those who failed
to pay the fines should be pilloried; "for which purpose pillories
shall be provided by the church-owners for all churches where none
such are found," says the ordinance. This is the beginning of the
reign of fanaticism, and the violent interference with people's private
life in the interest of religion which characterizes the age of Pietism.
King Frederick IV. died October 12, 1730, at Odense, and was suc-
ceeded by his son. Christian VI.

41. Christian VI. The Age of Pietism

Prince Christian was thirty-one years of age when he ascended the
throne of Denmark-Norway. He had been reared according to the
strict precepts of Pietism, and was morally better trained and also
better educated than his father. He was of a retiring disposition,
pious and moral, and as his queen, the German princess Sophia
Magdalena of Kulmback-Baireuth, shared his views and tastes,
they led a felicitous married life. Both physically and intellectually
Christian VI. was undersized, thin and small of frame, with a shrill
and piping voice. He became easily excited, and blushed and
stuttered in company, but towards his companions and subordinates
he showed his authority even to harshness and pedantry. He was,
on the whole, better qualified to enter a monastery than to ascend a
throne. He had not traveled, he knew little about military affairs,
and still less about finances, and as he had assumed an almost hostile

II CHRISTIAN VI. THE AGE OF PIETISM 329

attitude to his father, because of his moral laxity, and especially
because of his marriage to Anna Sophia Reventlow, he reversed as far
as possible the policy hitherto pursued, even to the extent of discard-
ing its good features. A number of discontented nobles and men of
rank who had gathered about the crown prince during his father's
reign were now appointed to the highest offices, and became promi-
nent as the king's chief advisers. Baron Iver Rosenkrans was made
chancellor, though without special title, since the office had been
abolished. Kr. Ludvig Plessen was placed at the head of the ex-
chequer, Paul L0ven0rn became secretary of war and navy, and
Count Christian Rantzau was appointed statholder in Norway. King
Frederick's widowed queen, Anna Sophia Reventlow, and all
his adherents were made to feel the king's displeasure. Bishop
Deichmann of Christiania was dismissed from his office, and a Nor-
wegian, Peder Hersleb, was appointed as his successor. Anna Sophia
Reventlow was given a pension, but had to retire from court to her
private estate, Klausholm.

Christian V. and Frederick IV. had developed a sort of cabinet
system of government, and the Colleges created by the ordinance
issued by Frederick III., November 4, 1660, had been reduced to
mere administrative bureaus. Christian VI. revived the old system,
and raised the Colleges to their former importance. In administra-
tive affairs he seldom deviated from their recommendations, though
in his relation to his advisers he maintained an independence which
seems out of proportion to his limited talents. Men of real ability
he could not tolerate. Many of those whom he had himself ap-
pointed to high offices had to withdraw, and even Christian Rantzau,
Statholder of Norway, a generous and highly cultured nobleman,
who had become very popular because of his affability and sense of
justice, was soon retired on a pension, and the office of statholder
was abolished.

In 1733 King Christian and his queen, accompanied by a large
retinue, made a journey through Norway, and the people received
the royal pair with great enthusiasm. In the cities triumphal arches
were erected, songs were written to their honor, and everything pos-
sible was done to express the profound veneration and loyalty accorded
royal personages in those times. The journey across the mountains

330 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

was made with wagons, but as the roads were still very poor, the
progress was slow and difficult. To the people along the route the
entertaining of such a large retinue became a heavy burden, and
though the king was highly pleased with his successful and only
visit to Norway, the people remembered him as the ruler who took
their property without paying for it, and whose visit had only brought
them labor and loss.

Christian VI. evidently meant to rule well. He began his reign
by reducing the taxes, but as he knew nothing about economy, he
spent with lavish hands the surplus in the treasury which his father
had created, and when the money was spent, he was again forced to
increase the taxes. His reign was a period of unbroken peace, but
the diplomatic relations with foreign nations became a strange
medley of weakness, vacillation, and ambitions unrealized, as the
king was unable to formulate a clearly defined foreign policy, or to
adhere with firmness to a position once taken. His advisers often
disagreed; some preferring an alliance with England, others with
France, and no one seemed to possess the ability or authority to act
with energy at the critical moment.

In order to safeguard the Gottorp provinces in Schleswig which
had lately been acquired. King Christian formed an alliance with
Russia, and signed the Pragmatic Sanction, promulgated by Em-
peror Charles VI. of Austria in favor of his daughter Maria Theresa.
Thereby he won the favor of both these powers, who had hitherto
favored Gottorp, but an attempt to secure an alliance with Sweden
failed. Between France and England a very hostile feeling was
developing, which finally culminated in the War of the Austrian
Succession, and the struggle between the two rival powers for su-
premacy in India and America. In 1734 an alliance with England
was concluded for three years, but some of the king's advisers favored
France, and labored to secure a closer friendship with that power.
This made matters complicated, as both powers had guaranteed to
Denmark the possession of the Gottorp provinces, and had a claim
to the Danish king's friendship and gratitude. But though the
relations of the two western powers were delicate, it was of less vital
importance than the question which developed in connection with
a new struggle between Sweden and Russia.

II CHRISTIAN VI. THE AGE OF PIETISM 331

After Czar Peter's death, the Russian fleet had been neglected,
and rival candidates for the throne were maintaining a struggle
which paralyzed the arm of the government. In Sweden the patriotic
war party, hatterne (the hats), had gained the power, and they found
the moment opportune for a war with Russia, in which some of the
lost provinces might be recovered. In 1741 General Levenhaupt
was sent into Finland with an army, and war against Russia was
declared. Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, who was
plotting to wrest the throne from the child Czar, Ivan VI., solicited
the aid of the Swedes, and Levenhaupt crossed the Russian border ;
but before he reached St. Petersburg, Elizabeth had been made
Empress of Russia, and she immediately ordered him to withdraw
from Russian territory. Instead of acting with energy, the Swedish
general concluded an armistice, and retreated to Finland, and the
opportunity for obtaining any concessions was lost. After a cam-
paign in which they suifered many losses, the Swedes were forced to
withdraw even from Finland, which was overrun by the Russians.

Under these circumstances the Swedes had turned to Denmark-
Norway for aid, and suggestions were made which filled Christian
VI. with high hopes. His son, Crown Prince Frederick, might be
chosen king of Sweden to succeed Ulrika Eleonora, who died in 1741,
and Denmark, Norway, and Sweden might again be united. After
the expiration of the treaty with England, 1742, King Christian had
concluded a treaty with France, and received from that kingdom
400,000 riksdaler as a yearly subsidy. He raised the Danish-Nor-
wegian army to war-footing, and held the fleet ready for immediate
service to cooperate with Sweden in case Frederick should be chosen
king. The Swedish peasants were enthusiastically in favor of the
Danish-Norwegian crown prince, but Russia supported Adolph
Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp, and promised to return nearly all of
Finland to Sweden, if he were elected. When the Riksdag assembled
at Stockholm, the Dalkarlean peasants marched in force to the city
to secure the election of Prince Frederick of Denmark-Norway, but
they were dispersed by the military forces of the city, and Adolph
Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp was chosen king of Sweden, July 3,
1743. Christian VI. now demanded that Adolph Frederick should
formally relinquish all claims to the Gottorp provinces which had

332 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

been given to Denmark, but even this simple plan of safeguarding
his kingdom against undue encroachment of united Sweden and
Gottorp he was persuaded to abandon. His diplomacy had failed
at every point ; his numerous alliances proved to be harmless stage
thunder accompanying a political farce, and his enemies had restored
the relations existing between Gottorp and Denmark prior to the
Great Northern War.

But if King Christian was no statesman, financier, or warrior, he
had at least the satisfaction of knowing that he excelled in piety.
Frederick the Great had remarked that as Frederick IV. attempted
to conquer Sweden, Christian VI. sought to conquer heaven. In his
father's time Pietism had been gaining a foothold in the North, and
during the early years of the reign of Christian VI. it waged a final
contest with orthodoxy, which resulted in a complete triumph for
Pietism, owing largely to the support of the king, who was an adherent
of the new movement. Queen Sophia Magdalena was of a pious and
melancholy disposition, and as the king himself became devotedly
absorbed in religious matters, the gayety of the court circles soon
gave way to the grave and joyless austerity of Pietism, which forced
all social and religious life into stern forms and somber colors. The
king considered it to be his special mission to drive all his subjects
into the sackcloth and ashes of repentance, that as many as possible
might escape eternal perdition, and he instituted a vigorous cam-
paign against all forms of amusements which were considered sinful.
According to the views of the Pietists, nearly all public pastimes
were regarded as worldly pleasures. Dancing, smoking, comedies,
and operas were categorically condemned, and even laughter was
regarded as sinful. August Hermann Francke says : " All laughter
is not forbidden, for it happens, indeed, that even the most pious
may so heartily rejoice, not over worldly, but over heavenly things,
that his lips may show evidence of his mental delight in a faint
laughter. But it easily becomes sinful, and paves the way for great
distraction of the mind, which soon discovers that it has become too
unthoughtful when it again wishes to meekly turn to God." ^ Accord-
ing to these principles Christmas parties were wholly interdicted,

* Christen Brun, Pietismens Begreb og VoBsen, p. 59, quoted from Francke's
Schriftmdssige Lebensregeln.

II CHRISTIAN VI. THE AGE OF PIETISM 333

amusements on Sundays and holidays were prohibited, and the
playing of comedies on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays was for-
bidden. It is true, as Edvard Holm points out,^ that the king did
not forbid comedies, dances, and masquerades except on the days
mentioned, but it is very doubtful if we can infer from this that the
people could dance as much as they pleased on the remaining five
days of the week. The king created a church college {kirkeinspec-
tions kollegiet), which possessed most extensive powers in matters of
church discipline, and the bishops and clergy labored hard to suppress
all such amusements. Finally, in 1738, the king issued an order that
"no comedians, funambulists, jugglers, or operators of games of
hazard must henceforth appear in Denmark or Norway to show their
plays or exercises." ^ The king's attitude to the players of comedies
may also be seen from his letter to J. S. Schulin, dated August 30,
1735, in which he says: "In Gluckstadt there are said to be some
comedians who puU money out of people's pockets. It would be
well if the magistrate were instructed to get rid of them, for nothing
good comes of it." In 1735 the king published a new Sabbath ordi-
nance very similar to the one issued by Frederick IV. in 1730. Per-
sons who without valid reason remained absent from public worship
were fined, and if they were hinder, they should be put in the pillory.
That this attempt to teach people Christian piety and good morals
by means of the pillory and the police force would breed deceit and
hypocrisy is quite natural. Conversation and conduct assumed of
a sudden a religious tone which in too many instances only seemed
to hide moral corruption and intellectual dishonesty.

Pietism had come as a violent reaction against the moral laxity
of the age of orthodoxy, and such a movement usually passes the
bounds of fairness and good policy. It is like a fever which reacts
against the disease, and saves life, but destroys tissue and reduces
the vitality. Orthodoxy had failed to lay proper stress on the moral
side of Christian life, and moral corruption and rude manners had
flourished to an almost intolerable degree. To cure this evil. Pietism
raised moral life into a prominence which made a deep impression on
the age, and greatly elevated its moral tone, but it arrested the

1 Danmark-N orges Historie, vol. II., p. 644 fif.

2 Georg Brandes, Ludvig Holberg, et Festskrift, p. 278.

334 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

growth of dramatic art, destroyed many of the finer features of
intellectual and social life, and robbed society of the spirit of opti-
mism and the sense of beauty. It cannot be denied, however, that
viewed against the background of what preceded it. Pietism repre-
sents progress along many lines. It was the first religious revival
which the Norwegian people had ever experienced, and through the
emphasis which it laid on piety and moral conduct it chastened the
people's moral feelings, and taught them gentleness, temperance,
and a higher regard for things spiritual. It gave also a new impetus
to intellectual development through a keen interest for popular
education. If the people were to become truly pious, they would
have to read the Scriptures, and learn the chief Christian doctrines.
The religious instruction which the people had hitherto received had
been so meager that few understood even the cardinal Christian
teachings, and among the common people it was regarded as a
wonder if a person could read. In 1736 confirmation was introduced
by law both in Denmark and Norway. In Akershus stijt it had
been introduced in 1734 by Bishop Peder Hersleb. The young com-
municants were now required to formally renew their baptismal vow
before their first communion, after being catechised in church in
presence of the congregation to prove that they possessed the re-
quired Christian knowledge. About the same time the important
religious textbook. Bishop Erik Pontoppidan's "Sandhed til Gud-
frygtighed," an explanation to Luther's Catechism arranged in ques-
tions and answers, was introduced. As the children were expected
to commit these answers to memory, they would have to learn to
read, and steps were taken to provide the necessary instruction.
By the ordinance of January 23, 1739, "About the country schools
in Norway" the government attempted to establish a system of
public schools, and to enforce compulsory attendance of all school
children between seven and twelve years of age. Instruction should
be given from six to seven hours daily, at least during three months
of each year ; the schoolbooks should be Luther's Catechism, Pon-
toppidan's Explanation, the Bible, and the hymnbook. The bishops
and stiftsamtmcBnd were instructed to appoint teachers, and the people
were encouraged to build schoolhouses. If no schoolhouse could be
provided, the school was to be kept in private houses by itinerant

n MERCANTILISM AND COMMERCIAL STAGNATION 335

teachers. If this law had been enforced, it would have marked a
great advance in popular education, but the people did not under-
stand the value of the reform, and offered such resistance that the
government had to substitute a new ordinance in 1741 which made
it optional for the congregation to provide instruction for the children.
Opposition and indifference had retarded progress, but the bishops
and priests could bring great pressure to bear on the people, as they
could refuse to confirm the children who did not possess the required
knowledge. The resistance was gradually broken, and several public
schools were organized before the close of the reign of Christian VI.

42. Mercantilism and Commercial Stagnation

With regard to the economic conditions in Denmark-Norway in
the time of Frederick IV. and Christian VI. we may observe the
futile attempts to increase the wealth and revenues of the realms by
enforcing the arbitrary principles of mercantilism by means of des-
potic royal power. The government assumed the initiative and
direction of industrial enterprises, sought to encourage their growth
by various artificial stimuli, and exhibited an activity and paternal
solicitude which resembled wisdom and generosity, but which was
so selfish and narrow that it produced stagnation where it sought to
foster new life and activity. Companies organized to trade with the
West Indies, Guinea, Morocco, and other distant lands were granted
monopolies and other special privileges, but at the same time a
system of protective tariff, export duties, and the exclusion of various
foreign goods subverted the most fundamental laws of trade. Im-
portation of grain to Norway from any other country than Denmark
was forbidden, though the supply was often inadequate, the quality
poor, and the prices exorbitant. This restriction was especially
damaging to Norway's commerce with England, as Norwegian lum-
ber and fish had been exported to England in exchange for grain.
The carrying trade was obstructed by the English navigation laws
and the mercantile system of political economy everywhere adhered
to. Prices on lumber and fish fell, and Norwegian commerce suffered
a serious decline. The commercial companies proved to be of com-
paratively little importance, as the few individuals constituting

336 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

tiiem used their monopoly chiefly to plunder the colonies with whom
they were trading. The Iceland Company paid 8000 riksdaler, and
later 16,000 riksdaler, for their privileges, and they used their oppor-
tunity to fleece the Icelanders. The Asiatic Company carried on
trade in India and China; the West-India-Guinea Company with
Africa and the West Indies. The trade with Greenland was granted
to a single man, Jacob Severin, who founded the colonies of Kris-
tianshaab, Jakobshavn, and Fredrikshaab. The small and preca-
rious trade carried on by these Danish companies at the ends of the
earth could in no way compensate for the general decline in Nor-
wegian commerce. In 1736 the merchant fleet of Bergen was scarcely
one-third of what it had been in 1700, and even the carrying of Nor-
wegian articles of export to foreign markets was largely in the hands
of the Dutch and English.

The efforts of the government, in harmony with the mercantilistic
ideas of the times, to encourage manufacture by protective tariff,
monopolies, and the subsidizing of various industries failed to pro-
duce the results desired. Several minor factories were started, but
the depressed economic conditions, and the lack of capital and enter-
prise, rendered the attempt to produce a new industrial development
an almost fruitless experiment.

In Denmark the peasants were more severely oppressed, especially
in the reign of Christian VI., than in any previous period. Frederick
IV. had abolished serfdom in 1702, but this very praiseworthy reform
was rendered nugatory by the revival of the old system of compul-
sory military service which made it possible for the landed pro-
prietors to virtually enslave the peasants under the pretext of fur-
nishing the required number of men for the army. Christian VI.
reestablished villeinage in all Denmark, and increased the burdens
of military service to such an extent that Riegels calls the 900
Danish manorial estates "plantations with white negro slaves."
No peasant between fourteen and forty years of age was allowed to
leave the estate to which he belonged, and the proprietor could even
inflict the most severe corporal punishment upon him at will. "The
lash was in constant activity," says Sars. "The system of beating
the peasants was so well established that it was practiced even on
the estates of humane and kindly disposed proprietors as something

II THE AGE OF LUDVIG HOLBERG 337

necessary which could not be otherwise. It was regarded as a matter
of course that the proprietors had the right to inflict corporal punish-
ment on the peasants ; cudgeling was even the least ; he could cause
them to be thrown into the dungeon; he could put them into the
pillory; he could place them in the 'Spanish cloak,' or compel
them to ride the wooden horse; in short, the greater number of
Danish peasants were reduced to the condition of slaves." With
good reason the same author calls the reign of Christian VI. "one
of the worst which Denmark ever had." ^

The freeholding Norwegian binder could not be subjected to such
oppression. It has already been shown that the number of free-
holders had been greatly increased in Norway through the sale of
crown-lands, and the kings had even shown them special favor,
though the old feuds continued to be waged between the binder and
the royal officials. The economic well-being of the binder would,
probably, not have been impaired, but in 1740 and 1742 crop failures
produced a famine, which was also accompanied by serious epidemic
diseases, so that in the latter year the number of deaths exceeded
the births by 16,000. These calamities, together with a serious
decline of commerce, made the period one of general depression.

43. Development of Modern Danish-Norwegian Literature
The Age of Ludvig Holberg

The Reformation had been accompanied by no spiritual awaken-
ing in Norway, and the Renaissance had reached the North only as
a faint swell caused by the great revival which it had produced in
southern Europe. No new intellectual life had been kindled in the
Scandinavian countries, and literature still slumbered in its old dusty
folds. In the universities and the secondary schools the learning
was chiefly limited to Latin grammar and disputations, a lifeless
pedantry from which no new impulses could come, and the same
unprogressive stolidity and vain love of display which characterized
learning might be observed in all higher social classes. Every
imagined preeminence was displayed with arrogant self-conceit;
jealous rivalries, love of empty titles, narrow-mindedness, snobbish-

' J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historie, vol. IV., p. 77 ff.
VOL. II — z

338 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

ness, and a crude imitation of everything foreign and hon ton had
become distinct features of the intellectual life of the age, especially
in Denmark, where society had become most thoroughly stratified
into distinct classes. The native Danish culture was held in slight
esteem, and the mother tongue was so far neglected that persons of
quality seldom used it except when talking to their servants. Robert
Molesworth, who speaks from personal observation, says: "The
king, great men, gentry, and many burghers make use of the High
Dutch in their ordinary discourse, and French to strangers. I have
heard several in high employment boast that they could not speak
Danish." ^ It was the time of Louis XIV. and Louis XV., the era
of affectation and long wigs. In literature Petter Dass had, indeed,
relieved the general dullness, but with this exception scarcely a note
of true poesy found its way into the lifeless pages of the verse-makers.
"Few or no books are written," says Molesworth, in speaking of Den-
mark. "Not so much as a song or a tune was made during three
years that I stayed there." In this age of dullness and affectation
Holberg appeared to found in Denmark-Norway, not only a new
literature, but a new intellectual life. Parallel with the religious
awakening which found its expression in the Reformation and the
revival of literature, learning, and art in the Renaissance, a new
astronomy and natural science had been developed, which demanded
freedom of thought and respect for human reason as the ultimate
authority in scientific investigation. These new movements were
parts of the same general progress of the human mind, but as they
advanced along diverging paths, scientific thought not only sought
to free itself from religious control, but it soon became hostile to
revealed religion, and challenged its genuineness and authority.
This school of thought, generally known as deism, because it postu-
lated the existence of God, originated in England, and is traceable
in its inception to the philosophical writings of Francis Bacon (1561-
1626), though its most prominent representatives were John Locke
(1632-1704) and David Hume (1711-1776). From England deism
was brought to France, where Voltaire and Rousseau became its
chief representatives. It had directed its attack especially against
the dominion of the church in the field of scientific investigation,
» An AoeourU of Denmark, p. 91.

n THE AGE OF LUDVIG HOLE ERG 339

but a similar revolt against religious authority also took place in
other fields. Throughout the Middle Ages philosophy had been
regarded as the handmaid of theology, and jurisprudence had been
dominated by the principles of the Old Testament and the canon
law. The emancipation of these branches of learning marks an
important step in the victorious progress of scientific thought. In
Holland and Germany Hugo Grotius (1583-1645), Pufendorf (1632-
1694), and Thomasius (1655-1728) developed a new system of juris-
prudence, the Naturrecht, based on reason and man's innate sense of
justice, and Christian Wolff (1679-1754) elaborated the critical
thought of the age into a rationalistic view of life in his philosophic
system, based on the work of Leibnitz. The ground had thus been
well prepared, and the influence of English deism, both directly
from England and indirectly through France, soon made itself strongly
felt. This system of critical scientific thought, and rationalism in
religion and ethics, which dominated intellectual life in the latter
half of the eighteenth century, is probably best known by the Ger-
man name of Aufkldrung. Its influence extended to every field of
intellectual activity, and expressed itself as clearly in literature and
statescraft as in science and philosophy. Frederick the Great applied
its principles in his aufgekldrte despotismus, according to which he
ruled as a benevolent despot.^ Lessing, the founder of modern Ger-
man literature and intellectual life, became one of its chief represent-
atives, but passed beyond it in spirituality and broadness of view.^
In America Benjamin Franklin became its most noted representative,
and no one has expressed the common-sense utilitarian view of the
Aufkldrung in a more popular way than America's statesman-
philosopher.

In the North Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754) became the pioneer in
this field of thought. He was a native of Bergen, and received his
early school training in his home town. In 1702 he was sent to the
University of Copenhagen, where he completed the required course,
and after spending two years at the University of Oxford, and travel-

1 Other benevolent despots were : Catharine II. of Russia, Gustavus III.
of Sweden, Charles III. of Spain, Archduke Leopold of Tuscany, and Emperor
Joseph II. of Austria.

* Christen Brun, Oplysningens Tidsalder, Christiania, 1886. W. E. H.
Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of Rationalism in Europe.

340 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

ing for some time on the Continent, he returned to Copenhagen,
where he spent five years in writing a number of historical works,
through which he introduced into history-writing the rationahstic
thought of Grotius, Pufendorf, and Thomasius, whom he declares
to be his "constant pattern." The most important of these works
are: "Introduction til de europseiske Rigers Historier," and "In-
troduction til Naturens og Folkerettens Kundskab, uddragen af de
fornemste Juristers, besynderlig Grotii, Pufendorf og Thomasii
Skrifter." In 1714 he was appointed titular professor without
salary. Again he spent almost two years abroad studying, especially
in Paris, and, finally, in 1717 he was made regular professor of meta-
physics, a branch which he especially hated, because of the pedantry
of Latin disputations and learning. But it was the only vacancy,
and he accepted the position. "There he stands," says Georg
Brandes, "the poor professor of metaphysics, against his will, and
teaches, to make a living, things in which he does not believe, and
with which he can associate no thought, and the black-gowned stu-
dents in front of him write down the wisdom, and commit it to
memory, while round about in the lecture rooms the learned corps
with profound gravity defends, demonstrates, concludes, and proves
the arrant nothing. Is not the situation ironical, Mephistophelian,
or tragicomic?" Holberg was a keen observer, a deep and critical
thinker, and a dramatic talent of the first rank. On his mind the
burlesque of the situation was not lost. He, the representative of
the most advanced scientific thought, who had returned from the
greatest centers of learning with rich stores of the best knowledge of
the age, was not allowed to teach his students anything worth know-
ing, because the learned circles loved the shadow rather than the
substance of knowledge. And was not all society blinded by pedan-
try and conceit ? Did he not meet it on every street corner ? Did
not snobbishness and pretense make themselves broad in every
thoroughfare? He knew but too well the intellectual pride, the
mental dullness, the bigotry, the snobbishness and conceit which
masqueraded as civic virtue on every hand. "Is it a wonder,"
continues Georg Brandes, "if irony becomes the predominant mood
of this soul ; if a smile, a suppressed smile, curls these lips ? or is it
not quite natural that the new professor gets a peculiar impression

PLATE VII

II THE AGE OF LUDVIG HOLBERG 341

of this temple of learning, and the land, of which it is the intellectual
center ; yea, of the whole world ? It is comical, this world which
he now sees." ^ The great master of comedy has seen the foibles and
inconsistencies of the age; it stirs his poetic talents, and launches
him upon his career as a poet. From this time forth he enters upon
his life work with as high a purpose as any other reformer, though
he undertakes his task with no fervent enthusiasm, but rather with
a fixed purpose founded on reflection. The pedantry, the conceit,
the social foibles must perish; mental sobriety, love of truth, and
true esteem of the real value rather than the outward appearance of
things must be substituted. This is a lesson which the whole people
must learn before the professor can mount his cathedra and teach
his students anything worth while. With superb humor he began
to show the people the comedy of their own lives. If ever a poet
held the mirror up to nature it was Holberg, and human foibles have
never been delineated by a more clever pen. He wrote the bur-
lesque epic " Peder Paars, " showing the humorous inconsistence of
the pretended greatness and the real ability and achievements of his
countrymen. It aroused a storm of indignation, but the king was
amused by the poem, and refused to imprison the author to appease
the wrath of the angry citizens. But though the poem created a
veritable sensation, Holberg knew that it would be read by few, and
he chose the comedy as the more popular and suitable vehicle for his
thoughts.

Before Holberg's time no dramatic literature and no real theater
existed in Denmark. The old school comedy had gone out of use,
and at court only light operas and French tragedies were performed.
In 1721 King Frederick IV. dismissed a company of players, two of
whom, Montagu and Capion, received permission to build theaters.
Montagu hit upon the idea of building a Danish theater, hoping that
this would be more popular and bring a larger income, and in 1722
the first Danish theater was opened, an event which proved to be of
more than ordinary importance, as it marks the beginning of dramatic
literature and art in Denmark-Norway. During the first year Hol-

1 Georg Brandes, Ludvig Holberg, et Festskrift, p. 99. J. S. Welhaven,
Samlede Skrifter, vol. VI., p. 155 ff. H. Lassen, Oplysninger til LUeratur-
historien.

342 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

berg gave the new theater his five first comedies which were all per-
formed ; and before the end of the following year he wrote ten more.
In six years (1722-1728) he wrote no less than twenty-eight plays,
the masterpieces which have made his name immortal. But the
theater yielded small returns, the owners labored under great financial
difficulties, and when Christian VI. ascended the throne, and Pietism
gained full control, it had to close its doors. It was reopened in
1747, and Holberg wrote his last five comedies. What he might have
written in the interval under favorable circumstances may be in-
ferred from his productivity during the years when the theater was
operated. But even during that period he was not inactive. He
wrote "Nils Klim," a satire on European society in the strain of
"Gulliver's Travels," a church history till the time of the Reforma-
tion, and a history of Denmark in two volumes. His work in this
field marks the beginning of a new epoch in history-writing in the
North, but Holberg was not a great historian. He describes events
and social conditions without prejudice, in a clear and lively narra-
tive, but he did not devote himself to historic research. He fails to
judge each age by its own standards, and establishes the standards
of his own time and his own good judgment as the criterion accord-
ing to which he estimates the value of past institutions and events.
He was a dramatist and reformer of the first rank. He gave the
intellectual life of the North the first great impulse which it had
received since the Viking Age, destroyed the old idols of pedantry
and conceit, founded modern Scandinavian literature and dramatic
art, and launched his people upon a new era of intellectual progress.
"He began by being a lonely stranger who was against all and all
against him, who was unlike all his surroundings, and who differed
from them in all respects, but he ended as the master whom all
followed, and to whom all submitted. What he consigned to forget-
fulness was forgotten, and the new which he introduced became the
foundation on which Danish-Norwegian intellectual life has since
been building." ^

The events of the late war with Sweden, in which the Norwegians
had successfully resisted the attacks of Charles XII., and the fact
that Norway could produce men like Ludvig Holberg and Peter
» J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historic, vol. IV., p. 124.

n FREDERICK V 343

Tordenskjold proved a great stimulus to the national self-conscious-
ness, and helped to kindle a new patriotism. Throughout the union
period Danish influence had dominated all higher culture in Norway ;
now the tide had turned, and Norway was giving to Denmark new
vigor and intellectual life. After centuries of dormant inactivity,
the Norwegian people were regaining their national and intellectual
strength. It was the beginning of a new awakening.

44. Frederick V.

When Christian VI. died, August 6, 1746, his son, who was twenty-
four years of age, ascended the throne as Frederick V. The prince
had been educated by foreign teachers who had not only neglected
to interest him in the language of his own people, but had even sought
to prevent him from learning it, an effort in which they had not
succeeded. Frederick had learned to speak Danish, and he even
regarded that language as his native tongue, to the chagrin of his
German mother, who considered it too common. Also in other
respects the labors of his teachers had borne little fruit. The Fietistic
gloom and rigor which surrounded the prince from childhood made
him averse to all restraint, and when he could escape the watchful
eyes of his parents and teachers, he abandoned himself to licentious
pleasures in company with profligate courtiers, who visited low dives,
and taught him even from youth to lead a life of debauchery. In
1743 he was married to Louise, the daughter of George II. of Eng-
land, a very charming princess, but even then he was unable to
abandon his vicious habits, though the marriage does not seem to
have been an unhappy one. Both King Frederick and Queen Louise
were very popular, as they surrounded themselves with a Danish
court and mingled freely with the people. The restrictions which
had been placed on public amusements were removed. The theaters
were reopened, the people were allowed to return to their old merry
ways, and the court circles were again made bright by balls and
soir6es, a welcome change from the joyless gloom of the preceding
reign.

The relations to Gottorp, which had again become a political
question of importance in his father's reign, caused the young king

344 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

some anxiety, especially since the successors to the thrones of Russia
and Sweden were both princes of the House of Gottorp. It became
his first care to bring about a final settlement of this question, and to
trade Oldenburg and Delmenhorst for the Gottorp part of Holstein,
so that the southern boundary of the kingdom could become properly
rounded out. After prolonged negotiations this was accomplished
by the treaty of 1750, in which the heir to the throne of Sweden,
Adolph Frederick of Gottorp, renounced for himself and his heirs
all claims to the island of Femern and the part of Schleswig which
had belonged to his family. The Gottorp part of Holstein should be
ceded to Denmark in return for Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, and
200,000 riksdaler, if Karl Peter Ulrik, successor to the Russian throne,
should die without heirs. This treaty practically eliminated the
troublesome Gottorp question from politics, and made it possible to
maintain friendly relations with Sweden. The boundary dispute
between Norway and Sweden was also settled. Norway retained
Kautokeino and Karasjok in Finmarken, and a commission was
established to survey and mark the boundary line throughout its
entire length.

The people had hoped that their liberal-minded and popular king
would institute many needed reforms, but his suavity of manners
was associated with moral weakness and mental ineptitude rather
than with originality of thought. His irregular life sapped his
physical strength, and enveloped his mind in the intoxication of
sensual pleasures. He gradually became unfit for systematic work,
and the direction of state affairs devolved upon his ministers. In
1751 Johan Hartvig Ernst Bernstorff became minister of foreign
affairs, a position for which he was eminently qualified. He was a
man of great ability and high character, and though only thirty-nine
years of age he was an experienced diplomat. In the administration
of domestic affairs he sought to realize the liberal and benevolent
ideas of the Aufkldrung to a moderate degree, and in his foreign
policy he was an avowed friend of peace. "War," he said, "if begun
without valid reason, yea without necessity, is one of the most
deplorable steps which a human being can take." During the naval
war between France and England in 1755, caused by the rivalries
of these powers in India and America, and during the Seven Years'

II FREDERICK V 345

War, 1756-1763, in which Prussia and England were pitted against
Austria, Russia, France, and Sweden, Bernstorff maintained the
neutrality of Denmark-Norway, though with great difficulty. Thir-
teen thousand five hundred twenty men of the Norwegian army
were stationed in Holland for the defense of the duchies of Schleswig-
Holstein, and an alliance of neutrality was concluded with Sweden,
according to which the two powers agreed to keep a joint fleet in
the North Sea to protect their commerce, while the Baltic Sea was
to be closed to the war vessels both of England and France. This
alliance, however, proved of little value, as Sweden, in 1757, joined
Austria, Russia, and France in their war against Frederick the Great.
The protection of commerce against English privateers proved a
most difficult task, as England regarded nearly all products exported
from the neutral kingdoms as contraband of war, and the government
was loath to resort to drastic measures for fear of becoming involved
in the war. But with remarkable tact and prudence Bernstorff suc-
ceeded in saving Denmark-Norway from being drawn into the vortex
of the great struggle.^

The new ideas of the Aufkldrung began to exert their influence
on the more progressive minds, and the charm of discovering that
there was something besides war and diplomacy which was worth
while turned the attention of many to the pursuits of peace. Bern-
storff devoted special attention to the development of trade, manu-
factures, arts, sciences, and agriculture. Treaties were concluded
with Turkey and the Barbary States, which enabled Denmark-
Norway to develop an extensive carrying trade in the Mediterranean
Sea, and the trade with the West Indies began to flourish when the
monopoly of the West India Company was annulled. In 1753
only seven vessels were engaged in the commerce with these islands,
but in 1766 the number had been increased to thirty-eight. The
neutrality maintained during the Seven Years' War contributed
greatly to the growth of Danish-Norwegian commerce, and the East
India Company developed a flourishing trade during the war.

In order to develop manufacture, foreign artisans and skilled

1 Regarding Bemstorflf's policy see Dansk historisk Tidsskrift, R. TV.,
p. 672 ff. Danske Samlinger, vol. IV., p. 292 ff. Danmarks Riges Historie,
v., p. 203 ff.

346 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

laborers were employed, monopolies and special privileges were
granted, and the importation of manufactured articles was greatly
restricted. In these measures the ideas of mercantilism are still
clearly noticeable ; but more attention was also paid to agriculture
than hitherto, as the ideas of the French Physiocrats were gaining
ground.^ This new economic doctrine, which was tinged with the
ideas of Rousseau and other French political philosophers, who main-
tained that government exists for the good of the governed, that
freedom and equality are man's birthright, and that a return to
nature was necessary if man wished to find true happiness, gave the
agricultural classes a hitherto unknown importance. New socio-
logical ideas were being developed which were destined to produce
great changes. Hitherto these ideas had been scouted as dangerous
theories, if they had not been regarded as idle dreams, but already
in the reign of Frederick V. they were beginning to exert a distinct
influence. In 1757 King Frederick appointed a commission to
examine the conditions of husbandry, and to submit recommenda-
tions for the encouragement and improvement of agriculture. The
king's mother, Queen Sophia Magdalena, abolished villeinage on her
estate of Hirschholm, Bernstorff followed her example, and before
the close of the reign the liberation of the peasants in Denmark
had been adopted as the future program of the government.

In Norway the national awakening created new activity, and
shaped new demands in many fields. In 1760 the first scientific
society in Norway, Det Trondhjemske Videnskabs-Selskab, was founded
in Trondhjem by the three distinguished scholars : Peter Friedrich

1 The Physiocratio School of poUtical economy was originated in France
by Francois Quesnay (1694-1774). According to their views the govern-
ment should only administer justice and defend the rights of the citizens.
The liberty of the individual should not be restricted, nor should the govern-
ment exercise any control over commerce and industry. Their economic
doctrine was based on the cardinal principle that nature is the source of
all good. Since all wealth comes from the soil and the atmosphere, agri-
culture ia the great productive employment. Manufacture, being only a
change in the form of the material, does not change its value. Commerce,
being only an exchange, does not add to the value of things. As an economic
system it was one-sided and wholly unscientific, but it rendered good serv-
ice through the importance it ascribed to agrioxilture, which had hitherto
been generally n^leoted.

II FREDERICK V 347

Suhm, a Dane by birth, who had settled in Trondhjem, and the two
native-born Norwegians, Gerhard Sch0ning and Johan Ernst Gun-
nerus. The historical writings of Suhm, especially his "Historie af
Danmark," from the earliest times till 1400, reveals a new scholarly
spirit in history-writing, a love for scientific inquiry which comes to
view even more plainly in Sch0ning's "Norges Riges Historie," in
three volumes, from the earliest times till 955. Sch0ning has written
his work from a Norwegian point of view, and has advanced a theory
of the earliest migrations into Norway, which was elaborated seventy
years later by R. Keyser and P. A. Munch, the founders of the Nor-
wegian historical school, — a theory which has served as the general
basis for the views of Norwegian scholars as to the origin and early
antiquity of the Norwegian people. Gunnerus was a theologian,
and became Bishop of Trondhjem, but he distinguished himself also
in philosophy and mathematics. It is noteworthy that this society
of scholars devoted much attention to the discussion of agriculture,
and that several treatises on this subject appeared in the society's
journal. The stimulus imparted by this new organization to the
interest for higher intellectual culture was accompanied, also, by an
active agitation for the founding of a Norwegian university. Suhm
wrote, 1761, in " Trondhjemske Samlinger," a periodical published
by him in Trondhjem : " In no land in Europe are the conditions
for the development and spread of the sciences more unfavorable
than here, since we have not even a university." ^ And in 1768
Bishop Gunnerus said in an address before the society : " There is
no want in Norway of patriotic thoughts, or of the desire, courage,
and high spirit to do useful and praiseworthy things, even at the cost
of personal loss, but there is lack of effectual encouragement and
necessary guidance and direction in many ways. We have four
cathedral schools, but there is in the whole kingdom no public library
and no university. The journey to Copenhagen is long and expen-
sive. The greater number of students are, moreover, poor, and how-
soever many rich foundations there be at the said university for the
benefit of such students, all cannot be supported there. This is the
reason why so many Norwegians of this class, who, on account of the

^ Trondhjemske Samlinger, udgivet af Philaletho, vol. I., p. 41, quoted by
J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historiey vol. IV., p. 183.

348 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

public examinations, have been at the university two or three times,
have scarcely remained longer than a few months. This can, indeed,
be called to visit, but not to study at the university, and every one
will understand what great harm this is to the cultivation and de-
velopment of higher learning in Norway." In 1771 Suhm published
an anonymous pamphlet, in which he indulges in bitter invective
against the Danish government for failing to make provision for
higher education in Norway. "It seems to me," he says, "that the
Danes from mean-spirited jealousy and unfounded fear seek to
perpetuate ignorance in this country. There is no academy, no
university, no public library. The Norwegians who wish to study
must go to Denmark." Several pamphlets appeared, urging the
founding of a Norwegian university, and Ove Gjerl0v Meyer sub-
jected the question to a more systematic examination in two treatises
published in 1771. He argued that though the two kingdoms were
so firmly united that they could never be separated, yet the question
of a university was a matter of national concern to the Norwegian
people. The agitation for a university was becoming somewhat of
a national cause, but the Danish government failed to grant the
demand. During the following reign the liberal Struensee favored
the plan, but when he was overthrown, the government again be-
came reactionary, and the matter was dropped.^ The strict censor-
ship of the press, which was still maintained in spite of the king's
otherwise liberal views, also stood in the way of carrying through
important measures of reforms. Two newspapers had been founded
in Norway : " Norske Intelligenssedler," which began to appear in
May, 1763, and " Ef terretninger fra Adresse Contoret i Bergen,"
first published in 1765, but neither paper ventured to speak a word
in behalf of national issues or to criticize the course pursued by the
government. The press had not yet become a factor in political
life. If the people wished to express their opinion on public measures,

1 Det kongelige Fredriks Universitet 1811-1911, vol. I., p. xii ff. Ame
Bergsgaard, Striden for Universitetet, Syn og Segn, September, 1911. Halv-
dan Koht, Universitete og det norske Folk, Syn og Segn, September, 1911.
Essay sur Vetat present des sciences, des belles lettres et des beaux arts dans le
Dannemark et dans la Norwhge. Suhm, Samlede Skrifter, vol. VI., p. 422 fif.
O. A. 0verland, Norges Historic, vol. IX., p. 319 ff. J. B. Sars, Udsigt over
den norske Historie, vol. IV., p. 43 f., 183 ff.

n CHRISTIAN VII. AND QUEEN CAROLINA MATHILDA 349

they still had to avail themselves of more drastic means, such as the
riots caused by the new tax levy of 1762. The armed neutrality
which had been maintained during the Seven Years' War had cost
large sums, which, together with the support given to manufacture
in the form of loans and subsidies, as well as the great extravagance
of the court, had placed the government in great financial difficulty.
In order to pay the interest and term payments on large loans, a new
tax of eight skilling was imposed on every person twelve years of
age. In Norway this caused the greatest ill-will, and serious dis-
turbances occurred. In Bergen a force of binder, which was estimated
at two thousand, attacked the residence of the stiftsamtmand, in-
sulted and ill-treated him, and forced him to refund them the tax
which had been collected.^ In Stavanger and Christiansund, in
Romsdal, and many other places serious riots occurred, as the hinder,
who suffered because of high prices and hard times caused by the
war, refused to pay the extra tax.

No very noteworthy changes had been effected during this reign,
but Bernstorff's policy in administration and diplomacy had been
liberal-minded as well as prudent, and he had given the awakening
national feeling an opportunity to grow without exploiting it in the
interest of a radical liberalism.

King Frederick V. paid a brief visit to Norway shortly after his
accession to the throne, but instead of studying the needs and cus-
toms of the kingdom, he spent the time in gambling and making
merry with his courtiers. Any higher conception of his duties to his
realm and his subjects he never seemed to have entertained. He died
in 1766, forty-three years of age.

45. Christian VII. and Queen Carolina Mathilda
The Struensee Period

When King Frederick's son and successor. Christian VII., ascended
the throne amid the plaudits of the populace, the truckling seekers of
royal favors pronounced the most extravagant panegyrics upon the
virtues of the prince, whom they declared to be wiser than Augustus
and better than Trajan. But thoughtful men, who knew the young

* Yngvar Nielsen, Bergen, p. 449 fif.

350 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

king, shook their heads and mused upon what the future might bring.
They knew that he was a moral degenerate; that his mild appear-
ance and frail physique hid the most unbridled passions ; that his
weak mind might even be wrecked by excess, and leave him a mental
imbecile if not a helpless maniac. Christian had not had the good
fortune to enjoy proper care in his childhood. His mother, Queen
Louise, died December 19, 1751, before he was three years of a,ge,
and JuUane Marie, who became King Frederick's second queen
half a year later, does not seem to have had much affection for the
motherless child. The king was as unfit to watch over his son's
early training as he was to govern his kingdoms, and the education
of the prince was intrusted to Count Reventlow, an honest and up-
right, but rude and brutal man. The little prince was forced to go
to church twice every Sunday, and to recite at home the contents
of the sermons which he had heard. If he failed to satisfy the stern
count, he received a thorough flogging. The philosophy of Wolff
and the deism of Matthews Tindal were the subjects which his
teachers tried to force into his child-mind by diligent application of
the rod. In free hours he was left without proper care to associate
with corrupt courtiers, who led him into a life of moral degradation
which he learned to hide with falsehoods and deceit.^ The sudden
change from a helpless pupil under the dominion of tyrannous masters
to an absolute monarch, to whom all showed the most obsequious
homage, did not inspire the seventeen-year-old prince with any feeling
of responsibility, but only made him feel that the hour of freedom
had come at last, when he could throw restraints to the winds, and
plunge into wild pleasures without being obliged to hide his way-
wardness by clever lies. To his physician Wallert he declared shortly
after his accession to the throne that he would " rage for two years,'*
and rage he did like no other king that ever wore the royal purple
in Denmark. In 1766 he married Princess Carolina Mathilda of
England, daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of
George II. ; but this political marriage of the seventeen-year-old
king to a princess who was only fifteen years old, and whom he had
never before seen, did not in any way improve his wayward private

^ Chr. Blangstrup, Christian VII. og Caroline Mathilde, Copenhageu, 1894.
Karl Wittich, Struensee, edited by Blangstrup.

n CHRISTIAN VII. AND QUEEN CAROLINA MATHILDA 351

life. "The society which was found assembled inside the palace
walls of Christiansborg," says his biographer, Blangstrup, "endeavored
to the best of their ability to become a copy of the world whose fame
spread from Versailles over all Europe. One meets here the same
kind of characters and thoughtless persons, the same forms of cul-
ture, the same frivolous social tone, the same moral laxity. And
this circle of richly attired lords and ladies of the court, who move
about with the graceful steps of the dance, accost one another with
flattery and compliments, and an affected French esprit, despising
thoroughly the language and culture of their own country, seek to
live, also, according to the rules of convenience, and to imitate their
model in feelings and ideas, as well as in costumes and demeanor.
It was especially necessary to make marriage the object of ridicule
and wanton remarks. One cannot read memoirs or accounts of
court life of those times without meeting cynical expressions which
show how little marriage was esteemed in all higher society. Love
and fidelity in married life was regarded as narrow-mindedness and
foolish prejudice." ^ Christian VII. had acquired this view of life
in the court circles where he had been reared, and he openly con-
fessed that he regarded marriage as a burden.^ In company with
the mischief-loving and dissolute nobles, who became his friends, he
roamed about in disguise at night, visiting low dives, breaking win-
dows, throwing furniture into the streets, fighting with the police,
and reveling in disorder like the rudest vagabond. The capital was
horrified, but Christian smiled in complacent glee over every new
escapade like a wayward child. His education, though apparently
thorough and profound, was of the most superficial and useless sort.
He had learned nothing about statesmanship, military affairs, or
finances, nor of the conditions of the kingdoms which he was to
govern. His ministers, instead of aiding him to become acquainted
with the work of the administration, preferred to keep matters in
their own hands, and Bernstorff continued to conduct the affairs of
government until he was overthrown by the intriguing Struensee in
1770. As absolute monarch King Christian was the personification

* Christian VII. og Caroline Mathilde, p. 87.

• Friedrioh von Raumer, Europa vom Ende des siehenjahrigen bis zum Ende
des amerikanischen Krieges, vol, I., p. 138.

352 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

of sovereignty, in whose name every act of government was per-
formed, but he exercised no direct influence either on diplomacy or
domestic administration. In life and thought as well as in manners
and appearance he was more like a French coxcomb than a real king.
The young queen, who had been brought to this corrupt court at
so tender an age, and had been married to a young voluptuary for
whom she could entertain no other feeling than aversion and disgust,
felt lonesome and unhappy. After the birth of Crown Prince Fred-
erick, January 29, 1768, the king treated her with studied disrespect,
and even dismissed her duenna and first lady-in-waiting, Lady Plessen,
who attempted to guide the young queen, and sought to shield her
from the corrupting influences of the court. The unhappy relation
between the royal pair developed into an open hatred, and the ennui
and feeling of unhappihess' were undermining the queen's health.
In the spring of 1769, when she became really ill, the king finally
advised her to consult his physician, Struensee. At first she refused
to see the doctor, as she feared that he was like the rest of the king's
companions and favorites, but she finally consented to an interview.
Struensee, a German by birth, was thirty-two years of age, a man of
fine learning and appearance, who knew the art of being agreeable.^
His culture, intelligence, and sympathy made a most favorable im-
pression on the queen. His visits were repeated, and she soon found
in his company and conversation the understanding which she had
so ardently longed for. He brought about a reconciliation between
her and the king, a help for which she was very grateful. She
learned to regard him as her true friend, and the friendship soon
ripened into passionate love. The king was rapidly sinking into
mental imbecility, and Struensee, who had gained full control over
him, was in position to seize the reins which were dropping from
his enervated hands. On September 15, 1770, Bernstorff was dis-
missed from office at the instigation of Struensee, who now assumed
full control of the government, together with his two friends, Rant-
zau-Ascheberg and Enevold Brandt. The king's special favorite
and companion, Count Conrad Hoick, was banished from the court,

1 Reverdil, Struensie et la eour de Copenhague, p. 151, calls him ^'un homme
aimable et insinuant," ''un trfes bel homme, renomfi par ses succSs aupres
des femmes, chasseur et voyageur infatigable."

n THE STRUENSEE PERIOD 353

a number of the highest officials were dismissed, friends of the usurper
were appointed to the most important positions, and Brandt was
placed in Hoick's former position as the king's companion, with the
duty of arranging all festivities and amusements at court. The
Geheimekonceil was abolished, the Colleges lost their importance,
and a''government by cabinet orders, i.e. orders issued by Struensee
and signed by the king, was substituted. In 1771 Struensee per-
suaded the king to appoint him cabinet minister, a position which
virtually made him regent with unlimited power. He now super-
seded King Christian as ruler, as he had already superseded him in
the affections of Queen Mathilda. That he was her paramour was
no longer a secret, but the imbecile king, who was as incapable of
jealousy as he was of love, seems to have been well satisfied.

Personal ambition was, undoubtedly, the chief motive in Struen-
see's daring usurpation of royal power, but it is quite clear that he
hoped to justify his course in the eyes of the world by doing great
things for the realms over which he exercised dominion. He was an
adherent of the Aufkldrung, and as soon as he assumed control of
the government, he introduced a series of reforms embodying liberal
and progressive ideas. The press was granted complete liberty,
patriotic and able men were appointed to public office, the number
of empty titles was restricted, and many useless offices and pensions
were abolished. Greater economy was practiced at court, so that
the public expenditures should not exceed the income, a stricter
control was exercised over public officials, and Struensee was an
avowed friend of religious toleration.^ To us these and similar
reforms seem very praiseworthy and necessary, but as they were in-
troduced into a society which was as yet unable to understand their
value, they proved to be in many cases worse than useless, productive
of nothing but grief and harm to their author. Reverdil seems to
state it correctly when lie says of Struensee's activity as a reformer
that his aims were high and noble, but his methods were often ill
chosen, and his worst fault was that he believed that people can be
reformed by ordinances.^ It is evident that Struensee had launched
his reforms without duly considering his chances of success. The

^ Jens Krag H0st, Struensee og hans Ministerium.
* Struensee, Memoirs de Reverdil, p. 160 f., 227.
VOL. II — 2 a

354 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

old bureaucracy was offended by the stricter control of officials, the
cutting down of pensions, and the abolishing of old and useless offices ;
the idlers at court, by the introduction of a system of stricter economy
and fewer titles, the clergy, by Struensee's religious toleration, while
the common classes, steeped in superstition and illiteracy, were none
the wiser, and, probably, none the happier because of the attempted
reforms. The dissatisfied were those who could speak, those who
shaped public opinion, and they took advantage of the freedom of the
press to publish lampoons against Struensee, and to stir up public
sentiment against him by giving publication to insipid gossip and
malignant falsehoods, until he found it necessary to restrict again
the freedom of the press.

The Norwegians had remained rather indifferent to Struensee's
attempts at reforms, especially since he had wounded their feelings
by dismissing the popular statholder, Jakob Benzon. But they had
formulated certain specific demands which seem to have been favor-
ably regarded by the cabinet minister, and after he had remained
in power long enough, there is reason to believe that they would
have been granted. To the agitation for a university they added a
demand for a separate Commercial College for Norway, and the
privilege to found a Norwegian bank with a capital of 500,000 riks-
daler, an institution which must have been sorely needed, when we
consider the volume of Norwegian commerce. They also demanded
the abolition of the extra tax which had been levied in 1762 without
the people's consent, and the revocation of the laws prohibiting the
importation of grain to Norway from any country but Denmark.
Struensee favored the plan of establishing a Norwegian bank, but
as the directors of the Danish-Norwegian bank in Copenhagen
opposed it, he dropped the matter. The laws restricting grain im-
port were not revoked, but by special order free importation of grain
was allowed for a limited period. None of the requested reforms was
carried through at this time, but they had been formulated as a
distinct demand, and we cannot fail to see in them an effort to
separate Norwegian internal affairs from direct Danish control.

Struensee's measures of reform reveal clearly the weakness and
short-sightedness characteristic of the]Aufkldrung. As social progress
was not to originate in the intelligeuce and patriotism of the people

II THE STRUENSEE PERIOD 355

at large, but was to be brought about artificially by ordinances issued
by an enlightened and benevolent despot, no regard was had for the
conditions of the society which these reforms were intended to
benefit, and the sympathy and national spirit of the people were not
enlisted in their support. Struensee was wholly unnational. He
despised Danish, and used German exclusively. Like many other
despotic reformers of that age, he failed to realize that a people's
social and intellectual progress must spring from their own national
life, that the incorporating of new ideas as a living force in the old
social organism can be accomplished only by the slow progress of
moral and intellectual growth. Largely because of his misconcep-
tion of the true nature of reform he failed to carry through even the
most moderate and useful measures. But his work was not wholly
in vain. He had brought the liberal views of the Aufkldrung from
the realm of speculation into the more practical one of statescraft
and social reform, and had thereby given valuable aid to the progress
of liberal political ideas.

That Struensee would be able to exercise permanently his usurped
power could not be expected, even if he had been a man of far greater
prestige and more influential connections; but as a mere foreign
adventurer he could receive no support from the upper classes, who,
aside from the king, exercised all power in the realm. He lacked,
moreover, many of the qualities which make men truly great, and
his lack of prudence and real courage hastened his downfall.^ He
had won to his side one important person, the young queen, who,
prompted by love, hazarded all for his sake ; but others who might
have been won were repelled by his arrogance, or offended by his
recklessness. The moral tone of the court was not improved by
Struensee, and he took no care to conceal his relation to the queen.
Emboldened by her affections for the usurper, and the spirit of the
circles in which she moved, she abandoned her former modest ways,
and indulged in imprudent frolic, which gave great offense, and
became the topic of damaging gossip. She appeared in public in
male attire, she rode her horse ci califourchon, and played other gay
pranks which were little in keeping with the dignity of a queen.
Struensee, who was now guiding both her destiny and his own,
1 Karl Wittich, Struensee, p. 94 ff.

356 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

ought to have been her mentor, as the preservation of her good name
should have been a matter of great concern to him, if for no higher
motive than the promotion of his own selfish aims. But instead of
wisely restraining her, who would gladly have yielded to any sug-
gestion from him, we are forced to believe that he was responsible
for her conduct, that it conformed to his peculiar ideas of liberty,
and his utter disregard for all institutions, ideas, and conventionali-
ties which did not represent his own views. In the treatment of
the king he showed the same lack of foresight and true nobleness.
Though all his great powers were still delegated to him by the king,
he even encouraged Brandt to illtreat the imbecile and helpless
monarch. These things were soon noised abroad, and became
effective weapons in the hands of his enemies. The rumors that the
king was being illtreated, and that the royal family was being dis-
graced by Struensee, created a storm of ill-will which emboldened his
opponents. A plot was formed to overthrow him, the leader of
which was his own faithless friend Rantzau, who was aided by Ove
H0eg-Guldberg and Queen Juliane Marie. In the early morning of
January 17, 1772, after a ball at the court, the conspirators gained
entrance to the palace, and placed Struensee, Brandt, and the queen
under arrest. The success of the plot was hailed with general de-
light, and the only thought of the leaders was to punish the offenders
as severely as possible. Struensee and Brandt were condemned to
death and executed after a trial which was declared by many to be
a travesty on justice.^ It is true that the charge of crimen laesae
majestatis could be but lamely maintained against Struensee, since
the king himself had placed him in power, and the cabinet minister
had performed every official act by order of the king. It is also true
that Guldberg, one of the conspirators, should not have been made
one of the judges at the trial. The king might, indeed, have good

^ H. Walpole says in his Journal of the Reign oj King George III., vol. I.,
p. 115: '''The sentences . . . instead of satisfying the public have excited
a general compassion for them, and an abhorrence of their barbarous exe-
cution ; and, in short, they are now looked upon as victims of the state, sacri-
ficed to the ambition and hatred of their enemies."

In a letter of July 6, 1772, the Danish diplomat. Count Rochus Fr. Lynar,
condemns the execution of the count in the strongest terms, and says that
Vin all Europe they ridicule this decision, which, to Denmark's disgrace, has
been translated into nearly every language."

n THE STRUENSEE PERIOD 357

reason to feel offended at the prisoners, but he had made no com-
plaint, though he was finally prevailed upon to sign their death
warrants. The vindictive character of the prosecution, and the
barbaric punishment inflicted, shows that the conspirators were bent
on destroying their opponents rather than securing even-handed
justice. Queen Carolina Mathilda was placed in Kronborg castle,
where she was allowed to communicate only with persons selected
for her company. Her marriage to Christian VII. was annulled by
the court, a decree which was not only harsh, but impolitic and un-
wise. If she had erred, she was still infinitely better than her worth-
less husband, who was long since unfit to marry again. She had
come to the Danish court while very young ; she was given in mar-
riage to a worthless rake ; she was surrounded from the outset by the
evil influences of an immoral court, and had fallen into the snares of
an artful seducer, who in the hours of trouble had won her con-
fidence as a friend and adviser. Her misfortunes should have pal-
liated many of her mistakes, but the obdurate judges, who could
spell wisdom only from the dull letters of the law, rendered a decision
which could not garnish the corrupt Danish court with a virtue
which it did not possess, but only served to offend her brother. King
George III., and to awaken among the English people a hostility to
Denmark-Norway which may have been responsible for many later
unhappy events. Her divorce and imprisonment were regarded in
England as a violation of English national honor, and a storm of
indignation was aroused. A letter in the "Public Advertiser"
demanded that a fleet should be immediately dispatched to Copen-
hagen to frighten Queen Mathilda's enemies, and Junius, the anony-
mous author of the famous "Letters of Junius," plied his eloquent
pen in violent criticism of the "Northern Vandals" and the "shame-
ful remissness" of Lord North, who, according to the writer, failed
to take energetic measures for her protection.^ It had been the
plan of the conspirators to keep the queen in a mild imprisonment
at Aalborg, but when the English government protested, they decided
to turn her over to the English authorities. Her dowry of £80,000
should be refunded her, she should retain the title of queen, but she
had to part with her children, who were regarded as members of the

1 Karl Wittich, Struensee, p. 146.

358 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

Danish royal family. Two English frigates were sent to Copenhagen
to carry her from Denmark. On May 30, 1773, Queen Carolina
Mathilda sailed away from the land which had witnessed her mis-
fortunes, but which still harbored the treasures of her heart. She
was carried to Celle in her brother. King George's, Hanoverian
possessions, where she was to reside. In that city she died May 10,
1775, twenty-four years of age. "Thus ended this drama of which
she had been the heroine," says Professor Wittich. "History could
have numbered this high-minded and lovable woman among the
worthiest of princesses, if destiny had not linked her to so miserable
a prince without consulting her heart. But even in her delinquencies
she rose to a self-denial and a nobility of soul which make her tower
high above her surroundings, and especially above the man who
betrayed her."

46. Prince Frederick and Ove Hjz^eg-Guldberg
A Period of Reaction

After the overthrow of Struensee, Prince Frederick, a half-brother
of Christian VII., the son of Queen Juliane Marie, became regent,
but the leading spirit in the government was Ove H0eg-Guldberg,
one of the conspirators. He was a man of small ability, a pedant
and reactionary, who was carried into power on the crest of the wave
of loyalty to the king, and opposition to reform which culminated
in the palace revolution of January 17, 1772. Like every pedant
he had a system, and it happened to be very acceptable to those who
had now gained control, and sought to undo every reform which had
been introduced by his fallen predecessor. He considered the pro-
gressive and liberal ideas of the age as idle vagaries, and regarded
education of the common classes as harmful and dangerous. "Hu-
manity," he said, "can bear only a certain amount of knowledge,
and each class must, therefore, have its proper share. More than
that intoxicates. The peasant children," he continues, "acquire
knowledge of Christianity and their duties ; they become acquainted
with the Bible ; they learn to write, and, if they must do so, to figure
a little. Other knowledge they do not need, neither is it profitable
for them. I shudder for everything else which these flatulent times

n PRINCE FREDERICK AND OVE H^EQ-GULDBERG 359

have taught, and with which they would spoil everything." ^ He
did not openly proclaim the maxim that the subjects exist for the
sake of the king, but this is the standpoint from which he generally
reasoned, says Sars. On the whole, his theory of statesmanship was
of the most antiquated sort, and it is true, as his son observes, that
he was a product of the spirit of 1660.^ The first concern of the new
government was to bring everything back into the old conditions.
The Geheimekonceil was reestablished, and the step taken by Struen-
see to abolish serfdom, and to limit the amount of free service to be
rendered by the peasants, was annulled, and the aristocracy were
again allowed to lord it over the peasants, "according to old usage."
A strict censorship of the press was reestablished, and at court the
old abuses and extravagance were reintroduced with the granting of
titles, pensions, offices, gifts, and gratuities to truckling seekers of
royal favors. The old mercantile protective system, which Struen-
see had sought to abolish, was again adopted. Monopolies and
special favors were freely employed to encourage various private
undertakings, and large sums were expended to aid useless com-
mercial and industrial enterprises in the old mercantile spirit. The
reaction was thorough in its work, enthusiastic in its efforts to stop
every wheel of progress, and to turn the clock of the ages back to
the "good old days," when liberal ideas had not yet disturbed those
who possessed all privileges and power.

But even this reactionary government granted one important
reform. As Struensee was a German, and the German language was
always used at court, the overthrow of the foreigner was regarded
as a sort of national victory, and the use of Danish, which had been
so forcibly brought to the people's attention through the comedies
of Holberg, was now urged as a patriotic demand. Suhm wrote to
the king : " Let us again hear our own dear language in your com-
mands. You are a Dane, and I know that you can speak Danish.
Let the foreign language be a sign of the vile traitor who was too
indolent to learn our language, too scoffing to show us so great a

1 Dansk historisk Tidsskrift, IV. R., vol. I., p. 184, quoted by J. E. Sars,
Udsigt over den norske Historic, vol. IV., p. 194.

* Edvard Holm, Nogle Hovedtrcek af Trykkefrihedens Hiatorie 1770-177S,
p. 129, quoted by Sars.

360 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

condescension." ^ On February 3, 1772, the German words of
command in the army were aboHshed by royal order,^ and by an
order of February 13th of the same year it was ordained that Danish
should be the official language of the realm. Another important
measure sustaining the awakening national spirit was the ordinance
of January 15, 1776, Indf^dsretten, by which it was decreed that only
native-born citizens, and those who could be counted equal to them,
should be appointed to office, or to positions of honor in the kingdom.

But while the government aided and encouraged the national
spirit in Denmark, it pursued the very opposite policy in Norway,
where the national awakening was manifesting itself in many ways.
When P. F. Suhm wrote a brief history of Denmark, Norway, and
Holstein, Guldberg himself examined the manuscript, and canceled
or changed every passage in which the author referred to the equality
of Norway and Denmark, returning the mutilated work with the
remarks that " no Norwegian exists. We are all citizens of the king-
dom of Denmark. Do not write for the despicable Christiania
raisoneurs." Such insolent disregard for a people's sentiments and
honor can only awaken resentment, and strengthen their national
feeling. In Norway Guldberg became generally hated. His name
is enrolled in the index to "Samlinger til det norske Folks Sprog og
Historic" with the remark that he "was a learned and narrow-
minded statesman." The former epithet is probably accorded him
from courtesy, that the truth of the latter may appear with better
grace.

While Guldberg was the leading spirit in the government, A. P. Bern-
storff, a nephew of the older Bernstorff , was placed in charge of foreign
affairs. Besides the ill-will which had been created in England by the im-
prisonment of Queen Mathilda, the attitude of Sweden was also causing
alarm. King Gustavus HI., who succeeded his father, Frederick
Adolph, on the throne of that kingdom, February 12, 1771, made
the royal power almost absolute by a successful coup d'etat, August 19,
1772, and although he hastened to assure the neighboring powers that
he desired to maintain peace and friendly relations, it soon became

1 Quoted by O. A. 0verland, Norges Historie, vol. IV., p. 449.
» Dansk historisk Tidsskrift, IV. R., vol. II., p. 738. See Kaxl Wittich,
Struensee, p. 216.

U A PERIOD OF REACTION 361.

evident that he planned to gain possession of Norway. The Nor-
wegian army and defenses had been neglected since 1763, and the
Danish government was well aware that dissatisfaction was widespread
in the sister kingdom. General Huth was, accordingly, dispatched to
Norway to take charge of the military preparations, and Prince Carl
of Hessen, who was married to King Christian's sister Louise, was
made commander-in-chief of the Norwegian army, with the under-
standing that he should reside in Christiania, where he should main-
tain a court in order to stimulate the loyalty of the Norwegian
people.^ The hated extra tax of 1762 was also abolished to gain
their good-will. Active war preparations were now carried on both
in Norway and Sweden. In 1773 Denmark-Norway formed an
alliance with Russia for joint operations against Sweden, but Empress
Catherine II. was at that time at war with Turkey, and no aggressive
step could be taken until this war was ended. The peace was not
interrupted, and friendly relations were again established when the
Northern kingdoms had to defend their rights as neutrals in the
great naval war precipitated by the American Revolution (1775-
1783).

As soon as the war with America began, English privateers seized
neutral merchant vessels, and brought them to English ports on the
charge that they were carrying contraband of war. As no rules had
yet been established as to what should be considered contraband of
war, this threatened to destroy neutral commerce, especially after
France became the ally of the American colonies, and the English
privateers extended their operations to all parts of the world. Sweden
and Holland, as well as Denmark-Norway, protested against this
infringement on the rights of neutrals, and the principle that a " free
ship makes a free cargo" was advanced with so much greater force,
because the English themselves had maintained it against the Bar-
bary States. It was also urged that a port should be considered
blockaded only when all traffic with it was cut off by warships actually
present, and that all neutrals should be treated alike. Fearing that
an alliance between England, Russia, and Denmark-Norway might
be brought about by the negotiations carried on relative to these

^ Prins Carl af Hessen, Optegnelser, translated from the French by C. J. Anker,
Christiania, 1893, p. 77 ff.

362 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 5

points, Sweden proposed a defensive alliance between the three
Northern kingdoms in defense of their trade, but Bernstorff, who
feared that this might lead to war with England, did not favor this
plan. In 1780 Catherine II., acting upon the advice of her minister
Panin, issued a declaration that she would organize a league of all
the neutral states for the support of the following points : Ships of
neutrals should have the right to enter ports and harbors of the nations
at war, a free ship should make free cargo, excepting articles which
should be regarded as contraband of war, and these should be defined
according to the existing treaties. No port should be regarded as
blockaded unless the blockade was made effective by warships
actually present, and the decision as to whether a neutral ship had
been rightfully seized should be based on these principles. These
were the same points which Bernstorff had already urged, and
Sweden, Holland, Denmark-Norway, Prussia, Portugal, the two
Sicilies, and even the German Emperor joined Russia in the proposed
league. But Bernstorff nevertheless signed the treaty with reluc-
tance, as he knew that the coalition was directed against England.
Five days before Denmark-Norway entered the league, he concluded
with England a special treaty, in which more favorable rules were
made relative to contraband of war ; but this step offended Catherine
II., and he was forced to retire from office. England did not venture
to resist this powerful league of neutrals, and the principles which
they had laid down were respected throughout the war, but they
were not accepted as a recognized part of international law.

The great naval war had, none the less, produced for the neutral
nations quite extraordinary commercial advantages, in spite of the
losses and impediments due to the operations of privateers. The
Norwegian merchant marine nearly doubled its tonnage during the
war, and while the total export in 1773 was estimated at 1,370,492
riksdaler, it amounted in 1782 to 2,084,913 riksdaler. But the
flourishing times due to this sudden increase of traffic could not last,
as the return of peace and normal conditions was sure to produce a
serious reaction.

n CROWN PRINCE FREDERICK AND A. P. BERNSTORFF 363

47. Crown Prince Frederick and A. P. Bernstorff.

Increasing Unrest in Norway. Chr. J. Lofthus.

War with Sweden, 1788

When Bernstorff resigned, the reactionary government conducted
by Prince Frederick, Ove Guldberg, and Queen JuHane Marie became
more pedantic than ever, and forfeited the respect of all thinking
people. The support of those who enjoyed the benefits of such a
regime created a feeling of security among those in power, but a
desire for a change was rapidly growing, even though the strict press
censorship prevented any expression of the spreading feeling of dis-
content. In order to retain their power they delayed the confirma-
tion of Crown Prince Frederick, and planned to keep him under the
control of the Council, which consisted of their own partisans. But
the day came, April 14, 1784, when the crown prince, being sixteen
years old, should take his seat in the Council. As soon as the king
was seated, the prince read a paper in which he asked him to abolish
the Council, and to appoint as his advisers A. P. Bernstorff, Rosen-
crants, Huth, and Stampe. Amid the violent protests of Prince
Frederick, the regent, the king was persuaded to sign the document.
The old regime was overthrown by this well-planned coup de theatre,
and the greatest excitement prevailed in the palace. But the Eng-
lish government, as well as a majority of the people of Denmark,
probably felt a secret satisfaction that Queen Caroline Mathilda's
son had driven from power those who had imprisoned and banished
his mother.

Crown Prince Frederick, who now became regent, was inex-
perienced, not very gifted, and but indifferently educated, but he
loved fairness and justice, and his choice of ministers shows that he
favored progressive and liberal ideas. The leadership in the new
government naturally devolved on the experienced statesman A. P.
Bernstorff. Assisted by his able associates, E. Schimmelmann, C. D.
Reventlow, and Christian Colbj0rnsen, he inaugurated an era of
reform which may be characterized as a period of social reconstruc-
tion, though the changes were made with due caution and moderation.
Even as to the theory of government, Bernstorff entertained very
liberal views, maintaining that the will of the people should be the

364 fflSTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

king's law, a principle which, if carried out, would make the king the
servant of the people instead of the virtual owner of the state. But
this could be done only by creating a national legislature where the
will of the people could be expressed by their chosen representatives,
and such a reform he probably never thought of, or even desired.
In his work as reformer he was still the benevolent despot, whose
phrases about the will of the people only indicate his wish to improve
their social condition.

With regard to industry and commerce, Bernstorff abandoned the
old mercantile system, and abolished monopolies and special privileges.
The freedom of the press was reestablished, and censorship of litera-
ture was done away with. In his most important reforms, which
aimed at the emancipation of the Danish peasants, he was ably
assisted by the very competent and liberal-minded Christian Col-
bj0rnsen. This gifted statesman was a Norwegian by birth, a relative
of the Colbj0rnsen brothers of Fredrikshald, who won fame in the
Great Northern War. He had come to Denmark in his early youth,
and became intensely devoted to the doctrines of the rights of man
and the liberal ideas of the age. "Liberty," he said, "is nature's
first and most glorious gift to the noblest of her creatures." "No
feeling is more deeply imprinted in human nature than the love of
liberty." It is natural that these ideas should make him a friend of
the oppressed Danish peasants, and when he was made secretary of
a commission of sixteen members, appointed in 1786 to examine the
whole relation between landlords and peasants, he became their
ablest spokesman. As a result of the recommendation of this com-
mission serfdom was abolished in Denmark, and the amount of free
service to be rendered by the peasants was limited and defined by
ordinances issued June 20, 1788, and June 24, 1791. These reforms,
which freed the almost enslaved peasants, had a tendency to alter
social conditions fundamentally. They represent the first important
step in a new social and economic development in Denmark.^

In Norway no serfdom had existed, and as the binder enjoyed
great social and economic independence, there was no need of the
kind of reforms instituted in Denmark. But the struggle which had

* E. Holm, Kampen om Landreformerne i Danmark. J. A. FVidericia,
Den danske Bondestands Frigj^relse.

II INCREASING UNREST IN NORWAY. CHR. J. LOFTHUS 365

always been waged between the people and the greedy Danish officials
grew more intense as the national spirit developed, and liberal ideas
were disseminated. The Norwegians had at all times been very
loyal to the king, whom they fondly regarded as their king, but
they had also been very intolerant of oppression at the hands of
royal officials, who were often guilty of extortionate and unlawful
practices. Excessive taxes imposed against the will of the people,
and harmful trade monopolies which increased the prices on the
necessities of life, added fuel to the smoldering discontent, and when
the hinder gathered about their hearthstones they had many griev-
ances to complain of, and many a violent clash with the officials to
narrate. But these clashes never assumed the dimensions of a revolt.
They were isolated occurrences produced by local conditions, violent
resistance to oppression, but no national uprising aiming at inde-
pendence; for even the leaders lacked the scope of vision to con-
ceive such a plan. Among the many tragic episodes in this more
intense than dramatic struggle was a movement in Nedenes ami in
southern Norway in 1786 and 1787, led by Chr. J. Lofthus.

The people in that mountain district felt grievously oppressed by
the heavy taxes, and the rapacity of the officials, as well as by the
laws governing the importation of grain, which had increased the
prices on that commodity. A commission appointed to examine
into the causes of the almost incessant complaints gave a very gloomy
picture of the situation. A report in which the popular foged,
Weidemann, also concurred, states : " We unite our prayer with
that of the foged, and recommend the people to your Majesty's
favor. As long as they could, they willingly paid, but inability is no
crime." The commission also found that the royal officials had
oppressed and wronged the people by extortionate charges, and two
judges, sorenskrivere, were removed from office, a sufficient proof
that the complaints were well founded. With the return of peace
after the American Revolution, Norwegian commerce decreased,
hard times followed, and the large numbers of unemployed in the
coast districts helped to swell the general discontent. The oppressed
people soon found a leader and spokesman in Chr. J. Lofthus, a honde
in Moland. Among his neighbors he was highly respected, and well
known for his energy and intelligence, but also for the tenacity with

366 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

which he defended his legal rights.^ Lofthus would go to Denmark
and complain to Crown Prince Frederick of the government officials
in his district. But although Bernstorff had said that the people's
will should be the king's law, the ordinance of 1685, forbidding the
Norwegian binder to petition the king, on the penalty of loss of
liberty and property, and the royal edict of 1744, which threatened
any Norwegian who came to Denmark with a complaint or petition
not signed by the amtmand with imprisonment in the citadel, still
threatened with destruction any one who ventured to bring the
people's will to the attention of the government in Copenhagen.
But the Norwegians had confidence in the king's good-will; for it
had often happened that he had heard their complaints, and had
granted them relief without paying attention to the unjust laws. In
1785 the people of Telemarken and other districts sent three represen-
tatives to Copenhagen to petition the king for redress of grievances,
and the following year Hans Kolstad was sent on a similar mission.
The government did not punish them. The tall men in uniform
who served as the king's bodyguard were their countrymen; the
Norwegian people's courage and love of liberty had inspired respect
in Denmark. They were allowed to return home, and the govern-
ment instructed the fogeds in Norway that they should be guided in
their charges by the tax-lists and the rules regulating fees. In 1786
Lofthus went to Denmark with a written complaint bearing 329
signatures. The crown prince received him in audience, and after
having heard the complaint, told him that more conclusive proof
would be required. Lofthus returned home, had a meeting with
those who had signed the complaint, and received from them a cer-
tificate of the genuineness of the signatures, and of his own appoint-
ment as a special delegate to the king. With these documents he
returned to Copenhagen, but he met the same objection as before.
The crown prince, however, gave him his word of honor that if
he could furnish adequate proof the matter would be investigated.
Lofthus returned home, and, acting as a self-constituted tribune of
the people, he assembled meetings of the binder in his own home,
and traveled about from place to place to collect evidence, and to

1 Henrik Wergeland, Samlede Skrifter, vol. VIII., p. 150, Almuestals-
manden Christian Jensen Lofthus.

n INCREASING UNREST IN NORWAY. CHR. J. LOFTHUS 367

secure new signatures. This activity was considered by the authori-
ties of the districts to be rebelHous, and steps were taken to arrest
him. But as he was aided by the binder, he was able to elude the
officers, and to continue to hold secret meetings with the people.
At the meeting with the amtmand the binder demanded that Lofthus
should not be arrested, and that he should receive a passport to go
as their representative to Copenhagen, a request which was finally
granted. In October Lofthus started for Copenhagen with the
signed document in company with thirty men, who should act as
witnesses. But the amtmand notified the government about what
had happened, and said that Lofthus had organized a very dangerous
uprising. The government immediately issued orders to the amt-
mand to arrest Lofthus, and place him in the fortress of Christian-
sand, and the chief of police of Copenhagen was instructed to seize him
and his band, if he had already arrived in that city. In the mean-
time Lofthus and his thirty companions marched along the Swedish
coast towards Helsingborg, where they would cross the Sound to
Denmark. When they arrived in that city, they learned of the
orders issued for their arrest. Lofthus sent a number of his men to
Denmark to secure a safe-conduct, but before their return he decided
to start homeward with a few followers. As soon as he arrived in
Nedenes, the amtmand made strenuous efforts to arrest him, but
through the people's aid Lofthus always evaded his pursuers. The
bfhider gathered in large numbers to defend him, but no acts of vio-
lence were committed, and there is no evidence that they had any
rebellious intentions. In the meantime Lofthus' companions who
had been sent to Copenhagen had secured a safe-conduct for their
leader, and a royal commission was appointed to investigate the
troubles in Nedenes. This commission assembled in Christiansand,
and Lofthus, together with a large number of binder, met and sub-
mitted their complaints, supported by most damaging evidence against
the accused. The commission found the charges to be true. They
found the people to be peaceful and loyal, and they did not get the
impression that Lofthus was a dangerous character. But Judge
Smith and Captain Hammer, together with a lawyer, Salvesen,
formed a secret plot to arrest Lofthus, who wandered about in the
neighborhood, and sometimes returned to his own home for a short

368 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

visit. Watching their opportunity, they fell upon him with a band
of armed men, bound him, and threw him into a boat. In a raging
storm they escaped from the angry binder who pursued them, and
succeeded in carrying their prisoner to Christiania, where he was
imprisoned in the fortress of Akershus. Five years he spent in this
dungeon before the court finally decreed that he should remain in
prison for life ; probably as unjust a decision as a judicial tribunal
ever rendered. An appeal was made to the superior court, and that
tribunal, after deliberating seven years upon the final verdict, sus-
tained the decree of the lower court, two years after the defendant
had breathed his last in his prison cell at Akershus. The unjust
officials, who were the cause of the deplorable affair, escaped with
light punishment. Two of the worst offenders, the judges Smith
and Br0nsdorph, had to pay a fine together with the expenses of the
trial; the diocesan prefect, Adeler, was removed from office and
pensioned ; the rest escaped all punishment. Those who had arrested
Lofthus were liberally rewarded. Such a miscarriage of justice is
explainable when we bear in mind that the government officials of
whatever title constituted a bureaucracy, consolidated by inter-
marriage, friendship, and common interests into a distinct social
class. The extortion and corruption of which some might be accused
were, perchance, practiced in a greater or less degree by all, and
when an offender was made to answer in a court consisting of his
own friends and colleagues, the procedure was usually a hollow
mockery. When the hinder were goaded to open resistance, the
officials used their power with vindictive harshness to terrorize them,
and keep them at bay ; hence the deep-rooted hatred and the intense
struggle between the two classes, which never ceased until the Nor-
wegian bureaucracy had disappeared.

The disturbance in which Lofthus had become the central figure
made a deep impression in Norway. It was a local affair, like many
a similar episode, but it occurred at a time when the national spirit
was awakening, when the atmosphere of despotic Europe was sur-
charged with ideas which struck at the very root of the old regime,
and when destiny had brought the hour of national freedom closer
to the Norwegian people than they supposed. It took place even
within the dawn of the great national daybreak, some light of which

II WAR WITH SWEDEN, 1788

was later reflected upon it. The episode ended in a groan of pain,
but it stirred the people's spirit, and taught them to understand the
value of independence. The political situation might have given
it an even greater significance, if the moment had been opportune.
We have observed that the desire for national autonomy in educa-
tional and business affairs had grown strong in Norway, that liberal
ideas were spreading among the upper classes,^ and that the hinder
were growing more restive than ever under the irksome burdens
placed upon them by the bureaucracy. Gustavus III. of Sweden
had long entertained the hope that he might be able to profit by
these circumstances, and some day gain possession of Norway. He
had for many years carried on a secret agitation in the eastern dis-
tricts of the kingdom, but at the time of the mentioned episode he
was inactive. "Had the Lofthusian movement happened fourteen
years earlier, or four years later," says Overland, "there might have
been danger for the Danish-Norwegian state." ^

Gustavus HI. watched events in Norway very closely, and even
appointed a consul-general in Christiania to act as a secret diplomatic
agent for the purpose of strengthening the pro-Swedish sentiment.
But a visit of Crown Prince Frederick in 1788, and the removal of
the restrictions on the importation of grain by the ordinance of
January 6th of that year, tended to satisfy the always loyal Nor-
wegians, though their demand for a bank and a university had not
been granted. King Gustavus IH. was now planning to attack
Russia, in the hope of regaining southern Finland, as Catherine II.
was engaged in a war with the Turks. Denmark-Norway had formed
an alliance with Russia in 1773, but without being able to secure the
neutrality of his near neighbor, Gustavus invaded Finland, and laid
siege to Nyslot and Frederickshamn. The Russian troops had been
withdrawn from the northern provinces, and even St. Petersburg
had been left without a garrison, but no attack could be made on
the capital after the Swedish fleet had failed to gain a decisive victory

^ Ludvig Daae, Det gamle Christiania, p. 185 ff. Yngvar Nielsen, Gustav
Ill's norske Politik, Historisk Tidsskrift, anden rsekke, vol. I., p. 5 fif.

2 Norges Historic, vol. X., p. 32. Yngvar Nielsen, Gustav Ill's Politik,
Historisk Tidsskrift, anden rsekke, vol. I., p. 1 ff. J. Hellstenius, Konung
Gustaf den tredjes danska politik, Nordisk Universitets Tidsskrift for 1861-
62.

VOL. II. — 2b

370 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

over the Russians at Hogland, July 17th. This undecisive battle
and the tiresome siege of Frederickshamn caused great dissatisfaction
in the Swedish army. The higher officers organized a mutiny, and
Gustavus was forced to give up the campaign. He returned to
Sweden, punished the offenders, and by a new coup d'etat he gained
even more absolute power than before.

By the treaty of alliance Denmark-Norway had engaged to assist
Russia in case of war, but it was now recognized that any increase in
the power of that steadily growing Empire would be prejudicial to
the safety of the whole North. Bernstorff was aware of this, and
granted grudgingly the least assistance possible under the terms of
the treaty. A Norwegian army of 12,000 men under Prince Carl of
Hessen was sent into Bohuslen to make a diversion on the Swedish
border. Crown Prince Frederick, who had become enthusiastic
over the opportunity of participating in a war, accompanied the army.
After a minor engagement at Kvistrum Bro, where a Swedish detach-
ment was captured, Prince Carl intended to seize Gottenborg, but
as England and Prussia threatened to intervene, the Norwegian army
was withdrawn from Swedish territory, and peace was restored in
November, 1788.^

The struggle between Sweden and Russia was renewed in 1789,
but although Gustavus won a great naval victory in Svensksund,
July 9 and 10, 1790, where he captured thirty ships and 6000 men,
he was unable to pursue his advantage, and the outcome of the
war was doubtful. The events of the French Revolution had also
made a deep impression on the imaginative king. He hastened to
conclude the peace of Verela on the basis of statu quo, and proposed
an alliance with Russia against the Revolution.

Gustavus ni. was bitterly offended at the Danish government
because of the aid which it had given to Russia, and when peace
was restored, he renewed his agitation in Norway. Through his fa-
vorite, Armfelt, and his secret agent, Manderfelt, who was stationed
in Copenhagen, he entered into negotiations with a few Norwegians
who desired independence of Denmark. Carsten Tank and three
others met the Swedish agents, March 11, 1790, but their meeting,

' Chr. Blangstrup, Begivenhederne t Nor den i Efteraaret 1788. E. Holm
Ddnmarka Politik under den svensk-rnssiske Krig fra 1 788-1 790.

II LITERATURE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 371

which was repeated later at Karlstad, produced no definite result.^
Arm felt said of Tank that he was a man whose head was full of
political sophisms and enthusiastic ideas of liberty, and King Gus-
tavus suspected, undoubtedly with a good reason, that what the
Norwegians desired was not union with Sweden, but independence
and a republican government. The ideas of the French Revolution
had found adherents also among the Norwegians, who desired sepa-
ration from Denmark, not for the purpose of joining another foreign
kingdom equally despotic, but in order to establish republican free-
dom according to their own ideas. Why, then, should he support
them when he had made it his special aim to combat the French
Revolution. In 1792 King Gustavus was shot down by an assassin,
and all Swedish agitation in Norway ceased.

48. Danish-Norwegian Literature in the Second Half of
THE Eighteenth Century

The separatistic tendencies and growing national spirit in Nor-
way, of which distinct manifestations have been observed especially
in connection with the agitation for a university, comes even more
clearly to view in the literature of the later half of the eighteenth
century. Ludvig Holberg, who by his reformatory activity and great
genius became the founder of modern Danish-Norwegian literature,
had introduced the new thought and liberal ideas of the Aufkldrung,
and had brought intellectual life in the North under the influence of
French and English thought. In his day the new movement was
still in its beginning, but in the field of history, philosophy, and
politics a school of young writers, such as J. S. Sneedorff and P. F.
Suhm, followed the paths which he had discovered, and became the
disciples of the great French writers, especially of Montesquieu. So
sudden was the change that Holberg in his old age grew somewhat
alarmed over the movement which he had started, and began to

1 ^'The family Anker were regarded as Swedish sympathizers," says
Prince Carl of Hessen in his Optegnelser (Memoires de mon temps), 1744-
1784, p. 84. Carsten Anker was prominently connected with the events of
1814. When the prince states that there were some leaders who wished
to make Norway an independent kingdom and choose him king, he is prob-
ably guilty of a misunderstanding.

372 msTORY OP teto Norwegian people n

revise some of his earlier expressions regarding the placidity and
moderation of his countrymen. Sars points out that in one of his
epistles Holberg refers to an earlier description of the Danes as a
people who do not easily go to extremes, but generally walk in the
middle of the road, a description which was considered true at
the time, as the Danish people actually possessed such a trait. But
if the work should again be published, says the author, we would
have to add a foot-note stating that in the last twenty or thirty
years they have changed character so completely that they are no
longer recognizable.^ That the leaven had begun to work became
manifest in the growing unrest and increased intellectual activity;
and as it produced a new era of development, it also brought to light
a difference in temper and character in the peoples of the two king-
doms which would soon bring about a dissolution of the literary
partnership which had hitherto existed. Holberg, who was a Nor-
wegian by birth, but had done his great life work in Denmark, had
pointed out this difference with characteristic keenness of observa-
tion. The Danes, he thinks, have a "strange modesty" and are
inclined to follow the middle path, while the Norwegians are haughty,
and, like the English, inclined to go to extremes. That the free im-
folding of the native traits and tendencies of each people should
produce an ever-increasing divergence between them is quite natural.
Holberg's cosmopolitan interests and broad scope of vision made
him look upon Danish-Norwegian literature as a possession common
to both peoples, in which a slight difference in national spirit could
be left out of account. But these irreconcilable traits of national
character soon entered into the new development as a most im-
portant factor. The trend of literary progress was soon to be deter-
mined by two distinct kinds of foreign influence which divided the
writers into two camps, as they associated themselves with one or
the other of the two prevailing tendencies. In 1751 the German poet
Klopstock was invited to Copenhagen, where he stayed for twenty
years, and became the center of a large circle of German and Danish
admirers. Many sought to imitate his bombastic odes and his
declamatory pathos. Such homage was paid him by his enthusi-
astic adherents that he exercised the influence of a literary monarch.

^ J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norake Historie, vol. lY., p. 162.

II LITERATURE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 373

His most important disciple was the gifted poet Johannes Ewald,
who became the chief exponent of German influence in Denmark.
Ewald and his followers organized Det danske Literatur-Se skab, and
this circle of young poets sought to give the views of their leader full
currency in Danish literature. But while the German influence gained
preponderance among the Danish poets, the Norwegians continued
to look to England and France for their models. The first English
novelists, and especially the fervid and imaginative description of
nature in the "Seasons" of James Thomson, had kindled an enthu-
siastic love of nature which in Germany, Norway, and elsewhere
created a new literary taste.^ Even Rousseau had gathered ideas
from this source, and his slogan, "return to nature," was in perfect
accord with the views of the English poets. In Norway Christian
Braunmann Tullin wrote a long descriptive poem, "Maidagen," in
the strain of Thomson's " Seasons." Measured by modern stand-
ards it is a production of no exceptional merit, but in the midst of
the insipidity and dullness of the literature of that day it was hailed
with enthusiasm as a literary event of the first magnitude. Tullin,
who represented the English-French influence as truly as Ewald rep-
resented the German, had hoisted the standard about which the
Norwegian poets were to rally in opposition to Ewald and his party.^
In Copenhagen the Norwegians organized in 1772 Det norske Selskab,
a literary club which numbered among its members Johan Nordahl
Brun, Nils Krog Bredal, Claus Fasting, Johan Herman Wessel, Claus
Frimann, and his brother Peder Frimann, Jens Zetlitz, Jonas Rein,
and others. Even the names of the two societies which had suddenly
appeared as rivals show that national spirit, no less than literary
taste, tended to bring about a gradual separation of Danes and Nor-
wegians in the field of literature, and the poetry written in the two
clubs was soon to dispel all doubt on this point. Ewald chose for
many of his productions national themes, as in the drama "Rolf
Krage," and pointed the way to Danish heroic tradition and early
history. The Norwegians lauded in patriotic songs the freedom and

^ Knut Gjerset, Der Einfluss von James Thompson's '' Jahreszeiten" auf die
deutsche Literatur des achtzenten Jahrhunderts, Heidelberg, 1898.

2 J. S. Welhaven, Samlede Skrifter, vol. VIII., Om Betydningen af det norske
Selskabs Opposition mod den Ewaldske Poesi.

374 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

grandeur of their country. Johan Nordahl Bran, the most ardent
patriot, said in a song to "Norway the motherland of heroes" that
the Norwegians would some day awaken and break all chains and
fetters. These fetters could only be the union with Denmark, but
it is possible that extravagant expressions of this sort were little
more than rhetorical flourishes. The Norwegians prided themselves
no less on their loyalty to the king than on their love for their father-
land, whose ancient glory they had just begun to discover. But an
era of storm and stress had come, when great feelings were expressed
in vehement language, while the ideas had not yet clarified them-
selves into definite principles. A higher intellectual life had been
kindled, a new patriotism had been awakened among the higher
classes, who possessed learning and ability enough to speak for the
whole nation, who could view the life of their people in its historic
aspect. They knew that Norway had been great in the past, and
felt sure that its vigor would return, that it would rise again from
dependency to new national greatness. The thought was inspiring,
intoxicating. Their patriotic songs grew as vehement as their en-
thusiasm was intense. They had no specific aim, no definite plan,
but they felt their own worth, and knew that their countrymen, if
given a fair opportunity, would attain a position no less honorable
than that which they had occupied of old. This conviction found
support, not only in memories of the past, but in conditions of their
own age. Were not the Norwegians a free people throughout the
whole union period, as compared with the Danes, and were they not
lauded for their courage and their irrepressible love of liberty ? Had
they not shown that they possessed both vigor and talent ? ^ The
members of Det norshe Selskab had not forgotten that Tordenskjold,
Adelaer, and Huitfeldt were Norwegians, that Ludvig Holberg, the
greatest genius of his age in the North, was their countryman, that
in the Danish capital their own club embraced, with the single excep-

^ In conformity with the Rousseauan ideas current in the latter half of
the eighteenth century, thinkers and poets had pointed to the Norweg:ian
binder as a model people owning their own farms and leading a healthful
rustic life in freedom and contentment. There was some truth in this,
though the picture was generally overdrawn. Tyge Rothe, Denmark's
leading thinker at that time, says: " Praise worthily proud are the sons of
Norway, and who wonders that the binder are so, when he knows that among

n LITERATURE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 375

tion of Ewald, the best poetic talent in the realm. There was the
incomparable satirist Wessel, the rare epigrammatist Fasting, the
fine lyric poet Claus Frimann, the noted Johan Nordahl Brun, and
many others who added luster to the literature of this period. As
they were fully conscious of these things, there was from the start a
ring of victory, yea often of boastfulness, in their lines. They might
write dramas according to French models, as did Bredal and Brun,
or they might, like Fasting, use their keen wit in epigrams, or in biting
satire, like Wessel, who destroyed the French dramatic influence in
Danish-Norwegian literature by his incomparable parody "Kjser-
lighed uden Str0mper." ^ These things were of importance in litera-
ture, but their songs to liberty and Norway, their poems about the
Norwegian people, about mountain scenery and country life in their
own native land touched the hearts of their countrymen in a different
way. They gave the people the opportunity for the first time to
sing out in bold triumphant tones their love of liberty and fatherland.
The verses lived in their lives, and traced deep sentiments on their
hearts. It was the first lesson in true patriotism. Though often
offensively bombastic, and faulty enough when measured by the
highest literary standards, these songs were of greater importance
than the more sumptuous literary efforts of the age.

Besides the patriotic songs, a new kind of popular poems began
to appear, written in the strain of the folk-songs. Many of Brun's
best productions, and several collections of songs by Claus Frimann,
belong to this kind of popular lyrical poesy. Especially noteworthy
is also the collection of poems, " Gudbrandsdalske Viser, " by Edward
Storm. These poems are written in the Norwegian vernacular, and
describe home, love, and nature with fervent sentiment and great
accuracy of local coloring. The author also wrote many popular
ballads, of which the best known is "Zinclars Vise." Many songs

their number are those who descend from kings, and that they through suc-
ceeding generations have dwelt on their farms, which they own by right of
odel; that they have been true warriors and defenders of their country. Is
it a wonder that also the Norwegians of other classes understand what national
honor is. He who lives in the pure mountain atmosphere ; he with his
traditions of the past ; he with the thought that his country has been a land
of freedom, not of aristocracy or serfdom." Quoted by J. E. Sars, His-
torisk Indledning til Grundloven, p. 108.

1 Introduction to J, H. Wessel's Samlede Digte, edited by J. Levin.

376 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

written by these poets are so truly national both in spirit and con-
tents that they have continued to live among the people as real folk-
songs. Of such may be mentioned : Brun's " Bor jeg paa det h0ie
Fjeld," "For Norge Kjsempers F0deland"; Claus Frunann's "Ondt
ofte lider den Fiskermand," "Saa knytter jeg Traad"; Edward
Storm's "Os ha gjort, kva gjerast skulde," "Markje gr0nnast,
Snjogen braana," and many others. Though linked to Denmark
with every tie of loyalty, the new school of poets had become ardent
Norwegian patriots. They had rediscovered the true fountains of
song, and had expressed with beauty and truthfulness the inmost
thoughts and feelings of their people relative to home, nature, and
fatherland. In Denmark they had exercised so predominant an
influence upon literary life, and had developed in their poetry
so distinct a national spirit, that, as L. Dietrichson says, "it must
have been evident to all at the end of the period that a nation, not
a province, spoke through the Norwegian poets."

The growing national sentiment received support, also, in the
Norwegian press, which began to develop in this period. The first
Norwegian paper of any importance was the "Christiania Intelli-
gentssedler, " founded in 1763. The paper was a weekly, but prior
to 1814 it took no definite stand in political matters. In 1805 it
began to appear twice weekly, and in 1830 it became a daily.^
" Trondhjemske Samlinger af Philaletes," a literary and scientific
periodical, published in Trondhjem by P. F. Suhm, was founded in
1767, and in 1775 Hans Storm in S0ndm0r began to publish "Til-
skueren paa Landet," a periodical which was printed in Copenhagen.
In Bergen a number of periodicals were founded, but they were
generally short-lived and of little real importance.^ A publication
of high merit was Claus Fasting's "Provincial-blade," published
in Bergen from 1778 to 1781. In 1808 the poet Jonas Rein became
clergyman in Bergen, and together with Christian Magnus Falsen
and Herman Foss he began the publication of "Den norske Til-
skuer."

* Dagbladet, Christiania, May 25, 1913.

• Decorah-Posten, Decorah, la., June 13, 1913. L. Dietrichson, Omrids
af den norske Poeais Historie, p. 146 ff.

n revolution and despotism 377

49. Revolution and Despotism. Denmark-Norway's Foreign

Policy, 1792-1814

The liberal ideas which had broken through the crust of eighteenth
centurj' despotism had created a feeling of unrest which was rapidly
spreading over all Europe. Serious attention had been paid to the
conditions of the common classes, who were yet drudging under
feudalistic oppression, and a desire had been awakened for greater
freedom and better social conditions. The neglected and enslaved
masses had begun to feel that the hour of liberation was approaching,
and poets and thinkers were dreaming of the millennium which would
be ushered in when liberty and justice should regenerate the world.
The charm of the new ideas regarding liberty and equality, of social
regeneration and the rights of man ; the self-evident truths regarding
the injustice and iniquity of oppression and corrupt social insti-
tutions, so eloquently and fearlessly proclaimed, had for a moment
touched all hearts, as if a new revelation had suddenly burst upon
the age. Even the despots themselves had become benefactors of
the people. The French Revolution brought this feeling to a climax.
Gray-haired scholars became enthusiastic, and those who possessed
learning and foresight enough to interpret the meaning and possible
results of political events hailed it as the coming of that new era of
which poets had dreamed and sages prophesied. But the crowned
heads, and the privileged classes, who were intrenched in power,
suddenly grew alarmed when they realized that the first sacrifice
demanded for the attainment of this new social felicity would be
their own privileges and despotic power. To them the Revolution
was a rude shock which awakened them from their dreams. The
cherub of liberty had suddenly changed into the demon of rebellion.
They forgot their quarrels, and hastened to unite to arrest the spread
of so dangerous a movement. Revolution became the terror of
the age, and every liberal idea, yea every useful reform was soon
classified as revolt against established authority.

No one felt more alarmed than Gustavus III. of Sweden. He
hastened to terminate his war with Russia, and on October 19, 1791,
he concluded a treaty with the Russian Empress, Catherine II.,
for joint operation against the French Revolution. His untimely

378 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

death prevented him from carrying out his plans, and Catherine II.
was rather indifferent, as she was still occupied with the war with
Turkey. But Austria and Prussia had also formed an alliance to
oppose the Revolution, and on April 20, 1792, King Louis XVI. was
persuaded to begin war against these powers. The two allies tried
to prevail on the lesser powers to join them in a general coalition against
France, and Denmark-Norway was also invited. But Bernstorff
declined, as he held that every nation ought to have a right to deter-
mine for itself its form of government, and that foreign powers had
no right to interfere with the internal affairs of France. An invita-
tion extended by Catherine II. of Russia was also declined. The
fate of Poland convinced Bernstorff that the great powers would
not hesitate to swallow up the smaller states at the first opportunity,
and he saw that their only safety lay in neutrality in the great struggle
which had begun. But to remain neutral became difficult enough,
especially after England and Holland joined the enemies of France
after the execution of Louis XVI. Commerce was exposed to the
greatest dangers, and slight regard was paid by the belligerent
powers even to the limited rights which neutrals were supposed to
have. Catherine II. of Russia, who had maintained that the flag
protected the ship and its cargo, that the blockade of a port, in order
to be respected, must be made effective ; who in 1780 had organized
the great coalition for the protection of the rights of neutrals, now
boldly announced that she had discarded these principles, that the
neutrals would be given the choice of discontinuing all trade with
France, or of joining the coalition against that country. France
was to be starved into submission. It was a piece of perfidy char-
acteristic of that age of dishonest diplomacy and disregard of pledges
and treaties. In order to enforce her demand, Catherine sent a
fleet of thirty war vessels to Denmark, and announced both in Stock-
holm and Copenhagen that this fleet would cruise in the North Sea,
and seize all ships sailing under the French flag; that the ships of
neutrals, sailing to French ports, would be searched and turned
back. England took a similar stand, but Bernstorff could not be
intimidated. He told both England and Russia that their demands
would not be complied with, and Danish-Norwegian ships continued
to sail. The Russians did not molest them, in spite of the threats

n DENMARK-NORWAY'S FOREIGN POLICY, 1792-1814 379

which had been made, but the EngHsh continued their old practice
of sending out privateers to prey upon neutral commerce.

After the death of Gustavus III. the relations between Sweden
and Denmark became more friendly. Duke Carl of Sodermanland,
King Gustavus' brother, who became regent during the minority
of the crown prince, was less gifted but more careful than his brother,
and as he was anxious to maintain the neutrality of Sweden, a treaty
of alliance was concluded between Sweden and Denmark-Norway
in 1794. They agreed to make the Baltic Sea neutral waters, and
to place a joint fleet in the North Sea for the protection of their com-
merce, but the treaty should not include the German provinces of
the two powers, as these could not be kept neutral. The relations
with England grew very strained, as the English continued to annoy
the allied Northern kingdoms with all sorts of unreasonable demands ;
among others, that proof should be given that the cargoes carried
by their ships were their own property, that French privateers should
be excluded from Norwegian harbors, etc. The English ambassador
to Denmark-Norway, Hailes, was also a very impudent and disagree-
able gentleman. But the presence of the joint fleet of the neutrals
had a tranquilizing effect, and as the English became gradually more
reasonable, a hostile collision was averted.

The results obtained through Bemstorff's wise policy of neutrality
and alliance with Sweden, and the evident danger to weaker states,
as illustrated by the fate of Poland, changed the hatred and mistrust
between the Northern kingdoms into a feeling of friendship. The
idea that the three sister nations should draw closer together had
long been growing, and eloquent political leaders advocated a dis-
tinct Scandinavian policy, which should secure the permanent cooper-
ation of the three kingdoms for their own protection. In an address
before the Scandinavian club, "Nordiske Forening, " in London
January 28, 1792, the Danish historian F. Sneedorff said in speaking
of the political situation in the North : " You will notice that Russia
has gained control of the commerce of the Black Sea, and it is no
imagined danger if you fear the same in the Baltic." "When
Germany and Russia," he continued, "join hands across the Baltic
Sea, it will be too late for us in the North to unite. There will then
be nothing left for us but to die, or to hide among the mountains.

380 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

even as our fathers hid behind their shields, and to disappear as
states. But what power can be dangerous to a united Scandinavia ?
Our mountains, our islands, our united fleets, our severe climate, our
love of liberty, of our fatherland, and our kings will make it impossible
for any power on earth to deprive us of our independence." ^ Simi-
lar thoughts were expressed by many others, notably by the Danish
statesman Ove H0eg-Guldberg, the Norwegian poet Zetlitz,^ and
the Swedish poet Franzen. In 1796 Bet skandinaviske Literatur-
Selskab was organized to foster a closer literary fellowship in the
North, but it numbered only forty members ; and although it con-
tinued to exist till 1840, it was never popular, and did not exer-
cise any important influence. This Pan-Scandinavian movement
had emanated chiefly from Denmark. The Swedes remained rather
indifferent, and among the military officers and the higher classes
the old jealousy and ill-feeling had not wholly disappeared. Even
the relations between the two governments were not as cordial as
might have been expected, since the Swedish regent seemed unable
to avoid political indiscretions by which he irritated both Catherine
II. and England. The most serious of these was the recognition of
the French Republic in 1795, a step which greatly increased the

* O. A. 0verland, Norges Historic, vol. X., p. 90 ff. Julius Clausen,
Skandinavismen historisk fremstillet, p. 7 flf.
' In a song to the united fleet Zetlitz says :

Vi Danmarks msend, vi Sverges msend,

Vi Norges msend,

Vi havets msend, vi krigens msend,

Vi hsedersmaend,

Vi li0rte vore fyrsters bud

Om ledingstog,

Vi l0d, omfavned far og brud

Og fro bortdrog ;

Thi se, vore f yrster er f sedre !

Paa h0ien mast det danske flag

Ur0rt skal staa I

Paa h0ien mast det svenske flag

Ur0rt skal staa I

Thi gother elske vaabenbrag,

Kjsekt cimbrer slaa,

Og nordmaend ingen, ingen dag

Forsagte saa ;

Thi er vore fyrster ei fsedre?

II denmark-norway's foreign policy, 1792-1814 381

gravity of the situation for the neutrals. The first coaHtion against
France was broken up that same year, and Prussia and Spain with-
drew. But England, Austria, and Sardinia still continued the
struggle, and Catherine 11. of Russia declared her willingness to
join them. Under these circumstances it was as necessary as ever
for the Northern nations to cooperate in the defense of their neu-
trality. Catherine 11. sought to force them apart. She attempted
to persuade Denmark-Norway to join the coalition, and made very
tempting offers, but Bernstorff declined, though the situation was
growing more difficult than ever. In 1796 he recognized the French
Republic, but this proved to be of no advantage, as the French also
began to send out privateers to prey upon neutral commerce. The
right of search claimed by the English, and the slight regard for the
precarious rights of neutrals, made the situation almost unbearable,
but Bernstorff, who regarded war as the greatest calamity which
could befall a nation, clung tenaciously to his policy of peace. The
foreign policy of Sweden, which was now conducted by the minister
of state, Reuterholm, continued to be vacillating. He abandoned
the policy of Gustavus III., and sought an alliance with France.
When this failed, he attempted to win the friendship of Russia by
the marriage of the crown prince to Alexandra, a granddaughter of
Catherine II., but the match failed because of a disagreement regard-

Vi krigens msend, vi havets msend,

Vi hsedersmaend,

Vi Sverges msBnd, vi Danmarks msend,

Vi Norges maend,

Vi all stolte Nordens msend

Er et igjen ;

Vi se det : Gud i himmelen

Er Nordens ven.

O, er vore f yrster ei fsedre ?

Som dug for sol alt indbildt had

Er svundet hen ;

Se cimbren favner gothen glad

Som gammel ven.

Trohjertig nordmand begge ta'r

Med lyst i haand :

"Gud signe den, som tvundet har

Det skj0nne baand,

De tvillingrigernes faedre."

382 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

ing the right of the future queen to worship according to the Greek
faith. In November, 1796, the Swedish crown prince became of
age, and ascended the throne as Gustavus IV. Catherine II. died
the same month, and no further attempt was made to estabhsh closer
relations between the two nations.

In 1797 the great statesman Bernstorff died, an irreparable loss
for Denmark-Norway in those critical times. The crown prince
appointed as his successor his son Christian Bernstorff, an able and
humane man, who lacked his father's experience as a statesman.

By his remarkable Italian campaign Napoleon Bonaparte forced
Austria to conclude peace at Campo Formio, 1797, but England con-
tinued the struggle, and a second coalition was formed the following
year. The war was renewed, and the commerce of the neutral
Northern nations was so harassed by the English, French, and
Spanish privateers that every merchant vessel had to be convoyed.
The eccentric Emperor Paul of Russia, who had succeeded his mother
Catherine II. on the throne, also assumed a most threatening attitude
towards Denmark-Norway, and the government finally yielded to
his demands, and joined the coalition against France. Actual hos-
tilities were, however, avoided. Bonaparte, who at this time re-
turned from Egypt, and made himself first consul, maintained
friendly relations with the Northern kingdoms, and also with Emperor
Paul of Russia, who had already changed his mind, and had suddenly
become very hostile to England. The situation, though not much
improved, was no worse than before, and prudent statesmanship would
have adhered to the course so successfully pursued by A. P. Bern-
storff. But the government arranged instead a new alliance of neu-
trality between Denmark-Norway, Sweden, Russia, and Prussia,
and reaffirmed the principles of the rights of neutrals which had
been formulated by A. P. Bernstorff and Catherine II. The step
proved to be a mistake, as it aroused the resentment of the English
government, which regarded the new alliance as a coalition hostile
to England. In March, 1801, an English fleet of fifty-three war-
ships under Admiral Hyde Parker, with Lord Nelson second in com-
mand, was sent to the Baltic. That war was imminent was now
apparent, but Sweden had neglected to make preparations, and Den-
mark-Norway had to meet the attack of the great English fleet

II DENMARK-NORWAY 'S FOREIGN POLICY, 1792-1814 383

alone. On March 30th the fleet passed the Sound, and took up a posi-
tion before the Copenhagen roadstead, where the Danish-Norwe-
gian fleet was anchored, wholly unprepared for active service. On
April 2, 1801, was fought the battle of Copenhagen, one of the most
memorable strtiggles in the history of Denmark-Norway.^ Admiral
Nelson with the main fleet of thirty-five ships, 1192 guns, and 8885
men, was ordered to attack the Danish-Norwegian fleet, which was
much smaller both in size and armament. The part of the fleet
retained by Parker under his own immediate command should act
as reserve. The battle grew furious, as the combatants fought at
close quarters, and no attempt was made to withdraw a vessel from
the battle line until it was almost demolished. The Danes and Nor-
wegians suffered terrible losses, but they entertained no thought
of yielding. Seven English vessels ran aground, and many were
severely damaged ; the outcome of the struggle seemed very prob-
lematic, and as the whole English fleet was in the gravest danger,
Admiral Parker signaled to Nelson to stop the battle and retreat.
But this humiliation Nelson would not suffer. He put the field glass
to his blind eye, said he could see no signal, and let the battle con-
tinue. In order to bring the combat to a speedy close, he resorted
to a clever stratagem. He dispatched an officer with the following
letter to the crown prince, who was watching the battle from the
shore: "Lord Nelson has instructions to spare Denmark when no
longer resisting, but if the firing is continued on the part of Den-
mark, Lord Nelson will be obliged to set on fire all the floating bat-
teries he has taken, without having the power of saving the brave
Danes who have defended them." ^ A second letter was dispatched
immediately after the first, in which he stated that he made this
appeal from humanitarian motives, that he would regard it as the
greatest victory he ever won, if his flag of truce might be the signal
for a permanent and happy union between his sovereign and the
king of Denmark. The threat in the first letter was, of course, only
a ruse, but he succeeded in disheartening the crown prince, who
immediately ordered a flag of truce to be hoisted. The last great

1 Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 20 ff.

* The letter, which is dated on board the ship "Elephant," April 2, 1801,
is found in the Danish archives, Danmarks Rigea Historie, vol. V., p. 502.

384 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

battle in which the Danes and Norwegians were destined to fight
side by side was over, and a prehminary peace was concluded April 9th.
The alliance with Russia had only brought war and disaster, and
Denmark-Norway had good reasons to feel that they had been left
to shift for themselves at a critical juncture. On March 23 Emperor
Paul was assassinated, and his successor, Emperor Alexander I., con-
cluded a treaty of alliance with England without consulting the
other allies, waiving nearly every right claimed by the neutrals.
But even under these circumstances Denmark-Norway felt compelled
to join the new alliance in order to recover their lost American and
Asiatic colonies, which had been seized by England.

In 1802 peace was concluded between France and England at
Amiens, but both powers felt that it could be nothing but a truce,
and a year had scarcely passed when hostilities were renewed. The
danger to Denmark now became more imminent, as Bonaparte seized
the Electorate of Hanover, which belonged to the king of England.
The theater of war had thus been moved closer to the Danish border,
and the crown prince advanced into Holstein with an army of 16,000
men to protect the kingdom. The mounting ambition of Napoleon,
manifested by his proclamation as Emperor of France in 1804, made
all Europe regard him as a common enemy, and a new coalition was
soon formed against him, consisting of England, Russia, and Austria.
Napoleon crushed the Austrians at Uhn, and the united forces of
Russia and Austria at Austerlitz, but England dealt his naval power
a deadly blow at Trafalgar. In 1806 the Confederation of the Rhine
was organized under the protectorate of the Emperor, and the old
German Empire ceased to exist. Prussia declared war, only to be
crushed at Jena and Auerstadt, and Napoleon occupied Berlin. In
rapid succession the continental powers had been vanquished, but
England was still defiant, and as her proud navy controlled the sea,
he would have to strike at her only vulnerable spot — her commerce.
In 1806 he issued his noted Berlin Decree, declaring the British Isles
to be in a state of blockade, and interdicting all trade with England,
not only in France, but in all ports of Europe over which he exercised
authority, including the Netherlands, western Germany, Prussia,
and Italy. After the treaty of Tilsit, 1807, he also subjected Russia
to his " Continental System." In December, 1807, he issued a second

II DENMARK-NORWAY'S FOREIGN POLICY, 1792-1814 385

decree from Milan, in which he threatened to seize any ship which
touched at a British port. The English retahated by Orders in
Council, declaring the ports of France and her allies to be in a state
of blockade, but allowing neutral vessels to carry on trade between
these ports and Great Britain. The crown prince, who had been
stationed in Holstein, where he had gathered an army of 20,000 men,
finally withdrew the greater part of his force across the Eider. It
seemed to have been his purpose to maintain neutrality as long as
possible, and to cast his lot with England if he were finally forced
into the struggle. The situation was constantly growing more
critical, as any move which the government might make was inter-
preted as unfriendly either by Napoleon or England. In direct
contravention of the concessions which had been made to neutral
powers in 1801, the English government issued new Orders in Council,
forbidding neutral ships to trade between the ports of France or her
allies. This new restriction would damage Danish-Norwegian com-
merce very seriously; but although sharp diplomatic encounters
followed, no redress of wrongs could be obtained. The ultimate
rupture with one or the other of the belligerents could evidently not
long be averted even by the most watchful prudence. After the
battle of Friedland and the peace of Tilsit, Napoleon succeeded in
winning to his side the imaginative Emperor Alexander I. of Russia.
Alexander promised to attempt to negotiate peace between France
and England, but if the English government should refuse to accept
the terms on which the two emperors had agreed, Russia should
join France. Denmark-Norway, Sweden, and Portugal would be
requested to close their ports to English commerce, and if they re-
fused, they should be treated as enemies. This cunning stroke of
Napoleon shattered the policy of neutrality, and forced the smaller
nations to choose sides in the conflict.

The news of the alliance between France and Russia and their
plans regarding the neutral nations caused the greatest alarm, not
only in Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Lisbon, but also in England.
The English government imagined that Denmark-Norway was a
secret partner to the compact, and without even taking the time to
ascertain the real state of affairs, a large fleet was immediately dis-
patched to Denmark. On August 6th the English diplomat Sir

VOL. II — 2 c

386 HISTORY OF* TH£ NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

Francis Jackson arrived iii Kiel, where the crown prince and Chris-
tian Bernstorff were staying, and presented an English ultimatum.
As a guarantee that Denmark-Norway would be the ally of England
they should turn their fleet over to the English, who would use it
during the war, and return it to the owners after the peace had been
concluded. Forty thousand English troops should cooperate with
the Danes against France, and in return for the aid which Den-
mark-Norway should give England, they might receive a few Eng-
lish colonies. The crown prince and Bernstorff were so taken by
surprise that they lost their presence of mind, and the negotiations
became a scene of almost pitiable confusion. So much they, never-
theless, succeeded in making clear to the English ambassador that
the ports of the realm would not be closed to English commerce,
and that Denmark-Norway would enter into an alliance with Eng-
land. But the English demanded the fleet, as if they were negotiating
with criminals, whose words and pledges could not be relied upon.
Even an alliance would not be accepted as sufficient guarantee.
No more humiliating terms could have been offered an independent
people, but it was folly for the crown prince to make open resistance.
The English forces concentrated on Seeland under Lord Cathcart
numbered 31,000 men, commanded by the most experienced English
generals, among others General Wellesley, the later Duke of Wel-
lington. The fleet commanded by Admiral Gambler consisted of
twenty-five ships of the line, forty frigates, and a large number of
smaller vessels and transports. To subject the capital with its
antiquated defenses to the bombardment and attack of such a force,
when it was defended only by some 14,000 men, of whom not above
6000 belonged to the regular army, appears like a Don Quixotic
adventure, even under such circumstances. From the second to the
fifth of September Copenhagen was bombarded until it looked like
a sea of flames. Large portions of the city were laid in ruins, and
between two and three thousand people were killed. The com-
mandant, General Peymann, was forced to capitulate, and the Danish
fleet, of seventy vessels, which was lying in the harbor wholly unpre-
pared for active service, was taken.^

1 Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 29 fl. Constantinus Flood, Under Krigen
i807-1814y p. 127 fit.

n DENMARK-NORWAY'S FOREIGN POLICY, 1792-1814 387

But England had gained nothing and lost much by her precipitate
haste. The unprovoked attack on Denmark was not only an out-
rage on a friendly nation, but it was a political mistake of the worst
sort. The assumption advanced by English historians that Napoleon
planned to seize the fleet of Denmark-Norway to use it against Eng-
land, and that his plan was frustrated only by the prompt action
of the English government, must be dismissed as pure hypothesis.
Napoleon was taking steps to coerce Denmark-Norway to submit
to the demands of France and Russia. If the English fleet had not
arrived when it did, a rupture with France would have followed, and
Denmark-Norway would have become the ally of England; their
fleet would have cooperated with that of England, and their army,
which was already stationed on the southern border to protect the
kingdom against French attack, would have been ready to cooperate
with whatever forces the English government could have placed in
the field against Napoleon. But by this ill-starred event the Danish-
Norwegian fleet had been destroyed as a fighting force, and in her
despair Denmark formed an alliance with France. The English
government was much disappointed at the outcome of the expedition
to Copenhagen. Even after the capture of the fleet, attempts were
made to persuade the Danish government to enter into an alliance
with England. This might have been the wisest policy for Denmark-
Norway even at that moment, but it must be granted that such a
step would require a degree of self-abnegation which is not usually
given to human nature. The English attack had not only brought
about the destructive bombardment of Copenhagen and the loss
of the fleet, but by forcing Denmark-Norway into an alliance with
Napoleon it resulted in still greater disasters to the twin kingdoms.

By a treaty of alliance concluded at Fontainebleau, October 31,
1807, Denmark-Norway agreed to cooperate with France and Russia
and to close all ports against English commerce. On November
4th England declared war against the two kingdoms. It was a
dark moment for Denmark-Norway. The English had not only
taken the fleet, but all the military stores in Copenhagen, and be-
cause of the suddenness of the attack, they were also able to seize
about a thousand Danish and Norwegian merchant vessels in their
own harbors and elsewhere. They had also occupied the island of

388 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

Helgoland, a step which Denmark-Norway could not prevent, as they
had been deprived of all means of defending themselves at sea. The
interruption of commerce, and the destruction of lives and property
incident to the war, brought upon the North a period of intense suf-
fering. This was especially the case in Norway, where the necessary
quantity of grain cannot be produced, and where the cessation of
import trade finally added famine to the many trials of those dark
years. But the otherwise gloomy picture is brightened by the in-
tense patriotism and high courage with which the peoples of both
kingdoms waged the long struggle with their powerful enemy.
The English had estimated that the fleet and supplies seized at
Copenhagen represented a value of £2,000,000. During the war
they captured about 1500 Danish-Norwegian merchant vessels
and smaller craft, but in balancing accounts at the end of the
war, they still found that the struggle had netted them a con-
siderable loss.

After the loss of the fleet Denmark-Norway still had two ships
of the line which were not at Copenhagen at the time of the bom-
bardment, and with resolute energy they set to work to create a
fleet of small vessels, each carrying a couple of guns. With this
flotilla of gunboats manned with experienced seamen they began a
guerilla warfare at sea which proved destructive to English commerce
in the Baltic. The lighthouses remained dark, and the buoys were
moved to misguide the stranger, while the gunboats and privateers ^
lay in ambush behind the rocks and skerries of the dark coast, ready
to swoop down upon the enemy at any given opportunity. The
dangers became so great that the English merchant vessels had to
unite into fleets under convoy of men-of-war. But these naval
caravans moved slowly, as the whole fleet had to stop whenever a
vessel was to make port, and even such convoys were in danger of

* On September 14, 1807, before the English had left Copenhagen, a
permit was issued to the stiftsamtmcend and the chief military officers in each
stif t to license privateers to any extent which they might deem advantageous,
and these should be permitted to seize English property on land or sea wher-
ever they might find it. Swarms of privateers were sent out, and the traffic
became so profitable that stock companies were organized to promote
it. Constantinus Flood, / Krigaaarene, p. 95. Ludvig Daae, Det gamle
Christiania, p. 306 ff.

II DENMARK-NORWAY'S FOREIGN POLICY, 1792-1814 389

being attacked by the gunboats. In 1808 the gunboat flotilla at-
tacked an English convoy at Malmo, and captured or destroyed
eleven merchant vessels. Many valuable prizes were taken from
time to time. According to documents in the Danish archives the
value of prizes brought into Danish-Norwegian harbors amounted
to 28,081,013 riksdaler, and the value of those which were actually
confiscated amounted to 14,933,119 riksdaler.^ In all, 2000 English
merchant vessels were seized by the Danes and Norwegians during
the war. At times successful battles were also fought with English
men-of-war. On March 14, 1808, the Norwegian brig "Laugen"
defeated the English brig " Childers," and on June 19th the same year,
the "Laugen" captured the English brig "Seagull," which was
incorporated in the Norwegian fleet. But such moments when
victory brightened the melancholy aspect of the unequal struggle
must have been few and far between. The English men-of-war
swept along the coast and picked up every little craft which sought
to steal across to Denmark to fetch food for those who were starving
at home, and the daring voyagers who would risk all to relieve the
growing distress were carried off as prisoners of war, and huddled
together with like unfortunates in the dreadful English prison-ships.
The Norwegian privateers did valiant service in the guerilla warfare,
but officers and crew would often pay for their daring by languishing
for years in the unsanitary military prison-pens, which sometimes
harbored whole armies of those unfortunate victims of war. The
English themselves disliked this war with Denmark-Norway, which
was waged for no definite purpose, which proved so expensive, and
so destructive to their commerce, and which cut off their supply of
Norwegian lumber and ship-building material.

The old insane king Christian VII. died March 13, 1808, and the
crown prince, who had long acted as regent, ascended the throne at
Frederick VI. The political situation was so extremely difficult
that he might have needed the assistance and advice of the ablest
men, but he preferred to exercise unlimited autocratic power, even

1 Constantinus Flood, Under Krigen 1807-1814, p. 131. Constantinus
Flood, / Krigsaarene, p. 93 ff. S. C. Hammer, Da del gjaldt, Christiania,
1909. Constantinus Flood, For otti Aar siden. H. P. Holmboe, Briternes
Krigsforetagender langs Norges Kyster fra 1808 til 1814, Samlinger til det
norske Folks Sprog og Historic, vol. II., p. 246 ff.

390

HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE

to an extent hitherto unknown. Not till in 1813, when utter ruin
threatened the realm, did he summon his ministers for consultation.
He sought with great earnestness and uprightness of purpose to
promote the welfare of the people, but he entertained very extrava-
gant notions as to his own ability as a ruler, and looked with jealous
disfavor upon any minister who exhibited any independence of mind,

and ventured to offer sugges-
tions or advice. His over-
weening self-esteem, which
made him unnecessarily des-
potic in affairs of govern-
ment, was fully equaled by
his confidence in his military
ability and his love for
martial adventure and dis-
play. These traits of char-
acter, which rendered his
statesmanship venturesome
and ill-advised, were partic-
ularly unfortunate at a crit-
ical juncture, when the state
policy should have been
dictated by the greatest wis-
dom and prudence.
To the Norwegians the war with England was ruinous. Their
coasts were blockaded, and their lucrative commerce destroyed;
yet the struggle, which was as useless as it was hopeless, was, never-
theless, waged for a cause. But when King Frederick also declared
war against Sweden, 1808, as it appears, for no cause whatever,
except that Sweden opposed France and Russia, it must be regarded
as sheer madness. It was clear that the Norwegians would also
be compelled to bear the brunt of this war, though they lacked, not
only military stores, but the necessities of life. While their unpro-
tected coasts were ravaged by the English, they would also have to
guard their extensive borders against the Swedes ; and it must have
been evident to the king that any hope of aid from Denmark was
precluded from the outset, as the Danes had no navy, and the Nor-

FiG. 8. — Frederick VI

n DENMARK-NORWAY's foreign policy, 1792-1814 391

wegian coast was patrolled by English warships.^ It had, further-
more, been evident for a long time that the Swedish kings sought
to gain possession of Norway, and no better opportunity could be
offered than a war under such circumstances. The immediate dan-
ger was, however, less than might have been expected, as Gustavus
IV. of Sweden, who was tottering on the brink of insanity, brought
upon his country such disasters that its very existence was threat-
ened. He could not be persuaded to submit to the Continental
System. He regarded Napoleon as the beast of the Apocalypse,
against whom relentless war ought to be waged, and as he believed
himself to be a reincarnation of Charles XIL, he did not hesitate
to join England against France and Russia. By a war against these
powers Sweden would gain nothing, and with a blindness which
finds an explanation only in his insanity he thereby exposed Finland
to the attack of Russia, which was becoming an ever greater danger
to the Scandinavian kingdoms. On February 21, 1808, Alexander I.
sent an army of 16,000 men to occupy Finland, without the formality
of a warning or a declaration of war. On February 29th King
Frederick VI., persuaded by his French and Russian allies, declared
war on Sweden. Regarding the feeling which this step created in
Norway the contemporary Norwegian statesman Jacob Aal says
in his memoirs : " It was regarded even by those who were most de-
voted to the Danish government as a great mistake in Danish politics,
and a presentiment was felt of the possible results which in the full-
ness of time might reveal themselves. This war prepared the way
for the separation of Denmark and Norway, and some Norwegians
began, though vaguely, to think of the advisability of a union with
Sweden, the very possibility of which had hitherto wounded their
innermost feelings." ^

On account of the interruption of communications with Denmark,
the king was now obliged to create a special government for Nor-
way, a Government Commission {Regjerings-Kommissionen for
Norge), at the head of which stood Prince Christian August of August-
enborg, commanding general in southern Norway.^ Count Wedel-

* Ludvig Daae, Det gamle Christiania, p. 306 f .

* Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 136.

* Yngvar Nielsen, Lensgreve Johan Caspar Wedel-Jarlsberg, vol. I., p. 116.

392 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Jarlsberg was placed at the head of a subsidiary commission which
should seek to provide the country with the necessary supplies, a
most difficult task under the circumstances. A superior court was
also created in 1807, Overkriminalretten, which should meet in Chris-
tiania, and should be the highest court of appeal in all criminal
cases. This gave Norway an autonomy in judicial and adminis-
trative affairs which it had not enjoyed for centuries.

While Russia attacked Finland, Napoleon ordered Marshal
Bernadotte to march through Denmark and attack Sweden. In
1808 an army of about 23,000 men was sent to Jutland. A Danish
force of about 14,000 men was to join it in Seeland, but what might
easily have been foreseen happened. The army could not be trans-
ported across the Sound, which was patrolled by English warships,
and the plan had to be abandoned. Denmark was cut off from both
her adversaries, and Norway was left to fight her battles alone.

The Swedish forces in active service at this time numbered about
100,000 men. But owing to the war with Russia in Finland, and
a possible attack on southern Sweden, only the western army of
13,400 men under General G. M. Armfelt, and a smaller detachment
in Jsemtland of 2000 men under Colonel Bergenstr^le, could operate
against Norway. The Norwegians could mobilize only about one-
half of their southern anny of 17,000 men, and so poor were the equip-
ments that the soldiers had to wear old uniforms which had been
in use in the war of 1788.^ Ragged and half naked these defenders of
their country were sent against the superior invading force. But the
people resolved to hold the enemy at bay, and from their scant
supplies they provided the soldiers with food and clothing, as far as
this could be done under the circumstances Well-to-do citizens
organized volunteer companies, and equipped them at their own
expense, and many hinder reenlisted as volunteers when the term of
required military service had expired. Enevold de Falsen, Count
Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg, and other leading men labored with un-
tiring zeal to provide means for carrying on the defense of the country,

Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 105 ff. Gustav Peter Blom, Norges Statsforandring
i Aaret 1814, ch. I. ff. Erik Vullum, Hvorledes Norge blevfrit, p. 16 ff.

1 J. E. Sars, Udsigt over den norske Historie, vol. IV., p. 302. Jacob Aal,
Erindringer, p. 135 ff. Didrik Schnitler, Episoder fra Krigen 1808-1809.
Constantinus Flood, / Krigsaarene. O. A. 0verland, Norges Historie, vol. XI.

n DENMARK-NORWAY'S FOREIGN POLICY, 1792-1814 393

and Prince Christian August, commander of the military forces,
gained the love and confidence of the soldiers by his democratic ways
and true soldierly spirit. The patriotism and love for their leader
which inspired the Norwegians made them fonnidable in a border
war of the kind which had just begun, and as the Swedish general,
G. M. Armfelt, divided his forces into different columns instead of
concentrating them for a main attack, it became possible for Chris-
tian August to meet and defeat each detachment in turn. On April
15th General Armfelt attacked the Norwegians at Lier, not far from
the Glommen River, south of Kongsvinger, and drove them back
across the river.^ But this was to be his only success. At Toverud
one of his flying columns under Count Axel Morner was defeated
and captured, April 20th, by a Norwegian force under Major Weibye,
and at Trangen another detachment under Major Gahn was cap-
tured by Major Staffeldt. These victories aroused great enthusiasm,
and the people contributed liberally to the support of the army.
Jacob Aal writes : " Every one hastened to place his offering on his
country's altar. Provisions, money, and clothing poured in for
the army on the border, and the merchant John CoUett in Chris-
tiania distinguished himself especially by collecting or sending pro-
visions, and by personally contributing to the maintenance of the
army. Nearly every number of 'Budstikken' ^ published lists of
contributions of this kind. In that first war with Sweden private
charity made good the deficiency in the provisions made by the public
authorities, due to the lack of means and the depleted and impover-
ished condition of the country. After the war had lasted two weeks,
CoUett could announce that fifty-five, mostly two- teamed, wagons had
been sent to the army. " ^

The unsuccessful engagements already fought made it clear to King
Gustavus IV. that further operations against Norway with the forces
then available would prove unsuccessful, and he ordered General
Armfelt to retreat to the border. The Swedish general concentrated
his forces at Enningdalen, but he suffered new losses in an engagement
at Prestebakke, June 10th, where over 400 men and twenty-seven offi-

^ Jacob Aal, Erindringer, Bilag 24.

* A newspaper published in Christiania by Enevold Falsen.

' Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 14.

394 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

cers were taken prisoners. This was the last engagement of any
importance between the Swedes and Norwegians in this war. Sweden
had to employ all her strength against the advancing Russians in
Finland, and the Norwegians did not wish to carry on an offensive
war against Sweden. The friendship which had been developing
between the two peoples had manifested itself quite clearly at the
time when they sought as allies to defend their neutrality, but in
the present war it was shown in a still more emphatic way. The
Norwegians would defend their country with every possible means,
but they made it quite clear that, although they had been forced
into war, they entertained none but the kindliest feelings for their
Swedish neighbors.

The war with Finland had brought Sweden into great peril. Her
armies, indeed, won brilliant victories at Lappo, Juntas, and other
places, and several of her generals, as Adlercreutz, Dobeln, and
Sandels, had greatly distinguished themselves ; but the lack of proper
support from home, and the treasonable surrender of the strong
fortress of Sveaborg with military stores, a hundred vessels of the
coast fleet, and a garrison of 7000 men made the situation critical.
On September 14, 1809, General Adlercreutz suffered a crushing
defeat at Oravais, and before the end of the year the Swedes were
expelled from Finland, which was turned into a Russian province.

In 1809 the Russians prepared to follow up their advantage by
an invasion of Sweden. National peril and disaster intensified the
growing ill-will against the incompetent and mentally unbalanced
King Gustavus IV., who had involved the kingdom in this disas-
trous war. It had long been evident that he was mentally unfit
to direct the affairs of government, and a conspiracy was formed to
depose him. One of the leaders of this movement was George Adler-
sparre, commander of the right wing of the Swedish army operating
against Norway.^ He determined to lead his forces against Stock-
holm, but the situation was so critical that this could not be done
without the greatest hazard, unless he could persuade the Norwe-

* Armfelt was removed after his many failures, and Cederstrom was made
chief commander of the army. Carl Henrik Posse, commander of the left
wing of the army, did not cooperate actively with Adlersparre, but promised
not to oppose him.

denmark-norway's foreign policy, 1792-1814

395

gians to suspend operations. Christian August was expected to
attack Sweden at the same time that the Russians were preparing
to advance from the east. The Russian general Schuvaloff had
already entered northern Sweden by crossing Tornea River, Barclay
de Tolly occupied Umea, and Russian cossacks from the Aland
Islands had appeared in Stockliolms len.^ Prince Christian August
hesitated. He saw Sweden's plight, and reflected upon the conse-
quences to the North if the
kingdom should be over-
whelmed by Russia.
Would not the Scandina-
vian peninsula share the
fate of Finland? When
Adlersparre turned to him
with the request to refrain
from aggressive operations
against Sweden, he prom-
ised that he would not
cross the border unless
he received peremptory
orders from Frederick VI .
to do so, and even then he
would not enter Swedish
territory without giving
a ten days' notice. This
was more than a courtesy ;
it was rendering an enemy a service so important that it might
have been construed as treason if it were not for the exigencies
of the situation and the friendship which really existed between
the two peoples. In Sweden it was ojBScially stated that Prince Chris-
tian August had shown the country a greater service than had ever
been rendered it by a foreigner. ^ The prince had risked this step

Fig. 9. — Prince Charles August

^ Yngvar Nielsen, Wedel-Jarlsberg, vol. I., p. 191. Gustaf Montgomery,
Kriget emellan Sverige och Ryssland 1808 och 1809, vol. II., p. 208 fif. Gustav
Peter Blom, Norges Statsforandring i Aaret I8I4.

2 Handlingar rorande Sveriges Historia, vol. IV., p. 59 ff. ; quoted by Yngvar
Nielsen, Wedel-Jarlsberg, vol. I., p. 189.

396 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

for Sweden's sake, and no one has ever questioned his patriotism
and loyalty.

Frederick VI. failed to comprehend the situation. Time and
again he ordered the Norwegian army to invade Sweden and join
the advancing Russians on Swedish soil, but Christian August, who
saw that such a step would be suicidal, always found new pretexts
for postponement, and the army never crossed the border. As soon
as Adlersparre had received assurances from Christian August, he
hastened to Karlstad, where he raised the standard of revolt, and
new troops constantly joined him on his march. But even before
he reached Stockholm the king was arrested by General Adlercreutz,
who had just returned from Finland.^ The Estates were summoned,
Duke Charles of Sodermanland was placed on the throne as King
Charles XIIL, and a constitution was adopted which made Sweden
a limited constitutional monarchy.

The victorious advance of the Russians, which, as Frederick
Sneedorff had predicted in 1792, had become more than an imaginary
peril to the North, revived again the Pan-Scandinavian sentiment.
Swedish politicians began to consider the advisability of choosing
Frederick VI. of Denmark-Norway Swedish crown prince, as the
newly elected King Charles XIIL had no heirs. The plan, which
would lead to the union of the three kingdoms, was supported by
Prince Christian August and many leading men in Norway, espe-
cially by Count Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg ; but King Frederick him-
self soon defeated it by his prejudice and narrow-minded absolutism,
as he would not accept the crown if Sweden had a constitution limit-
ing the power of the king.^ In the meantime Adlersparre, who at
this moment was the most influential man in Sweden, was endeavor-
ing to secure the election of Christian August as heir to the Swedish
throne. The prince was very popular in Norway, and it was hoped
that the Norwegians could easily be persuaded to make him their

1 King Gustavus IV. and his heirs were declared to have forfeited the
throne. The king and his family were sent to Germany, and were not al-
lowed to return to Sweden. He received a pension of 10,000 riksdaler,
and was allowed to keep his private property. He assumed the name of
Gustafson and spent the rest of his life in Germany and Switzerland.

* Carl Th. S0rensen, Fredrik den ajettes fortrolige Breweksling med, Norge
i Aaret 1809, p. 64.

11 denmark-norway's foreign policy, 1792-1814 397

king, and a union between Norway and Sweden would thus be es-
tablished.^ For this plan he received the enthusiastic support of
Prince Christian August's chief adviser. Count Wedel-Jarlsberg,
who soon abandoned his Pan-Scandinavian ideas, and developed a
political policy which aimed at a united Scandinavia. That the
position taken by the count strained to the breaking-point the ties
of loyalty to King Frederick VI. seems quite apparent, but Norway
had paid dearly enough for the political blunders of the Oldenborg
kings. The time had come when the Norwegians would safeguard
the interests of their own country in any way which they might
deem expedient. To protect Norway against possible Russian aggres-
sion, to secure peace with England and Sweden, and to save the
country from impending famine seemed more important to Count
Wedel-Jarlsberg and his associates than to earn the compliments and
good-will of the king. The count proposed to Christian August
that the Norwegians should declare themselves independent of Den-
mark, and elect him king of Norway ; but the Prince would agree to
no plan which seemed treasonable. He promised the Swedish mes-
sengers, however, that he would accept the election as Swedish crown
prince if King Frederick VI. would grant him leave to do so. In
July, 1809, he was elected crown prince of Sweden as Charles August,
and King Frederick granted him permission to accept the proffered
honor. On September 17th of that year a treaty of peace between
Sweden and Russia was signed at Fredrikshamn, by which Finland
was ceded to Russia, and Sweden had to submit to the Continental
System. On December 10th peace was also concluded between
Sweden and Denmark-Norway at Jonkoping. The war with Eng-
land continued, but in order to appease the Norwegians, King Fred-
erick agreed to a proposal made by the Council of Regency to raise
the embargo on commerce between Norway and England by a mutual
agreement with the English government, according to which Nor-
wegian merchant ships could sail to English harbors, if they purchased
in London a license which would insure them against attack by
English privateers and men-of-war. This "license trade," or "neu-
tral commerce," helped greatly to relieve the distress in Norway,

^ B. von Schinkel, Minnen ur Sveriges nyare Historia, published by C. W.
Bergman, vol. V., p. 118 fE,

398 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

as grain and other commodities could be imported, and the export
of timber and other articles could be resumed.^

In 1810 Prince Charles August left Norway for his future king-
dom. His departure was celebrated with great festivities, and the
people showed him the most devoted affection. Count Wedel-
Jarlsberg, who accompanied him across the border, had been unable
to persuade the prince to head a Norwegian uprising, but he had not
relinquished the hope of bringing about a union between Norway
and Sweden.^

At the time of his election as crown prince, Charles August was
less than forty-one years of age, but he was not destined to ascend
the throne of Sweden. On May 28, 1810, while attending military
maneuvers in SkS,ne, he died suddenly of an apoplectic stroke.
This opened anew the difficult question of the election of a Swedish
crown prince, destined to produce such important political changes
in the North.

50. The Gradual Dissolution of the Danish-Norwegian

Partnership

The demand for national autonomy created by the suffering which
Norway had to undergo during the war with England and Sweden
did not culminate in an attempt to sever the bonds of union with
Denmark by a revolutionary uprising, but the growing love of inde-
pendence nevertheless effected a thorough change in the relations
between the two kingdoms. The old idea that Norway sustained
a quasi provincial relation to Denmark both politically and intellec-
tually had vanished in the powder smoke of the great wars. Forced
to rely on themselves in a most critical period, the Norwegians had
become conscious of their own ability to defend themselves, and of
the necessity of relying on their own strength in days of trial. A
wave of patriotism swept over the country, due in part to the experi-
ences in the war, but partly also to the nationalism which had been
kindled throughout Europe in the struggle against Napoleon. The
French Revolution had endued nationality with a new meaning,

1 Yng^var Nielsen, Wedel-Jarlsberg, vol. I., p. 305 ff.

2 Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 190. Yngvar Nielsen, Wedel-Jarlsberg, vol.
I., p. 332.

n SELSKABET FOR NORGES VEL 399

as it had fundamentally changed the conception of the rights of man.
With the rights of the individual, so vehemently proclaimed, was
associated as a necessary corollary the right of every people to lead
their owii independent national existence, and this principle was
being employed as a new weapon against Napoleon in Spain, Ger-
many, and Italy. "And the idea, once proclaimed, spread with
astonishing rapidity," says Alison Phillips; "till in all Europe there
was not a race with a grievance, real or fancied, against the established
order but based its resistance on the national right of a nation to be
mistress of its own destinies." ^ The Norwegian leaders were enthu-
siastic adherents of these ideas, and the national struggle which had
hitherto been a dogged resistance of the binder against the oppres-
sion of Danish officials, an eifort of the common people to preserve
their personal freedom, now entered upon a new stage. New leaders
from the upper classes had appeared, men of learning and high cul-
ture, who united the ideals of liberty and national independence
with the old spirit of personal freedom, and aimed to rear the Nor-
wegian state once more on its own foundation. They would hence-
forth control the destinies of the nation, and were determined to
secure for it sufficient autonomy to insure its unhampered develop-
ment.

When Prince Charles August left Norway, they seized the oppor-
tunity to organize, after the pattern of the German Tugendbund,^ a
national society of which a Swedish contemporary writer has given
the following account: "As soon as Count Wedel, after several
unsuccessful attempts, realized the impossibility of persuading Prince
Augustenborg to agree to the plan of separating Norway from Den-
mark, and uniting it with Sweden, he determined to act independently.
For this purpose he originated the plan for Selskabet for Norges
Vel, a sort of masonic order which extended its ramifications to all
parts of the country and to nearly all classes. The apparent aim
of the society was to promote agriculture and different branches of

^ Modern Europe, p. 6.

» The Tugendbund was organized in Konigsberg, Prussia, in 1808. Its
aim was to work for the reorganization of the Prussian army, and for the
proper physical and moral training of the yoxing men of the country; to
encourage patriotism, and to prepare the way for the throwing off of the
French yoke.

400 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Norwegian industry, but Wedel had in reality no less a plan than
to make it the nucleus of a representative body, to prepare the minds
of the people for the new order of things which he would establish in
his country. . . . None but the principal leaders of the society knew
the secret purpose of its organization." ^

Not till after the society had been organized did Count Wedel
and his father-in-law, Peter Anker, ask King Frederick to grant it
his royal protection. This the king did, though he disliked the spirit
of independence shown by the Norwegian leaders. Before a year
had passed, the society had 2000 members. It still exists, and
continues to be of great service in aiding and encouraging under-
takings of national importance.

In 1809 a new agitation for a Norwegian university had been set
on foot, as the need of a higher institution of learning had become
more pressing than ever, since the war had destroyed the communi-
cations with Denmark. The demand for such an institution had
been so long and urgently pressed that it had become a national
issue, and as soon as Selskabet for Norges Vel was organized, it
gave this cause its earnest support. "This time such large means
were made available, the nation's demand was expressed in such
vigorous terms, and the desire was backed with such large subscrip-
tions that the Danish king, who loved Norway, found it hazardous to
postpone the granting of so reasonable a request. . . . Furthermore,
there had been formed in the kingdom a body of men who took it
upon themselves to speak about important matters, who stood
united with regard to plans which they considered beneficial to the
country, and who, on approaching the government authorities, had
to a certain degree dispensed with the formalities of an absolute
monarchy," writes Jacob Aal.^

Selskabet for Norges Vel offered a prize of 1000 riksdaler for the
best treatise to be written on the question of a Norwegian university.
Nine were submitted to the judges, who awarded the first prize of
800 riksdaler to the author of "Mnemosyne," who proved to be
Nicolai Wergeland, the father of the later poet and patriotic leader

* B. von Schinkel, Minnen ur Sveriges nyare Historia, vol. V., p. 88. Yng-
var Nielsen, Wedel-Jarlsberg, vol. I., p. 344 f. Erik VuUum, Hvorledes Norge
bkv frit, p. 88 £f . » Erindringer, p. 228.

II UNIVERSITY OF CHRISTIANIA 401

Henrik Wergeland.^ "Mnemosyne" was much praised by some.
The king gave the author 300 riksdaler as a token of his esteem ; the
people of Drammen presented him with 1200 riksdaler, and in Tuns-
berg the people gave him a church offering of 900 riksdaler. But
his treatise has been severely criticized, among others by the Norwe-
gian historian Ludvig Daae. In Denmark the learned jurist A. S.
^rsted assailed it because of the bitter criticism of Denmark indulged
in by the author. This only served to intensify Nicolai Wergeland's
anti-Danish feelings, and on a later occasion he found an opportunity
to express it in an even more acrimonious way. The Danish govern-
ment found that they could no longer wholly disregard the demand
of the Norwegians, but they would compromise, and offered to grant
them permission to establish a sort of seminary. This offer was not
accepted, and the solution seemed as distant as ever when matters
suddenly took a new turn.

It had been rumored at court that Count Wedel was a traitor
who planned to separate Norway from Denmark, and the king, who
gave credence to these reports, summoned Wedel to Denmark. The
count hastened to present himself before the king, and demanded
to know why he had been called. The king, who possessed no evi-
dence of his disloyalty, was disconcerted by his sudden appearance,
and as a plausible excuse he said that he wished to confer with him
regarding a Norwegian university. By a rescript of March 1, 1811,
the directors of the University of Copenhagen were instructed to
confer with the count, who submitted a declaration regarding the
sentiment in Norway, which moved the directors to advise the grant-
ing of the Norwegian demand. In June of the same year Selskabet
for Norges Vel started a subscription among the wealthier classes
to raise means for the founding of the new institution of learning.
The subscription, which was continued for two years, brought the
sum of 782,000 riksdaler, and a yearly contribution of 13,382 riks-
daler. In 1813 the university, which was located at Christiania,
was able to begin its work. The Norwegian poets in Denmark had
already returned to th^ir own country from patriotic motives. In
1812 the Norske Selshah in Copenhagen was dissolved, and when the
university in Christiania opened its doors, the academic and literary

^ Arne Bergsgaard, Nicolai Wergeland, Christiania, 1908.
VOL. 11. — 2d

402 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

partnership with Denmark must be regarded as terminated. A new
national Hterature had begun to develop in Denmark in 1802, but
in Norway a new literary epoch did not begin till 1830. Of the
poets who flourished in the decades prior to 1814 the former mem-
bers of the Norske Selskab in Copenhagen, Jonas Rein, Jens Zetlitz,
and Claus Frimann, continued to write in the spirit of the eighteenth
century, and their younger associates, Lyder Sagen, Johan Storm
Munch, Conrad Schwach, and Simon O. Wolff, shared their views.
They wrote bombastic patriotic songs and sentimental lyrics, but
as they were strangers to the life and sentiments of their own people,
they were so dominated by foreign models that their verse lacked the
true national qualities. A new spiritual movement had, indeed,
stirred the Norwegian people, but it was of a purely religious char-
acter, and had in no way influenced the literary tastes of the higher
classes.

While the conquests of Napoleon absorbed all attention in the field
of politics, and while a flourishing commerce prior to the war with
England and Sweden created great traffic and prosperity, especially
in the cities, the people throughout many of the rural districts were
roused by a great revival which permanently influenced religious
life in Norway. Rationalism, which had followed in the wake of
Pietism, had almost destroyed all true piety in the Lutheran state
church. The cultured upper classes had in general accepted the
views of the Aufklarung, and the greater part of the clergy did not
believe the gospel which they were to preach. Some clergymen
even substituted for the sermons discourses on purely secular matters,
and sang popular ditties in their churches for the edification of their
parishioners. Among the common people, who believed the Bible
teachings in a literal way. Christian faith lived despite the lack of
proper religious instruction, but their deeper religious sentiments
had never been stirred by an appeal to their faith as a dominant force
in their moral and social life. Religion had become associated with
a lifeless formalism which exercised no power over the hearts of the
people, and the rationalistic state church lacked all regenerating power.
It was left for the great revival set on foot by Hans Nielsen Hauge to
make their Lutheran faith a living force strong enough to shape new
ethical and social views.

PLATE VIII

n HANS NIELSEN HAUGE 403

Hauge was an untutored country lad, born in the neighborhood
of Sarpsborg in 1771. His parents were pious God-fearing people,
who gave their children a thorough Christian training, and Hans
Nielsen, who was a very gifted boy, quiet, introspective, and given
to reflection, exhibited even in boyhood a fervent religious spirit.
An accident in his thirteenth year in which he nearly lost his life
by drowning increased his fervor. He devoted himself sedulously
to the study of the Bible, and became convinced that God had ap-
pointed him to preach the gospel to his countrymen. Finally,
after much hesitation, he began, in 1796, the great task of reviving
and purifying the people's religious faith. He entered upon his
work with the most self-sacrificing earnestness, but also with a modesty
which always employed the most quiet methods, and avoided all
disturbance and excitement. In six years he traveled over 10,000
miles, mostly on foot, preached from two to four times a day, and
wrote hundreds of pamphlets and devotional books. His love for
the common people was of the most genuine sort, and as he possessed
great practical ability as well as rare talents, he was often able to
render them valuable assistance even in purely secular matters.
He taught them to found mills and factories, he even established
himself as merchant in Bergen, and developed a lucrative trade with
Trondhjem and Nordland to aid his adherents by his business in-
sight. Hauge preached no new doctrine. He did not even attempt
to organize his followers into a new religious body, but contented him-
self with preaching the gospel according to the confession of the
Lutheran state church. But this was regarded as a crime, since no
one but ordained ministers were authorized to preach.^ Under the
Conventicle Act of 1741, Hauge was prosecuted by the state officials
and the clergy of the state church. He was repeatedly arrested, and
had to spend a large part of his life in prison. In 1804 he was trans-
ported in chains to Christiania, where he remained incarcerated till
1814. In 1808, when the Council of Regency found great difficulty
in securing provisions and supplies because of the blockade, and
great anxiety was felt because of the shortage of salt, Hauge offered

^ A. Chr. Bang, Hans Nielsen Hauge og hans Samtid, Christiania, 1874.
Hans Nielsen Hauges Reisen, Schicksale und denkwilrdige Ereignisse von ihm
telbst beschrieben, iibersetzt, Christiania, 1819.

404

HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE

to erect salt-works which could produce salt from the sea water, if
they would liberate him. They accepted the offer, and Hauge built
several salt-works which supplied the country with that necessary
commodity, but as soon as he had accomplished this, he was re-
manded to prison to await his final trial. Not till after he had
spent ten years in the prison cell did the court see fit to render its
decision by which he was adjudged guilty of the following offenses :
(a) That contrary to the ordinance of 1741 he had traveled about

the country and preached the
word of God; (b) that he had
encouraged others to do the
same; (c) that he had used
invectives against the clergy,
which were not considered
to emanate from ill-will, and
which, when taken in their
proper connection, did not
seem as offensive as when
they were torn out of their
connection. The judges paid
no attention to the fact that
Hauge had already spent a
decade in prison without
being convicted of any wrong-
doing. They decided that he
ought to pay a fine of 1000
riksdaler and the cost of the
trial ; but this considerable sum exhausted his scant means. He left
the prison penniless and broken in health, physically unable to resume
his great religious work which he had so unselfishly performed. His
adherents, the Haugianer, who were now numbered by the thousands
all over the country, bought him a small farm in the neighborhood of
Christiania, where he resided until his death in 1824. Hauge lived,
however, to see the fruits of his labor. The revival which he had
set on foot caused a great awakening, which for the first time made
the Christian faith a dominant force in the people's spiritual life.
He roused them even socially to greater diligence and earnestness,

^^ ^Ct'-'^y-^yt^t^cyy^,.,-^—'

Flo. 10. — Hans Nielsen Hauge

n HANS NIELSEN HAUGE 405

and imbued them with an ardent desire to manage their own local
affairs, as they had learned to govern themselves in religious matters.
The nation's conscience had been awakened, and before Hauge was
liberated from prison some of the more fair-minded among the clergy
began to call attention to the beneficial results of his work. In 1812
Claus Pavels wrote in his diary : " I believe that Hans Hauge has
done much more good than harm in Norway. His apostolic itineracy,
his foolish writings, his followers' and partly also his own fanatic
conduct is no longer seen; but that he has founded a sect which
still exists, the members of which distinguish themselves by piety,
virtue, good order, diligence, and peacefulness, in short, nearly
everything which constitutes civic virtue, and tends to strengthen
society, none but the most biased can deny." ^

"After Hauge had moved to Bredtvedt," says his biographer.
Bishop Bang, " this place may truly be said to have been the center
of religious life in Norway. From Bredtvedt he issued a number of
letters of religious contents and sent them to all parts of the country,
and the influence of Hauge's religious letters of that time can scarcely
be truly estimated at present. To Bredtvedt flocked also year by
year large numbers of Hauge's adherents from all parts of the country."
Even the clergy of the state church began to recognize the true im-
portance of the great evangelist. In 1815 two theological professors,
two bishops, and fifteen clergymen visited him in his home. Hauge
was already regarded by many as a sage and a martyr. " When I
saw Hauge, bent and suffering from all sorts of ailments, I had to
say to him in my heart : this you have suffered for Christ's sake,"
said Bishop Bugge, who himself had been one of his opponents.^
By the law of July 27, 1842, the ordinance of 1741 was repealed, and
full freedom in religious matters was established. " This was mainly
due," says Bang, "to the clearer understanding among the common
classes of the great cause of religious liberty, due to the labor and
suffering of Hauge and his friends."

» Dagb^ger for Aarene 1812-1813, p. 225.

2 A. Chr. Bang, Hans Nielsen Hauge og hans Samtid, p. 486. V. Ullmann,
Hans Nielsen Hauge, Nordmoend i del 19de Aarhundrede.

406 history of the norwegian people h

51. Events Leading to the Separation of Norway and Denmark

After the death of Prince Charles August, the Swedish govern-
ment had to choose a new successor to the throne. The party
which had been in favor of the prince and the ultimate union of
Norway and Sweden proposed to elect his brother, the Duke of
Augustenborg ; the party representing the Pan-Scandinavian idea
of uniting the three Scandinavian countries favored King Frederick
VI. of Denmark-Norway ; ^ some preferred the Prince of Oldenburg,
but the choice finally fell upon one of Napoleon's marshals, Bema-
dotte, Prince of Pontecorvo, who became Swedish crown prince
under the name of Charles John. It was thought that by this
choice Sweden would gain the friendship of Napoleon, and Ber-
nadotte was, furthermore, a man of many excellent qualities ; a great
general, an experienced and talented statesman, who would act with
energy, and whose word would have weight in the councils of the
nations.^

The problems which Charles John had to deal with were not easy.
Sweden had suffered much in the late war. Its commerce and in-
dustry were disorganized, and its finances were in confusion. He
could not speak Swedish, and he was a stranger both to the people
and the country. At first he had to remain a silent spectator, but
in a relatively short time he became the real leader in the govern-
ment, and brought dispatch and energy both into diplomacy and
administration.

Sweden had not observed the rules of the Continental System
very strictly, and as Napoleon in 1810 made special efforts to compel
obedience to his demands on this point, he issued an ultimatum re-
quiring the Swedish government to declare war against England,
their old ally, within five days. Refusal to comply would have
gravely imperiled the kingdom, and war was, accordingly, declared ;
but through a secret understanding with the British authorities it
was agreed that it should only be a sham war, and that amicable

^Many prominent Danes wrote pamphlets to show the advantage of a
united Scandinavian North. Among these were: Grundtvig, Schimmel-
man, Moltke, H0st, and others. Schinkel, Minnen, vol. V., p. 268 ff.

* Minne af Statsministeren Greve Gustaf af Wetterstedt, Svenska Akademiens
Handlingar, 1888, p. 140. Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 247 f.

n CHARLES JOHN SWEDISH CROWN PRINCE 407

relations should continue. Charles John was resolved from the
outset to uphold the rights and dignity of his kingdom, and was in
no way inclined to submit to the humiliating dictates of Napoleon.
He saw, probably more clearly than any one else, that the great
Emperor's power rested on a very weak foundation, and that a new
coalition would soon be organized against him. The growing es-
trangement between France and Russia in 1811 also convinced him
that he would soon have to choose sides in a war between these two
leading Continental powers. Almost from the time of his election
in 1810 he had seen the necessity of gaining the friendship of Russia
as a support against the aggression of Napoleon, and Emperor Alex-
ander was making friendly advances to secure his cooperation in
case of a war with France. Charles John would take no definite
stand, but circumstances soon compelled him to incline more strongly
towards the powerful eastern neighbor. In conformity with this
policy he soon abandoned the plan of recovering Finland, a hope
entertained by many leading men in Sweden at the time, and revived
instead the plan of uniting Norway and Sweden, which in his mind
was equivalent to extending the Swedish borders to the North Sea.

When Napoleon found that Charles John would not submit to
every demand, the relations between France and Sweden soon grew
strained. In 1811 the French ambassador was recalled from Stock-
holm, and French and Danish privateers attacked Swedish mer-
chant vessels in the Baltic.^ Under these circumstances Sweden
might be expected to join the enemies of France for her own protec-
tion in case new encroachments should aggravate the situation. In
1811, prior to his invasion of Russia, Napoleon seized Swedish
Pomerania, an overt act of hostility which led to an alliance between
Sweden and Russia, concluded April 5, 1812. In this compact
Emperor Alexander promised definitely to aid Charles John in secur-
ing Norway as a compensation for Finland. In a spirited letter to
Napoleon, Charles John had demanded to know why Pomerania
had been occupied by the French, contrary to all treaties. "With-
out seeking the honor and power which surrounds your Majesty,"
he wrote, "I only ask not to be considered your vassal. Your

1 Yngvar Nielsen, Indberetninger fra ^sterrigske Gesandter i Kj^benhavn
1807-181 Bt Forhandlinger i Videnskabs-Selskabet i Christiania, 1882, p. 64.

408 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE JI

Majesty rules over a large part of Europe, but your dominion does
not extend over the country to which I have been called. To defend
this land is the extent of my ambition, and I consider this the task
which Providence has given me." ^ Napoleon's only answer was
further encroachments, and Charles John found it necessary to cement
still closer his friendship with Russia. Peace was concluded between
Sweden and England, and also between Russia and England at
Orebro. By a convention at Abo, August 30, 1812, Alexander prom-
ised that not only Norway but also Seeland should be given to Sweden,
and Charles John was to receive an army of 35,000 Russians, of which
25,000 should be concentrated in Sk&ne for an attack on Denmark,^
as he wished to secure possession of Norway before taking part in a
general war against France.^ He encouraged Alexander to pursue
the Fabian tactics of avoiding pitched battles with Napoleon, but
by retreating and laying the country waste, to lure him ever further
from his base of operations. The expedition against Denmark could
not be undertaken that year, however, as the summer was already
far advanced, and before the next campaign opened, the situation
was wholly changed through the destruction of Napoleon's Grand
Army on the snow-covered plains of Russia.

At this juncture Denmark was still the ally of Napoleon. In
December, 1812, both Russia and England had made overtures to
King Frederick VI. to join them in the war against France. Norway
would have to be suTrendered to Sweden, but compensation would
be given in northern Germany, possibly even in Holland. This
plan did not appeal to King Frederick, and he refused.* But the
retreat of Napoleon and the destruction of his army made the situa-
tion critical for Denmark-Norway, as a general uprising throughout
northern Germany brought the war to the very border of the king-
dom, and France could give Denmark no protection against the
large armies which advanced in pursuit of Napoleon's shattered forces.
In Norway an army could scarcely be brought into the field, as the

^ Yngvar Nielsen, Aktmoessige Bidrag til Sveriges politiske Historic 1812,
Forhandlinger i Videnskabs-Selskabet i Christiania, 1876. B. von Schinkel,
Minnen, vol. VI., p. 113.

2 Recueil de lettres de Charles Jean, Stockholm, 1825, p. 55.

' B. von Schinkel, Minnen, vol. VII., p. 12.

* Carl Th. S0rensen, Kampen om Norge i Aarene 1813 og 1814, p. 44 ff.

II EFFORTS OF CHARLES JOHN TO SECURE NORWAY 409

country was suffering from a serious famine, due to the almost total
crop failure in 1812. But Charles John attempted even now with-
out success to persuade King Frederick VI. to cede Norway ; neither
could he be prevailed upon to change his political policy to the extent
of seeking a reconciliation with England, though he was urged to do
so by his most influential minister, Rosencrantz, and even by Prince
Christian Frederick, heir to the throne of Denmark. He decided
instead to remain neutral, though this did not meet with the approval
of the allied powers.

Charles John had not been able to take active measures towards
securing Norway, and he knew that a long delay might wreck his
plans. Denmark's charge d'affaires in Stockholm had suggested that
the bishopric of Trondhjem should be ceded to Sweden ; from Rus-
sian sources it had been hinted that a change in the plans was neces-
sary, and England remained indifferent and would not support his
designs on Norway unless he used his forces on the Continent in co-
operation with the allies. Circumstances forced him to yield. He
promised to raise a force of 30,000 men, which together with 35,000
Russians should cooperate with the allies against Napoleon under
his own conmiand, and in return England agreed to support his
demand for the cession of Norway. But his plan might still be
shattered. Austria supported Denmark, as the great statesman
Metternich wished to attach to himself the smaller European states
in the hope that as soon as Napoleon was vanquished he might secure
for Austria the leadership in European politics. In that event the
legitimate princes would be restored to their thrones and possessions,
and he was not disposed to destroy an old legitimate monarchy for
the benefit of Charles John, the parvenu who emerged from obscurity
to enter the charmed circle of the crowned heads of Europe. Both
in St. Petersburg and London Metternich had protested against an
attack on Denmark at a moment when all the European powers
had begun to talk of peace. Even Russia began to show signs of
Danish sympathy. Prince Dolgorouki was sent to Copenhagen
with a letter from Emperor Alexander, stating that at the time when
he sanctioned Sweden's plan of securing Norway, he did not know
Denmark's real position ; that he had thought that Denmark would
gladly part with Norway in return for more valuable possessions in

410 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

northern Germany ; but since this did not please the king, he would
now postpone the matter. King Frederick was urged to join the
allies, and take active part in the operation against Napoleon, and
Dolgorouki added enough orally to make it quite clear that the ques-
tion of ceding Norway would be dropped altogether if Denmark
would cooperate with the aUies. But King Frederick would not
join the coalition in active war operations unless the possession of
Norway was definitely guaranteed to him.^ At this moment Charles
John seems to have abandoned the hope of securing the whole of Nor-
way. On April 10, 1813, he dispatched an ultimatmn to King Fred-
erick, stating that unless he ceded the bishopric of Trondhjem to
Sweden, and joined the coalition in active operations against Napo-
leon, he would attack Denmark-Norway.^ While awaiting a reply,
he received the news of Dolgorouki's secret mission. He also learned
that the 35,000 Russian troops which had been promised had been
ordered to march in another direction. This palpable breach of
faith on the part of Russia drove Charles John into violent fury.
He wrote to Emperor Alexander demanding the troops which had
been promised. He also asked that Dolgorouki should be recalled
from Copenhagen, and that diplomatic relations between Russia
and Denmark should cease. The Swedish ambassador at Copen-
hagen was immediately recalled, as Denmark refused to cede any
part of Norway. Thus matters stood when operations against Napo-
leon began in the spring of 1813.

On April 15th Napoleon left Paris and took personal command of
the large army which he had organized, and the decisive campaign
of 1813 was begun, A Swedish army of 30,000 men had landed in
Pomerania, with which Charles John was to cooperate with the allied
forces, but he refused to take part in active operations until Russia
should place under his command the 35,000 men which had been
promised. He was willing, however, to make one concession with
regard to Norway. Instead of demanding the whole kingdom he

^ Yngv&T Nielsen, Aktmcessige Bidrag, Forhandlinger i Videnskahs-Sel-
skabet i Christiania, 1876, no. 7, p. 31 ff. Carl Th. S0rensen, Kampen om
Norge, p. 100 £E.

* B. von Schinkel, Minnen, vol. VII., p. 61 ff. Correspondence, Dispatches,
and Other Papers of Viscount Castlereagh, vol. VIII. Minne of Statsministeren
Oreve OuataS of Wetterstedt, p. 206 ff.

n CHARLES JOHN AND THE POWERS 411

would be satisfied with the bishopric of Trondhjem, which should
be permanently incorporated in Sweden. But Russia demanded
that he should immediately join the allies without further conditions.
On May 21st Napoleon defeated the armies of the coalition at Bauzen,
and the allies were highly displeased because Charles John remained
inactive. On June 4th both Russia and Prussia concluded an armi-
stice with Napoleon at Poischwitz without consulting either England
or Sweden. But in a personal interview with Emperor Alexander
and King Frederick William III. of Prussia at Trachenberg, near
Breslau, Charles John again won the favor of the two monarchs.
Again they renewed their assurances to Sweden, and they also adopted
his plan for the next campaign in case peace with Napoleon could
not be arranged. According to this plan, the forces of the allies
should be divided into three armies. The Northern army of Swedes,
Russians, and Prussians under the command of Charles John should
form the right wing, the Silesian army of Prussians and Russians under
General Bliicher should form the center, and the Bohemian army
of Austrians, Russians, and Prussians under the Austrian field mar-
shal. Prince Schwartzenberg, should form the left wing. These
armies, forming a half-circle, should converge on the point where
Napoleon was stationed. When the armistice expired, August 16th,
Austria joined the allies, whose armies in the field now numbered
479,000. Against these forces Napoleon could place an army of
about 440,000, mostly raw recruits. In his attempt to break this
half circle of iron which threatened to crush him, he was not success-
ful. He inflicted a crushing defeat on Schwartzenberg, August 26th
and 27th, but his marshals were unable to carry out successfully
the parts assigned to them. Macdonald was defeated by Bliicher
at Katzbach, and Marshal Vandamme was defeated and captured
at Kulm. Oudinot failed to take Berlin, and Ney, who was sent to
take charge of the operations, was defeated at Dennewitz. The
armies of the allies pressed forward into Saxony, where the decisive
battle of Leipzig was fought, October 16th to 19th, in which Napo-
leon was defeated.

The Swedish troops had taken little part in the actual fighting,
as Charles John evidently sought to save his forces for an attack on
Denmark. But after his retreat Napoleon himself said to the

412 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

Swedish general Skoldebrand, who had been made prisoner of war :
"No one has done me so much harm as your crown prince. Do
you believe that if it were not for him I should have been here at
this moment? I should still have been in northern Germany. I
myself tell you so, and you may believe my word." ^

King Frederick VI. continued to the last to exercise a paternal
care for his kingdom of Norway to the greatest extent possible under
the circumstances. Prince Frederick of Hessen, who had succeeded
Charles August, was an inactive man, who did not win the favor of
the people, and in the spring of 1813 Prince Christian Frederick was
dispatched to Norway, in the hope that this young and talented heir
to the throne might arouse the people's love for the union.^ In
his instruction to the prince the king said : " Since Norway is far
distant, it makes it diflBcult for the sovereign himself to be present
in the kingdom. They need therefore, especially in time of war, to
have a person who can rule the realm, otherwise it cannot be expected
that any system can be established in the administration. This,
then, is the thing especially required of you, and you are requested
to continually travel about and seek to prevail on the people to show
the love which they owe me. Whenever they complain, you must
answer them that your presence as statholder and commander of
the military forces is a new evidence of my regard and love for the
Norwegian people. This important tie, without which no nation
can long endure, the love of the people for their sovereign, and vice
versa, you must attempt to strengthen." In his effort to counteract
Swedish influence in Norway Prince Christian Frederick was quite
successful. The twenty-six-year-old prince' was gifted, well edu-
cated, jovial, and pleasing. He had fine features, loved merry
company,* and maintained a greater dignity and stricter etiquette

^ A. F. Skoldebrand, Memoiren.

* A. Faye, Norge i 18 14, p. 2 ff. Henrik Wergeland, Norges Konstitutiona
Historie, Samlede Skrifter, vol. IX. Yngvar Nielsen, Bidrag til Norges
Historie i 1814' Carl Th. S0rensen, Kampen om Norge, vol. I., p. 135.

» Prince Christian Frederick was a son of Prince PVederick, a younger
half-brother of Christian VII., and heir presumptive to the throne of Den-
mark-Norway. He was the nearest heir to the throne, as Frederick VI.
had no male heir.

< Claus Pavels, Daghogs-Optegnelser for Aarene 1812-181S, p. 102. Ludvig
Daae, Del gamle Chriatiania, p. 341 f.

n PRINCE CHRISTIAN FREDERICK IN NORWAY 413

than his predecessors. He soon gained the love and admiration
of the people, but he was not able to win to his side the most influ-
ential man in the kingdom, Count Wedel-Jarlsberg. The two met
in Tunsberg, and Wedel told Prince Christian Frederick that if
he would become king of Norway as an independent kingdom, he
would support him to the last, that he must either drive the Swedish
crown prince from the North, or allow himself to be driven out.
But so decisive a step the prince would not take, and Count Wedel
remained an inactive spectator, who placed no confidence in the
ability of Prince Christian Frederick to solve the difficult problems
confronting him. In a conversation with Jacob Aal, Count Wedel
said : " We shall now see who will rule the North, Charles John or
Christian Frederick," and there is no doubt that his sympathy was
with the former.^

The arrival of Christian Frederick in Norway had a wholesome
effect, and tended to strengthen the people's loyalty to the union.
But the king's attempt to protect the Norwegian coast against the
English was not only a failure, but a mistake. The English did not
plan any attack on Norway. English privateers hovered around
the coast, and seized Norwegian vessels, but the regular commerce
with England, which was as advantageous to the English as to the
Norwegians, was not seriously interfered with at this time. King
Frederick, nevertheless, dispatched to the coast of Norway a new
battleship, the "Najad," which had been recently built. Several
smaller vessels were added, and this flotilla was placed in the com-
mand of an able captain, H. P. Holm. The Norwegians frowned
at this, as they realized that it would only challenge the English to
more active hostilities, and the venture ended, as might be expected,
in speedy disaster. An English man-of-war, the "Dictator," with
sixty-four guns, in command of the young captain Steward, accom-
panied by several smaller vessels, discovered the "Najad," and pur-
sued it into a narrow gap near Lyng0r, where a fierce duel was fought

At the age of twenty, Prince Christian Frederick was married to Char-
lotte Frederikke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who bore him two sons, one of
whom died in childhood. The other became King Frederick VII. of Den-
mark. The prince and his wife were divorced before he came to Norway.

^ Yngvar Nielsen, Wedel-Jarlsberg, vol. II., p. 17, Jacob Aal, Erin-
dringer, p. 308. J. H. Vogt, Optegnelser, p. 35 fE.

414 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

in which the Danish ship was destroyed. The Norwegian gunboat
flotilla was notified, but arrived too late to prevent the "Dictator"
from escaping through the same narrow passage where it entered.^

After the battle of Leipzig, Charles John was to advance with the
northern army against Marshal Davout, who was stationed on
the lower Elbe with an army of 25,000 men. To this plan he will-
ingly agreed, as it gave him an opportunity to follow out his own
designs against Denmark. He felt that the moment had now come
when he must secure possession of Norway, or leave the question to
a general peace conference, where he would have small chance of
being supported by the legitimate princes. He dispatched some
Prussian and Russian forces against the French, and with his own
army he turned northward to attack Holstein. An invasion of
Denmark could now be undertaken without incurring any blame, since
Frederick VI. had declared war against Russia and Prussia before
he received the news of Napoleon's defeat at Leipzig. Holstein was
quickly overrun, and in order to prevent an invasion of Schleswig and
Jutland the Danish commander, Prince Frederick of Hessen, con-
cluded an armistice. Charles John now renewed his original demand
for the cession of the whole of Norway, and the situation made him
anxious to reach a speedy agreement. Austria, which still supported
Denmark, had sent a special envoy. Count Bombelles, to Copenhagen
to advise King Frederick to cede the bishopric of Trondhjem, but
the king still hoped that the intervention of Austria might change
the situation. He sent a special envoy, Edmund Bourke, to Kiel,
accompanied by Bombelles, to negotiate with Charles John for a
prolongation of the armistice. The crown prince would not grant
a long respite, but he agreed to extend the time till January 5th, in
order that Bourke might confer with his government. He also sub-
mitted his ultimatum in which he demanded either the cession of
the bishopric of Trondhjem at once, and the rest of Norway when a
general peace conference assembled, or the whole of Norway at once,
in which case Denmark would receive Swedish Pomerania and one
million riksdaler as a compensation. ^ Bourke and Bombelles returned

^ Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 281 fE.

* Schinkel, Minnen, vol. VII., p. 313 ff. Minne af Statsministeren Oreve
Gustaf af Wetter stedt, p. 287 fiE. Yngvar Nielsen, Norge i 181 4.

n THE TREATY OF KIEL 415

to Copenhagen, and Charles John also dispatched a letter to King
Frederick,, urging him to accept the terms offered. All hope of an
intervention of Austria finally vanished. Russia and England re-
mained firm in demanding the cession of Norway, and Austria was
at last obliged to support this demand to avoid a rupture with
her allies. On January 4th Bourke again arrived in Kiel to open
peace negotiations, and Charles John declared in a speech to the as-
sembled diplomats that if the treaty of peace was not signed within
forty-eight hours he would renew hostilities, and the Danish monarchy
would be destroyed. It was necessary for him to push matters
to a hasty conclusion, for the English minister, Castlereagh, had sent
an imperative order that he should immediately cross the Elbe and
join in the operations against Napoleon. This order was received
January 13th, and the peace was not yet signed. Disobedience
might cost him the friendship of England and shatter his whole plan.^
He prevailed on the English ambassador, Thornton, not to make the
order known for twenty-four hours, and during the night the work on
the treaty was carried on with the greatest possible speed. On January
14, 1814, the treaty of Kiel ^ between Sweden and Denmark was
signed. Peace was also concluded between Denmark and England.
By the treaty of Kiel Frederick VI. ceded Norway to the king
of Sweden, and according to article IV. of the treaty Norway should
remain a kingdom united with Sweden. Because of the haste with
which the treaty was drawn up, the Norwegian possessions, Ice-
land, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, were not included in the
cession. Through this oversight these possessions were separated
from Norway, and continue to remain united with Denmark. The
king of Sweden ceded to Denmark Swedish Pomerania and the is-
land of Riigen. He promised as king of Norway to pay to Denmark
that part of the Danish-Norwegian state debt which would justly
fall on Norway, and to use his influence in the general peace congress
to secure further compensation for Denmark.'

^ Kong Christian VIII's Dagbog fra Regenttiden i Norge, p. 7 f. Wetter-
stedt, Minne, p. 302.

* Gustav Peter Blom, Norges Statsforandring i Aaret 1814, Bilag III.,
p. 254. L. M. B. Aubert, Norges folkeretslige Stilling, p. 69 ff. C. A. Bro-
berg, For ikke 100 Aar siden.

» L. M. B. Aubert, Norges folkeretslige Stilling, p. 69 ff.

416 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

On the 15th of January Charles John wrote to his son, Prince
Oscar: "My dear child: Peace has been concluded. Norway is
united with Sweden, and forms a separate and independent king-
dom." This was an unreserved recognition of the full meaning of
the treaty, but he also seems to have entertained other ideas regard-
ing the relation of the two kingdoms, which did not presage well for
the future. The same day he wrote to Count Essen in Stockholm
that the Norwegian fortresses of Fredrikshald, Kongsvinger, Fred-
rikstad, and Akershus should at once be occupied by a force of 6000
men. "I believe," he concludes, "that a larger force will not be
needed, as Norway is to be taken possession of, not as a province,
but only to be united with Sweden in such a way as to form with it
a single kingdom."

THE MODERN PERIOD
52. Norway Gains Her National Independence in 1814

In an open letter of January 18, 1814, King Frederick VI. an-
nounced to the Norwegian people that their country had been ceded
to the king of Sweden. He released them from their oath of loyalty,
and bid them farewell in terms which reveal the deepest emotion.^
In Norway the news did not immediately become known. The
communications between the two kingdoms had been interrupted
by the war, and as the Norwegian newspapers contained little or
nothing but local news items, the people had to gather what they
knew of foreign affairs largely from rumors, which were often ex-
aggerated and contradictory. They knew that the outcome of the
war waged in southern Denmark would be of importance to Norway,
but no reliable reports had revealed the true state of affairs, when
the paper "Tiden" on January 25th suddenly brought the glad tid-
ings that peace had again been established in the North. The condi-
tions were not mentioned, though the editor had been informed of
the treaty through a private letter ; but when the truth became known,
the first outburst of joy gave way to anger and resentment, as the
people felt that they had been bartered away in a manner disgrace-
ful to a free people. They had not been consulted by either of the
contracting parties, hence the treaty of Kiel could not be binding
on them. To countenance it would be national dishonor.

The strong national spirit and love for constitutional liberty which
had been awakened in Norway, as well as in other parts of Europe,
in the closing decades of the eighteenth century and the opening of
the nineteenth had long since been tinged with a desire for national
autonomy, if not for independence. At the time when the peace of

1 Gustav Peter Blom, Norges Statsforandring i Aaret 1814, Bilag, p. 257.
A. Faye, Norge i 181 4, p. 9 £f.

VOL. II — 2b 417

418 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

Kiel was concluded, there was no general desire for a union with Sweden
on any terms, and when the union with Denmark was terminated,
the Norwegians felt that they were free to work out their own national
destiny. Denmark might dissolve the old union, but it could not
create for Norway a new union with Sweden without the consent
of the Norwegian people.^ The presence of Prince Christian Fred-
erick also buoyed up their courage. He could give the country a
stable government, and around him as a legitimate successor to
the throne they could rally in defense of their independence.

On the evening of January 24th, the day before the news was
broached by "Tiden," King Frederick's first courier, C. L. V. R0mer,
reached Christiania, and submitted to Prince Christian Frederick
the terms of the treaty of Kiel, together with an order that he should
surrender Norway to the Swedish authorities, and return to Copen-
hagen. This order the prince refused to obey. In his diary he
wrote : " That the king can believe that the Norwegians will surrender
voluntarily — that he thinks that I would be mean enough to desert
them now — I do not understand it. They would, indeed, be justi-
fied in throwing stones at me, if I could desert a people who love me,
and place their whole confidence in me. And I should leave even
without attempting to defend them — Never I not while I live ! "
He left Christiania, visited one of his most influential advisers,
Peter Anker, at Eidsvold, and journeyed through Gudbrandsdal to
Trondhjem. Everywhere the people welcomed him with great
enthusiasm as their deliverer, as it had now become generally known
that Norway had been ceded to Sweden, though it had not yet been
officially announced. In Trondhjem they even requested him to
call an Assembly of Estates to frame a constitution for the kingdom.
He returned to Christiania resolved to ascend the throne, and to
rule according to the old "Kongelov" until he could find opportunity
to grant a new constitution.^

But the friends of popular sovereignty and government by the
people did not remain inactive. Inspired by the example of the
North American colonies and the French Revolution, they resolved
not only to declare their independence, but to frame a constitution

» L. M. B. Aubert, Norges folkeretslige StiUing, p. 95 fif.
* Yngvax Nielsen, Norge i 1814-

n NORWAY GAINS HER NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE IN 1814 419

whick should embody the principles of democracy which had been
proclaimed by the fathers of the American Republic and the French
political philosophers. Christian Magnus Falsen, son of the patriot
and poet Enevold Falsen, invited Peter Anker, Professor George
Sverdrup, L. S. Platan, and Joh. G. Adler to a meeting at his country
residence, Vollebaek, near Christiania, where he read to them the
draft of a constitution which he had framed with the assistance of
Adler, and not long afterwards Professor Sverdrup and Peter Anker
were invited to attend an Assembly of Notables which had been
summoned by Christian Frederick to meet at Eidsvold, February 16,
1814.1

A number of the leading men in Norway assembled at Eidsvold.
Prince Christian Frederick proposed that he should be placed on
the throne by right of succession, but this was opposed by a strong
party, whose chief spokesman was Professor Sverdrup. In a private
conversation with the prince he implored him not to seize the crown
in a manner contrary to the wishes of all the enlightened men of the
nation. "The rights which Frederick VI. has renounced reverts to
the people," he added. "From the hands of the people you will
receive the crown, which will be the more lustrous since the people
have given it to you." In the assembly the members declared
that as free men they would not submit to the provisions of the
treaty of Kiel. Regarding the question of succession to the throne
many supported Sverdrup, and Christian Frederick yielded to the
general desire on this point.^ He was chosen regent ad interim, and
agreed to summon a general constituent assembly to meet at Eids-
vold. When a constitution had been framed, a king would be
placed on the throne by election to exercise executive powers accord-

1 A. Faye, Norge i 1814, p. 22. Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 340 ff. Hen-
rik Wergeland, Norges Konstitutions Historic, Samlede Skrifter, vol. IX.,
p. 95. T. H. Aschehoug, Norges nuvcerende Statsforfatning, vol. I., p. 5 ff.

The official paper, ^'Tiden," published, immediately after the cession of
Norway to Sweden had been announced, an offer of a premium for a treatise
on the best form of government for Norway. A request was also made for
the loan of the constitutions of all free countries, and commentaries on the
same, together with Adam's Defense of the Republican Government, and
Journal for Rigsforfatning og Lovgivning. Henrik Wergeland, Norges Konf
stitutions Historie, Samlede Skrifter, vol. IX., p. 14.

* T. H. Aschehoug, Norges nuvcerende Statsforfatning, vol. I., p. 6 ff.

420 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

ing to its provisions. Circumstances had made it necessary for the
scion of the autocratic Oldenburg dynasty to bow to the sovereign
will of the people.

In an open letter, dated February 19th/ Prince Christian Frederick
announced in the customary autocratic phraseology that since the
assembly at Eidsvold had declared that they would not submit to
Sweden, he had placed himself at the head of the nation, had assumed
the title of regent, and would do everything in his power to prevent
disorder, and to maintain peace with every foreign power which
should not attempt to trample on the rights of the Norwegian people.
In the same letter he also published the rules according to which
the members of the Constituent Assembly should be chosen. After
religious services had been held in the principal churches in each
parish, the people should take an oath to maintain the independence
of Norway, and to sacrifice, if need be, their lives for the fatherland;
whereupon two electors should be chosen in each parish, one of which
should be a bonde (farmer). These electors should meet in each
ami and choose three delegates to the Constituent Assembly, one of
whom should be a bonde. Also the army and navy should send dele-
gates, a truly unique step,^ probably taken by the prince to identify
these important organizations more closely with the national cause.'

After concluding the treaty of Kiel, Charles John led the northern
anny westward to cooperate with the allies against France. He had

» Gustav Peter Blom, Norge i 18 14, p. 99.

2 Yngvar Nielsen, Norge i 1814, p. 46 ff. Gustav Peter Blom, Norge i
1814, p. 140. A. Paye, Norge i 1814, p. 23 S. T. H. Aschehoug, Norges
nuvcerende Statsforfatning, vol. I., p. 6 flf.

* The stand taken by Norway was applauded even by the English press.
The Morning Post and The Courier contained articles commenting on events
in Norway, and expressing sympathy with the attempt of the Norwegian
people to establish their independence. The Morning Post said: "We did
not deem it just to guarantee Norway to Sweden, as we could easily see that
the hatred between the two nations would make the union a source of civil
strife and internal war. . . . The resolute will of the Norwegian nation
has now been so clearly expressed that we hope it will not be disregarded.
Sweden would only have gained rebellious subjects, whereas it can now gain
a brave ally." See Gustav Peter Blom, Norge i 1814, P- 264. The Courier
stated that England "only reluctantly gave her consent to the eager desire
of Sweden to annex Norway." Henrik Wergeland, SanUede Skrifter,
vol. IX., p. 124.

NORWAY GAINS HER NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE IN 1814 421

secured Nonvay by treaty, but the task of taking possession of it
was left to the Swedish government, at the head of which stood the
old King Charles XIII. and his minister of state, Lars von Engestrom,
both of whom failed to understand the real nature of the situation.
They seemed to think that the acquisition of Norway was now an
accomplished fact, and that the work of bringing the country under
Swedish administration could be done at leisure. The idea that
the Norwegians might re-
sist did not occur to them,
neither did they know the
sentiment and real char-
acter of the Norwegian
people. Yngvar Nielsen
says : " At this important
moment few men in
Sweden had any knowl-
edge of the Norwegian
people ; and only few un-
derstood what steps they
might be inclined to take.
. . . Only a small minor-
ity remembered what had
led to the election of
Charles August, and little
gratitude was expressed to
the people which in 1809
had helped to save Sweden. On this point the majority was blind, a
fact which produced its result, and in its blindness the government sur-
passed the rest." Count von Essen was appointed governor-general
of Norway. George Adlersparre, one of the leaders of the revolution
in 1809, was offered the position of governor-general in the two north-
ern provinces, but he declined, as he did not favor the plan of attempt-
ing to rule Norway by Swedish governors. Against this unwise policy
he repeatedly warned the government, but his advice was not heeded.
Count von Rosen, who had been appointed governor of Tr0ndelagen,
was forthwith dispatched to Christiania by Governor General von
Essen to negotiate with Prince Christian Frederick regarding the

Fig. 11. — Charles XIII

422 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

transfer of Norway to the Swedish authorities, but he was told
by the prince that his mission was useless, as the Norwegians had
declared their independence, and were resolved to maintain it.

On Sunday, February 25th, a special service was conducted in
the church of Our Savior in Christiania, and the congregation took
an oath to maintain the independence of the country.^ Similar
services were conducted in all parishes throughout the kingdom accord-
ing to the open letter which the prince had addressed to the Norwe-
gian people. The taking of the oath, and the solemn invocation of
God's blessing, brought the question of national independence close
to the people's hearts, and inspired them with a most earnest devo-
tion to the national cause.

Hitherto Prince Christian Frederick had sought the advice of
influential private citizens, but before entering upon his duties as
regent he created a royal council or cabinet,^ the members of which
should act as his official advisers, and assist him in his administrative
duties. General Gottschalk Haxthausen was made minister of fi-
nance, Jonas Collett minister of the interior, M. O. L. Sommerhjelm
minister of justice, Niels Aal minister of commerce, and Carsten Anker
minister of manufacturing and mining. A department of foreign
affairs was to be created later, and education was to be placed in
charge of a committee consisting of Professor Sverdrup, Professor
Treschow, and Bishop Bech. Carsten Anker did not take charge of
the department to which he had been appointed. He was sent in-
stead as special envoy to England,^ as Prince Christian Frederick
hoped that England might be moved to look with favor upon the Nor-
wegian people's struggle for independence, and that the English gov-
ernment might possibly undertake to mediate between Norway and
Sweden. Anker was well acquainted in England, where he had many
connections both with business houses and statesmen, but his mission
proved unsuccessful. The English prime minister, Lord Liverpool,
told him that if the Norwegians persisted in keeping the Danish
prince, and continued their struggle for independence, England would
be obliged to help Sweden. Though Anker was disheartened, he

* Kong Christian VIII., Dagbog fra Regenttiden t Norge, p. 49.

* F. BsBtzmann, Det norske Statsraad I8I4-I884.

' Yngvar Nielsen, Aktstykker vedkommende Stormagternes Mission, Skrifter
udgivne af Videnskabs-Selskabet i Christiania, 1897, p. 15 ff.

II MEETING OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY AT EIDSVOLD 423

did not leave England immediately, and he was soon prevented from
departing, as he was placed under arrest for an old debt which the
Danish Asiatic Company owed some English merchants. He was
soon released, but had to remain in London for a time. This gave
him time to renew his diplomatic activity, but nothing could be
accomplished, as the English government remained obdurate, and
refused to negotiate with him.

53. The Meeting of the Constituent Assembly at Eidsvold.
The Framing of the Norwegian Constitution

The delegates to the Constituent Assembly were summoned to
meet at Eidsvold, Carsten Anker's beautiful country seat, April 10,
1814. The roads in Norway at that time were still in poor condition,
and a spring thaw had made them almost impassable, still the dele-
gates succeeded in reaching their destination in time. Prince Chris-
tian Frederick also arrived from Christiania to be present at the open-
ing of the assembly. "He came accompanied by his cabinet," says
Jacob Aal,^ " and a few light infantry, mounted and on foot, paraded
before him. His whole conduct during his stay in Norway prior
to his election as king was exceedingly plain. He kept but few
horses and no expensive equipages. At his table there was no luxury,
and he was not extravagant in regard to expenditure. He conducted
himself as a private citizen, and acquainted himself with the simple
Norwegian customs. Though he did not shun pleasure, he did not
seek it in the expensive forms prevalent at the courts, and he dis-
played no princely pomp. One cannot compare the prince-regent,
or even the king of Norway, with those kings who seem to seek pro-
tection for their royal privileges in the splendor of their throne. His
democratic manners were in keeping with the customs of the country,
whose throne he hoped to ascend."

After attending religious services in the old Eidsvold church, the
delegates assembled in Carsten Anker's spacious mansion. The

1 Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 386. V. C. W. Sibbem, Daghog paa Eidsvold
1814, Historisk Tidsskrift, f0rste raekke, vol. I., p. 208 £f. W. F. K. Christie,
Daghog under Rigsforsamlingen paa Eidsvold fra lOde April til lite Mai
1814; Norske Samlinger, vol. II., p. 563 fif. H. J. Nsbss, Den norske Grund-
lavs Historic fortalt for Folket.

424 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

first day was devoted to the examination of the credentials of the
delegates, and in the evening they all assembled for a festive supper.
"Here could be seen representatives from all parts of the country,
of all classes and dialects," writes Nicolai Wergeland, one of the
delegates, "courtiers, b0nder, amtmsend, lensmaend, ministers, dea-
cons, colonels, corporals, learned and unlearned, of high and low
estate, officials, merchants, and landed proprietors. All had as-
sembled for the sacred purpose of laying the foundation for the regen-
eration of their country. Though they were not equal in knowledge,
they were all equally upright in purpose, and equally worthy of
respect." " It was a picture of Norway," says Yngvar Nielsen, "as
it was and as it was to be." ^

The "men of Eidsvold," as the members of the Constituent
Assembly have been called, numbered one hundred and twelve,
though no delegates arrived from the two northern districts, Nordland
and Finmarken. Among them were found the most able leaders
in the kingdom, men like Christian Magnus Falsen, W. F. K. Christie,
Wedel-Jarlsberg, George Sverdrup, Nicolai Wergeland, Jacob Aal,
Peter Motzfeldt, Severin L0venskiold, Peter Anker, and others.
A serious divergence of opinion on very fundamental questions soon
manifested itself. The question whether the prince had been ele-
vated to the regency because of an inherited right to the throne, by
virtue of which he possessed sovereign power, or whether sovereignty
was now exercised by the Assembly as the representatives of the
people, threatened to cause a serious clash. The question had been
raised by Nicolai Wergeland in connection with a vote of thanks to
be addressed to the prince.^ He desired to have a motion passed
by which it would be made evident that the Assembly exercised
sovereign power, but even those who agreed with him in principle
would not make this question an issue at that moment, and Werge-
land's motion was lost.

After the Assembly had disposed of this matter, a committee of
fifteen was elected to draft a constitution which should form the basis

» Norge % 1814, P- 114.

* Nicolai Wergeland, En poKHsk Tale til del norske Folk, med Bilag af
dem Forfatteren fremsagde i Rigsforsamlingen paa Eidsvold, Christiania, 1814,
p. 56 ff. Henrik Wergeland, Norges Konstitutions Historie, Samlede Skrifter,
vol. IX., p. 155.

PLATE IX

ElDSVOLD IN 1814.

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II THE FRAMING OF THE NORWEGIAN CONSTITUTION 425

for the deliberations of the Assembly.^ Among the members of
this committee were: Falsen, Sverdrup, Aal, Wedel-Jarlsberg,
Wergeland, and Diriks. Eleven fundamental principles were soon
agreed upon and submitted to the Assembly, ten of which were
adopted in the following form :

1. Norway is to be a limited hereditary monarchy: it shall be
a free, independent, and indivisible kingdom, and the regent shall
have the title of king.

2. The people shall exercise the lawmaking power through their
representatives.

3. The people shall have the right to tax themselves through
their representatives.

4. The right to declare war and conclude peace shall be vested
in the regent.

5. The regent shall possess the power of pardon.

6. The judicial department shall be separate from the legislative
and executive departments.

7. Freedom of the press shall be estabhshed.

8. The Evangelical-Lutheran Church shall be the state church
of Norway, but all religious sects shall have the right to worship
according to their own faith. Jews shall be excluded from the
kingdom.

9. The freedom of industry shall not be limited by further re-
strictions.

10. No personal, mixed, or hereditary privileges shall hereafter
be granted.

The eleventh point, proposing uniform compulsory military ser-
vice, was not adopted. 2

After the main features of the constitution had thus been out-
lined, the labor of drafting the instrument itself was carr'ied forward
with great vigor. The committee based its work on the consti-
tution which had been framed by Falsen and Adler prior to the meet-
ing of the notables at Eidsvold. But this document, which was

^ Gustav Peter Blom, Dagbog under Rigsforsamlingen paa Eidsvold, His-
torisk Tidsskrift, tredie raekke, vol. I., p. 83 ff. N. J. Gregersen, Norges
Historie i 1814, p. 69 ff.

2 J. H. Darre, Dagbog under Rigsforsamlingen i 1814, Historisk Tidsskrift,
f0rste raekke, vol. IV., p. 399 ff.

426 fflSTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

patterned on the French constitution framed at the time of the Revo-
lution, was a work of no great merit,^ and its whole tenor was changed.
The committee sought to eliminate all revolutionary spirit and to
avoid the pitfalls of obscure language and doctrinaire liberal ideas
of revolutionary theorists, which might create endless discussion
and insuperable difficulties. The Eidsvold constitution is clear
and concise, features which are nowhere more desirable than in a
docum.ent of that kind. It is, also, more conservative than the
original draft submitted by Falsen and Adler, even to such an extent
that some features which seem essential to true democracy, as for
example that of trial by jury, and unrestricted suffrage of adults,
were not included in it. But minor defects of this kind, which usually
adhere to all such documents in their original form, were easily reme-
died by amendments and later legislation. On the whole, the consti-
tution framed by the "men of Eidsvold" is one of the most remark-
able instruments of the kind ever written, whether we consider the
sound democratic principles which it embodies, or the clearness and
calm dignity with which they are expressed. The authors were
members of the official upper classes, who possessed both the learn-

ij. E. Sars, Norges polUiske Historie 1815-1886, p. 87. Ludvig Kr.
Daa, K. Magnus Falsen, Et Bidrag til Norges Konstitutions Historie, p. 23.
Yngvar Nielsen, Christian Magnus Falsen, Nordmoend i det 19de Aarhundrede.
Henrik Wergeland, Norges Konstitutions Historie, Samlede Skrifter, vol.
IX., p. 203.

A part of this constitution is found in Jacob Aal's Erindringer, Bilag 73,
p. 757. The principles of popular sovereignty are stated very clearly:

7. The sovereignty is lodged in the people. No part of the people can
exercise the power of the whole people.

8. All power has its origin in the people.

14. The people cannot be bound by laws except those which they them-
selves create through their chosen representatives.

15. The laws are a free and solemn exercise of the will of the people.

As a statement of general principles these paragraphs are very lucid,
but they are too abstract to become part of a constitution. Several other
delegates prepared outlines of constitutions, among others Nicolai Werge-
land. See Historiske Samlinger udgivne af den historiske Kildeskriftkom-
mission, vol. III., Nicolai Wergelands Grundlovsudkast udgivet af G. Tank.
This draft was long considered lost. See Yngvar Nielsen, Bidrag til Norges
Historie i 1814, vol. I., p. 241. Erik VuUum, Kristian Magnus Falsen,
Grundlovens Fader, p. 11. J. E. Sars, Hislorisk Indledning til Grundloven.
T. H. Aschehoug, Norges nuvcerende Statsforfatning, vol. I., p. 13 ff. Erik
Vullum, Hvorledea Norge blev frit, p. 253 ff.

PLATE X

Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg.

W. F. K. Christie.

Georg Sverdrup.

Christian Magnus Falsen.

II THE FRAMING OF THE NORWEGIAN CONSTITUTION 427

ing and the influence necessary to insert whatever provisions they
might desire. They were in the majority in the Assembly, and en-
joyed the full confidence of the people. They possessed the power,
and had the opportunity to perpetuate that power by constitutional
provisions, which would have aroused no resentment. But they under-
stood that liberty was the Norwegian people's ancient heritage, a
fruit of their own unremitting struggle through the ages, and they
knew, even as Statholder Gyldenl0ve had perceived over a century
earlier, that a free kingdom of Norway could only be maintained by
the binder, who represented the strength of the nation, and who had
preserved the freedom of the people through the centuries of the
union with Denmark. True to these principles, which had been
reenforced by the republican ideals of a government by the people
and for the people, they chose with unselfish patriotism to make a
constitution for the kingdom so truly democratic in spirit that it
lodged all power in the hands of the common people, and deprived
both king and upper classes of the power of exercising political
leadership. So clear are its provisions on this point, that although
it has had to undergo the severest test of analytical controversial
interpretation for well-nigh a hundred years, the closest scrutiny
has only revealed how thoroughly it has insured to the people full
liberty, sovereign power, and democratic popular government.

With regard to the question of establishing a constitutional gov-
ernment, and of insuring the autonomy of the kingdom, full unanimity
of opinion prevailed among the delegates. But on the vital ques-
tion of absolute independence they were divided into two parties.
A large group, to which belonged such influential leaders as Wedel-
Jarlsberg, Nicolai Wergeland, Peter Anker, Jacob Aal, Severin L0ven-
skiold, and Gustav Peter Blom, preferred union with Sweden, as
they feared that Norway, with its limited resources, would not be
able to support a government, or to maintain an army and navy.
The course pursued by those who desired complete independence
would, in their opinion, ruin the already disorganized finances of
the country, and would throw away the military and commercial
advantages which could be gained through a union with Sweden.
Their opposition to the will of the great powers might even jeop-
ardize the opportunity of securing a constitution, and if they sue-

428 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

ceeded in placing Christian Frederick on the throne, they would only
bring about a new union with Denmark, as the prince was heir to
the Danish throne. But the independence party stood firm and
self-confident, as it was supported by public sentiment, and embraced
the majority of the delegates. Its leader was the ardent liberalist
Christian Magnus Falsen,^ a disciple of Noailles and Mirabeau,
chairman of the constitutional committee, and the most influential
man in the Assembly. He has even been styled " the father of the
constitution," an epithet arising from the fact that he had submitted
the Falsen-Adler draft. He was Prince Christian Frederick's special
friend and supporter, and had bent his energy on securing full inde-
pendence for Norway in the hope that the prince would be placed
on the throne, an effort in which he was ably assisted by other leaders
within his party.^

As no difference of opinion existed regarding the question of con-
stitutional government and national autonomy, no difficulty was
experienced in adopting the constitution. On May 16th it was
read in its final form and accepted by the Assembly, after all its pro-
visions had been carefully considered in detail.

The British politician and writer Samuel Laing says of the Nor-
wegian constitution : " There is not probably in the history of man-
kind another instance of a free constitution, not erected amidst
ruins and revolutions, not cemented with blood, but taken from the
closet of the philosopher, and quietly reared and set to work, and
found to be suitable without alteration to all ends of good govern-
ment. The reason of this apparent singularity is, that all the essen-
tial parts of liberty were already in the country. The property was
in the hands of the whole people. The ancient laws and institutions
affecting property were in full operation, and were conceived and
administered in the very spirit of liberty. As far as regards property,
these laws and institutions left nothing for the most liberally consti-

* Ludvig Kr. Daa, Bemerkninger om Begivenhederne i Norge i Aaret 1814,
Forhandlinger i Videnskabs-Selskahet i Christiania 1858, p. 190 ff. Yngvar
Nielsen, Christian Magnus Falsen, Nordmoend i det 19de Aarhundrede, Erik
VuUum, Kristian Magnus Falsen, Grundlovens Fader.

^ Gustav Peter Blom, Norges Statsforandring i 1814, V- 121 ff- A. Faye,
Norge i 1814, P- 59 ff. J. E. Sars, Historisk Indledning.. til Grundloven,
p. 159 ff. Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 354 ff.

II THE FRAMING OF THE NORWEGIAN CONSTITUTION 429

tuted assembly to legislate upon. As far as regards personal rights,
the mild and enlightened administration of Denmark, although
under an arbitrary form, had left few general grievances to be re-
dressed. There was nothing in the condition of the people, the
state of property, the civil or religious establishments which did not
fit in with a free constitution, in which legislative power was vested
in the people. These had all emanated from the people in ancient
times; and, there being no hereditary privileges, and power, or
property vested in any class of the community, had been handed
down unbroken through ages. The new constitution was but a
superstructure of a building of which the foundations had been laid
and the lower walls constructed, eight centuries before, by the an-
cestors of the present generation." ^

The main features of the government established by the Eidsvold
constitution and later amendments are, briefly, as follows : The
Storthing (the National Legislative Assembly) consists of 123 repre-
sentatives elected by the people for the period of three years. The
kingdom is divided into elective districts, but if more than one repre-
sentative is chosen from a district, it is divided into as many sub-
districts as there are representatives. All citizens, men and women,
who are twenty-five years of age have the right to vote.^ A repre-
sentative to the Storthing must be thirty years of age. He must
have resided in the kingdom ten years, and must have the right to
vote in the district where he is elected. One who has been member
of a ministry may also be elected to represent a district in which he
has no right to vote. The Storthing assembles on the first week-day
after the 10th of January each year, and remains in session so long as
it finds it necessary. Under extraordinary circumstances it may be
summoned into extra session by the king at any time. Though all
members are chosen in the same way and at the same time, they
organize themselves into two branches according to article seventy-

^ Samuel Laing, Journal of a Residence in Norway during the Years 1834,
1835, and 1836 (London, 1854), p. 304.

^ In 1901 all women who paid taxes to the amount of 400 kroner in the
cities and 300 kroner in the country received the right to vote in local elec-
tions. In 1907 they received the right to vote also in general elections, but
with considerable restrictions. In 1913 these restrictions were removed, and
women received the right of suffrage on the same conditions as men.

430 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

three of the constitution. " The Storthing selects from its members
one-fourth to form the Lagthing ; the remaining three-fourths consti-
tute the Odelsthing." This organization remains for the three years'
term for which the members are elected. Each branch chooses its
own president and secretary. Two-thirds of the members of each
constitute a quorum. All bills must be introduced in the Odelsthing,
either by a representative or by the ministry. If it receives a ma-
jority vote it is sent to the Lagthing, and if it is passed also in this
branch of the Storthing, it is sent to the ministry to be signed or vetoed
by the king. If the Lagthing does not pass the bill, it is returned to
the Odelsthing, which may again return it to the Lagthing with
or without amendments. If the two houses fail to agree, they meet
in joint session to discuss the measure, which may then be passed
if it receives two-thirds of the votes. A measure vetoed by the king
becomes a law if it is passed in the same form by three separately
elected Storthings.

The king chooses his own ministers, who are responsible to the
Storthing, and whose advice he must hear in all important ques-
tions. The ministry consists of the minister of state, and not less
than seven other ministers, all of whom are heads of administrative
departments. The ministers may take part in the deliberations of
both branches of the Storthing, but they have not the right to vote.
The parliamentary form of government prevails, according to which
the ministry must have the confidence and support of a majority
in the Storthing. Throughout the period of union with Sweden,
1814-1905, the ministry consisted of two parts. The minister of
state and two other ministers should always stay in Stockholm, the
rest of the ministry should remain in Christiania. The king might
appoint his eldest son viceroy of Norway, or he might appoint a
statholder, who might be either a Swede or a Norwegian.

The Judiciary, — Commissions of arbitration (forligelseskommis-
sioner) are found in all herreds and cities, and in all villages of more
than twenty families. Before a suit is brought into court, an attempt
must be made by the parties to the quarrel to arrive at a settlement
by appearing before this commission. The object of this very useful
institution is to avoid expensive and useless litigation.

A lower court, corresponding in a general way to our justice court,

n THE FRAMING OF THE NORWEGIAN CONSTITUTION 431

is the meddomsret. The judge of this court selects by lot two men
to assist him in rendering the decision. Most cases may be appealed
from this court to the lagmandsret, or jury court. Further appeal
may be made to the superior courts and the High Court of Justice,
h^iesteret.

After the constitution had been adopted, the Eidsvold Assembly
might have secured peace with England and the allied powers, by
pursuing the more conservative policy advocated by the union party.
They could have offered the Norwegian crown to Charles John on
the condition that he should accept the Eidsvold constitution, a
demand which would have been supported by the English govern-
ment. England's treaty obligations would thereby have been ful-
filled, and as the popular sentiment in Great Britain was strongly
in favor of the Norwegians, a union with Sweden could have been
formed on terms most favorable to Norway. But the independence
party, led by the ardent Falsen, who was strongly attached to Prince
Christian Frederick, would countenance no compromise, or remain
satisfied with anything short of absolute independence. This was,
indeed, a high and worthy aim, in perfect accord with the liberal
and national tendencies of the age, but it is doubtful if it was the
wisest policy to hazard everything, even the constitution itself, for
the sake of obtaining a form of independence which cool judgment
could scarcely regard as within the realm of possibility. Such a
course would inevitably lead to war with Sweden, and the English
government had already declared to Carsten Anker that under those
circumstances England would support Charles John.^

But however wisely prudence may reason, it is not always on the
side of absolute justice. The undaunted spirit of freedom which
looks to the ideal, and refuses to be fettered by compromises, may
justly claim our sympathy, and the world will forever pay homage
to those who in the darkest hours of a nation's existence ask only
the one question, what is right, and sacrifice all to maintain it. Of
such a spirit of courage and devotion liberty and progress are ulti-
mately born, and no statesman can analyze its subtle and far-reaching
influence. The Norwegian people felt once more their old strength ;
they had experienced the first raptures of independence, and a new

* N. J. Gregersen, Norges Historie i 1814, P. 121 ff.

432 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

age had whispered hopes of new national greatness. Hesitation
could no longer halt their steps, or reconcile them to a national in-
dependence only half accomplished. All would be sacrificed that
all might be gained ; a solemn resolve which sheds its own enduring
luster on the memories of Eidsvold. The constitution was dated
May 17, 1814, and on the same date the Assembly elected Chris-
tian Frederick king of Norway. The work was finished, and the
president, George Sverdrup, announced in solemn voice: "Reared
within the confines of Norway is the old Norwegian throne on which
Haakon Adelstein and Sverre were seated, and from which they ruled
the kingdom with wisdom and power. . . . God save Norway ! "
And the Assembly repeated the refrain.

With the choice of independence followed also the problem of
defending it, and this became the more difficult because the supply
of money as well as of provisions and war material was very limited.
Prince Christian Frederick had already issued unsecured paper
money to the amount of three million riksbankdaler, but this could
only serve as a temporary makeshift. Early in the session the Assem-
bly had appointed a committee to examine the financial conditions
of the kingdom, and this committee submitted a report which after
much spirited discussion led to the adoption of the " Eidsvold guar-
antee," a measure which provided that the Assembly should guar-
antee the existing public debt, provided that the new lawmaking
assembly, the Storthing, should give its sanction. A like guarantee
was also given for the issue of paper money to the amount of fourteen
million riksdaler, the estimated budget for the coming year.^ This
proved the willingness of the people to shoulder all burdens neces-
sary to maintain their newborn independence.

54. The War of 1814. The Convention of Moss and Union

WITH Sweden

Up to the time when he was elected king of Norway, Prince Chris-
tian Frederick had played successfully his part as leader of the inde-
pendence movement. He was in sympathy with the liberal ideas
embodied in the constitution, and so long as the problem had been

» Yngvar Nielsen, Wedel-JarUherg, vol. II., p. 207 ff.

THE WAR OF 1814 433

to rouse the patriotic sentiment of the Norwegian people his best
quahties, his eloquence, his youthful enthusiasm, and lofty senti-
ments had shone with charming luster. But he was wholly unfit
to lead the kingdom through the period of storm and struggle which
now confronted it, and which he himself had been instrumental in
creating. He was, above all, a man of peace, who clung with visionary
optimism to the evanescent hope that some fortunate circumstance
might save Norway. From the start he placed all his hope in diplo-
matic negotiations, and several envoys were sent to England and
other countries in the attempt to gain the favor of the great powers.
All these efforts were unsuccessful, but he was so devoid of love and
talent for military affairs that he did not even use the time and oppor-
tunity to put the army in condition for efficient service, though he
must have foreseen that if he allowed matters to come to the final
issue a clash with Sweden would be unavoidable.^ On May 18th,
before he had formally accepted the Norwegian throne, he received
letters that envoys from Russia and Prussia were on their way to
Norway to declare on behalf of those powers that they would never
recognize Norway as an independent kingdom, and that they would
help Sweden to subdue Norway. Similar declarations had been
received from England. "For two hours I walked up and down in
my room," says the prince in his diary. " ' Is this a warning, or is it
a trial sent by heaven ? ' I asked myself. * Can I hesitate ? It is,
after all, only words, threats. It is quite natural that the great powers
desire peace. ... If they see that I and the Norwegian people
stand firm, they will, perchance, hesitate to destroy a peaceful people
and again light the torch of war in the North.' " ^ After having con-
soled himself with this kind of reasoning he decided "to make a
great resolve," i.e., to accept the crown; for, he adds, "what will
not one do for a people's welfare through faith in God ? " And what
had he done for the people's welfare? He had, indeed, brought
matters to a crisis, but in that crisis he soon lost courage. He was
unable to make the high resolve of obtaining a peaceful settlement
of the difficulty on terms advantageous to Norway, and then to

^ Carl Th. S0rensen, Kampen om Norge, vol. II., p. 215. J. E. Sars,
Udsigt over Norges Historic, vol. IV., p. 342 f.

2 Kong Christian VIIFs Dagbog fra Regenttiden i Norge, p. 113 ff.
VOL. 11 — 2p

434 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

depart from the kingdom ; neither was he able to act with energy in
attempting to carry out his own plans. He accepted the throne
rather with the hope that some fortuitous circumstance might enable
him to keep it.^ The thought of fighting to the last trench in defend-
ing it does not seem to have been a part of his resolve. The available
military forces in Norway at that moment numbered not less than
20,000 men, while Sweden could muster only about 16,000, so long
as Charles John was still on the Continent. A resolute leader would
scarcely have suffered such an opportunity to pass without attempting
an aggressive movement, when it was clear that war could not be
averted. But this thought found no favor with the timid king.
According to the plan for military operations outlined by the king
and his staff, the war was to be wholly defensive. The Norwegian
army should be stationed on the Glommen River to oppose the Swedes,
if they should attempt an invasion, an event which was rapidly
approaching.

After Napoleon had been deposed, April 1, 1814, the Russian
Emperor promised Charles John an army of 30,000 men for the pur-
pose of subjugating Norway. England promised ample subsidies,
and agreed to blockade the Norwegian coast with six men-of-war,
and Austria and Prussia would send envoys to inform Christian
Frederick that the decision of the powers with regard to the union
of Norway and Sweden was irrevocable. Having received such assur-
ances of support, Charles John returned to Sweden accompanied
by some troops collected in Germany. "The reenforcements which
I bring you number almost 30,000 men," he wrote to Count Hessen,
"among others the regiment of Royal Suedois which is organized in
Germany, and which to-morrow lands at Carlshamn. , , . I will
have from 15,000 to 20,000 Russians, and about 10,000 or 12,000
Prussians; but I fear^hat the want of provisions will compel me
to reduce the number in active service. I have also asked Emperor
Alexander to send a corps of 5000 or 6000 men from Archangel to

^ The hope which Charles John seems to have entertained of being placed
on the throne of France after the fall of Napoleon was shared by Christian
Frederick, who in that event might have been chosen crown prince of Sweden.
The three Northern kingdoms might then again have become united under
the same king. See Kong Christian VI IPs Dagbog, p. 112. Jacob Aal,
Erindringer, p. 369.

THE WAR OF 1814 436

Trondhjem. When Norway is attacked at once at three or four places,
it is reasonable to suppose that the fight will soon be over." He
immediately mobilized the available Swedish forces, which were
dispatched to the Norwegian border, reenforced by the auxiliary
troops which he had brought.

King Christian Frederick continued to the very last to hope that
England might intervene in behalf of Norway. When he received
no further dispatches from Carsten Anker, he sent Peter Anker,
his brother, to London; later also Christie and P. V. Rosenkilde.
But all these efforts were of no avail. The Norwegian commissioners
were ordered to leave England, and I. P. Morier was sent to Norway
to communicate the only terms which the English government would
offer.^ If Norway would consent to a union with Sweden, England
would use her influence to secure for the Norwegian people a guarantee
of their constitutional liberty. This offer was not accepted, and the
English blockade of the coast of Norway was begun on May 31st.

In England public sentiment was strongly opposed to the course
pursued by the government. The noted Sir Philip Francis wrote
to Lord Grey on May 9th with regard to Norway, asking if any one
could mention a situation when the king of England would have the
right to give Ireland to France, whether such a transfer would give
France the right of ownership, and if it would be treason for the Irish
to defend their independence.^ Lord Grenville called it a cruel in-
justice to attempt to coerce the honest and innocent Norwegian peo-
ple. The aim of the blockade, he said, could only be to produce a
famine in Norway. But if this was the first use which England
would make of her good fortune, she ought to adopt the new doctrine
that profit is to be preferred to moral right and the established laws
of all nations. In the House of Lords, Grey championed the cause
of Norway with great eloquence, but when the question was voted
upon, the ministry was sustained with a hundred and fifteen votes
to thirty-four.^ In the House of Commons, Sir Ch. Wynne, James

1 Claus Pavels Biografi og Dagb^ger, edited by Claus Pavels Riis, p. 197.
Yngvar Nielsen, Bidrag til Norges Historie i 1814, vol. II., p. 133 ff.

2 Henrik Wergeland, Norges Konstitutiona Historie, Samlede Skrifter,
vol. IX., p. 362 ff.

' Among the lords who voted in, favor of Norwegian independence were :
Grey, Essex, Sussex, Grenville, Roslyn, Clifton, Glocester, Fitzwilliam,
Stanhope, Lauderdale, and Norfolk. A. Faye, Norge i 1814> P* 122 ff.

436 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Mackintosh, and others spoke with great effect in support of the
Norwegians. Lambton declared that he viewed with abhorrence
the sacrifice of a brave people on the altar of political agreements.
Both in prose and poetry the people of England expressed their
sympathy with the Norwegian people in their struggle for independ-
ence, but the government stood firm, supported by a majority in
both houses.^

The Danes, too, sympathized with their Norwegian brethren, and
many a sailor who was able to elude the blockading squadron brought
his cargo of grain from the Danish coast. "When winter passed,
and the sea became navigable with small vessels," says Henrik

1 Charlotte Wardle wrote a poem in praise of Norwegian freedom, and
on May 17, 1814, the following poem appeared in The Star :

Norwegia to Britain

Lovest thou thy freedom — by her holy shrine.
If yet a drop of British blood be thine,

0 Britain 1 I conjure thee — spare the brave I
Nor join the crew, that would my realms enslave I
Blast not the laurel, which thy fathers wore.

By foul invasion of my Norway's shore.
Whose hardy sons, like those of Runnymede,
For freedom pant, and dare, Uke them, to bleed I

0 1 let not history stain her honest page.
Bright with the triumphs of the present age,
With the sad tale, that Britain drew her sword
To bend Norwegians to a foreign lord.

That she, who fought, all Europe's realms to free.
Uplifts her arm — to murder liberty ;
And aims her steel to stab her in the cell.
Where still she deigns amid wild woods to dwell.
Beneath the snow-clad pines and mountain's shade.
For nature's free-born sons by natiu-e made.

Blush, Britain, at the deed ! With conscious pride,
Call back to memory how thy Sidney died !
And, emulous of all the noble fires.
That warm'd with holy zeal thy patriot sires.
Stand forth the champion of my sons' great cause,
While Heaven and Earth vmite in loud applause I
To save — not vanquish — speed across the waves.
And chaunt with them : "We never wiU be slaves."

Henrik Wergeland, Samlede Skrifter, vol. IX., p. 378.

II THE WAR OF 1814 437

Wergeland, "a secret path stretched from northern Jutland, where
open boats might cross the stormy sea, swarming with privateers.
And in the rear of these boats, half buried in grain, many a young
man with his jacket collar turned up and his pipe in his mouth would
survey the broad expanse of the sea, and with anxious heart he would
try to penetrate the ocean mists, not for fear of death — for trim
sail ! trim sail ! was the word — but in order to catch the first glimpse
of the Norwegian coast."

On June 30th the envoys of the great powers arrived in Chris-
tiania : Count von Steigentesch from Austria, General Orloff from
Russia, August Forster from England, and Count Martens from
Prussia, to demand of Christian Frederick that he should abide by
the treaty of Kiel, as the great powers would never recognize him as
king of Norway. They offered an armistice of three months' dura-
tion, and a partial suspension of the blockade on condition that the
three Norwegian fortresses Fredriksten, Fredrikstad, and Kongsvinger
should be surrendered to the Swedes, that the Norwegian forces
should evacuate the district between these fortresses and the Glom-
men River, and that Christian Frederick should surrender to the
Constituent Assembly all the powers which had been conferred upon
him. The king summoned his cabinet and a few other leaders
to a meeting at his summer residence. He told them of the terms
offered by the envoys, and as he regarded them as favorable, he de-
clared his willingness to abdicate, if thereby a great calamity might
be averted, but he was willing to die for the cause, if the representa-
tives of the nation should choose war with all Europe rather than
union with Sweden, based on a guarantee of the rights and liberties
of the Norwegian people. The cabinet members as well as the other
leading men present were all agreed that the Norwegian fortresses
could not be surrendered to Sweden, as this would be a violation of
the constitution, and might cause internal disturbances.

In answer to the ultimatum of the powers the king sent a courteous
note to the envoys, in which he indicated his willingness to yield
on certain conditions. He outlined some modifications of their
demands which would be acceptable, and also the main features of
the union with Sweden, and the changes which would be required
in the Norwegian constitution, in case an agreement should be

438 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE JJ

reached.^ The foreign envoys then left Norway, accompanied by the
two Norwegian commissioners, Colonel Peterson and Captain Holstein,
who were empowered to negotiate an armistice. They found Charles
John in Uddevalla. The crown prince refused to accept the terms
offered, and he was impatient with Orloff, who spoke in favor of the
Norwegians,^ but he prevailed on the envoys to return to Norway
and attempt once more to arrange a peaceful settlement. In a
second interview with Christian Frederick at Moss, they told him
that Charles John demanded the surrender of the three fortresses
before an armistice could be arranged. This he could not grant,
and no further negotiations were attempted. In proclamations to
the Norwegian people and the Norwegian army King Christian
Frederick announced that Charles John had demanded his abdication
and the cession of the fortresses, that the negotiations for a peaceful
settlement had failed, that Swedish troops had already entered
Norwegian territory, and that valiant fight for freedom and father-
land was now their sole remaining hope.

At the same time King Charles XIII. issued a proclamation to the
Norwegian people, exhorting them to pause and reflect, lest the inno-
cent and guilty should alike be overwhelmed by the unavoidable
disasters of war. Their effort to maintain their independence, he
said, was contrary to their own interests as well as to the true and
unchangeable principles of political science. He declared the Constit-
uent Assembly which had been assembled at Eidsvold by Christian
Frederick to be unlawful, a violation of the undisputable rights of
Sweden, of all lawful governments, and of the rights of the Norwegian
people themselves.^

The Swedish fleet left Stromstad July 26th, and landed a force at
Hval0erne to take possession of these islands, from which the small
Norwegian garrison had already been withdrawn. The fleet then
proceeded to Krager0en, in the neighborhood of the fortress of
Fredrikstad, where an army of 6000 men was landed without opposi-

• Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 473 S. A. Faye, Norge i 1814, P- 128. B. von
Sohinkel, Minnen, vol. VIII., p. 350, contains Charles John's answer to a
letter sent by Christian Frederick on the same occasion.

» Schinkel, Minnen, vol. VIII. , p. 190 ff.

' Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p. 482 ff. Niels Aal, Erindringer fra 1814-
Ghistaf Bjftrlin, Kriget i Norge i 1814'

II THE WAR OF 1814 439

tion. Lieutenant-Colonel Hjerman, who held this important place
with a garrison of 1200 men, retreated in precipitate haste without
offering resistance. The Swedes placed batteries in position on the
island, and began the bombardment of Fredrikstad. The fortress
was old, and could, probably, not have withstood a long siege, but
its disgraceful surrender even before a single man of the garrison had
been hurt gave the Swedes a great advantage at the very beginning
of the campaign, and served to dispirit the Norwegian army. " The
remarkable thing about this capitulation," says B. von Schinkel,
"is that Christian Frederick himself advised the commandant to
surrender the fortress by a dispatch written the same date (August
3d) by his adjutant, Colonel Brock ; that Brock himself brought the
dispatch, though the fortress had capitulated even before his arrival."
It was a piece of military cowardice only equaled by later acts of
the faint-hearted king.

A Swedish detachment of 2500 men under General Gahn was sent
against the Norwegian border at Sol0r with instructions to march
to Kongsvinger, and attack the Norwegian army in the rear. On his
march he encountered a Norwegian force of about the same size
under Lieutenant-Colonel Krebs, who retreated slowly to a fortified
position at Lier. Gahn attacked the Norwegians on August 2d,
but was repulsed with considerable loss. He then retreated to Ma-
trand, where he pitched his camp, but Krebs resolved to surprise
him. In the night a force of 800 men approached Matrand from the
front, while a force of 1000 men were making a detour through the
mountains to fall upon the rear of the Swedish army. The battle
which began in the early morning of August 5th was bloody and stub-
born. The detachment making the detour had to march farther
than expected, and arrived an hour too late, but they seized the
baggage trains, and Gahn was able only with great difficulty to extri-
cate his forces. Fourteen oj05cers and 312 men were taken prisoners.
The entire baggage, including eighteen wagon loads of ammunition,
together with one field piece and sixty horses, fell into the hands of
the Norwegians.^

1 Schinkel, Minnen, vol. VIII., p. 204 ff. Carl Th. S0rensen, Kampen om
Norge, vol. II., p. 329 ff.' Axel Motzfeldt, Norge og Sverige i 1809 og 181 A.
Sigurd Ibsen, Unionen.

440 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

Gahn's defeat at Lier and Matrand proved that under able officers
the Norwegian forces were able to contend successfully even with the
veteran armies of Sweden, but the chief leadership was hopelessly
incompetent. The king, who acted as commander-in-chief, was
not only the very personification of timidity, but he selected for the
highest positions those who pleased him, rather than those who were
most competent and best qualified for the place. Seiersted, who
became his chief of staff, and Haxthausen, in whom he placed special
confidence, were agreeable, but not very able men. Those who had
served with distinction in fonner wars, but were of a sterner type,
like Staffeldt, Stabell, and Krebs, were kept in subordinate positions.

But even the ablest leaders would scarcely have been able to
carry to a successful issue the war with Sweden supported by the
allied powers both on land and sea. The forces under Charles John
already numbered 40,000 men, while the Norwegian army did not
exceed 27,000. At sea the situation was still more unfavorable.
Sweden had four ships of the line, five frigates, one brig, and eighty-
five smaller war vessels, while Norway had only eight brigs, one
schooner, and one hundred and eight smaller craft. An English
squadron blockaded the coast, and Russia and Prussia were ready
to send additional troops to help Sweden. B. von Schinkel very
aptly observes that Krebs' victory at Lier and Matrand "shows
clearly what the enthusiasm and warlike spirit of the Norwegians
might have accomplished under other circumstances; now it was
only an ignis fatuus glimmering in a hopeless night."

The Swedes advanced steadily, and no serious effort was made
to stop them. When Field Marshal Essen approached with the second
corps of the Swedish army through Enningdalen, the small Norwe-
gian force under Spr0ck had to retreat, and General Vegesack laid
siege to Fredriksten with an army of 6000 men. Butensch0n, who
was stationed at Svinesund with another small force, was compelled
to withdraw to avoid being cut off by Essen's advancing army. King
Christian Frederick hastened forward to Rakkestad, where a large
part of the Norwegian army had been concentrated, but instead of
fighting a battle, he ordered a general retreat, and the Norwegians
had to withdraw across the Glommen River. In the meanwhile
several engagements were fought, but none of them was of any great

PLATE XI

n THE CONVENTION OF MOSS AND UNION WITH SWEDEN 441

significance. After the withdrawal of the Norwegian army across
the Glommen River, Charles John again resorted to negotiations in
the hope of bringing the war to a speedy close. Hitherto he had
been successful, but experience in the Napoleonic wars had shown
him that a united people who were determined to defend their liberty
and independence to the last extremity were capable of a resistance
which might prove dangerous. The sympathy expressed for the
Norwegians both in England and elsewhere must also have convinced
him that the aid of the allies, who were developing their reactionary
system of political readjustment of Europe in the interest of the
legitimate princes and the maintenance of peace, might be an uncer-
tain factor to depend upon if the struggle should be too long drawn
out. On August 7th Carsten Tank, one of King Christian Frederick's
former ministers, and Provost Hount, a member of the Eidsvold
Constituent Assembly, arrived at the king's headquarters with peace
propositions from Charles John. He offered to conclude an armi-
stice, and to accept the Eidsvold constitution only with such modi-
fications as would be necessitated by a union of Sweden and Norway,
if Christian Frederick would call a special session of the Storthing,
deliver his crown into the hands of the ministers, and leave Norway.
These were essentially the same conditions which he had rejected
before the war. The king called a meeting of his cabinet and some
of the leading officers of the army to consider the peace proposal.
General Seiersted, his chief of staff, stated that the army would
be unable to defend Christiania, and General Haxthausen, head
of the commissariat, informed them that the available army supplies
would not last above a week. Under these circumstances the cabinet
counseled him to yield, and he dispatched a letter to Charles John,
stating that he would surrender his crown to the Storthing, if he
could insure thereby the liberty and happiness of the Norwegian
people.^ He now transferred his headquarters to Moss, where the
negotiations were continued. To the members of his cabinet and
other leading men, including Falsen, Christie, Sverdrup, and Diriks,
he described the truly alarming situation. He showed that in case

1 B. von Schinkel, Minnen, vol. VIII., p. 203 ff. Jacob Aal, Erindringer,
p. 503 fif. A. Faye, Norge i 1814, P- 153 fit. Yngvar Nielsen, Bidrag til
Norges Historic i 1814'

442 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

of an attack Christiania would have to be abandoned, and that the
reserves commanded by Armfeldt had provisions only for two days.
He considered further resistance hopeless, and ordered two of his
ministers, Jonas CoUett and Niels Aal, to negotiate with the Swedish
envoy, General Bjomstjerna, who had arrived in Moss. Before
evening the same day, August 13th, they were ready to submit to
the king and his cabinet the terms under which an armistice could
be arranged. King Christian Frederick was to abdicate immedi-
ately, and to transfer the executive authority to his cabinet, who
should exercise it until the Storthing could find opportunity to make
provisions for a temporary administration. Hostilities should cease,
and the blockade should be raised. Sweden should guarantee to
Norway the Eidsvold constitution without any other changes than
those which a union of the two kingdoms would necessitate, and
which the Storthing should deem acceptable. The fortress of Fred-
riksten, which was still defending itself bravely against the Swedes,
was to be surrendered.^ These conditions were accepted by Chris-
tian Frederick and his cabinet, and the armistice was signed at Moss,
August 14, 1814. The same day he dispatched his adjutant. Major
Brock, to Charles John, who ratified the agreement concluded by his
representatives. On August 30th King Charles XIII. of Sweden
issued a proclamation ratifying the promises made by the crown
prince,^ according to which " the kingdom of Norway, without being
regarded as a conquered country, in the future shall be an independent
state united with Sweden ; and its present constitution shall be prop-
erly protected, after the changes necessitated by the union of the two
countries shall have been made."

During the negotiations at Moss King Christian Frederick was
in a very distressed state of mind. " He suffered such mental agony,*'
writes Blom, "that it was feared that he would lose his reason." His

' Yngvar Nielsen, Norge i 1814, p. 337 fif. Jacob Aal, Erindringer, p.
603. A. Faye, Norge i 1814, p. 156. Yngvar Nielsen, Om Konventionen i
Moss, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie rsekke, vol. V. Historiske Samlinger ud-
givne af den notake historiske Kildeskriftkommission, Diplomatiske Aktstykker
fra 1814, vol. III., p. 215 ff.

• Kong Christian VIIFs Dagbog fra Regenttiden i Norge, p. 183 ff. Yngvar
Nielsen, Om Konventionen i Moss, Historisk Tidsskrift, tredie raekke, vol.
V. Oscar Joseph Alin, Den svensk-norska Unionen, vol. I., p. 46 £E.

n THE CONVENTION OF MOSS AND UNION WITH SWEDEN 443

last oflScial act as king was to issue a rescript through which he as-
sembled the Storthing for an extra session. He did not preside at
its opening, but retired almost heart-broken to the royal residence
at Ladegaards0en, and on October 11th the president of the Stor-
thing read a communication from the king in which he announced
his abdication, and released the Norwegian people from their oath
of allegiance. Shortly after he boarded a ship and returned to Den-
mark. "He was followed across the island (Ladegaards0en) by per-
sons of his nearest surroundings," says Blom, "and as it was late
in the evening, he was escorted by torch-bearers. When he had
bidden farewell to those who followed him, he boarded the yacht,
and the torches were extinguished in the sea. It resembled a pro-
cession of mourning, and both he and those who followed him were,
undoubtedly, deeply moved." ^

Prince Christian Frederick had proven himself a weak leader.
Count Wedel-Jarlsberg, who had always been opposed to him, called
him "the petticoat king," ^ and A. Faye observes that the expression
of a prominent man before the bar of the supreme court that "he
was a declaimer without energy, a boaster without courage, and a
charmer without actuality " expressed quite accurately the people's
opinion of him shortly after the great drama was ended .^ But, how-
ever weak his leadership, and however faulty his management of
affairs during his short reign of less than five months, he had rendered
Norway an important service in her struggle for independence,
which entitles him to grateful remembrance. The repudiation of
the treaty of Kiel, the organization of the popular sentiment into a
definite movement with a fixed purpose, and the calling of the Constit-
uent Assembly at Eidsvold were important steps which were made
possible because the people could rally about him as the scion of the
old royal family. By lending his royal name and influence to the
national cause, and by supporting it with liberal-minded enthusiasm,
he gave it, in the eyes of the people, a consecration which it never
could have received without the presence of a leader of royal blood.

After King Christian Frederick's abdication the four remaining

^ Gustav Peter Blom, Norges Statsforandring, p. 228.
* Yngvar Nielsen, Wedel-Jarlsberg, vol. II., p. 264.
•A. Faye, Norge i 1814, p. 165.

444 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

members of his cabinet, Rosencrantz, Sommerhjelm, Collett, and Niels
Aal, were to act as a regency ad interim. Their first care was to
prevent any violation of the armistice, and to protect the Storthing
in its deliberations ; but they also sought to secure supplies, and to
make necessary preparations in case hostilities should be resumed.^
On October 13th the Swedish commissioners met with the Storthing
to negotiate concerning the union of the two kingdoms.^ Many of
the representatives, among others Count Wedel-Jarlsberg, spoke
in favor of union, but all were agreed that it could not be based on
the provisions of the treaty of Kiel, but that the Storthing would
decide the question of its own free accord. The armistice would
terminate on October 21st, but the deliberations were continued
until the 20th, when the question was finally submitted to a vote,
with the result that only the four representatives from Bergen voted
in the negative in obedience to instructions from their constituents.
Of these the able and well-poised Christie, president of the Storthing,
was one, but he was personally in favor of union, and declared that
he would abide loyally by the decision made. He was made a member
of the committee which together with the Swedish commissioners
should undertake the revision of the constitution, necessitated by the
union with Sweden.^ For this task he possessed the best qualifications.
His great talents and extensive knowledge, his dignified presence, and
courteous and pleasing manners had made him a great favorite even
among the Swedish commissioners, and he soon became the leading
spirit in the committee. The work advanced without very serious
difiiculty, and on November 4th the Storthing ratified the revision,
as completed by the committee. On the same day Charles XHI.
of Sweden was elected king of Norway. On November 9th Charles
John arrived in Christiania to submit the king's oath, and in the
presence of the Storthing the crown prince himself took the same
oath to uphold the Norwegian constitution.^ November 4, 1814,

' Yngvar Nielsen, Wedel-Jarlsberg, vol. II., p. 265. Historisk Tidsskrift,
tredie rsekke, vol. IV., p. 150 ff.

2 Storthings-Efterretninger I8I4-I8SS, vol. I., p. 121 ff.

» Erik VuUum, Unionen og dens Fremiid, p. 70. Yngvar Nielsen, Detf^rste
overordentlige Storthing, Optegnelser og Aktstykker.

* L. M. B. Aubert, Kieler-Traktatens OpgiveUe, p. 7 ff. ; ibid., Norges folk-
eretslige Stilling, p. 91 fif.

n THE CONVENTION OF MOSS AND UNION WITH SWEDEN 445

marks the completion of the union between Norway and Sweden,
though the "Act of Union" (Rig sakten)/ in which the conditions
of union are fully outlined, was not adopted until the following year.
This document was prepared by the constitutional committee of the
Swedish Rigsdag, and contained the provisions which had been in-
serted in the Norwegian constitution regarding the union of the
two kingdoms. It was submitted to the Norwegian Storthing, which
ratified it July 31st. The Swedish Rigsdag approved it August
6, 1815. The Act of Union, like the constitution of Norway, recog-
nized the union as resting, not on the treaty of Kiel, but on the free
consent of the Norwegian people, and the complete equality of the
two realms. In a government bill presented to the Swedish Rigsdag
April 12, 1815, the king says : "When two peoples of their own free
will submit to the same government, everything tending to produce
a difference between them in their relations to the common ruler
should be carefully cleared away. Otherwise the union will sooner
or later be disrupted, and one people will oppress the other, or their
violent separation will sow the seeds of discord, which will produce
serious dissensions for centuries. If grave consequences have re-
sulted from the lack of attention to this principle, which experience
has shown to be true, how much the more necessary is it not to pay
due heed to it at present when it is our aim, not only to create a
Scandinavian power of two free nations which have long been enemies,
but also to create mutual confidence and true friendship between
them. For the attainment of this object perfect equality between
them should be established by determining their mutual rights with-
out regard to the number of inhabitants or the products of each
country." The perfect equality was, nevertheless, not established

^'The treaty of Kiel," says Samuel Laing, "if it had even been founded
on any just or admitted principle of the law of nations, was renounced by
this acceptance as a ground of right to the sovereignty of the Norwegian
nation. At the present day, when the excitement and occasion which gave
rise to the nefarious treaty are past, and its object has been accomplished
upon just principle, no Swedish cabinet could, in the face of civilized and
moral nations, have the effrontery to claim rights over the Norwegian people
as emanating from a treaty so repugnant to all principle." Journal of a
Residence in Norway during the Years 1834, 1835, and 1836.

' A C. Drolsum, Das K^nigreich Norwegen als souveraner Staat, Berlin,
1905.

446 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE Tt

in practice, as diplomacy and foreign affairs, as well as the representa-
tion of both kingdoms at foreign courts, remained in the hands of
the Swedish government. But this was a practice based on no express
right, as no such privilege was granted Sweden by the Act of Union.^

55. Sentiments AND Conditions after 1814

The union with Sweden had been forced upon Norway by the
European powers, who had not yet learned to pay attention to the
principle of nationality as an important factor in international poli-
tics. In the North and elsewhere they were carving out states
by geographical metes and bounds on their military charts without
regard for the character and sentiment of the people, that great
force which was to carry Europe through the extraordinary develop-
ment of the nineteenth century. The Norwegians entered the union
with dignified loyalty, but the new relation had no root in their
deeper sentiments. They accepted it as an unavoidable destiny,
but with sadness, not with joy, as they felt that their ideals had
been bedimmed, and their right to work out their own destiny had
been infringed upon. In the storms and struggles of 1814 they had
succeeded in winning constitutional liberty and political independence,
while the nations of Europe were yet groaning under the oppression
of a medieval political and social system. No country in Europe
had been so fortunate, and no people had better reason to rejoice.
But the disappointment arising from the military fiasco of the war,
due to Christian Frederick's incompetence, and the necessity of
entering into a union with Sweden under compulsion eclipsed for
a period every advantage which had been gained, and filled the minds
of the people with sadness and bitter thoughts. Many did not even
stop to consider that full liberty and independence had been guar-
anteed the Norwegian people under the Eidsvold constitution and
the Act of Union. They thought that since the king of Sweden was
also to be king of Norway, they had been subjected to Sweden in the
same way in which they had before stood under Danish overlordship,
an erroneous idea which for a time caused Norwegian patriots many

ij. E. Sars, Norges Historie, vol. VI., 1, p. 145. J. Utheim, Grundloven
om Norges Utenrigsstyre.

n SENTIMENTS AND CONDITIONS AFTER 1814 447

heartaches. The great financial distress and the unfavorable economic
conditions also began to be felt more keenly after the excitement
of the struggle was over, and the routine of peaceful vocations was
resumed in the customary way. The private fortunes even of the
wealthiest families had been wrecked during the long period of war
and blockade, and crop failures had produced great suffering. From
1815 to 1818 the crops were also very poor, and the fisheries failed,
so that the export of codfish was reduced to almost one-half of what
it had been before the war. The lumber trade with England was
declining, as the English government had begun to encourage im-
portation of lumber from Canada. The importation of grain from
Denmark was also rendered difficult, because Norway was placed
among the least favored nations in regard to trade with that country.
The finances of the kingdom were wholly disorganized, and it had
no public credit. About twenty-five million riksdaler of unsecured
paper money was in circulation, and this currency was steadily
falling in value, though the Eidsvold guarantee had established a
ratio of 3.75 paper riksdaler to every silver riksdaler. This guarantee
had proven useless, and a hundred specie riksdaler was already worth
1500 riksbank paper daler. Claus Pavels, chaplain at Akershus,
writes in his diary, January 10, 1815, that besides his fuel bill he
had used for his household that year 37,137 riksdaler, that besides
this sum he had spent 5000 or 6000 riksdaler of his own money, and
yet he had not lived extravagantly.^ The people were unable to pay
their taxes, the treasury was empty, and clergymen and government
officials did not receive their salaries. Under these cii"cumstances
the warm sympathies for Denmark and its royal house soon gave
way to a feeling of hostility and bitterness, as it was thought that
the Danish government was responsible for much of the economic
distress from which the country was suffering.^

The first problem confronting the government was how to reor-
ganize the finances and to bring about a revival of commerce in
order that the most acute distress might b^ relieved. The Swedish

1 Claus Pavels, Dagbogs-Optegnelser 1816-1818, p. 6.

* The most violent expression of anti-Danish feeling was a treatise pub-
lished by Nioolai Wergeland in 1816 entitled, En sandfcerdig Beretning om
Danmarks polUiske Forhrydehe mod Norge Aar 996 til 1814.

448 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

Field Marshal Henrik von Essen had been appointed statholder in
Norway to exercise the highest administrative authority in the name
of the king. Peter Anker was placed at the head of the ministry
as minister of state, his associates being Professor Treschow, minister
of church and education ; Sommerhjelm, minister of justice ; Diriks,
minister of the department of police ; CoUett, minister of the interior ;
Wedel-Jarlsberg, minister of commerce and finance; Hegermann,
minister of war; and P. Motzfeldt and Christian Krohg, members
of the Swedish branch of the Norwegian ministry.^ Count Wedel-
Jarlsberg had received the most difficult portfolio, but no one was
so well qualified to wrestle with the difficult financial situation, and
he became the virtual head of the ministry.^ But the ministers
exercised in the beginning very limited power beyond what pertained
to the routine work of their own departments. The king was accus-
tomed to exercise the administrative power, and the statholder,
acting in his name, became the real head of the administration, as
the ministers were not yet accustomed to assert their rights arising
from their duties and responsibilities under the constitution. The
Storthing alone could be relied upon to carry through the needed
reforms.

The first regular Storthing which assembled in July, 1815, passed
several bills for the reorganization of the finances. The unsecured
paper money should be withdrawn from circulation, but the question
whether the bills should be redeemed at their par value of 3.75 riks-

* The Eidsvold constitution provided a minimum number of five depart-
ments, but by the revision of November 4, 1815, the number was changed
to eight, with the further provision that the minister of state and two other
ministers should always stay in Stockholm. The king also had the right to
make his eldest son viceroy of Norway, or he might appoint a statholder,
who might be either a Swede or a Norwegian. In 1815 a department for
the marine was created, but in 1818 the number of ministers was reduced
to five, as the departments of justice and police were consolidated, and like-
wise also the departments of the interior and of justice and finance. In
1822 an auditing department was added, and these six departments remained
unchanged during the reign of Charles John. F. Bsetzmann, Det norske
Statsraad. T. H. Aschehoug, Norges nuvcerende Siatsforfatning, vol. I. Erik
Vullum, Unionen og dens Fremtid, p. 93 ff.

*J. E. Sars, Norges Historie, vol. VI., 1, p. 144 flf. Yngvar Nielsen,
Grev Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg, Nordmcend i det 19de Aarhundrede. J. E.
Sars, Norges politiske Historie 1815-1885, p. 270 flf.

n SENTIMENTS AND CONDITIONS AFTER 1814 449

daler in paper to 1.00 riksdaler in specie was long debated, and it
was finally decided that since the Eidsvold guarantee had proven
a failure, it should be left out of consideration, and a special tax
should be levied for their redemption at current value. This was
equivalent to declaring a state bankruptcy, but it was, undoubtedly,
necessary in order to forestall utter chaos, as the public burdens
already exceeded the people's ability to pay taxes. The budget
for the year represented the large sum of 3,600,000 specie daler, and
as the treasury was empty, and the credit exceedingly poor, this
sum would have to be raised by taxes. It was also decided to create
a new specie currency with the specie daler as the monetary unit,^
and a Bank of Norway was to be organized with a capital stock of
not less than two million, and not more than three million specie
daler, to be divided into shares of 200 specie daler each. These
were to be sold to private individuals, but only 3791 shares could
be disposed of, and the levying of an extra tax had to be resorted
to in order to secure the minimum capital stock.''

Christie, who had served as president of the Storthing till 1818,
retired at the close of that session, highly honored by his countrymen
as a great patriot. All realized that he had guided the deliberations
of that body with great tact and ability, as he had been one of the
ablest leaders in the days of 1814.

No parties had yet developed, but a divergence of opinion and
interests between the official classes and the binder had manifested
itself as a distinct reaction against the liberalism of the men of Eids-
vold. The great reactionary movement which after the downfall
of Napoleon spread over all Europe, the political creed of Metternich,
accepted by the Holy Alliance as the infallible guide for all true states-
men, could not but exert an influence also upon Norway. The demo-
cratic principles embodied in the constitution represent the ideals of
the most liberal-minded and far-sighted patriot leaders. In the critical
days of Eidsvold they had dared to pursue the thought of eonsti-

1 The specie daler was equal to four kroner, or about $1.08. It was divided
into five ort and 120 skilling.

^ Storthings-Efterretninger 1814-1833, vol. I., p. 462 ff. Yngvar Nielsen,
Wedel-Jarlsberg, vol. III. J. E. Sars, Norges Historie, vol. VI., 1, p. 157 ff.
Yngvar Nielsen, Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg, Nordmoend i det 19de Aarhundrede.
B. E. Bendixen, Et Omrids av Norges Handelshistorie, p. 45 ff.
VOL. II — 2 a

460 histohy o^ the Norwegian people n

tutional freedom to its logical conclusion, a free nation, a government
by the people and for the people. But the era of high ideals and
great feelings was now past, and social conditions were not as demo-
cratic as the provisions in the constitution. The old class spirit
reasserted itself, and the official class, failing to grasp the full mean-
ing of what had been done at Eidsvold, settled down to their accus-
tomed ways in the belief that they would continue to enjoy their
old powers and privileges. The hinder were not yet able to assert
the rights and powers granted them by the constitution, and it was
possible for the upper classes during the first session of the Storthing
to legislate in their own interest as if no democratic government
existed. The constitutional provision regarding general and uni-
form military service was wholly disregarded, and in the Storthing
of 1816 Judge Weidemann proposed that the soldiers should be re-
cruited among the hinder, but that the officers should be chosen
from the bureaucracy. A motion to maintain the provision of the
constitution was voted down, and a bill was passed providing that
only the young men of the country^ districts should be compelled to
serve in the army. Other equally reactionary measures were proposed.
Only officials were appointed to the Lagthing, as it appears, in an
effort to create an aristocratic upper house, and this body also passed
a bill providing that allowances and mileage for the representatives
should be figured according to their social standing, "so that all
might live according to their rank." A constitutional amendment
was also proposed, according to which the representatives of the rural
districts should not constitute above one-third of the total number
of representatives, and the other two-thirds should be distributed
among the remaining "four estates" : civil officials, clergy, mihtary
officers, and the merchant class. These very distinct traces of re-
actionary autocratic ideas show that the Norwegian democracy was
yet in its infancy, but it developed rapidly because of the powers
and privileges granted the conamon people by the constitution.

56. The Reign op Charles John. The Relation to Sweden

King Charles XIII. died February 5, 1818, at the age of seventy,
and was succeeded by Charles John, who since his return from the

THE REIGN OF CHARLES JOHN. THE RELATION TO SWEDEN 451

Napoleonic wars had exercised the leading influence, especially in
diplomacy and foreign affairs. In Sweden he enjoyed great popu-
larity. He had earned a well-merited reputation as a military leader,
the Norwegian campaign had been swiftly terminated, and he had
secured Norway, as many believed, as a compensation for Finland.^
The Swedish people greeted his accession to the throne with enthu-
siasm, feeling that henceforth there would be only one kingdom and
one people on the Scandinavian peninsula. But those who were
better informed, and had watched events more closely, were not so
well pleased. They realized that Norway had become an independent
state, that it was in no sense a part of Sweden, and that Charles
John had but imperfectly fulfilled the long-cherished hope of Sweden
of getting compensation for Finland. They could reconcile them-
selves to what had happened only on the supposition that the work
of consolidating the two kingdoms would be continued until Norway
should be fully incorporated in Sweden. Axel Gabriel Silverstolpe
expressed quite a general Swedish sentiment when he said that the
two kingdoms might, indeed, be regarded as one country, but it was
left to make the Swedes and Norwegians one people.^ Charles

^ A great divergence of views regarding the nature of the union between
Norway and Sweden soon manifested itself. The Swedes regarded the
treaty of Kiel as the basis of the union. According to this theory, Sweden
had been granted possession of Norway with full title of ownership. H. L.
Rydin held that by the treaty of Kiel Sweden only secured permission or
right to secm-e Norway, that the union rested on the treaty of Moss, not on
that of Kiel. See Herman Ludvig Rydin, Foreningen mellan Sverige och
Norge. But Oscar Joseph Alin and the younger school of Swedish historians
held that the basis of the union was the treaty of Kiel. See Oscaj* Joseph
Alin, Den svensk-norska Unionen; C. A. Reuterskiold, Til Belysning af den
svensk-norska Unions Forfatningen och des tidligare Utvecklingshistoria ; Otto
Varenius, Unionsforfatningen ur svensk och norsk Synspunkt; Nils Ed6n,
Die schwedisch-norwegische Union und der Kieler Friede. The Norwegians,
who refused to accept the provisions of the treaty entered into by Sweden
and Denmark, claimed, properly enough, that the union was based on the
treaty of Moss, by which Sweden agreed to accept the Eidsvold constitution,
and to recognize Norway as a sovereign kingdom united with Sweden under
a common king. See J. E. Sars, Den norsk-svenske Unions historiske UetS"
grund; Den norsk-svenske Unionsstrid, and other essays on this subject,
Samlede Verker, vol. III., p. 610 ff.

* Sveriges Historia, edited by Bmil Hildebrand, vol. V., part IX., p,
286 £f.

452 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

John was well aware of the brewing discontent, but he felt sure that
he would be able to carry through amendments to the Norwegian
constitution which would destroy the sovereignty of the people,
and subject them to the supremacy of Sweden. He thought that
the Norwegians possessed neither the power nor the ability to resist
him on this point, and his constant onslaught on the Norwegian
constitution is one of the important features of this reign.

But the hindrances in the way of an amalgamation of the two
peoples or a consolidation of the two kingdoms were far greater than
Charles John had anticipated. The statement made by a contem-
porary observer that Norway and Sweden were "like two twins
grown together in the back, and therefore continually turning away
from one another, the one looking eastward and the other westward," ^
expresses a truth which has been of the greatest significance in the
development of the two nations. Sweden, facing eastward, has
stood under the influence of central Europe; Norway, facing west-
ward, has been strongly influenced by the more liberal French and
English ideas. Sweden had been a great military power, and was
ruled by a proud and powerful nobility; the Norwegians were a
nation of freeholding binder accustomed to a high degree of personal
freedom, and they were rapidly developing under their newly won
political independence to become one of the most democratic peoples
in the world. And as for their ability to defend their constitutional
liberties, the king found that they possessed a skill in statescraft,
and a resolute determination to defend their rights, which he had
not expected. Finally there was the most conspicuous obstacle,
the constitution itself, which the king had sworn to uphold, a charter
of liberty as firmly established and as solemnly approved as any docu-
ment of the kind that ever existed. In the face of such obstacles
an attempt at amalgamation must seem impolitic if not imprudent.
Samuel Laing says : " If there be any meaning in the word amalgama-
tion, it must be to render Norway an integral part of the kingdom of
Sweden, governed by the same laws, with the same constitution, and
subject to the same taxes. It was forgotten by the Swedish ministry,
that the very structure of society and property in the two countries
is founded on totally different principles : in the one on the feudal,

1 Sveriges Historia, vol. V., part II., p. 286 ff.

THE KEIGN OF CHARLES JOHN. THE RELATION TO SWEDEN 453

in the other on the udal (odel) principle ; so that even if both desired
it, they could not assimilate their institutions without such a total
subversion of all social arrangements and rights of property in one
or other, as would exceed the most violent revolution in modern
times. The Swedish legislative body consists of nobility, clergy,
burgesses of towns, and peasantry, forming distinct chambers, and
voting by chambers, at a general diet. To give to a legislative body
or diet, so constituted, the power to impose taxes and frame laws
affecting the property of a nation having no representatives in
such a diet, and no similar classes of the community in its social
structure, could not be attempted by the most arbitrary government,
in an age when property, especially in a commercial country con-
nected with others as Norway is, must be respected." ^

Even before ascending the throne, Charles John seems to have
given encouragement to the discontent of Norwegian hinder, due to
the heavy taxes and the hard times, no doubt in the hope that if the
Norwegian government became unpopular, a change in the consti-
tution could be more easily effected. In 1816 a man by the name of
Roslein, who represented himself as his secret agent, came from Swe-
den, and traveled about in the eastern districts of the kingdom, tell-
ing the people that the Storthing, which was a very expensive insti-
tution, was the cause of the high taxes and the hard times, that if
the king received more power, everything would be different. In
several districts the people held public meetings and indulged in
loud complaints and seditious talk. Halvor Hoel in Hedemarken
even collected a band of about two hundred followers, and marched
against Christiania, but they were met by a military force, and were
persuaded to return home. Hoel himself was later tried and sen-
tenced to prison for the term of three years, but he was soon par-
doned by the king. The disturbance was not of a serious character,
but Charles John was suspected of having aided it, and this caused
an anti-Swedish feeling which proved very unfavorable to an amal-
gamation policy. The same is true of another unfortunate incident.

1 Samuel Laing, Journal of a Residence in Norway, p. 85 f . J. E. Sars,
Norges politiske Historie 1815-1885, p. 39 ff. Yngvar Nielsen, Carl Johan
som han virkelig var og som han skildres af J. E. Sars.

The Swedish system of a legislat\ire of four Estates mentioned by Laing
existed till 1863, when the bicameral system was introduced.

454 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

John Everth, member of an English firm, and their agent, C. J.
Gerss, who had estabhshed a trading station at Nyhohnen in the
harbor of Bod0, where they were allowed to occupy some govern-
ment buildings, had turned smugglers, and carried on their traffic
on a large scale. The government officials attempted to arrest the
two men, and after some resistance they were finally lodged in jail,
and their goods were confiscated. After a short time the smugglers
were released, and some time later John Everth succeeded in decoy-
ing a part of the guards at Nyhohnen on board his ships, where they
were detained while he landed with twenty men, drove away the
remaining guards, brought the goods on board his two vessels, and
sailed away. Somewhere in the North Sea he placed the imprisoned
guards in a frail boat in which they succeeded in reaching shore.
This flagrant violation of all laws was to be settled by diplomatic
negotiations between the English and Swedish governments; Everth
not only claimed that he was innocent, but he demanded a large
indemnity, which the Swedish government awarded him without
making any very serious attempt to defend the rights and dignity
of Norway. The people felt that the Swedish ministers, to whom
the foreign affairs of both kingdoms were intrusted, had been very
negligent, and that their country had been treated, not as a sovereign
kingdom, but like a province.^

Because of the amalgamation policy pursued by Charles John
the Storthing was not only in danger of being forced to agree to a
revision of the constitution, but the Norwegians were not accorded
their full rights as a sovereign nation in all respects equal with Sweden.
They had no flag which was generally recognized, and south of Cape
Finisterre, Norwegian merchant vessels had to use the union flag,
which was the Swedish flag with a white cross in a red field as a union
sign in the upper left-hand corner.^ On the seals and in public docu-
ments even in Norway the name of Sweden always preceded that of
Norway, and the diplomatic and consular service was wholly Swedish.^

* J. E. Sara, Norges poliiiske Historie 1815-1885, p. 43 f. Samlinger
udgivne af den norske historiske Kildeskriflkommissionen 1900, Aktstykker om
Bodfisagen. B. von Schinkel, Minnen, vol. XI., p. 247 ff. Yngvar Nielsen,
Bod^sagen. Storthings E/terretninger, vol. II., p. 622 ff., vol. III., 375 ff.

' J. C. Anker, Tegninger af Norges Flag, Christiania, 1888.

» Munoh Rsader, Unionen og egen Udenrigsminister. Sam Clason, Redo-

THE REIGN OF CHARLES JOHN. THE RELATION TO SWEDEN 455

Even the attempts of the Storthing to carry out the express pro-
visions of the constitution met with determined resistance. In
1815 a bill was passed abolishing the Norwegian hereditary nobility,
as the few representatives of this class were of recent and foreign
origin, and as the existence of such a class, however insignificant,
could not very well be reconciled with the democratic spirit of the
Norwegian institutions. Tlie king refused to sanction the bill, but
it was passed again in 1818. If it should be passed a third time in
1821, it would become law without the sanction of the king, accord-
ing to article seventy-nine of the Norwegian constitution,^ and the
principle that the king's veto power was only suspensive would be
established also in practice. The king brought all possible pressure
to bear on the Storthing to postpone the passage of the bill. He
declared that the European powers would not tolerate such a step,
that war would be sure to follow, and that if the Storthing insisted
on passing the bill, they would also have to provide means for making
the army and navy ready for war. He might punish the members
of the Storthing as traitors, he said, if they ventured to pass a law
which he had not sanctioned. But he preferred not to take so drastic
a step. He would sign the bill if they would consent to postpone
the matter till some other time. Threats and intimidations did not
avail, however, as the Storthing felt that the constitution itself was
on trial. The bill was passed a third time, and became law without
royal sanction.

Another and more serious question to be settled was whether
Norway should pay her share of the joint state debt of Denmark-
Norway.2 By the treaty of Kiel it had been promised the king of

gjorele for Unionsfragans tidligere Skeden, p. 11 f. J. Utheim, Grundloven om
Norges Udenrigsstyre.

1 "If a bill has been passed in the same form by three regular Storthings,
constituted after three successive elections, and separated from each other
by at least two intervening sessions of the Storthing, no contrary resolutions
in the meantime having been passed by any session of the Storthing from the
time of the introduction of the bill till its final passage, and it is then placed
before the king with the request that His Majesty will not refuse to sanction
the measure which the Storthing after so mature deliberation considers use-
ful, it shall become a law even if the sanction is not granted before the Stor-
thing adjourns." Article 79.

2B. von Schinkel, Minnen, vol. X., p. 210 ff. Eidsvold Constitution,

456 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Denmark that Norway should pay her share in proportion to the
population and resources of the two kingdoms. But the Norwegians
did not recognize that treaty, and did not feel obligated by a promise
which the Swedish king had made without their knowledge or con-
sent. Denmark, however, turned to the Quadruple Alliance, which
had assumed control of the political and international affairs of all
Europe, and welcomed such an opportunity to show its zeal and
authority. At the congress of Aix la Chapelle, where neither Den-
mark nor Sweden was represented, the great powers issued strict
orders to Charles John to bring this dispute to a speedy close, an
undue interference with the private affairs of a sovereign state which
he very promptly resented.^ But on September 1, 1819, an agree-
ment was made with Denmark, according to which Norway should
pay the sum of three million riksdaler. Many still thought that
Norway ought to refuse to pay, as the principle of recognizing the
treaty of Kiel was involved, but the majority considered it unwise
under the circumstances to repudiate the debt, and the Storthing
passed a bill May 29, 1821, providing that Norway should pay the
amount stipulated in the agreement of 1819. Thereby all danger
of foreign intervention disappeared, and the matter ought to have
been regarded as settled, but Charles John seemed determined to
strike a telling blow in favor of his long-cherished hope of changing
the Norwegian constitution. Six thousand Swedish and Norwegian
troops were assembled for maneuvers on the plain of Etterstad in
the neighborhood of Christiania. It was also discovered that the
Swedish soldiers had been supplied with ball cartridges, as if they
were in an enemy's country. As soon as the army had assembled,
a Swedish squadron, carrying 300 guns and a crew of 2000 men, en-
tered the harbor of Christiania, and on July 17th the king himself
started for Norway, accompanied by a number of admirals, generals,
and foreign diplomats. The assembling of such forces around
the capital at a moment when the financial distress of the kingdom
did not warrant large expenditures for military display could have
been undertaken only for the most sinister purposes. It seems

Article 93. Yng^var Nielsen, Stormagternes Forhold til Norge og Sverige
1816-1819, p. 4 ff. ; Diplomatiske Aktstykker vedkommende Opgj^ med Dan-
mark.

' Yngvar Nielsen, Stormagternes Forhold til Norge og Sverige 1815-1819,
p. 81 ff.

THE REIGN OF CHARLES JOHN. THE RELATION TO SWEDEN 457

almost certain that the king contemplated a coup d'etat, by which
he would overthrow the Norwegian government and consolidate
Norway and Sweden. On June 1, 1821, he had issued a circular
note to the powers, in which he violently assailed the Norwegians
for disloyalty and ingratitude, as if to justify the step he had decided
to take. The whole document is evidently written for the purpose
of arousing the prejudice of the great powers against Norway. " The
course lately pursued by the Norwegian Storthing," he says, "could
not fail to attract the king's most serious attention. The insurrec-
tionary spirit of southern Europe seems to have infected the minds
also in the North." ^ After he had been granted full power over
Norway by the treaty of Kiel, he says, he granted the Norwegians
a free constitution, but his kindness had been rewarded with ingrati-
tude, and he had not been able to persuade the Storthing not to pass
the bill abolishing the Norwegian nobility, which was contrary both
to the laws and constitution. He would, no doubt, be acting within
the scope of his right, he continues, if he said to the Norwegian
people : " You violate on your side the agreement to which I have
given my consent ; thereby I am reinstated in the full possession of
the rights granted me by the treaty of Kiel, and I deprive you of the
liberty which I once granted you, but which you have so sadly mis-
used. Or I might say : You wish to place upon Sweden the burden
of your public debt, although Sweden has claims against you aris-
ing from the common expenditures of the united realms. In this
wise you raise the question of the consolidation of the two kingdoms,
and I only follow the example you have set when I carry out this
consolidation. But faithful to that system of forbearance from
which the king will not depart, His Majesty will not employ either
the one or the other of these ways, but if egotism and blindness con-
tinue to disregard his counsel, he shall be obliged to reconstruct the
Norwegian constitution on foundations which give greater assurance
of general safety." ^

1 In the spring of 1821 the Austrians had suppressed the liberalist uprising
in Naples, and the attempt of the army in Piedmont to organize a revolt
in favor of constitutional government was also crushed. It was the high
tide of reaction, and the Quadruple Alliance was eagerly watching to sup-
press liberal movements everywhere.

2 B. von Schinkel, Minnen, vol. X., p. 201 ff. J. E. Sars, Norges poli-
tiske Historie, p. 62 ff.

458 fflSTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

A catastrophe seemed imminent, but the king did not strike the
threatened blow. He had reflected upon the possible consequences,
and the thought made him pause, the more so because the reply of
the powers to his circular note had not been quite as favorable as
he had expected. Charles John was of an impulsive nature, easily
stirred to wrath, but his anger was of the passionate kind which quickly
subsided. He was kind-hearted and generous, never truly happy
unless he felt that he enjoyed the love and admiration of his sub-
jects, and the loyalty shown him on all occasions had helped to calm
his temper. The great maneuvers ended with parades, balls, and
dinners, and the king returned to Stockholm without having accom-
plished much more than recovering his good humor. As to the
changes to be made in the Norwegian constitution, he contented
himself with proposing certain constitutional amendments to the
consideration of the Storthing. The chief features of these were:
that the king should be granted absolute veto, and the right to dis-
solve the Storthing and order new elections when the session had
lasted over three months, the right to appoint the presidents of the
Storthing, the right to remove from office all officials, with the excep-
tion of judges, and the right to create a new hereditary nobility.
Christian Magnus Falsen, "the father of the constitution," also pro-
posed some amendments, which aimed to destroy the political power
of the conamon people, democratic features of the constitution which
he had once labored so hard to establish, and which had made his
name illustrious. This strange fickleness put a stain upon his char-
acter which tarnished his reputation and committed his name to
obscurity.^

1 J. E. Sars, Norges politiske Historie 1815-1885, p. 72 ff., 87 ff. Yngrvar
Nielsen, Christian Magnus Falsen, Nordmcend i det 19de Aarhundrede. Erik
Vullum, Kristian Magnus Falsen, Grundlovens Fader, p. 81 ff. Eang Charles
John proposed :

1. A change of article XV. of the constitution, so that the two Norwe-
gian ministers, who should always be in Stockholm, should not be changed
yearly, as the constitution provides, but according to the king's pleasure.

2. A change in article LVIII., whereby the Storthing should be made
to assemble in the summer, and the king should be allowed to convene it
in any Norwegian city.

3. A change in article LXXI., by which the king should receive the right
to dissolve the Storthing and order new elections.

THE REIGN OF CHARLES JOHN. THE RELATION TO SWEDEN 459

The proposed amendments became the issue in the poUtical cam-*
paign of 1824. They were vigorously assailed by the best writers,
and new papers, like " Patrouillen," edited by the able liberalist Lud-
vig Mariboe, were founded to wage the fight for the constitution.
Only Falsen supported the amendments, to the further detriment
of his already tarnished reputation. The elections returned to the
Storthing a number of the most experienced leaders who had been
prominent in the Eidsvold Constituent Assembly, and care was
taken to appoint as members of the constitutional committee men
of broad experience and recognized talents. The learned jurist
Christian Krohg was made chairman of the committee, the other
members being George Sverdrup, Wedel-Jarlsberg, C. G. Horne-
mann, and the great orator and parliamentary leader Ingebret Knuds-
s0n. King Charles John used all his influence to carry his amend-
ments. He used threats and intimidations. In a letter to Stat-
holder Sandels he wrote : " It is to the interest of the Storthing that
I reserve to myself the power to dissolve it so soon as circumstances
demand it, and I will be obliged to do so unless I am granted absolute

4. A change in article XXII., by which the king should be allowed to
dismiss from office aU government officials, except judges, without investi-
gation or trial.

5. A change in article LXXIV., allowing the king to appoint the presi-
dents and vice-presidents of the two branches of the Storthing from among
its members, and that the Storthing should choose as secretaries persons not
elected as representatives.

6. A change in article LXXV., necessitated by the change in article LVIII.

7. The canceling of article LXXIX., which provides that a law can be
passed over the king's veto.

8. A change in article LXXXI., necessitated by the canceling of article
LXXIX.

9. The canceling of paragraphs e. and i. in article LXXXII.

10. A "change in article XCII., necessitated by the change in article
LXXXII.

11. Introduction of a new article providing that an extra session of the
Storthing should consider only such matters as the king should lay before it.

12. An addition to article XXIII., by which the king should receive the
power to create a new hereditary nobility.

13. A change in articles LXXXVI., and LXXXVII., providing for a dif-
ferent organization of the Rigsret, or Court of Impeachment.

Kampen mellem Norges Storthing og Regjering, from Dagbladet, Christiania,
1882. P. Flor, Bemerkninger over de paa det tredie ordentlige Storthing fremaatte
Konstitutionsforslag, Drammen, 1823.

460 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

veto power, for the eyes of the absolute monarchies are resting upon
us." This and other Hke epistles were brought to the attention of
the Storthing, but nothing availed. Pursuant to the recommenda-
tions of the constitutional committee the amendments were voted
down. Some of the more essential points, as that of absolute veto,
were again brought forward in 1827, but when the king found that
they could not be carried, he withdrew his proposals with the under-
standing that they should again be considered in 1830. He had been
compelled to yield, and although these amendments were continually
placed before the Storthing throughout his whole reign, his threats
had lost their terror, and the amendments were never passed. King
Charles John's crusade against the constitution had failed. He had
only taught the Norwegian people to treasure more highly this
great document, and to preserve it unimpaired as the charter and
bulwark of their liberty.

The struggle waged by the king against the celebration of the
Norwegian national holiday, the Seventeenth of May, was no more
successful. In 1827 the Storthing impeached Jonas CoUett, member
of the Norwegian ministry, because he was responsible for the pro-
mulgation of unconstitutional ordinances and the expenditure of
money in excess of what had been granted by the Storthing. This
aroused the king's temper to an unusually high pitch, and he thun-
dered like the angry Jove against what he regarded as an undue
usurpation of power by the national legislature. But his anger was
soon appeased, and he departed from Christiania in the best of
humor. The trial of CoUett was allowed to proceed, and the minister
was finally acquitted. But the king's displeasure was again kindled
when he learned of attempts to celebrate the Seventeenth of May.

Prior to 1824 no celebration had taken place,^ but in that year
the university students had arranged a festival, and during the suc-
ceeding years it became customary to hoist flags on the ships in
the harbor, and to arrange private parties in honor of the day.
In March, 1827, before the king departed from Christiania, Stat-
holder Sandels had asked that the people be allowed to celebrate
the Seventeenth of May, and the king had given an answer which

1 B. von Schinkel, Minnen, vol. XI., p. 265 ff. J. E. Sars, Norges politiske
Historie 1815-1885.

THE REIGN OF CHARLES JOHN. THE RELATION TO SWEDEN 461

the statholder understood to be favorable. As the royal ban was
now supposed to be raised, the festivities were more general than
they had been on any previous occasion, and even the Storthing ar-
ranged a public dinner in their assembly rooms, where toasts were
drunk to the health of the king and various members of the royal
family. But, to the surprise of all, the king flew into a rage when
he heard of the celebration, and when a miserable Swedish drama,
which was played at the Christiania theater the following fall, was
hooted off the stage by a few young men who felt that it would reflect
on their intelligence to see such an exhibition without protest, he
felt sure that a revolution was on the point of breaking out. Stat-
holder Sandels was dismissed from oflBce, and in his place was ap-
pointed B. B. von Platen, who was thoroughly in favor of the policy
of amalgamation and the consolidation of the two kingdoms. But
instead of seeking to further his plan of amalgamation by attempting
to win the favor and good-will of the Norwegian people, he was de-
termined to suppress all manifestations of a distinct national spirit,
and especially to wage war on the celebration of the Seventeenth
of May. In a circular letter to the higher officials of the kingdom
he attempted to show that because of the rights which Sweden had
secured by the treaty of Kiel, and because of the magnanimity of
Charles John towards the Norwegian people, either August 14th,
when the treaty of Moss was concluded, or October 14th, when the
Storthing declared in favor of union with Sweden, or November 4th,
when the union was established, ought to be made a joint holiday for
both countries, but May 17th ought to be forgotten. His efforts
were, however, in vain, as he could issue no instructions to the officials
which they were obliged to heed.

On January 29, 1828, the king called an extra session of the Stor-
thing, ostensibly for the purpose of considering some very urgent
matters. But as none of the proposals submitted could be regarded
as very urgent measures, it was clear that the real purpose of the
extra session had not yet come to light. Sars thinks that he would
prevail on the Storthing to annul the decree of the court in the im-
peachment case against CoUett, and to give sanction to the preroga-
tives which he believed belonged to him ; but when he found that
the constitution did not permit such a course, he dropped the matter,

462 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

and his lofty plans, which brought him to summon the Storthing into
extra session, and to journey to Christiania, dwindled down to an
attack on the Seventeenth of May. He summoned the presidents
and vice-presidents of the Storthing, and delivered a speech to them,
in which he declared the celebration of the Seventeenth of May to be
an insult to the union and the constitution of November 4, 1814.
In his long career he could recall many bitter moments, he said, but
the bitterest of all were these three : first, when he was forced to
draw his sword against France, his native land, where he had won
his military reputation ; second, when he had to enter Norway, sword
in hand, though he loved the Norwegian people; third, when he
learned that the Storthing had celebrated the Seventeenth of May
by arranging a public dinner.^ In order to please the king on this
rather trivial point, the Storthing resolved not to celebrate the
Seventeenth of May. The people throughout the country, even
the students, heeded the resolution passed by the Storthing, so that
even Statholder von Platen complimented them on their loyalty.
Had the statholder acted with tact and good judgment, it is possible
that the people might have been persuaded to abandon the idea of
making that day a national holiday. But the following year an
event occurred which made the matter a national issue, and rendered
all restraint useless.

In 1829 the Students' Union (Studentersamfundet) decided to make
the Seventeenth of May one of their regular holidays, and a private
festival was arranged for in the apartments of the club. This affair
was conducted in the most quiet way, and nothing happened which
could attract any attention. The day was warm and beautiful.
Many people were assembled at the wharf to see the steamer " Consti-
tutionen, " which just arrived in port, and as a steamer was rather
an uncommon sight in those days, the vessel was greeted with hurrahs
and the singing of national songs. Later in the afternoon many
people, especially women and children, numbering in all about 500,
assembled in the public square to enjoy the fresh air and the fine
weather. The authorities grew nervous and ordered them to go
home, but this warning was not heeded, as the people failed to see
why such an order should be issued. In the evening, about nine
* B. von Scbinkel, Minnen, vol. XL, p. 274 ff.

THE REIGN OP CHARLES JOHN. THE RELATION TO SWEDEN 463

o'clock, the chief of police caused the riot act to be read, and a force
of cavalry and infantry was sent from the fortress of Akershus to
clear the streets. Several persons were ridden down, but, fortunately,
no one was seriously hurt. The people returned to their homes, and
the "battle of the market-place" was over, but great indignation
prevailed, as they felt that an outrage had been committed against
a peaceful and law-abiding public. At the inquiry which was in-
stituted it was proven that the people had not disturbed the peace
or done anything unlawful. The wrath of the offended people was
especially turned against Statholder von Platen, who, as commander-
in-chief of the Norwegian army, was responsible for the conduct of
the military. He left Christiania shortly after the affair, but when
he returned in the fall he was met with such ill-will that the situation
became intolerable. In a short time he took sick and died, and it is
thought that this was due in part to chagrin and disappointment.
The commission of inquiry had decided that twelve of the leaders
who had arranged the celebration, among others the poet Henrik
Wergeland, who was a leader among the students, should be prose-
cuted, and the commandant of Akershus should be censured for
indiscretion. But the people of Christiania vowed that they would
have their rights. They sent a memorial to the Storthing protesting
against the outrage. This was referred to the constitutional com-
mittee, with the result that the Storthing issued an address to the
king, defending the celebration of the Seventeenth of May as a right
belonging to the people. During the following years the day was
publicly celebrated, and the Storthing joined in the festivities with-
out further interference from the king. The Seventeenth of May had
become a recognized national holiday.

The king's attempt to prevent the Norwegians from celebrating
the Seventeenth of May was a part of a systematic effort to reduce
Norway to a Swedish province, inaugurated by the attack on the
Norwegian constitution. What he sought to do, says J. E. Sars,
was " to carry out the Swedish views of the relation between the two
kingdoms in the union. In both instances he appeared as Swedish
king, as representative of the will of the Swedish people, Swedish
political and national interests and views, not as king of Norway, . . .
He appeared as Norwegian king only when he was to receive appa-

464 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

nages, and when he was to be greeted with hurrahs and triumphal
arches. The kingdom and Sweden, the union and the kingdom,
Sweden and the union, appeared to him as one and the same thing, or
as the necessary and combined powers in opposition to the Norwegian
democracy," ^

This pohcy of amalgamation, the attempt to strengthen the union
at the expense of Norway, became an issue which forced the two
peoples ever farther apart, and created a prolonged political struggle
which culminated in the separation of the two countries.

57. Young Norway. Henrik Wergeland and Johan Sebastian
Welhaven. Literary and Intellectual Revival

One of the names which had been most frequently mentioned
during the excitement connected with the celebration of the Seven-
teenth of May, 1829, was that of Henrik Wergeland, a son of Nicolai
Wergeland, at that time only twenty-one years of age. He had cried
hurrah for the steamer "Constitutionen," and in the evening a cav-
alryman had struck him across the back with his saber. This stain of
oppression he regarded as such a disgrace to his student's uniform
that he sent it in a basket to the commandant of Akershus.^ In this
strange episode the young patriot makes his first debut in the his-
tory of his people, in which he was destined to play so singular a
part, and to win a name with which no other can be fully compared.
" Who is Henrik Wergeland, under whose silent supremacy we live ? "
writes Erik VuUum. "He has become for us what the household
deity was to the ancients. They might hate or love the god, it
mattered not, for all had to worship him, and bring their offerings, and
all were aided by him in their work. We may be supporters or oppo-
nents of the ideas which Wergeland advocated, but we must have him
with us. It is as though we felt that there is no hope of success
for an undertaking in our country unless it has the consecration of
the name and spirit of Wergeland, and all like to make him their
own. He is disrobed or attired according to the needs of the hour
and the party. Are there ten of us who have the same conception of

1 J. E. Sars, Norges poliliske Historic 1815-1885, p. 125 ff.

2 Henrik Wei^eland, Samlede Skrifter, vol. VII., p. 550.

II YOUNG NORWAY 465

the great indispensable one, who unites under his sway the young
republicans and the staid and dignified department oflBcials ?

" It is not through his poetry he has won this power over us. A
poet may be loved by all, but he is not equally indispensable to all.
Wergeland has exerted a deeper influence on our lives than rhyme
and rhythm can produce if they be as perfect and melodious as the
music of the spheres. Not through his stormy life, or his beautiful
death, nor even through his genius has he won the immortal glory
which he now enjoys, of sitting enthroned in sympathetic and believ-
ing human hearts as the prince of patriots. His undying fame he
has earned by patient drudgery devoted to the national needs of
the hour." ^

The cleavage in Norwegian society caused by the Reformation
when the Danish language was introduced as the church and
literary language still existed. The city population and the official
class, including the clergy, which were strongly mixed with foreign
elements, had thoroughly assimilated the Danish language and cul-
ture, while the rural population still spoke their own tongue, and
adhered to their old customs. Under the shelter of absolutism in
the period of the union with Denmark, which fostered a distinct
aristocratic spirit among the cultured classes, this condition had
assumed a rigid permanence, and the binder had become sharply
differentiated from the city population and ofiicial class, not only in
customs and language, but also in views and sympathies. The
men of Eidsvold had created liberal political institutions suited to
the most democratic society, but during the great European reac-
tion, 1814-1830, it became evident that the old spirit of class prej-
udice, desire for special privileges, and antipathy to the common
people still prevailed in higher social circles. The officials showed
strong bureaucratic tendencies, and continued to rule in the old spirit,
even under the new constitution. Their views and tastes remained
to a large extent unchanged, and they were glad to settle down to the
old ways, not thinking that the great political change would necessi-
tate a radical social readjustment. What the result would be when
the hinder should assume political leadership was a thought which
had not yet dawned upon their mind, as they do not seem to have

1 Erik Vullum, Henrik Wergeland i Digt og»IAv.
VOL. II — 2 H

466 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

considered such a state of affairs to be within the realm of possi-
bility. In literature no progress had been made since Det norske
Selskah flourished in Copenhagen, and poets like Schwach, Johan
Storm Munch, S. O. Wolff, and H. A. Bjerregaard were not even
as well known as Johan Nordahl Brun, Johan Herman Wessel, Claus
Frimann, and other members of Det norske Selskah. An intellectual
and social revival would have to rouse the people to new life and
national self-consciousness, before they would be able to enter into
full possession of their liberty, or to begin the new development
which their independence and free institutions made possible. This
revival came in 1830 with Henrik Wergeland, who in patriotism and
aspirations was the personification of young Norway.

Romanticism, which had caused a new intellectual awakening
in Germany and Denmark, had not reached Norway, though the
higher classes still thought that their country continued to be de-
pendent upon Denmark for higher intellectual culture and refined
literary and artistic taste. If they had been able to realize their
theory in practice, the same impulses which stirred the Danish people
to new activity could also have been transmitted to Norway, and
some progress might have been made, but they were content with
the old ideas which had flourished in Denmark several decades
earlier. These ideas, which represented the good old intellectual
stock in trade which had been inherited from the union period, had
become associated with everything eesthetic and hon ton. They could
produce no new growth, but satisfied the wants of a limited number
of aristocratic families who desired to live in intellectual repose on
their well-garnished cultural provision chest. The few new ideas
which were imported from Denmark were of the romantic kind, which
dreamed of the faded glories of a remote past, and hence harmonized
perfectly with the tranquillity and refined taste which already existed
in the higher circles, and which were regarded as the acme of cultural
perfection. In the midst of this sedate and self-satisfied autocratic
elegance Henrik Wergeland appeared as a huge storm center, causing
an intellectual upheaval such as the nation had not yet experienced.
Long cherished literary views were challenged, and old social ideas
were given a rude shock. It was a storm which electrified and
cleansed the atmosphere, and stirred the germs of life into new growth.

II HENEIK WERGELAND AND JOHAN SEBASTIAN WELHAVEN 467

Wergeland was a representative of that spirit of the age which
manifested itself in the struggle for nationality and liberty in nearly
all parts of Europe, and which in England found its best expression
in the poetry of Shelley and Byron. The effort of the human spirit
to free itself from political and social oppression, and to break through
the narrow systems of conventional views and arbitrary rules of
art, engendered a feeling of weltschmertz, but created also the charm-
ing hope that liberty once established would regenerate the world
and usher in the millennium. The struggle of the Greeks for free-
dom had become the cause of all Europe, which Byron had glorified
in his poetry and consecrated with his death. On no one had these
events made a more profound impression than on the perfervid
genius of Wergeland. He, too, would have hastened to the aid of
the Greeks, if he had been a wealthy and powerful lord instead of
a young student, the son of the poor clergyman of Eidsvold. In
1827 he wrote : " When I think of the future everything grows dark
— I tremble. I said to my father that I must go to Greece, that
my life may not be wholly in vain." And after the death of Canning
he wrote a poem in praise of England, which " like a sharp-beaked
sea-eagle rises from her foggy nest to aid the Greeks." ^ His ardent
devotion to the cause of liberty was further strengthened through
extensive reading of French literature, and finally by the July Revo-
lution in Paris in 1830, which revived the drooping spirit of all liber-
alists in Europe. In 1831 he visited France, where he came into
personal contact with the most advanced liberal ideas. Hitherto
the liberalists had sought to win political liberty, but the English
naturalists, and still more the French romanticists, emancipated
themselves from established rules also in regard to literature, art,
and social conditions. St. Simon laid the foundations of Socialism,
and Victor Hugo and his followers declared the right of the indi-
vidual to disregard all recognized rules of art, and to express his
thoughts and feelings in his own way, unhampered by any established
authority. Under the influence of English and French literature
and liberal ideas Henrik Wergeland had developed his political and
literary theories and his whole view of life. " As Norwegian liberty
in 1814 sprang from the great French Revolution," says Halvdan

1 Erik Vullum, Henrik Wergeland i Digt og Liv, p. 36.

468 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Koht, "so germs of the new French revolutionary ideas had blown
to Norway, where they found opportunity to grow in the mind of
the man who produced the great awakening of his people." ^

Wergeland laid no new foundations, but he was the chief architect
who reared the cultural structure of Norway on the foundations laid
by the Eidsvold men, and continued to work in their spirit. They
had adopted the liberal and progressive ideas which had their origin
in English political institutions and scientific thought, and which
found their full development in the revolutionary struggles of America
and France ; he made these ideas the living force in the new national
development. They had made the people supreme in theory; he
would make them supreme in practice. They had acted for the
people; he taught the people to act for themselves. The resolute
resolve to lead a free national existence which enabled the Eidsvold
men to achieve such great things in the darkest hours of the people's
history should inspire every citizen, and Norway would rise tri-
mnphant from her humiliation to new national greatness. It be-
came his task to create new national life and self-confidence, to unite
the people in the effort to make themselves truly independent, and
to create a literature and higher culture of their own. For this work
he was qualified, not only by a rare literary genius, but also through
his ability for hard work, his love for everything national, and his
profound sympathy for all who were poor and needy, traits which
made him the national leader and invincible idol of the common peo-
ple. His father, Nicolai Wergeland, describes him as follows :

"Henrik Wergeland has been from his earliest youth an ardent
liberalist, philanthropist, and patriot, and he has not yet (1843)
proven untrue to this character. He has been inspired by love for
the freedom and happiness of his fatherland and for the enlighten-
ment and well-being of the people. No one has loved the people
so well, and no one has sought to a like degree in all possible ways
to serve them. No one has so unselfishly espoused their cause with-
out regard for the annoyance and misfortunes which he reaped from
it. He always considered how he might serve the people, and when
he found an opportunity, he acted with energy without fear or regard
for any hindrance, and without any thoughts of loss or profit to

* Henrik Wergeland, p. 67.

PLATE XII

Henuik VVkkgeland.

II HENRIK WERGELAND AND JOHAN SEBASTIAN WELHAVEN 469

himself. In 1825 his father deposited for him in the savings bank
a hundred specie daler, and he earnestly begged that of this sum he
might give his poor uncle fifty specie daler. 'If we saw/ he said, 'a
good mill standing idle for want of water, would we not open the
mill race? Let me have the joy to start this mill.' He divided his
bread with the poor ; he took his coat off and gave it to the one who
had none. * I gave what I had,' he wrote once, ' two specie daler and
a new shirt. I ran out and secured six or seven customers for the
man. The food grows bitter in my mouth when I think of all the
misery. It seems to me that I have no right to satisfy my hunger.' "
" When the people learned," continues his father, "that Henrik Wer-
geland was their honest, fearless, and unselfish friend, all who were in
need or considered themselves wronged or oppressed came to him
to seek help, counsel, and protection. This increased more and more
after the year 1830. Not only from Eidsvold, but from other parts
people sought him, and still (1843) they come from far away on such
errands." ^ The people had at last found a leader whose name
became their battle cry, the sign by which they were destined to
conquer.

The signal for the great national struggle which was now precipi-
tated was the publication of Wergeland's greatest literary work,
"Skabelsen, Mennesket og Messias." Shortly after the appearance
of this work, on August 15, 1830, "Morgenbladet" printed an anony-
mous poem, "Til Henrik Wergeland," which assailed the poet in
the bitterest terms, and concluded by declaring that he belonged to
the Parnassian madhouse candidates. The author of the poem was
the young poet Johan Sebastian Welhaven, born in 1807, and by
one year Wergeland's senior.^ Welhaven also wished to bring about

^ Halvdan Koht, Henrik Wergeland, p. 25, 75. Hans T0nsager, Barn-
doms- og Ungdomsminder om Henrik Wergeland. Gerhard Gran, Henrik
Wergeland, Nordmcend i del 19de Aarhundrede. J. E. Sars, Samlede Verker,
vol. IV., p. 102 flf., 154 ff. Gerhard Gran, Norges Doemring, p. 221 ff. Hart-
vig Lassen, Henrik Wergeland og hans Samtid. Henrik Jaeger, Illustreret
norsk Liter aturhistorie, vol. II., p. 87 ff. J. E. Sars, Norges politiske His-
toric 1815-1885, p. 131 ff. Just Bing, Norsk Uter aturhistorie, p. 77 ff.
Olav Skavlan, Henrik Wergeland, Afhandlinger og Brudstykker. Kristian
Prestgard, Norske Kvad, Decorah, la., p. 9 ff.

2 Arne L0chen, J. S. Welhaven, Liv og Skrifter. Gerhard Gran, J. S. Wel-
haven, Nordmcend i det 19de Aarhundrede. J. S. Welhaven, Samlede Skrifter,

470 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

a revival in Norwegian intellectual life, and in regard to the theory
of poetry he represented new ideas, as he was influenced by the
Danish romanticists. But he agreed with the conservative upper
classes that higher culture had to be introduced from Denmark, and
as to poetic form and diction he clung with scholastic fidelity to the
old rules. The attack on Wergeland did not remain unanswered,
and soon the literary battle between these two leaders waxed furious,
and attracted widespread attention. In 1832 Welhaven published
a critique of Wergeland's poetry, entitled " Henrik Wergelands Digte-
kunst og Polemik ved Aktstykker oplyste," in which he lays down
the rules for lyric poetry, and tries to show that, as Wergeland's poems
do not conform to these rules, he is not a poet. But his rules are
so narrow that they could not be followed without serious detriment
to the poetic art, and his critique shows that personal animosity has
obscured his vision, and has rendered him unable to recognize the
great genius of his rival. Welhaven regarded poesy as beautiful
images and tender sentiment wrought into harmonious and elegant
verse. He wrote as with a painter's pencil, tracing his own inner
life and feelings with so refined a taste that his lines are capable
of creating like feelings in others, and his poetry excels in descriptive
beauty and lyric tenderness. Wergeland's rugged force and fre-
quent disregard for form offended him. He regarded his scope and
depth as obscurity, his freedom in diction and versification as form-
lessness and chaos.

To Wergeland poetry was not lyric sentiment or lovely fancy-bred
images perched in serene tranquillity above the clouds. It was an
expression of the storms and struggles, the joys and sorrows, of life
itself. To him poesy was the sword in the fight, the implement
in his daily labor, the expression of his whole personality in vigorous
activity. His poems are wrought from the thoughts and experiences
of the hour. There are living heartbeats in his rhymes and rhythms,
tears and triumph, battle shouts and joyous laughter in his lines.
It is doubtful if ever another poet to a like degree has succeeded in
making life poetry and poetry life — the real secret of his greatness
and his unique influence.

vol, I., p. 15 ff. J. B. Sara, J. S. Welhaven, Samlede Verker, vol. IV., p.
130 ff.

n LITERARY AND INTELLECTUAL REVIVAL 471

In taste and character the two poets were as different as in their
theories. Welhaven, who was the son of a Bergen clergyman, be-
longed in every way to the upper classes, while Wergeland belonged
both by training and sympathies to the common people, with whom
he became ever more closely identified. The two represented the
incompatibility which has always existed between the hinder and
the officials, and their friends and supporters soon formed two dis-
tinct parties, the first in modern Norwegian history, and in a direct
line the forerunners of the two great political parties which appeared
later. Welhaven's friends, among whom were found nearly all the
officials, were called the Intelligence party, as they posed as the
representatives of refined taste and higher intellectual culture, while
Wergeland's party, which, besides a few literary friends, embraced
the common classes, were called Patriots, because of their strictly
national program. The clashes between the two groups soon led
to a split in the Students' Union (Studentersamfundet). Fifty-
six members, including many of the most talented leaders, like A.
Schweigaard, F. Stang, P. A. Munch, J. S. Welhaven, Bernhard
Dunker, and U. A. Motzfeldt, seceded in 1832 and formed a new
students' union (Studenterforbundet). They also began to publish
a periodical, "Vidar," but it received no support from the public
and had to be discontinued two years later. In the meantime,
Welhaven was preparing for a new onslaught on the Patriots. In
1834 he pubUshed his long critical poem "Norges Dsemring" ("The
Dawn of Norway"), in which he attacked the semi-culture, narrow-
mindedness, and blind and boisterous patriotism which he attributes
to his opponents. It was a violent assault, full of invective and
bitterness, and the Patriots considered it an attack on their country's
honor, though it is certain that the author had no such intention.^
The storm of controversy rose to a veritable tempest, and as both
parties had begun to publish their own papers, the effects of the
struggle were felt in wider circles than hitherto. In 1836 the Intelli-
gence party began the publication of a daily paper, "Den Consti-
tutionelle." The Patriot party organ, "Folkebladet," founded in
1831 by P. P. Flor, had ceased to appear, but the more radical opposi-

' Gerhard Gran, Norges Dcemring. Arne L0clien, J. S. Welhaven, Liv og
Skrifter, p. 179 ff.

472 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

tional paper "Statsborgeren" ("The Citizen") was still in full activ-
ity. This was, however, a scurrilous sheet, whose editor, P. P. Soelvold,
was convicted of libel and dismissed. In order to help the unfor-
tunate man, Henrik Wergeland undertook to edit the paper, though
he thereby exposed himself to the bitterest attacks of his opponents,
who would make him responsible for everything which had ever
appeared in its columns.

The conflict between the two parties, at first only literary, grad-
ually assumed also a social and political character. It was Werge-
land's aim to place the power in the hands of the common people,
according to the provisions of the constitution, while the leaders
of the Intelligence party wished to maintain the predominance of
the upper classes in political as well as in intellectual and social Ufe.
Both parties were patriotic, both wished to advance, but along dif-
ferent routes. It was a question whether the new national life should
be aristocratic or democratic, whether the new cultural development
should be based on foreign elements, the heritage of a refined upper
class, or if it should issue from the life and individuality of the people
themselves. As the leaders were young and talented men, the
struggle was waged with intense bitterness, and it reached a dramatic
climax in the memorable "Campbeller battle" in 1837. A prize
had been offered for the best drama to be written for the dedication
of a new theater in Christiania. Of the twelve pieces submitted,
A. Munch's "Kong Sverres Ungdom" was regarded as the best,
but it was also decided that the second best, Wergeland's "Camp-
bellerne," should be played. On the evening when the piece was
to be played for the first time, the friends of Welhaven appeared at
the theater in force to hoot it off the stage, but Wergeland's friends
had also assembled to applaud the play. As soon as the curtain
rose, the din of rough-music began, which drowned every word,
and when order could not be restored, a fierce hand-to-hand struggle
was precipitated, in which Welhaven's followers were thoroughly
beaten and ejected from the theater. It is difficult to understand
why the Intelligence party, who vaunted their refinement, should
resort to such arguments in which they were no match for their more
brawny opponents. It is no doubt safe to ascribe their conduct to
overconfidence and youthful arrogance. But the episode taught

II LITERARY AND INTELLECTUAL REVIVAL 473

them that whatever they might think of cesthetic theories, there
existed a robust young Norway which was determined to solve its
cultural problems without foreign interference either directly or
indirectly. As ludicrous as the episode may appear to a distant
observer, it was, hke the "battle of the market-place," a victory
for the national program of the Patriots, which stimulated the com-
mon people to a most resolute attitude.

"Campbellerne" was played for the third and last time February
12, 1838, for the benefit of the author, who received about 400 specie
daler, a sum which enabled him to buy a cottage and a piece of
ground, "Gr0nlien," in the outskirts of the city. The following
year he married the lady of his choice, Amalie Sophie Bekkevold,
but his income was so small that he learned from experience to know
the bitterness of poverty. He had studied theology, and hoped to
get a curacy, but his career as a liberalist stood in the way, and all
his attempts had been unsuccessful. Wergeland had always been
an admirer of King Charles John, "the son of the Revolution."
The king had also learned to love the gifted and impulsive poet,
but the only thing which he could do for him at this time was to
offer him a gratuity of 200 specie daler from his private purse for
two years, a gift which Wergeland accepted on the condition that
he might repay it by promoting the education of the poor.^ All
unbiased people would agree that it was perfectly honorable for him
to receive this present from his king, though he was himself a republi-
can, but his enemies used the opportunity to accuse him of accepting
a bribe, of selling himself to King Charles John. Even his own adhe-
rents were offended, and when he was appointed Keeper of the Rolls,
a rather modest position in the government archives, they felt con-
vinced that he had forsaken his republican principles. Ludvig
Kr. Daa, his best friend, turned his back upon him as a traitor, and
Wergeland soon found himself deserted and alone. Even his sister,
Camilla Collett, a gifted author, and the originator of the woman's
movement in Norway, seems to have agreed with his antagonist
Welhaven in literary views and tastes, if she did not sympathize
with the Intelligence party in their whole campaign. At home Werge-
land was happy with his young wife, his flowers, and his animal pets,

1 Henrik Wergeland, Samlede Skrifter, vol. VIII., p. 625 ff.

474 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

all alike the object of his most tender affection, and as he had built
a new home, "Grotten," in the city, a romantic spot with a natural
grotto which he especially loved, he might have enjoyed the full
measure of contentment. But the feeling that he was forsaken by
his friends, and unjustly regarded as a traitor, filled his hours with
a bitterness against which he sought solace in a most intense work.
At this time he wrote his large history of the Norwegian constitution,
a work of high merit in which he shows the continuity of the historic
development of the Norwegian people, and the intunate connection
between their new national life and their past history, a thought of
fundamental importance to the correct understanding of Norwe-
gian history. Wergeland showed that the same circumstances
which led to the downfall of the old nobility, resulting in Norway's
weakness in the union period, enabled the binder to preserve their
liberty, and created conditions favorable to a new national develop-
ment. The thought was, however, too new and original to be much
heeded by historians at the time. He also waged a determined
fight to secure the passage of an amendment to the constitution which
should grant the Jews the right to reside in Norway with all the
privileges enjoyed by other citizens.^ This amendment was finally
adopted in 1851, six years after his death.

His sorrows and hardships only tamed his too ardent spirit, and
gave his character greater repose. His poetic spirit was chastened,
and he wrote during these years some of the finest productions which
adorn Norwegian poetic literature, like "Et Blomsterstykke " and
"Den engelske Lods." But this, the most productive period of his
life, was destined to be very brief. He was tall, strong, and athletic,
but in the spring of 1844 he contracted a severe cold which confined
him to his bed. On the Seventeenth of May he could not be per-
suaded to remain quiet. He hastened forth into the damp and cold
spring weather to take part in the celebration, an imprudence which
threw him again upon the sick-bed. The illness turned into con-
sumption, and it was soon evident that the shadows of death were
gathering about the great poet. The news created the profoundest
grief throughout the whole kingdom, and his friends, who had long

' Henrik Wergeland, J^desagen i det norske Storthing, Samlede Skrifter,
vol. VIII., p. 435 ff.

PLATE Xiri

II LITERARY AND INTELLECTUAL REVIVAL 475

remained indifferent, hastened to his bedside to implore his forgiveness
and to renew their pledges of friendship. The reconciliation with
his friends gave him even in these dark hours a joyous presentiment
of victory which robbed death of its bitterness, and made him look
forward to the end with a smile of contentment. He continued to
the last to ply his pen with the greatest diligence, and his most pa-
thetic lyrics are those written on his death-bed.^ About one o'clock
in the night, July 12, 1845, he awoke from a short slumber and said :
" Now I dreamed so sweetly ; I dreamed that I rested in my mother's
arms." These were his last words. A few minutes later he breathed
his last at the early age of thirty-seven. The next morning the
street was filled with throngs of men, women, and children who came
to cast a last look upon their friend and benefactor. Some came
from far away to see him, and so many thousands followed his bier
that the capital had never witnessed such a funeral procession. The
bitterness of party strife had passed away, and the nation stood
sorrowing at the grave of the leader whose life and influence proved
to be "the dawn of Norway."

1 The following poem, translated by Ole O. Lien, is the dying poet's
farewell to the wallflower blossoming in his window :

To My Wallflower {Til Min Gyldenlak)

My flower bright, before thy colors fade,
Then I am that of which the world was made ;
Before thou part with thy crown of gold, —
Then I am — mold.

When last I look to the window up,
My parting glance greets thy golden top ;
My soul doth kiss thee when, free and bright,
He takes his flight.

I seal oxu" parting with kisses two ;
One is for thee — for our love is true —
The other token of friendship close
Is for the rose.

Full-blown, the rose I no more shall see ;
But bring a greeting to her from me ; —
And say — I wish that upon my grave
Her blossoms wave.

And I desire that upon my breast
A rose be placed when in death I rest. —
And, flower bright, be in death and night
The bridal light.

476 history of the norwegian people n

58. Political Progress. New Men and Measures

In the period 1814 till 1830 no marked change had taken place
in the political situation. The members returned to the Storthing
in 1830 were of the same class as in all previous sessions, but two new
leaders, Ludvig Mariboe ^ and Jonas Anton Hjelm,^ now made their
appearance for the first time, and the influence of the great Werge-
land-Welhaven controversy as well as of the liberal movement
awakened throughout Europe by the July Revolution in France
aroused the political leaders to new activity. Both Mariboe and
Hjelm were liberalists. Hjelm was a keen and profound consti-
tutional lawyer and a powerful parliamentary debater, well qualified
to open the battle for Norway's constitutional rights. The Storthing,
which had hitherto pursued a purely defensive policy, had sought to
prevent the king from changing the constitution and reducing the
kingdom to a Swedish dependency ; but the time had come when the
people would begin to exercise their political rights, and when an
attempt would be made to establish in practice Norway's sovereignty
and recognized equality with Sweden. In the discussion of the
constitutional amendments proposed by Charles John, Hjehn stated
very clearly his views regarding the relation between the two realms.
He showed that Norway as a sovereign kingdom could not be com-
pelled to leave its diplomatic and consular service in the hands of
the Swedish government, and that although such an arrangement
actually existed, it was temporary, and in no wise consonant with
the true interests of the reahn. He showed that the Swedish govern-
ment authorities could assume charge of no Norwegian affairs what-
soever, except in cases where such a power was granted by specific
provisions in the constitution or the Act of Union, and that all
doubtful cases had to be interpreted on the fundamental principle
expressed in the first paragraph of both these instruments, that
Norway was a sovereign kingdom. The aim of the Norwegian people
should be, not to obtain full equality with Sweden in the union, so
that Norway might enjoy the same right as Sweden in the manage-
ment both of foreign and other affairs, but to carry out in practice

» Henrik Wergeland, Samlede Skrifter, vol. VIII., p. 126 ff.

» Ibid., vol. VIII., p. 446. J. E. Sars, Samlede Verker, vol. IV„ p. 73 ff.

II POLITICAL PROGRESS. NEW MEN AND MEASURES 477

the sovereignty or political independence of the kingdom, so that
the Norwegian people could manage their own affairs without any.
interference from Swedish authorities, a right which Norway un-
questionably possessed. This was a clear statement of the nature
of the union and the rights which Norway expected to maintain and
enjoy in the new relation. Hjelm was welcomed as a leader, but
the Storthing did not dare to accept his logical and clearly outlined
national program. Regarding the all-important question of the
relation of the two kingdoms in the union there still existed much
uncertainty among the representatives, and they sought to dodge
the question which had been raised by resorting to temporary make-
shifts. Sweden had requested Norway to pay to the Swedish treasury
her full share of the expenses connected with the diplomatic service.
This request was not fully complied with, but the Storthing voted
to increase the contribution, a half measure which for the moment
evaded the issue.

At the time when Wergeland began his great struggle against
the Intelligence party and the privileges of the upper classes, the
binder were also roused to greater activity in political life by one
of their own class, John Neergaard, from Nordm0r in western Nor-
way. Neergaard, who had been a representative in the Storthing
in 1827, traveled through the country, and assembled the binder to
political meetings, where he spoke to them on the political issues.
He also sold his book, "Olaboka," in which he described the hard
times, showing that these were due to the upper classes, who had
hitherto had the power in the Storthing, and had used it to increase
the taxes. His campaign was so successful that of ninety-six repre-
sentatives elected to the Storthing in 1833 forty-five were b^nder,^
and as they could count on support from several representatives
from the rural districts who did not belong to their own class, and
also from some of the representatives from the cities, they had a
majority in the national legislature for the first time. Besides John
Neergaard himself and other leaders among the binder, like Teis
Lundegaard, who had been a member of the Eidsvold Constituent
Assembly, Ole Haagenstad,^ who had been a representative in the

1 Halvdan Koht, Bondestrid, p. 70 ff.

2 Henrik Wergeland, Samlede Skrifter, vol. VIII., p. 1 ff.

478 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE Q

Storthing of 1815, and Fauchald from Toten, who was now elected
for the first time, Johan Gabriel Ueland, who became the great
leader of the binder in the Storthing, was also elected. Ueland was
a self-made man, a born leader, a clever tactician, skillful in debate,
with a penetrating, logical mind; always careful, pursuing a diplo-
macy tinged with cunning. He did not possess the statesmanlike
views of Hjelm, and he cared little for the questions arising from
Norway's relation to Sweden. He directed his attention mainly
to the internal affairs, and to the organization of the binder into polit-
ical opposition to the ofiicial class. In this field of work he showed
exceptional ability. It was his aim from the outset to limit the power
of the officials, and to carry into effect the system of democratic
government also in local affairs.

The "Code of Christian V." had destroyed all self-government in
the rural communities. The people no longer assembled at the thing,
unless they were summoned by royal order for some specific purpose.^
The lagrette was no longer selected from the best binder for life, but
for a year at the time, and they had ceased to be the people's spokes-
men and leaders. All local government was conducted by the ami-
mcBTid and fogeds; for although the people were often consulted on
minor matters, especially in church affairs, they exercised but small
influence on the administration of public affairs. The Eidsvold
constitution of 1814 wrought no change in the system of local admin-
istration, but since a democratic national government had been
established, it was a manifest anomaly that the old bureaucratic
system should still prevail in local government. Until the people
could govern themselves in local as well as in national matters, the
principle of popular sovereignty could not be said to be realized.

Attempts made in 1821 and 1830 to secure local self-government
had failed, but in 1833 the matter became the campaign issue, and
as the binder secured a majority of the representatives, the passage
of the measure in some form was assured. The king, who attempted
by his proposed amendments to the constitution to destroy the peo-
ple's sovereignty in the national government, was naturally opposed
to popular government in local affairs, but in order to forestall a
more radical measure, he proposed a plan of local administration

1 T. H. Aschehoug, De norske Communers Betsforfatningffh' 1837, p. 182.

II POLITICAL PROGRESS. NEW MEN AND MEASURES 479

which would still leave the people almost powerless. The ministry
also submitted a plan which would grant the local authorities more
power, but the measure passed by the Storthing gave the people
more complete control of local affairs, and it was accordingly vetoed
by the king. The aim of the supporters of the measure would now
be to secure its passage according to article seventy-nine of the consti-
tution, which would make it a law without the king's sanction. In
1836 the binder again secured a majority in the Storthing, and their
leaders Hjelm, Ueland, Fauchald, and Neergaard were all returned.
Before the new Storthing assembled, a commission had been appointed
to investigate the matter of popular local self-government. This
commission proposed a very liberal plan, and as the king was per-
suaded to yield, this was submitted to the consideration of the Stor-
thing, apparently with good chances of being passed.

Another equally important issue brought before the Storthing
in 1836 was the principle so clearly set forth by Jonas Anton Hjelm
regarding Norway's equality with Sweden in the union, and the
right of the Norwegian people to manage their own national affairs
without interference from Swedish state authorities. This very
fundamental issue, together with a proper system of local self-govern-
ment and the exercise by the people of their political rights accord-
ing to the spirit of the constitution, was the national political pro-
gram of Wergeland and Hjelm. It is clear that this was a very sound
and conservative position, that they only sought to make operative
the principles and institutions which had been most solemnly estab-
lished, and that they deserved the support of all loyal men. But
the binder did not understand Hjelm's broad-minded statesmanship.
They regarded themselves as belonging to his party while he was
aiding them in securing the passage of the bill for local self-govern-
ment, but they had failed to support him in 1830 and likewise, also,
in 1833. The Norwegian ministry had even surrendered the very
principles for which he contended by resorting to a compromise with
the king, by which they imagined that they would make a substan-
tial gain, when, in fact, they only acknowledged Norway's inferiority
to Sweden, and gave up the strong position taken by Hjelm. In 1834
they addressed a memorial to the king, in which they made certain
demands, which were, in part, granted. By a royal resolution of

480 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

April 13, 1835, it was stipulated that the Norwegian minister of
state in Stockholm should be present when Norwegian diplomatic
affairs, or diplomatic matters of interest to both kingdoms, were
considered by the Cabinet Council for Foreign Affairs, which was
otherwise a purely Swedish institution. By resolutions of 1836 it
was also provided that Norwegian consuls should be appointed with
the advice of the Swedish-Norwegian ministry, and that they should
take their oath of office as Norwegian officials. But this arrange-
ment only accentuated the inferiority of Norway.^ The Swedish
minister of state should preside even when purely Norwegian matters
were considered, and even then the Swedish ministers were in the
majority. When Swedish affairs were considered, the Norwegian
minister should not be present. It must be regarded as weak and
reprehensible statesmanship, that the Norwegian government asked
as a concession from the king what they already possessed as a full
right according to the constitution, and that they were willing to
surrender so important a principle, in order to obtain a concession
which practically amounted to nothing whatsoever.

It had been decided in 1833 that Hjehn's plan should be sub-
mitted to the following Storthing, and the matter was, accordingly,
brought up in 1836, but not in the original form and spirit. Other
liberal leaders, like S0renssen, Hoist, and Rye, who were more in-
clined to compromise, assimaed management of affairs, and Hjelm,
who undoubtedly saw that the time had not come when such a policy
would gain general support, made no effort to secure the passage of
his measure. The other leaders, who also wished to maintain the
principle of equality between the two kingdoms, centered their
efforts on obtaining the passage of a law which should insure the use
of the Norwegian flag of the same design as at present in all parts
of the world. Because no treaty had been concluded between Nor-
way and the Barbary States, it had hitherto been necessary to sub-
stitute the Swedish flag with the union sign for the Norwegian south
of Cape Finisterre, in order to avoid attack from the pirates. A
memorial was also to be addressed to the king in regard to a Norwe-
gian man-of-war flag. Hitherto a Swedish flag with a union sign,

* B. Dunker, Om Revision af Foreningsakten mellem Sverige og Norge, p. 7 ff.
T. H. Aschehoug, Norges nuvcerende Statsforfatning, vol. I., p. 60.

n POLITICAL PROGRESS. NEW MEN AND MEASURES 481

consisting of a white cross in a red field, had been used on Norwegian
fortresses and war vessels, a manifest symbol of Swedish overlord-
ship.^ But before the pending measures could be acted upon, the
king suddenly prorogued the Storthing, an unexpected and extraor-
dinary step, which he claimed was made necessary by the hostile
attitude of Russia. No evidence, however, can be adduced to show
that Russia paid any attention whatever to the measures introduced
in the Norwegian Storthing. The statement must be regarded as a
subterfuge, by which he sought to conceal the real reason — his own
determined opposition to all measures aiming at asserting Norway's
sovereign rights and equality with Sweden. Even though surprised,
the Storthing acted with calmness and dignity. During the last
moments of the session which came to so abrupt a close, the Odels-
thing passed a bill impeaching the minister of state L0venskiold,
who had not opposed the step taken by the king. The reactionary
minister suffered the humiliation of being found guilty of a mis-
demeanor, and of being sentenced to pay a fine of 1000 specie daler,
together with part of the cost. The king was very angry, because
the Storthing had again ventured to use its power of impeachment
against one of his advisers, but as he had abandoned the idea of
forcibly overthrowing the government, the episode closed without
further complications.

After the death of B. B. von Platen the office of statholder had
remained vacant, but in 1836 the king appointed as a new incumbent
Count Wedel-Jarlsberg, a choice in every way agreeable to the Norwe-
gian people. They rejoiced to see one of their leading men in this
important office, but they hated the office itself, since it put the
stamp of dependence and inferiority upon their country, and its
abolition soon became a national issue. In the fall of the year the
Storthing was assembled in extra session, and the measures pending
at the time of adjournment were again introduced. The bill estab-
lishing popular local self-government was passed, and it received the
king's signature, January 14, 1837. This great measure, constituting
a bulwark of democratic liberty second in importance only to the con-
stitution itself, had finally become a law.^ It made the old thinglag,

1 C. J. Anker, Tegninger af Norges Flag.

2 Storthings Efterretninger, vol. II., p. 535 ff., 814 fif. ; vol. III., p. 561 flf.

VOL. II — 2 1

482 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

or local administrative districts, in most instances identical with the
parishes, and called them formandskabs-distrikter, a name which
was changed to herred in 1863. The people of each herred should
elect a herredsstyre, or body of select men, of not less than twelve or
more than forty-eight members. This body chooses one-fourth of
their members as a committee, formandskab, which together with the
magistrate detennines what improvements are to be undertaken by
the herred each year, and what taxes are to be levied. All matters
of common interest to the herreds are decided by the amtsthingy
which consists of the chairmen of the herredsstyre in all herreds in
the ami, with the amtmand acting as chairman.

Hj elm's policy aiming at establishing a diplomatic and consular
service in harmony with Norway's dignity as a sovereign power did
not receive general support, but a memorial was addressed to the
king, showing how the equality of the two kingdoms established by
the constitution and Act of Union had hitherto been ignored in prac-
tice. Norway had no man-of-war flag, Sweden's name always pre-
ceded that of Norway on all seals and documents, and the foreign
and diplomatic affairs of both kingdoms were exclusively in the hands
of Sweden. Pursuant to the views expressed in this memorial, a
government bill was introduced in the Storthing, February 14, 1837,
providing for the creation of two committees with an equal number
of Swedish and Norwegian members, the one to consider the question
of a separate Norwegian man-of-war flag, the other what modifications
of the constitution and the Act of Union would be necessary in order
that foreign affairs could be conducted in a manner agreeing with
Norway's right as a sovereign state. The bill regarding the exclusive
use of the Norwegian merchant flag in the Norwegian merchant
marine on all seas was also pending. By a royal decree issued April
11, 1838, it was finally ordained that the Norwegian merchant flag
should be used in all waters. This was the only direct result of H jelm 's
efforts to maintain Norway's sovereign rights in the union. It was
not a great triumph, but it was hailed as a very welcome victory,^
especially by the political leaders, who could point to it as a result of
their efforts to promote the welfare of their constituents.

1 H. J. Nsess, Flagsagens Historie. Henrik Wergeland's poems : Hurra
for Jonas Anton Hjelm. Nu hvil dig^ Borger I det er forljenl.

II POLITICAL PROGRESS. NEW MEN AND MEASURES 483

Hitherto Charles John had exercised a strong personal rule. The
ministers had, indeed, acted as his advisers, but they had been so
dominated by his strong will that they had been able to exert but
small influence. The two last Swedish incumbents in the office of
statholder, Sandels and Platen, also acted as his personal adherents,^
and sought to make the royal power supreme in the government.
These conditions had proven very unfavorable to the development
of democratic institutions and popular government, but the selection
of Count Wedel-Jarlsberg as statholder wrought a marked change,
though it is quite certain that the king did not intend to alter his
policy. Even as minister of finance. Count Wedel had exercised
such influence in the ministry that he was regarded as its real head,
but as statholder he also became minister of state, and as a leading
Norwegian statesman he could lend great support to the pending
issues. No one had played a more conspicuous part in political
affairs than Wedel, but in the Eidsvold Constituent Assembly he
advocated the consolidation of Norway and Sweden under a common
government with a joint system of taxation and finance, and as the
independence party prevailed, he became unpopular. For a few
years he was pushed into the background, but his great ability as
minister of finance brought him again into prominence. That he
was a loyal patriot could not be doubted. After the union with
Sweden he earnestly supported the constitution, he opposed the
amendments proposed by Charles John, and as statholder he was
ready to uphold to thelull extent the rights of the Norwegian people.
In the performance of the duties of his high office he showed great
tact and ability, good judgment, and regard for the opinions of his
colleagues. "Wedel gave the administration dignity, life, and sys-
tem," writes a contemporary. "No one was better qualified to be
a leader." ^ His second ministry developed sufficient independence

1 Yugvar Nielsen, Wedel-Jarlsberg, vol. III., p. 180. J. E. Sars, Norges
politiske Historie 1815-1885, p. 274 ff. F. Bsetzmann, Det norske Statsraad.

2 Vogts Optegnelser, quoted by J. E. Sars, Norges politiske Historie, p. 275.
F. Bsetzmann, Dei norske Statsraad, p. 49 ff.

"At the time when Wedel was minister, and I was secretary of state,
I had learned to esteem his great ability, quick perception, and more than
ordinary knowledge in different fields; and after he became head of the
ministry, I was forced to admire the self-control and rare conduct which he
exhibited on so many occasions," writes Paul Christian Hoist. "He con-

484 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

to exert a definite influence on the government as a connecting link
between the king and the people. The time had come when the
ministry was becoming the organ of the sovereign will of the nation,
whose wish the king would not dare to ignore. Time and circum-
stances had also wrought a change in the attitude of Charles John
to his Norwegian subjects. In Sweden he had been attacked by a
vituperative pamphleteer, M. J. Crusenstolpe, and the press had
wounded the feelings of the sensitive king by its rather hostile tone,
while the Norwegians had always spoken of him in the most endear-
ing terms. In 1838 he made a prolonged visit in Norway, and he
was greatly pleased with the enthusiastic loyalty shown him. He
had always coveted popularity, and never had the words of flattery
been more pleasing than now when old age had turned his vision
backward upon the events of a most remarkable career. He found
that the Norwegians were very loyal and agreeable, that they knew
how to appreciate his ability and great achievements, and he was
more inclined to listen to their demands than hitherto. The reins
were slipping from his hands, and the ministry gradually began to
exert a leading influence in shaping the policy of government. It
might seem that the time had come when an attempt would be made
to establish the necessary safeguards for Norway's rights as a sover-
eign power, but the progress was halted by the reactionary spirit of
the age.

The national movement led by Wergeland and Hjelm had grown
out of a strong liberal idealism, and it had created issues which the
conservative upper classes opposed, and which the binder had failed
to understand. The people had, indeed, been roused to participation
in political life, important measures like local self-government and a
Norwegian national flag had been carried through, but the liberal
tidal wave had already spent its force, and many of the most impor-
tant features of the national program stranded on the shoals of re-
actionary public sentiment. In France the agitation carried on by

ducted the deliberations of the ministry with gjeat wisdom; he sought to
harmonize conflicting views and to create concord. In order to accomplish
this he sometimes sacrifloed even his own opinion, as he undoubtedly knew
that frequent minority reports would weaken the recommendations of the
ministry ; and I am fully convinced that in his reports to the king he never
sought to oppose the opinion once agreed upon." Efterladte Optegnelser, p. 276 f.

II POLITICAL PROGRESS. NEW MEN AND MEASURES 485

the radicals for the economic emancipation of the lower classes, and
their defiance of all established rules and authorities, caused society
to react for its own protection. Liberalism was branded as lawless-
ness, and peace and social order became the slogan. In Norway
this new reaction received a ready welcome, not only among the
official class, but even among the binder, who still clung with char-
acteristic conservatism to the old order of things. Faithful obedi-
ence to the established rules was once more regarded as the highest
civic virtue. In literature the regular rhythm and polished verse of
Welhaven were preferred to the more original and irregular style
of Wergeland. "Statsborgeren," the only oppositional paper, had
to be discontinued in 1837 for want of subscribers, and in the election
of 1839 fifty-two officials and only thirty-five binder were returned
to tlie Storthing. The autocratic upper class had won a decided
victory. The leaders of the binder, Ueland, Fauchald, Neergaard,
and Haagenstad, had been reelected, but the liberalist leader, Hjelm,
refused to accept reelection, as he felt convinced that he could accom-
plish nothing against the reactionary majority. More conservative
men like S0renssen, Foss, and Riddervold became leaders in the Stor-
thing. S0renssen had become a conservative, Foss, " the idol of the
nation," pursued a middle-of-the-road policy, and tried to bring
about a reconciliation between the adherents of Wergeland and Wel-
haven, while the somber and dignified Riddervold was opposed to
liberalist agitation both from principle and temperament. The issues
which had been raised by Hjelm were allowed to rest. The Stor-
thing of 1839 devoted its attention to economic questions and rou-
tine affairs about which no serious controversy could arise, and no
stormy party debates disturbed the peace and quiet of the assembly.
The king's constitutional amendments were, nevertheless, voted
down as usual, and a new attempt was also made to repeal the Con-
venticle Act of 1741, which restricted religious liberty by forbidding
laymen to preach the gospel. Under this act Hans Nielsen Hauge
had been prosecuted and imprisoned, and it was justly regarded as
a remnant of absolutism wholly foreign in spirit to the free insti-
tutions of Norway. A bill for the repeal of this law, passed in 1836,
had been vetoed by the king, and when it was passed a second time
in 1838 in the same form, the king again vetoed the measure.

486 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

In 1840 Count Wedel-Jarlsberg died, and King Charles John
appointed as his successor another Norwegian nobleman, L0ven8kiold,
at that time Norwegian minister of state in Stockholm. The choice
was undoubtedly made with the best intention, but it was less wel-
come than that of his popular predecessor. L0venskiold was a man
of limited talents and haughty bearing, who took a delight in being
unpopular, and in thwarting the will of the people. He had advised
the king to prorogue the Storthing; he had opposed the local self-
government bill, and though he had held a number of high offices, it
was generally thought that his arrogance far exceeded the services
which he had rendered the state. His chief associate in the ministry
was J. H. Vogt, a capable official, who usually succeeded in carrying
through the measures which he happened to favor. He could give
the ministry the character of trustworthy administrative ability,
but in his official duties as well as in character he was a spiritless
pedant and typical reactionary, who never strayed from the old
bureaucratic routine.^ Both were ultra-conservative in their views,
and sought to revive as far as possible the political policies and
administrative practices of a bygone age. But as no organized
party of opposition existed, the Vogt-L0venskiold ministry remained
in power during a long period.

The Storthing of 1842 was of the same general complexion as
the one of 1839. The official class again received a safe majority,
the elections returning fifty of their class and only forty-two binder.
The great issues were again carefully avoided, and attention was
directed exclusively to such practical affairs as would arouse no
serious conflict. The bill for the repeal of the Conventicle Act was
passed a third time, and became a law without the king's signature.
The adoption of a new criminal code was also a much needed reform,
but the most important legislative work accomplished by this Stor-
thing was the passage of laws establishing freedom of trade and in-
dustry. These laws were originated by A. M. Schweigaard, promi-
nent as leader of the Intelligence party in the Wergeland-Welhaven
controversy, who now appeared in the Storthing for the first time
together with another new leader, Ludvig Kr. Daa, one of Werge-
land's leading supporters. Both were very gifted men and editors

^ Thv. Boeok, StcUaraad Jfirgen Herman Vogt.

II POLITICAL PE0GRES8. NEW MEN AND MEASURES 487

of the leading party organs, Daa of " Granskeren, " and Schweigaard
of "Den Constitutionelle." And as they had been opponents in
their student days because of different poHtical and Hterary views,
they found a new battleground on the floor of the Storthing. Hjelm
had also been elected, but he was too feeble to take any active part
in the work, and the leadership of the liberal faction naturally de-
volved on Daa, whose paper, "Granskeren," had become the organ
of the opposition. Daa and his followers were accused of radicalism,
but he had adopted the program of the Whig party of England, and,
judged by modern standards, his liberalist ideas must be regarded
as very moderate. He advocated a parliamentary form of govern-
ment, the participation of the ministers in the deliberations of the
Storthing, unrestricted religious liberty, the introduction of the
jury system, and the maintenance of Norway's political independence
in the union, measures which became the future political program
of Norway, and which, in time, were carried through in conformity
with the growth of democratic ideas. He opposed the bureaucratic
spirit of the government, but he was distinctly conservative when
he opposed complete industrial freedom and the parceling out of
the lands of the binder, which, in course of time, would have destroyed
their power as a privileged class of landed proprietors.

Schweigaard was a man of extraordinary ability, but he was a
learned jurist and political economist rather than a statesman. As
professor of jurisprudence he had won a great and well-merited repu-
tation. "The students of jurisprudence," says Sars, "were the
leaders in academic and fashionable circles in the capital, and to
them Schweigaard was the teacher and master above all others.
He possessed to an eminent degree the qualities of the distinguished
practical jurist — lucidity of thought, precision, sober realistic
judgment, the ability to criticise and to analyze every question of
jurisprudence so that the characteristic features could come clearly
to view in every instance. He represented in such a perfect and
almost ideal way the jurist's view of life and society that by his
younger colleagues he was regarded as a sort of oracle, by whose
words they could swear without further investigation." ^ In poli-

1 J. E. Sars, Norges poUtiske Historie 1815-1885, p. 299. Ebbe Hertzberg,
Nordmcend i det 19de Aarhundrede, A. M. Schweigaard.

488 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

tics he was a Conservative, representing views akin to those of
L0venskiold and Vogt, and it was certain that he would be opposed
to the issues raised by the HberaUsts relative to Norway's rights
in the union. But as political scientist he held very advanced views,
and in this field he rendered his country services which proved to
be of epoch-making importance. As member of the royal commis-
sions appointed in 1838 and 1839 to revise the laws of commerce,
and to readjust the tariff schedules, he elaborated a system of free
trade which he succeeded in incorporating in the new tariff law of
1842. The principle of free competition in trade and industry was
now substituted for the mercantile system of protective tariff, trade
monopolies, and special privileges hitherto adhered to. In the field
of economics Schweigaard was so opposed to all artificial restraint
that even Daa, who was in favor of free industry in a general way,
regarded him as a radical whose views were revolutionary. But
the principle of free competition once established brought about a
rapid increase in the volume of trade, and laid the foundation for a
new era of prosperity, so sorely needed in Norway at that time. A
measure like the new tariff law was passed without much opposition,
as it harmonized with the views and business spirit of the age. A
betterment of conditions after so serious a financial and industrial
depression must have appeared like a godsend, and Schweigaard
became the hero who was able to lead the nation out of the slough
of economic despond. Daa was less fortunate. The political policy
of which he became the advocate could reckon but few supporters.
It embraced the same views which Wergeland and Hjelm had sought
in vain to make the platfonn of a strong liberal party organization ;
but the hinder had failed to grasp the significance of these issues, and
as their group in the Storthing formed an organized opposition of
which Daa became one of the leaders, he was no better situated than
Hjelm had been before him, nor did he become any more successful.
All important measures which he advocated, the binder refused to
support. Even a proposed amendment to the constitution for the
repeal of the article excluding the Jews from the kingdom was vigor-
ously resisted. Their narrow-minded policy of promoting the inter-
ests only of their own class made the organization of a liberal party
impossible, and forced Daa like Hjelm into tragic poUtical isolation.

II OSCAR I. ROMANTICISM AND PAN-SCANDINAVIANISM 489

The binder were yet too wrapped up in their old class hatreds, too
clannish, and too jealous of their own special rights to understand
Daa's statesmanlike policy, or to attempt to consolidate all available
forces into a strong liberal party.

59. Oscar I. Romanticism and Pan-Scandinavianism

The struggle between the king and the Storthing, which once occu-
pied the attention of all political leaders in Norway, had now sub-
sided, partly because of the more conciliatory attitude of the aged
king, but partly also because of the reactionary character of the
ministry and the Storthing, and when Charles John died, March 8,
1844, at the age of eighty, he was deeply mourned by all parties
and classes. His successor, Oscar I., who was forty-five years of age,
was in every way a contrast to his robust, majestic, impulsive, and
energetic father. He was very quiet, thin, pale, and of a sickly
appearance. He had visited Norway several times. For a period
he had even been viceroy. He was well known, but because of his
quiet ways no one knew his views, and it was generally feared that
he was in sympathy with the Swedish aristocracy, who were believed
to entertain no friendly feelings for the liberal political institutions
of Norway. P. C. Hoist, member of the Norwegian ministry in
Stockholm, says that during Charles John's last illness their conversa-
tion often centered on the very improbable supposition that the
crown prince might wish to play the same role in Norway as did
King Ernest in Hanover ; that he might refuse to take an oath on
the constitution, unless some modifications were made in it, as, for
example, that the king should receive absolute veto. "That we
could suppose anything of the kind," he says, "or even entertain a
thought of the possibility, was due to our knowledge of the hostile
attitude of the Swedish aristocracy, and, perhaps, in part also to the
reticence which the crown prince, no doubt from good policy, al-
ways maintained towards all Norwegians. We also agreed upon
what we should do if so unexpected a situation should develop." ^
Oscar I. proved, however, to be a fair-minded and well-intentioned
king. He did not venture upon great undertakings, but even his
first acts as ruler served to dispel all lingering mistrust. So soon

1 P. C. Hoist, Efterladte Optegnelser, p. 314 f.

490 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

as he had taken his oath as king, he issued an order that in all Norwe-
gian documents the name of Norway should precede that of Sweden,
and not long afterward it was decreed that on the union coat of arms
the Norwegian coat of arms should occupy one-half instead of one-
third of the field as hitherto. Norway also received her own man-of-
war flag. These concessions, which the king called his dowry to
the Norwegian people, were of importance as showing his good in-
tentions, but their real value was materially reduced, since they were
to be looked upon as a present from the king rather than as a right
justly claimed by Norway as a sovereign kingdom. The not very
welcome provision was also attached that a union sign should be
inserted in all flags both in Norway and Sweden.

It has already been observed that after the political reaction had
ended the storm and stress caused by the clashes of parties and the
animated discussions of great issues in the Storthing, an era of peace
and good feeling, such as Welhaven had been longing for, finally
came. The Patriot agitation had died away, the ultra-national pro-
gram had, for the time being, lost its charm, and the Intelligence
party could cultivate "good taste" practically unopposed. Their
society "Kringla" dominated social life in the capital, and no sound
of robust laughter or noise of national merrymaking was allowed
to penetrate to their exclusive and refined morning and evening par-
ties. Only the most conservative refinement and the taste for
foreign elegance could be tolerated in these 61ite circles, where the
life of Paris and Copenhagen was reproduced even in manners and
conversation. The social tone harmonized with the general revival
of aristocratic spirit. In literature a similar love of polished con-
formity to rule prevailed, as the younger poets had accepted the
poetic-aesthetic views of Welhaven, who acted as the arbiter ele-
gantiarum of the upper classes.

But the intellectual forces, which had been stimulated to activity
by the events of 1814 and the great patriotic revival of Henrik Werge-
land, were producing a new creative epoch in Norwegian art and
literature. The dreamy mysticism of the romanticists had also
reached Norway. Their love of heroic traditions of the past, of the
sentimental, the supernatural, became associated with an intense
interest in nature, and the admiration for the national customs and

PLATE XIV

n OSCAR I. ROMANTICISM AND PAN-SCANDINAVIANISM 491

rural virtues of the common people so diligently fostered by Henrik
Wergeland, The young artists and writers turned with rapture to
their own picturesque mountain scenery, and the charming free-
dom and simplicity of the rural life among the pineclad mountains,
where folk-songs and fairy-tales lived on the people's lips like a foun-
tain of poesy which had welled in primeval purity from remote ages.
Welhaven himself had prophesied that there the sources of true
poesy were to be found, and he led the way into the new region of
art in his ballads, in which he expressed with rare truth and beauty
the dramatic episodes and deep feeling of the popular traditions.
Gradually the rich stores of folk-literature were discovered, like some
prehistoric mound made to yield its unique treasures. In 1833
A. Faye published his "Norske Folkesagn," traditions from early
times, which still lived among the people. These echoes from the
past were given a warm welcome by the romanticists, and Welhaven
chose from this work the themes for many of his ballads and romances.
In 1840 J0rgen Moe published a small collection of folk-songs, "Norske
Viser og Stev," but far more important is M. B. Landstad's great
collection, " Norske Folkeviser, " which appeared in 1853, and Sophus
Bugge's smaller collection, "Gamle norske Folkeviser," of 1858.
Landstad, who was clergyman at Kviteseid, and later at Seljord and
Fredrikshald, was a gifted poet, and he is especially noted as a psalm-
ist. His hymnbook is still in universal use in Norway, and is regarded
as a work of rare excellence.

For some years the two friends J0rgen Moe and P. Chr, As-
bj0rnsen had been engaged in collecting fairy-tales, and in 1842 they
began the publication of their first collection, " Norske Folkeeventyr
samlede og fortalte af Asbj0rnsen og Moe." At first the literary
circles were skeptical, as they considered these stories a literature
only fit for the nursery, but the skepticism vanished when they dis-
covered in these tales the humor, poesy, and fascinating life of the
common people, and learned to know Norway as the land of charming
scenery, such as they had never before seen. Every year during the
summer months the two friends traveled through the more remote
districts in search of new stories, but in 1853 Moe abandoned the
work to accept a curacy in Sigdal. In 1863 he became clergyman in
Drammen, and later bishop of the diocese of Christiansand. He was

492 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

a gifted poet, and though his poetical works are not voluminous,
they contain many highly cherished productions. Asbj0rnsen, who
was a natural scientist, and loved to roam about in the mountains
and forests, continued the work begun by the two. He advanced
beyond the views and tastes of the romanticists, as he acquired a more
thorough knowledge both of nature and of the life of the people,
and in his "Norske Huldreeventyr og Folkesagn" ^ he contributed
a series of sketches and short stories in which he depicts nature and
the life of the people with charming realism. The work is of such
rare excellence that it surpasses anything written in that field by his
contemporaries. Through the work especially of Asbj0rnsen and
Moe the doors were opened to the charming mountain scenery and
tranquil peasant life of Norway. The vast perpetual snowfields on
the inland mountain plateau, the J^tunheim, were discovered, and
tourist life took its beginning. The city people, who hitherto had
scarcely been known to cross their own city limits, now spent the
summer among the mountains, where new raptures met the eye at
every turn. Poets and prose writers like B. Herre, Andreas Munch,
P. A. Jensen, Theodor Kjerulf, C. P. Riis, Nicolai 0stgaard, Hans
Schultze, and other members of the romantic school, had become
charmed with the thought of nature and the quaint fairy (Hulder)
who herded her cattle in the woods, and paid her mystic visits to
the herdsmen and the dairymaid when night threw her mantle over
the mountains, or when the sun smiled among the trees in the forest.
When the evening shadows fell, the Fossegrim could be heard play-
ing his fiddle in the waterfall, and the love-sick N^k would sob beside
the brook. These ideas of the common people, now for the first
time revealed to the imagination of the cultured classes in the midst
of so unique a natural scenery, proved to be a most powerful stimulus
to poetic sentiment. The better they learned to know the hitherto
unknown common people, the more of old art and culture they found
to study and to preserve. The folk-melodies, no less charming than
the folk-tales, were collected by L. M. Lindeman, and soon their
quaint strains were reechoed in the musical compositions of Nord-
raak, Halvdan Kjerulf, and Ole Bull.^ The arts of woodcarving,

* Henrik Jseger, Norske Forfattere.

* Nordmcend i del 19de Aarhundrede, Ole Bull, Hcdvdan Kjerulf.

PLATE XV

'S^

'' tfnPI

■'^•i

J0RGEN Mob.

P. Chr. Asbj0rnsen.

IVAR AaSEN.

A. O. ViNJE.

n OSCAR I. ROMANTICISM AND PAN-SCANDINAVIANISM 493

tapestry weaving, rose painting, and the like, which flourished among
the binder, were made subjects of special study, and became the
source of new inspiration in national painting and decorative art.
In architecture a new departure was created through the study of
the distinctively Norwegian style of wood architecture especially
developed in the old wooden churches, of which many are still found
in the mountain valleys of Norway.^ In 1844 a society, Foreningen
til norske Fortidsmindesmerkers Bevaring, was organized to preserve
these venerable structures from destruction or decay. The new
intellectual awakening caused by the national regeneration had
produced a creative era in every field. The art of painting also
received its masters. J. C. Dahl, Hans Gude, and Adolph Tide-
mand painted the scenery of fjords and mountains, national costumes,
life, and character (^ the people with unexcelled beauty of composi-
tion and delicacy of coloring. The national spirit had asserted its
own sovereignty, and whatever might be the opinion regarding litera-
ture and art as such, the view of Henrik Wergeland that all true
national development must spring from the people's own thought
and sentiment could no longer be a subject of controversy.

Where the poets and artists led the way, the more analytic spirit
of scientific research followed, as the new material which had sud-
denly been brought to light offered rare opportunities for scholarly
activity in many fields, especially in archaeology, philology, folklore,
and mythology. Especially noteworthy are two distinctively new
movements which developed under the influence of romanticism,
but which soon found their own paths, and continued to grow, wholly
independent of it. Being devoted to critical research, these pene-
trated deeper, and were able to show the continuity of the historical
development of the Norwegian people, and their former literary and
intellectual achievements, at that time greatly obscured and generally
misunderstood because of Norway's unfortunate position during
the long union with Denmark. These movements were the Norwe-
gian historical school, developed by R. Keyser and P. A. Munch,
and the national linguistic movement, originated by the philologist
Ivar Aasen. Keyser and Munch had become coworkers in the

1 L. Dietrichson, De norske Stavkirker; Vore Fcedres Verk, Norges Kunst i
Middelalderen.

494 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

field of Norwegian history.^ Keyser, who was appointed lecturer
in history, and later professor in the University of Christiania, intro-
duced the study of Old Norse language and literature, and exerted
great influence, as well through his carefully prepared lectures as
through his historical works. He was the originator of the new theory
regarding the prehistoric migrations to the Scandinavian peninsula,
which, though no longer regarded as the correct view, proved to be
a valuable working hypothesis. It attempted to show that the
Norwegians from the most remote times had been a distinct people,
even because of their origin, since they were supposed to have come
from the regions east of the Baltic, and not from the south, as hitherto
believed. It did great service by destroying the older and wholly
unscientific views of the Danish historian Suhm, and by placing
historical research on a strictly scientific basis. His pupil and
younger associate, P. A. Munch, seems for a time to have shared his
opinions on all essential points, but he soon passed beyond his older
associate to more advanced views. Munch possessed most remark-
able talents and versatility. Not only is he the most voluminous
writer in Norwegian literature, though he died in his fifty-third year,
but his capacity for work, his memory, his intuitive insight and
ability to trace the hidden meaning in every old relic and manuscript
were all alike extraordinary. When we consider, not only his his-
torical writings, but also his work as critical scholar in various fields,
the tribute paid him on a later occasion by his erstwhile opponent
the Danish scholar C. A. E. Jessen that he was "the greatest historian
in the North" seems well merited. In the fields of archeeology,
geography, mythology, philology, and runology he carried on ex-
tensive original research, and contributed works of great value.
But more important still are his treatises on various historical prob-
lems, in four large volumes, his critical editions of numerous historical
sources, a work in which he and Keyser cooperated with C. R. Unger,
and his discovery and collection of new sources, especially in the
archives of the Vatican. His chief work, "Det norske Folks His-

1 P. A. Munch, Om den saakaldte historiske Skole t Norge. J. E. Sars,
Samlede Verker, vol. IV., p. 192 £f. Chr. Brinchmann, P. A. Munch. Nord-
mand i del 19de Aarhundrede, P. A. Munch. Laura Larsen-Naur, P. A.
Munch, Levnet og Breve.

PLATE XVI

P. A. Munch.

Niels Henkik Abel.

Ole Bull.

Edvaud Grieg.

n OSCAR I. ROMANTICISM AND PAN-SCANDINAVIANISM 495

torie," in eight large octavo volumes, is a repository of scholarly
knowledge which will always continue to be one of the chief sources
of Norwegian history.^

It became Munch's great task to show Norway's true position
in the historical and cultural development of the North, to lift the
veil of obscurity which had fallen upon the nation because of un-
fortunate political circumstances in the union period. It had hitherto
been customary to regard the mythology, the Eddas, and sagas as
products of an ancient culture, produced by the Germanic spirit in
a past so remote that the Scandinavian race was still a unit. These
treasures were, therefore, regarded as a heritage common to all the
Northern peoples, in which, however, Norway was supposed to have
little or no share. Old scholars had developed a theory no longer
doubted at the time, that the Edda songs, the myths, and the sagas,
had originated as oral traditions in southern Sweden and the Danish
islands, the home and center of ancient Scandinavian culture, it
was thought, and that the already finished product had been acci-
dentally committed to writing in Norway and Iceland. This theory
Munch proved to be wholly untenable. He showed that the orig-
inal Northern tongue had been divided into three distinct dialects :
the old Norse (including the Old Icelandic), the Old Danish, and Old
Swedish ; that mythological and heroic traditions had been divided
in the same way, before the Edda mythology originated ; that it
is wholly Norwegian, and not a common Northern heritage. He
showed further that the myths, as they now exist, are of no very
great antiquity, but that many show distinct traces of Christian
influence. The Eddas and the sagas he proved to be purely Nor-
wegian-Icelandic literature, and showed that the theory of a joint
Northern heritage has to be wholly discarded. His views at first
caused most determined opposition, as they were regarded as revo-
lutionary, as an attempt to rob the sister nations of their proudest
possessions ; but his theory was soon confirmed by other distinguished

^ As a motto to this work he has chosen the following words from Nie-
buhr : ' ' Ich werde suchen die Kritik der Gesehichte nicht nach dunkelen
Gefiihlen, sondern forsohend, auszuftihren, nicht ihre Resultate, welche nur
blinde Meinungen stif ten, sondern die Untersuohungen selbst in ihren ganzen
Umfange fortragen."

496 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

scholars, like Konrad Maurer, Sophus Bugge, C. A. E. lessen, Finnur
Jonsson, and others. The Norwegian people thus entered into their
own possessions, and instead of being the poorest in ancient intel-
lectual culture, they had suddenly appeared as the richest. By the
verdict of the scholars they had been given full title to their own
past achievements, a fact which strengthened the national spirit,
and created new confidence in the worth of their own native culture.
This confidence was further strengthened through the national
linguistic movement originated by Ivar Aasen.

This untutored peasant boy, born in most humble circumstances,
too poor to attend school, rose by his own efforts and native genius
to be one of the most learned scholars and influential leaders of his
age. Professor Halvdan Koht says of him : " Ivar Aasen — scholar
and leader of the people — leader of the people because he was a
scholar — is so strange a phenomenon in history that it may well
cause wonder. A poor peasant boy, who never took a single exam-
ination, advances to leadership in philology, and brings a whole
new language into the realm of scientific study. This quiet, retiring
investigator originates a movement which divides a whole nation,
creates a new literature, stirs up a growing struggle in state and com-
munity, in church and school. One cannot understand the history
of Norway during the last sixty years without knowing Ivar Aasen,
the father of Norwegian philological study, of the Landstnaal and
the maalstrcev." ^

Aasen was born in 1813 in S0ndm0r.2 At the age of twelve he
became an orphan, and for the next five years he had to work on
the little homestead where he was reared. With passionate love
for study he read all the books to which he had any access, and in
1831 he was appointed teacher in his home parish. This gave him
better opportunity for study, and with the assistance of Provost
Thoresen, he devoted himself to the study of German, French,
English, and Latin. His favorite study was grammar, he writes
in his autobiography, and when in 1835 he became private tutor

* Symra, Decorah, la., vol. IX., p. 145 fif.

» Ivar Aasen, Skrifter i Samling, vol. I., p. 1 ff., Selvhiografi. Arne Garborg,
Anders Hovden, Halvdan Koht, Ivar Aasen, Ei Minneskrift um Livsverke
bans.

II OSCAR I. ROMANTICISM AND PAN-SCANDINAVIANISM 497

in the home of Chaplain Daa, he conceived the idea of attempting
to write the grammar of some language. "The language selected,"
he says, "was the one which I could call my own, and which I did
not find treated in any grammar. Why, I thought, are not the
Norwegian dialects treated like other languages? Why do we
not find grammatical works and dictionaries where the forms of the
words, their genders and conjugations, are given ? Is not our dialect
or the pure old Norwegian tongue worthy of more thorough investi-
gation? Such a work, I thought, can only be done by one who is
born in a peasant's cottage, and I will attempt it." In order to
better qualify himself for this task he also studied Old Norse and
Swedish, and in 1839 he wrote a grammar of his own dialect. He
also devoted himself to the study of botany, and gathered and classi-
fied a large collection of plants from his own neighborhood. A
desire to see the world, or rather, perhaps, a deep yearning to find
some suitable opportunity to employ his talents, drove him to visit
Bergen,^ where he was introduced to Bishop Neumann, who exam-
ined his grammar and herbarium. The bishop marveled at the
learning of the unschooled peasant lad, and wrote an article about
him in the "Bergen Stiftstidende." This attracted the attention of
the able philologist F. M. Bugge, rector of the cathedral school
in Trondhjem, who soon discovered in Ivar Aasen an extraordinary
linguistic talent, the kind of man he had been looking for, who could
devote himself to the study of the Norwegian dialects. He secured
for him a small yearly stipend from the Kongelige norske Videnskabs-
Selskah, of which he was the president, and during the next four years
Aasen traveled through nearly all parts of the country, studying the
dialects, and gathering material for his great works. In 1848 he
published "Det norske Folkesprogs Grammatik," and in 1850 ap-
peared his dictionary of the dialects, "Ordbog over det norske
Folkesprog," works which opened new domains for linguistic research,
and gave new vigor to the growing national spirit. Of the grammar
P. A. Munch said : " This work is not only an ornament to our litera-
ture, but it is a work of national importance, of which the whole
nation may well be proud. It reveals the Northern nationality of

^ Ivar Aasen, Dagbog paa en Reise til Bergen, Skrifter i Samling, vol. II.,
p. 75 ff.

VOL. II — 2 b:

498 HJ8T0BY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE ||

the Norwegian people more clearly than any work which has hitherto
appeared; it shows that the more than thousand-year-old Norse
tongue still lives among the people with a purity of accent which
we do not find even in Iceland. This we learn in such a way that we
not only have a vague feeling of it, as hitherto, but it is clearly, thor-
oughly, and systematically shown and proven, so that no shadow
of doubt can exist. . . . For us it is a source of pride and consola-
tion to know that in spite of unfortunate circumstances we have been
able to preserve our language in so original a form."

About Aasen's dictionary he wrote : " The dictionary furnishes proof
of the existence of the Old Norse language among us in an almost
unchanged form. It shows clearly that it is only the grammatical
forms which have disappeared from the now spoken language, while
nearly the whole vocabulary has been preserved unchanged. . . .
The dictionary in connection with the grammar is a national monu-
ment, to whose author every patriotic Norwegian owes the deepest
gratitude." In 1853 followed a third work : " Pr0ver af Landsmaalet
i Norge." "These three works," says Koht, "constitute the founda-
tion for his work. They contain both his great scholarly achievement
and his new linguistic program. They made him renowned; they
carried his name even to foreign lands, and laid the foundation for a
new national work." ^

Ivar Aasen was not only a scholar, but a patriot. He had begun
his career with a desire to see his own tongue accorded the same re-
spect as other languages, and his study of the dialects had shown
him that in them the old Norwegian language was still preserved.
Norse had once been the greatest literary language of the North;
why should it now be despised ? In the introduction to " Det norske
Folkesprogs Grammatik" he says : "This language might have been
cultivated as a literary language, and might have had a large litera-
ture ; but it may also for the present be regarded as the vernacular
of the common people without any literature. In all events this is
the true Norwegian language. We see no reason why it should be
regarded as inferior to Swedish or Danish ; we find no justification
for calling it undeveloped and unfit; for higher purposes. We can

1 Ivar Aasen, Atterffirsla, Skrifter i Samling, vol. II., p. 194 ft. Ivar Aasen
og Verket hans, Syn og Segn, August, 1913.

II OSCAR I. ROMANTICISM AND PAN-SCANDINAVIANISM 499

not understand that it should contribute to the honor of the common
people to despise this language, and to seek to change it for another."
Aasen studied the dialects, not only from scientific interest, but with
a fixed purpose to restore to the Norwegians their own language,
that also in this field they might enter into full possession of their
own. As early as 1836 he wrote in an article entitled "Om det
norske Sprog," that since the three Northern peoples can not have
the same language, each ought to have their own. "As we have
lately been freed from an overlordship of another kingdom," he says,
" and have the right to establish our own household, the time might
now be opportune to think of this." ^ In order to realize this plan
he not only collected the dialect words and idioms, but by selecting
the forms most commonly used, and the ones which corresponded
most closely to the Old Norse, he was able to systematize the dialects
into a uniform language — the Landsmaal. This language, which
contains as nearly as possible the essential features of all the dialects,
could readily be adopted by all, he thought. The people in the rural
districts would recognize it as their own tongue, and it would grad-
ually replace the official Danish language, which continued to be
Danish even though its vocabulary had been enriched by many Norwe-
gian words.

It was clear that the efforts to introduce the Landsmaal as the
oflicial and literary language would precipitate a struggle of the
most determined sort between the officials and the binder, or, rather,
between the city people, who favored the Danish-Norwegian official
language, and the country people, who spoke their own Norwegian
vernacular. The hinder demanded, not only their political rights
under the constitution, but they would also claim the right to use
their own language, and to have their own native culture duly re-
spected. This new issue, the maalstroBV, precipitated the conflict
between thfe binder and the officials on both flanks, so to speak, and
Aasen and Ueland, both of humble parentage, became the leaders
of the rural population in this cultural and political struggle.

If any one had doubted that a literature could be produced in the
Landsmaal, he was soon to be disillusioned. Aasen himself, who was
a gifted poet as well as a scholar, has left poetic works of rare value

1 Ivar Aasen, Skrifter i Samling, vol. III., p. 65,

500 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

written in this language. His somewhat younger contemporary,
A. O. Vinje, a peasant boy like himself, and one of the greatest lyric
poets in Northern literature, wrote exclusively in the Landsmaal.
Many authors both in prose and poetry soon appeared who gave
strength to the new movement. Hitherto unknown and unused
forces, which had been lying dormant in the people's national life
and character, had been stirred to creative activity by Aasen's work.
The revived national vigor had created new demands, but it also
added great treasures to the nation's store of intellectual culture.
The Landsmaal seems to have small chance of being adopted as the
language of Norway, but it has inaugurated a new development of
the Danish-Norwegian language which is constantly reducing the
chasm between the two forms of speech, and ultimately, it is hoped,
the two will merge in one literary language.^

Another movement quite closely associated with romanticism
was the Pan-Scandinavianism, which developed especially during this
period. The dream of a united North was to a large extent of a
sentimental nature. It flourished almost exclusively among the
students, and found nourishment in the same interest for the tradi-
tions of the past which formed the basis of the whole romantic
movement. In some respects, however, it was a revival in a new
form of a feeling which had grown strong on several earlier occasions,
that the Scandinavian North ought to stand united for its own pro-
tection. It has already been observed how the Danish historian F.
Sneedorff in 1792 had advocated a political Pan-Scandinavian pro-
gram, lest Russia and Germany should "join hands across the Baltic
Sea." Prominent men in all three countries supported the idea,
and the words Scandinavia, Scandinavian, and Scandia came into
common use at that tune.^ In 1809-1810 great enthusiasm was
developed for the union of the three kingdoms under one king, and
an attempt was made to elect King Frederick VI. of Denmark-Nor-
way successor to the Swedish throne. Again the fascinating thought
was eagerly supported by many of the ablest writers, especially by
N. F. S. Grundtvig, distinguished scholar and ecclesiastic, the man of

* Moltke Moe, Nationalitet og Kultur, Samtiden, January, 1909.
' Julius Clausen, Skandinavismen historisk fremstillet. J. L0vland, Den
politiske Skandinavisme, Samtiden, 1904.

n OSCAR I. ROMANTICISM AND PAN-SCANDINAVIANISM 501

great visions, who looked upon the North as one country with one
language, the Northern mother tongue. In general, however, the
Danish people were not much in favor of the union of the three
Scandinavian countries under a common king. It was not a move-
ment based on a general desire of the people, but a political plan
supported by poets and theorists, a hothouse-engendered idea which
could not be transplanted into practical life. Frederick VI. was not
elected Swedish crown prince, and the plan of a dynastic union of
the Scandinavian countries quickly collapsed.

After Denmark had been forced to cede Norway by the treaty of
Kiel, 1813, the relation between Sweden and Denmark remained
hostile for a time, but romanticism, which had created a new interest
in the traditions of the past, awakened again the Pan-Scandinavian
sentiment, especially among the students of the Northern universities.
After 1837 the students and professors at the universities of Lund
and Copenhagen began to pay each other friendly visits. These
were repeated on ever larger scale, and soon grew into a movement
of great proportions. The climax seems to have been reached in
1843, when the students of Copenhagen and Lund visited Upsala,
and in 1845, when another great festival was held in Copenhagen,
where the students from Upsala, Lund, and Christiania were
the guests of their Danish friends. On the latter occasion the father
of Danish romanticism, the poet Adam Oehlenschlseger, was greeted
as the greatest champion of the Scandinavian idea. It was stated
that by reviving the interest for the traditions of the past he had
aroused the young men of the North to new enthusiasm and love
for achievements, that he had renewed the ties of friendship between
the sister nations. In Sweden the historian Geijer and the poet
Tegner had exerted a like influence as Oehlenschlaeger and Grundtvig
in Denmark. A romantic literature had been created in both
countries, largely based on the sagas and Northern heroic traditions.
Tegner's "Fridtjofs Saga," and Oehlenschlseger's dramas, "Axel og
Valborg," "Haakon Jarl," "Helge," "Tordenskjold," and others,
reveal a literary Pan-Scandinavianism, which comes even more clearly
to view in the lyric poesy of the age. Typical are songs like : " Leenge
var Nordens herlige Stamme " and "Unge Gjenbyrds Liv i Norden,"
by the Danish poet C. Ploug, and "Muhnet sank det svale," by C.

502 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

Hostrup. In Norway, J. S. Welhaven and Andreas Munch wrote
songs of like contents, and the Scandinavian idea even fired the
enthusiasm of Bj0rnstjerne Bj0rnson.^

In so far as the Scandinavian movement tended to create a friendly
feeling, to sweep away old misunderstanding, and foster a livelier
intercourse between the Northern peoples, it exerted a beneficial
influence. It rested, it is true, on no firmer foundation than a wave
of evanescent sentiment, and even as a theory it suffered from the

^ In a song written as a dedication to a eolleetion of poems published in
1870 the following stanzas are especially noteworthy in this connection :

Jeg sender disse sange hen

paa venners b0n til kvinner, msenn

i Nordens trende lande.

At Finlands folk blandt dem er med

paa sangen under N0rreled,

maa jeg med tak jo sanne.

« * * « *

Selv gaar jeg paa min Sanger vei
med serefrygt f0rst ind til dig,
du st0rste aand i Norden,*
som vred profetisk varsled gry
bak Nordens tunge morgensky,
der skalv i lyn og torden.

Men siden blid bag hav og hseld
av sagas og av troens vaeld
paa bondens ssed har spiUet ; —
nu snef jaell-hvit paa nitti aar
av tidens str0m tilbake faar
dit eget h0ie billed I

Til dig saa, i hvis sanger-vaar
"de tusen sjoars" Finland staar
og vemodsmaBgtig toner I f
Vor stammes aand i evig sus
gaar greensevakt i sangens brus
mot Patens millioner.

Men staar jeg i vor egen gaard,
et stjernebiUed 0iet slaar
med alt sit rike under.
Det lyser Henrik Wergeland
utover Norges bleke land
i mindets klare stunder.

* N. F. S. Grundtvig. t John Ludvig Runeberg.

U OSCAR I. ROMANTICISM AND PAN*SCANDINAVIANISM 603

very serious defect of allowing no room for the distinct national
individuality of the three peoples. But it had sounded a chord
of sympathy and friendship which might have continued to rever-
berate with still deeper meaning, if the whole idea had not been
wrecked by the attempt to press it into a service for which it was not
adequately adapted. In Denmark, the real home of the movement,
the hope seems to have been entertained from the outset that the
Scandinavian sentiment would culminate in a political union, which
might be used by the Danes in repelling German aggression in
Schleswig-Holstein. To them this sentiment assumed the character
of a distinct political program, to which the more sanguine leaders
could pin their hope of successfully maintaining a dynastic policy,
which was represented to be identical with the safety and welfare
of the whole North. In a speech at the students' festival in 1843,
C. Ploug outlined this program as follows : " It is especially this
fear for the existence of the Northern nationalities, very strong among
the Danes, which moves us to join you to-day rather than to-morrow.
The fight has already begun. It rages on the border in the beautiful
land between the Eider and the Kongeaa. Through negligence as
well on the part of the government as of the people, the Germans
have been able in the course of the last fifty years to occupy one-half
of old Schleswig, and they threaten arrogantly to plant their vic-
torious banner on the farthest point of Skagen. The battle is not
ours alone. It is also yours. Our common nationality is at stake,
and if we should need your help against a powerful and active party
led by a Most Serene Highness with a bodyguard of aristocrats and
lawyers, you must be ready." This appeal was repeated with re-
newed fervor in 1845 by the fiery Danish orator Orla Lehmann. He
stirred the excitable students to the wildest enthusiasm, and in the
midst of this ecstasy he exacted from them a solemn vow to support
the common cause even unto death. The safety of Denmark was,
indeed, amatter of the greatest concern to all Scandinavians, and
the desire to aid the sister state in the hour of danger was the out-
growth, not only of a praiseworthy national sentiment, but of a cor-
rect political instinct. But the enthusiastic pledges of an assemblage
of students proved to be but a weak support for a political policy
which sooner or later would embroil the whole North in a war with

504 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

the great continental powers. Outside of the academic circles the
Swedes were not much in sympathy with the political program of
the Danes, and in Norway the Scandinavian sentiment did not gain
much strength until after 1848. The romantic idealism, which gave
the movement its real charm, had then grown so strong that the Scan-
dinavian idea received general and earnest support. But it turned
people's attention away from the vital issues at home to chimerical
plans abroad, and served mainly to strengthen the growing reac-
tionary spirit. The most vital interests of Norway were not identical
with those of Denmark.^ Past experiences had shown it, and cool-
headed statesmen would hesitate to involve the country in new wars,
from which no benefit could be derived. When the hour of trial
came, Scandinavianism vanished like a fair delusion, and left Den-
mark alone with her troubles and disappointments.

60. Political Reaction. The Labor Movement

Neither J. A. Hjelm nor Ludvig Kr. Daa had succeeded in rallying
the opposition in the Storthing to the support of the Norwegian
political policy which they advocated. Their ideas had been too
lofty, their views too statesmanhke to be fully understood and
appreciated. In 1845 Ueland, the leader of the binder, found an
able assistant in S0ren Jaabsek, who now took his seat in the Storthing
for the first time, and Daa was succeeded by A. B. Stabell, editor
of "Morgenbladet," a shrewd and cunning tactician, who cared little
for general principles of statesmanship, but watched his opportunity
to gain such victories as circumstances would allow. The binder
representation in the Storthing had increased in strength, and
through the aid of some representatives from other classes they con-
trolled a majority of the votes. But instead of directing their atten-
tion to the question of the relation to Sweden, they raised the issue
of greater economy in the administration, and attacked the privi-
leges still enjoyed by the oflScials. But the attempt of the binder
to exercise the right granted them by the constitution was vigorously
resisted by the bureaucracy, who were still intrenched in power.
They feared nothing so much as a government by the people. They

^ J. L0vland, Den politiske Skandinavistne, Samtiden, 1904.

II POLITICAL REACTION. THE LABOR MOVEMENT 505

saw their power and privileges threatened, and looked upon the
effort of the binder to gain political power as a grave danger to the
good old social order. They began to look upon the constitution,
not as a bulwark of constitutional liberty, but as a people's charter
which deprived them of their rights and privileges. In a book " Om
den norske Konstitution, " published in 1845, the great jurist Bern-
hard Dunker apparently sought to defend the constitution, when in
reality the work is a vigorous attack upon it. He would not blame
the constitution alone for the deplorable political situation, he said.
He thought that, if interpreted in the right way, it might prove a
very satisfactory fundamental law, i.e. if so interpreted that the
bureaucrats would retain their power. But it would be especially
necessary, he thought, to repeal article seventy-nine, which gave
the Storthing the power to pass laws without the king's sanction.
The king should be given absolute veto, so that " the enlightened part
of the nation might have full confidence in the work of the national
legislature and regard it as their representative." ^ The bureaucracy
no longer feared that the king might infringe on the rights of the
Norwegian people. They began to regard him as the chief repre-
sentative of the old social order, with w^hom they must unite in order
to successfully oppose the growing democratic spirit and the power
of the people. This reactionary tendency was clearly shown in
connection with the impeachment of J. H. Vogt, one of the leading
members of the ministry, for advising the king to veto a bill passed
by the Storthing. The impeachment was based on two charges, but
Vogt was acquitted, though only on the supposition that he had
misunderstood the provisions of the constitution. The trial showed
that the Storthing was determined to defend its honor and dignity ;
that a minister who should attempt to disregard its authority would
be promptly called to account. But the bureaucrats hailed Vogt
as a martyr whose just rights had been infringed upon, who had
been victimized by unscrupulous demagogues. The tension between
the conservative officials and the binder had developed into an antag-
onism, which grew even more determined during the next session
in 1848. The binder could again control a majority of the votes,

ij. E. Sars, Norges politiske Historie 1815-1885, p. 386. Erik Vullum,
Kristian Magnus Falsen, p. 57 ff.

506 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE Ed

and they felt that the time had come for more aggressive tactics
agaitist the reactionary Vogt-L0venskiold ministry' and its sup-
porters. It was clear that the ministry no longer represented the
views of the majority, that its administrative policy no longer con-
formed to the will of the people as expressed through the national
legislature. In 1845 some members of the opposition, including
Ueland and Fauchald, had attempted to prepare a memorial to the
king, expressing lack of confidence in the ministry, but their courage
finally failed them, and the matter was dropped. In 1848 the at-
tempt was renewed. Fauchald, Ueland, Krogness, and Stabell
prepared a memorial to the king, in which they stated very forcibly
the principle of parliamentary government, and showed that the
Storthing could no longer have confidence in a ministry which had
become the representative of a bureaucratic coterie. But before
the memorial was considered by the Storthing, it was printed in
"Morgenbladet," and aroused a storm of indignation among the
Conservatives. The leaders of the opposition again lost courage,
and were satisfied to let the matter be buried by the committee to
which it had been referred. The binder and their leaders had
again shown that they lacked the necessary experience and self-
confidence to carry through in practice the principles of popular
government in opposition to the able reactionary bureaucracy. But
their greatest weakness was, perhaps, that they were in reality not
a liberal party, but a faction opposed to many of the essential features
of true democracy. They had prevented the passage of a constitu-
tional amendment granting the Jews the right to reside in the king-
dom with the same privileges as other citizens, and they would not
grant the ministry the right to participate in the deliberations of
the Storthing, all essential feature of parliamentary government.^

By some writers the Norwegian binder have been called peasants,
but this is quite misleading. They are the freeholders, the land-
owners of the nation, who until quite recently exercised in their
districts all power and influence not specifically delegated to the

^ The fefttture in the Norwegian constitution that the members of the
cabinet should not be present in the Storthing was borrowed from the
American constitution, says Bj0rnstjerne Bj0rnson, Den norske Forfatnings-
kamp, p. 17.

II POLITICAL REACTION. THE LABOR MOVEMENT 507

government, and who, after 1814, waged the battle with the clergy
and the officials of the crown for political supremacy. Many binder
are landed proprietors of considerable wealth, and in some districts
they constitute a sort of untitled rustic aristocracy. But as a class
they are not wealthy. Their farms are usually small, and they are
obliged to work hard to support their families. In no country has
property been more evenly distributed than in Norway, but at this
time the distribution of land was not so thorough as it needed to be
in a country where the tillable area is small. A large and dependent
peasant class, the husmcend, still existed who owned no land, but
leased small parcels from the binder, for which they were to render
a certain amount of service at a stipulated price. As the right to
vote was restricted by the provision that all voters in the rural dis-
tricts should be owners of land, neither the husmoBnd nor the labor-
ing class in general had the right of suffrage. For them no room had
yet been provided in the Norwegian political and social democracy,
but the time would come when they would not be satisfied to remain
deprived of all political rights.

The February Revolution in France in 1848 ushered in a new period
of social unrest in Europe, and the despotic rulers found difficulty
in subduing the growing liberal spirit. Since 1830 new and hitherto
unknown revolutionary forces had been at work creating a hostile
opposition to all existing order and ideas. General discontent ac-
companied by disregard for the hitherto acknowledged rules and
authorities was increasing among the lower classes. They discovered
that modern industrialism, the organization of capital, and the use
of steam power and modern inventions in manufacture placed them
face to face with economic and social conditions which threatened
to reduce them to a serfdom no less galling than that from which
political liberty was supposed to free them. Socialism, originated
by St. Simon, and the communistic ideas of Fourier were spreading.
The struggle had begun between the established feudalistic ideas
and modern social tendencies. Capital and labor had clashed in
their first great encounter, and the demand for social and economic
equality raised by the French theorists was rapidly adopted by the
struggling laboring classes as a doctrine foreshadowing a more fehci-
tous future.

508 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

This social ferment, destined to produce so many changes, was
first brought to Norway by a young student, Markus Thrane, bom
in Christiania in 1817. Thrane belonged to a good family, but his
parents, though once wealthy, were early plunged into misfortune
and poverty. As a young man Thrane had traveled in France and
Switzerland, where he became acquainted with socialism, but be-
cause of poverty he was sent back to his native land as a vagabond.
In 1840 he became a student at the University of Christiania, but he
soon married, discontinued his studies, and founded a school at
Lillehammer, where he lived for some years in most straitened
circumstances. When the news of the French February Revolution
reached Norway in 1848, an article signed "A Voice from the Coun-
try" appeared in " Morgenbladet," which attracted general atten-
tion. This "Voice" was Markus Thrane, who now made his debut
as a socialistic agitator. In 1848 he was made editor of " Drammens
Adresse," which he soon made the most radical paper in the country,
as he advocated French socialistic ideas, and raised his voice in behalf
of the husmoBud and laborers. He held that constitutional govern-
ment, as it had been practiced, served to intrench the upper classes
in power. In Norway the bureaucracy had been forced to divide
their power with the blinder, but both classes had used their political
power for their own advantage, and the so-called liberal opposition
was nothing but an aristocracy struggling for their own freedom and
power. He demanded universal suffrage, as " a so-called democratic
constitution which deprives the poorer classes of all influence is a
most deplorable and demoralizing form of government." Such
ideas fearlessly expressed fairly startled the publishers and readers
of "Drammens Adresse," and Thrane was discharged. But this
only turned his energies into more practical channels. He was not
a dreamer, as many supposed, but a talented agitator and an able
organizer. He undertook to unite the laborers and the husmoend,
and to organize them into clubs and societies so that they might
learn to cooperate. But social conditions in Norway were not
yet ripe for labor agitation. The city population was small, only
160,000 in all, and as the industries were undeveloped, the laboring
classes in the cities numbered only 17,700 persons, 6700 industrial
laborers, and 11,000 engaged in various other pursuits. In the

II POLITICAL REACTION. THE LABOR MOVEMENT 509

country districts there were 47,000 laborers and 145,000 servants.
In fact, the laboring class was still only a servant class, to whom mod-
ern labor conditions were unknown. But the husmaend numbered
58,049 as against 77,780 freeholders and 25,047 renters, and they
were increasing in number, though the circumstances under which
they were living were miserable enough. Their {)ay was only a
few pennies a day and board. In the eastern districts they demanded,
in 1850, that they should not be compelled to work more than five
days a week for their landlord, and that the working day should
be shortened to eleven hours. That reforms were much needed
was evident, but before they could hope for much improvement,
they would have to learn to organize and cooperate in support of
their demands. Thrane aimed to organize them, but they were
so timid, so little used to act independently that it was only with
great difficulty that he was able to organize the first labor society
in Drammen in December, 1848. The following year he founded
" Arbeiderforeningernes Blad," an organ published in the interest
of the labor movement. He traveled from district to district work-
ing for the cause, and before another year had passed, he had organized
one hundred societies, and he had also addressed to the king a peti-
tion bearing 12,833 signatures, asking that the right of suffrage
should be extended to the laboring classes. On July 31, 1850, a
convention of labor delegates was assembled in Christiania, and a
general program, or platform, was agreed upon.^ The demands were :
free trade, the abolition of trade privileges, restriction of the liquor
trade, a better regulation of the relations between hinder and hus-
mcend, better public schools, universal suffrage, and universal mili-
tary service. With this program Thrane hoped to be able to influ-
ence the election of members to the Storthing, but this influence was
noticeable only in Larvik, where Johan Sverdrup was elected.

The government authorities watched for an opportunity to arrest
Thrane, whom they regarded as a dangerous person; but as they
could find no just complaint, they finally accused him of blasphemy,
a charge which the superior court set aside. If his adherents had
been prudent, he might have been able to continue his work without
molestation, but many of the peasants failed to understand the real

^Halvdan Koht, Den fyrste norske Arbeiderr^rsla, Den 17de Mai, 1911.

510 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

nature of Thrane's views. They began to divide the land among
themselves, to cut timber in the forests, to put into practice the ideas
of socialism in a way which they thought conformed with his ideas.
Thrane sought to prevail on them to abstain from all radical meas-
ures, but he was unable to fully control the movement which he had
started. When he found that he could not prevent disorder, he
turned his paper over to his assistant, F. S. Abildgaard, and retired
as leader. At a new labor convention, Lillethinget, which assembled
in Christiania in June, 1851, he took little part in the deliberations,
but was mainly active in counseling moderation. But the govern-
ment had determined to destroy the whole movement without further
delay. The leaders were arrested, and a special commission was
appointed to investigate the plans and doings of the whole organi-
zation. One hundred and forty-nine persons were indicted for vari-
ous offenses. Of these only eleven were acquitted, the rest were
fined or imprisoned, some even for terms of fifteen years. An appeal
resulted in the acquittal of six others, and the modification of some
of the severest punishments, but, as a whole, the decree of the lower
court was sustained. Thrane and Abildgaard were sentenced to
prison for a period of four years, and their paper, which had been
repeatedly suppressed, had to be discontinued in 1856. In 1863
Thrane emigrated to America, where he spent the greater part of
his remaining years in Chicago as publisher of various radical papers :
"Den norske Amerikaner," "Dagbladet," and "Den nye Tid."
The closing days of his life he spent with his son, Dr. Thrane, in
Eau Claire, Wisconsin.^

The labor movement collapsed with the disappearance of its
leaders, but the demands for political and social reforms proved to
be more than a passing caprice. The peasants had been stirred
to thought and political activity. Their economic emancipation
and social development had begun, and they would henceforth appear
as a class whose rights and interests would demand attention. The
specter of socialism had stalked through the land ; the labor ques-
tion had been raised ; the effects of the French Revolution of 1848

» J. E. Saxs, Norges politiake Historie 1815-1885, p. 398 ff. O. A. 0ver-
land, Thraniterbevaegelsen. Zakarias Hermansen, Arbeiderbevcegelsen i Norge,
Norsk Folkebibliothek, vol. XVII., p. 28 fif.

n POLITICAL REACTION. THE LABOR MOVEMENT 511

had been distinctly felt, and the poHtical leaders, who had been able
to decipher the handwriting on the wall, grew alarmed. The Con-
servatives became reactionary, and sought to save state and society
from what they considered to be impending ruin by opposing every
liberal idea. A. M. Schweigaard in the Storthing of 1851 went to
almost ridiculous lengths in attempting to forestall the spread of
radical ideas, and even A. B. Stabell, and "Morgenbladet," of which
he was the editor, now joined the Conservative ranks. But the
Liberals, headed by new leaders, formulated demands which even
many of the old party of opposition refused to support, and the
cleavage between Conservatives and Liberals — the Right and the
Left — was widening. Johan Sverdrup, the future liberal leader,
who had been elected with the aid of the labor element as representa-
tive from Larvik, now made his first appearance in the Storthing,
and he soon attracted attention as the originator of many important
reform measures. In encounters with the Conservatives he showed
great ability and presence of mind. "Even his appearance," says
Sars, "his small but athletic and wiry frame, his black hair, his
dark complexion, his quick movements, lively gesticulation, and
somewhat theatrical pose gave him so completely the air of a foreigner,
a stranger, that one would necessarily notice him." ^ This striking
appearance and southern temperament he had inherited from his
French mother. It soon appeared that this strange-looking man,
who spoke with rhetorical elegance, and carried himself with the
punctilious dignity of a grand seignior, possessed a will-power, a
fiery zeal, an energy, and talent for organization which made him a
peerless leader. Ever since his student days he had been an oppo-
nent of the bureaucratic tendencies and conservative ideas of the
official classes. He was a stanch advocate of democratic prin-
ciples and the rights of the people, and through reading in many
languages he had acquired a broad culture and thorough familiarity
with liberal political ideas. "The name of no other Norwegian
politician has been identified with so many important reform meas-
ures and great political questions, and no one has equaled him as a
powerful parliamentary debater," says J. L0vland. "He regarded

^ Storthinget i 1851 og Partiernes Stilling i vort Land. J. E. Sars, Norges
poliliske Historie 1815-1885, p. 420 fif.

512 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

the Storthing as the chief organ for the nation's poUtical life, and
no one has done so much to maintain dignity and discipline in that
body, to elevate the deliberations, and to uphold its power and
authority." ^ Another liberal leader who appeared in this Storthing
was F. G. Lerche, representative from Trondhjem, a robust and
jovial man of the earlier Patriot type.

It is true that the labor movement started by Thrane was vigor-
ously opposed by nearly all the members of the Storthing. A peti-
tion presented by the central committee of the labor organization
before it was destroyed by the arrest of its leaders was turned down
with the remark that some of the demands made were unreasonable,
and some had already been granted in some other form. But the
need of reform was, nevertheless, recognized, and some useful meas-
ures were passed. The still remaining tariff on grain was reduced
by one-half, and a law was made giving the husmaend better protec-
tion against undue oppression by the hinder. Many important
liberal issues were raised. It was proposed to extend the right of
suffrage, to introduce trial by jury, and to grant the ministry the
right to participate in the deliberations of the Storthing. But the
reactionary spirit was strong, and the liberal leaders did not yet
possess sufficient influence to secure the passage of these important
measures. A successful attempt was, however, made in 1854 to
secure an equal distribution of military burdens, which had hitherto
rested only on the rural districts. A law was passed establishing
the principle of universal military service in conformity with the
provisions of the constitution, but the law was to such an extent a
compromise measure that it was of little practical value, since a
clause allowing the hiring of substitutes still made it possible for all
but the poorer classes to escape military service. A law abolishing
the very important office of statholder, which made Norway appear
like a Swedish province, was also passed, but failed to get royal
sanction. A bill providing for the introduction of trial by jury^
passed in 1857, suffered the same fate. The liberal opposition was
yet in its teens, so weak that for some years it almost seemed to

* Nordmasnd i del 19de Aarhundrede, Johan Sverdrup. J. E. Sars, Sam-
lede Verker, vol. IV., p. 176 ff. Norsk Folkebibliothek, vol. XVII., Fra Johan
Sverdrups Slorihingsliv.

PLATE XVII

n POLITICAL REACTION. THE LABOR MOVEMENT 513

have disappeared, but in 1859 it began to show signs of new activity.
Shortly after the opening of the session, Reformforeningen, a club
consisting of representatives in the Storthing, was organized with
over thirty members. This was an attempt to organize a distinct lib-
eral party whose platform should be : yearly sessions of the Storthing,
the maintaining of Norway's separate rights as a sovereign kingdom,
opposition to the centralization of power, local self-government, trial
by jury, and an independent development of the school system. The
appearance of such an organization created the greatest excitement
among the politicians. It was claimed to be a most wanton violation
of good old usage, a revolutionary movement by which the liberal
leaders Ueland, Sverdrup, and Joh. Steen, the " triumvirate," would
fetter even the mind and conscience of the representatives. So bitter
was the opposition that the leaders lost courage and disbanded the club.
The French February Revolution and the subsequent uprisings
throughout Europe was followed by a period of reaction and nervous
dread of social and political radicalism. In Norway this fear of
revolutionary ideas was so increased by the alarm caused by Thrane's
labor agitation that even Ludvig Kr. Daa forsook his liberal and
national patriotic views, and became a political conservative and
an ardent adherent of Pan-Scandinavianism. Reaction triumphed,
the national and liberal issues were lost sight of, and the union with
Sweden was lauded as the one great blessing. The Scandinavian
sentiment, which was growing strong in Norway at this time, also
strengthened the love for the union, and in 1854 the Union Day,
November 4th, was celebrated in Christiania as a national holiday.
To strengthen the bonds which, it was thought, would ultimately
unite the three kingdoms, to protect the country against the spirit
of revolution, which, like a dreaded specter, made the conservative
pillars of European society quake with fear, and to dream undis-
turbed the Pan-Scandinavian dream became the chief desire of those
who considered themselves the guardians of the nation's welfare.
For the realization of this program they began to organize a distinct
conservative party, whose political policy gave expression to this
reactionary tendency. In opposition to the national issues which
had been raised by the Liberals they desired to strengthen the power
of the king, and to so modify the Act of Union as to create a cen-

VOL. II — 2 L

5l4 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGtAJ^T PEOPLE II

tralization of power which might serve as a protection against the
growing influence of the common people.

In 1839 the king had appointed a committee to examine the rela-
tions between the two kingdoms regarding the flag and other matters
which were not satisfactory to the Norwegians. This committee
requested that the scope of its work should be so enlarged that they
might undertake a revision of the whole Act of Union. To this the
Norwegian ministry consented, and the committee drafted in 1844
a new act of union, containing no less than one hundred and fifty
articles.^ According to the Act of 1815, the union between Norway
and Sweden was a compact between two wholly independent king-
doms, according to which the only common affairs were a joint sover-
eign, and the joint action of both kingdoms in declaring war and
making peace. According to the plan proposed in the draft of 1844
nearly all important interests, save distinctly local affairs, should
be common. The principle in the document of 1815 was decentraliza-
tion of power in the union, perfect equality and equal sovereignty of
the two kingdoms. The new plan proposed political amalgamation
and the creation of a common government superior to the individual
governments of the two realms.^ There should be a joint minister
of foreign affairs, responsible to a committee consisting of an equal
number of Norwegian and Swedish members to be chosen by the
national legislature of each country ; three joint cabinets should be
created, one for foreign affairs, one for military affairs, and one for
joint matters ; and a joint congress should be established, consisting
of twelve members of the Norwegian Storthing and twelve members
of the Swedish Rigsdag, which should meet from time to time to
deal with matters of common interest. The principle of full equality
between the two realms should be maintained in all matters. This
draft was submitted to the ministry, which examined the document
and recommended the canceling of several articles.^ Finally in

1 Underdanigst For slag til Forenings-Act imellem Kongerigerne Norge og
Sverige, udarbeidet af den ved kongelig Resolution af SOte Januar, 18S9, naadigst
anordnede Committee, Christiania, 1856. Aktstykker angaaende Revision af
Foreningen, Christiania, 1862.

' B. Dunker, Om Revision af Foreningsakten mdlem Sverige og Norge,
vol. 11., p. 14 ff.

• Angaaende en Foreningsakt mellem Kongerigerne Norge og Sverige. Den

II FREDRIK STANG MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR 515

1848 a joint session of the Swedish and Norwegian ministers recom-
mended that the matter should be dropped for the time being. The
Norwegians probably feared the consequences of so far-reaching a
change, and the Swedes looked with disfavor upon the principle of
full equality between the two kingdoms. This drastic measure
had failed, but more moderate steps were taken in the direction of
political amalgamation. Efforts were made to create a joint Swed-
ish-Norwegian army. The Norwegian cadets were stationed at
Stockholm, and Norwegian and Swedish troops were even mingled
in large military maneuvers. Commissions were appointed to pro-
pose new laws for the regulation of trade and tariff between the two
countries, and for carrying into execution in one kingdom decrees
rendered in the courts of the other. These propositions were rejected
by the Storthing, but the Conservatives viewed this policy of strength-
ening the union and centralizing the power of government as " the or-
ganic beginning of an articulation of civilized human society which we
regard as the task of the new age," as Professor Monrad expressed it.
During this period of slight political activity the attention was
mainly turned to economic questions. The removal of monopolies
and special privileges had facilitated development, and the interest
in all phases of material progress was stimulated by modern inven-
tions, and also by the great expositions in London and Paris, in 1851
and 1855. In 1845 Frederick Stang, a learned jurist, who at the
age of twenty-five had become lecturer of jurisprudence at the Uni-
versity of Christiania, was placed at the head of the new department
of the interior, a position in which he showed such initiative and
energy that his term of office (1845-1856) became a new era in Nor-
way's economic development. This was not due wholly to Stang's
own ability, as the circumstances were favorable, and the time had
come for a new advance in this field, but the services which he ren-
dered his country as minister of the department were, nevertheless,
of the greatest importance.^ An extensive system of excellent roads
penetrating to all parts of the kingdom was now planned, and the
work was carried on with vigor. Stang was also active in promoting

norske Regjerings underdanigste Indstilling af 27de Februar, 1847, til Hs
Majestcet Kongen, etc.

1 Nordmcend i del 19de Aarhundrede, Fredrik Stang.

516 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

the construction of the first Norwegian railway from Christiania
to Eidsvold, for which provision had been made by the Storthing
in 1851. In 1854 the road was opened for traffic. The first tele-
graph line was constructed from Fredrikshald to Mandal, and a law
establishing uniform postage completed a series of reforms in the
postal system. Much attention was especially devoted to the
improvement of farming. Agricultural schools were founded, and
a loan office was created/ where the farmers might secure loans at
a low rate of interest. The fisheries received encouragement, new
lighthouses were built, and state subsidies were paid to private
steamship lines. The repeal of the English navigation laws in
1849 opened new fields of commerce, and foreign merchant vessels
could carry on an unrestricted traffic with England and her colonies.
Holland also removed all restrictions on commerce, and during the
Crimean War (1854-1856) Norwegian carrying trade was growing
rapidly. In six years, from 1849 to 1856, the Norwegian merchant
marine was increased by 900 vessels. The lumber trade was very
profitable, the fisheries yielded good returns; manufacturing was
increasing, and the growing trade yielded large revenues to the
government treasury.

The rapid economic development was accompanied by a corre-
sponding growth of population. According to the census of 1825
the population of Norway numbered 1,195,000. In 1845 it had
increased to 1,328,000, in 1855 to 1,490,000, and in 1865 to 1,702,000.
The specter of radical liberalism had vanished. Prosperity and
the growing sympathy for the union fostered by the reactionary
tendencies of the times created a feeling of contentment among the
upper conservative classes. Only the foreign relations still caused
some anxiety.

King Charles John had maintained throughout his reign very
friendly relations with Russia, but the relations with that power
grew very unfriendly in the reign of Oscar I. The ambitious Czar
Nicholas I. sought to revive the policy of conquest of his predeces-
sors, and aimed to seize parts of northern Norway. From early
times the Norwegian Finns had driven their herds of reindeer into

1 J. Smitt, Del nor she Landbruga Historic. B. E. Bendixen, Et Omrids af
Norges Handelshiatorie.

II KING CHARLES XV 517

Russia in the winter, and in the summer the Russian Finns had
crossed northern Norway with their flocks in order to reach the dis-
tricts by the Arctic Ocean, where the gnats were less troublesome.
These privileges were safeguarded by a special treaty, but the Rus-
sian government now made the demand that the Russian Finns
should have the right to fish on the coast of Norway, and that a
district by the Varangerfjord should be ceded to them. When King
Oscar I. refused to grant this concession, the Czar forbade the Nor-
wegian Finns to enter Russia, and Sweden-Norway retaliated by
prohibiting the Russian Finns from entering Norway. At the time
of the Crimean War King Oscar I. formed an alliance with France
and England, promising not to cede a foot of territory to Russia,
and the two western powers agreed to aid Norway and Sweden in
case of need. King Oscar, who was devoted to the Scandinavian
idea, desired a defensive alliance between the Northern kingdoms,
and always remained a warm friend of Denmark. At the time of
Denmark's first war with Prussia, 1848-1850, he stationed Swedish
and Norwegian troops in northern Schleswig, after an armistice had
been arranged in 1849, and he did not withdraw them until the peace
was signed at Berlin in 1850. In 1857 he even offered to form an
alliance with Denmark in order to defend the Eider River as the
southern Scandinavian boundary. As he had always been in delicate
health, he was obliged, in 1857, to hand the reins of government to
his son. Crown Prince Charles, viceroy of Norway, who was made
regent with full royal authority. He lingered in a state of growing
physical and mental weakness till 1859, when he passed away,
July 8th, at the age of sixty years.

61. King Charles XV. Beginning of a New Literary
Development

At the age of thirty-three Crown Prince Charles ascended the
throne as King Charles XV. of Sweden and Charles IV. of Norway.
He was a man of fine physique, robust, jovial, talented, and very
popular, resembling in many respects his grandfather, King Charles
John.^ He shared his father's Pan-Scandinavian ideas, and took great

* Kong Karl og Dronning Louise, Trcek af del kongelige Pars Ldvshistorie.
Christiania, 1873. Sveriges Historia, edited by Hildebrand, part X., p. 68 £E.

518 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

interest in military affairs. Even as regent he had used his influ-
ence to further the organization of a joint system of defense for the
Scandinavian peninsula, and in uniting Norwegian and Swedish
troops in great military maneuvers. The policy of political amal-
gamation and the strengthening of the union which had found sup-
port in the Scandinavian sentiment and the reactionary spirit of the
age would, naturally, be continued by the new king, as such a policy,
aided by the active sympathy of the conservative majority in the
Storthing, and supported by an energetic and popular ruler, might
be expected to meet with unqualified success. But a new era of
political and intellectual progress had already signaled its
approach. A transition was coming which in another decade or
two was to effect a thorough change in the political situation, and
produce a new and more patriotic public spirit. It soon became
clear that the parties which had waged their first great fight under
the leadership of Wergeland and Welhaven would again clash in a
new struggle to be waged on a more extensive scale. The political
activity of the binder, and the late movement among the husmcend
and laborers, had roused these classes to interest and active partici-
pation in public affairs. Politically the bfkider would ally them-
selves with the Liberals, and as they were intensely national in spirit,
accustomed from time immemorial to defend their own rights, and
to adhere with tenacity to their freedom and native customs, they
would naturally oppose a policy which aimed to strengthen the power
of the king, to maintain the privileges of the upper classes, to weaken
their own political influence, and to obliterate the features of Norwe-
gian nationality by a system of amalgamation aiming at the ultimate
consolidation of the two kingdoms. The national spirit of the people
was further stirred to intense activity by the new literary movement,
which also this time played an essential part in the whole national
development. In 1857 Bj0rnstjerne Bj0mson published his "Syn-
n0ve Solbakken," a beautiful idyl, picturing the life and character
of the binder. It is as charmingly free from all spirit of controversy
as the dawn of a summer morn, but it was the beginning of a new
development in Norwegian literature, and it is undoubtedly true,
as Chr. Collin puts it, that it exerted an even greater influence on
the political than on the literary life of the age. Hitherto the de-

n BEGINNING OP A NEW LITERARY DEVELOPMENT 519

scription of the country people had served only as literary ornament,
as it had been the diversion of the romanticists, who loved to linger
in the mystic twilight of the strange and the unknown. But in
"Synn0ve Solbakken" Bj0rnson made the Norwegian binder the
center of literary interest,^ Throughout the centuries they had pre-
served their liberty, the traits and traditions of the nation ; they were
still its most typical representatives, and a literature which could
depict their life, and express properly their sentiments, would be a
Norwegian national literature in quite a new sense. B]'0rnson saw
that a literature can reflect nothing more important than the life
and character of the people for which it is produced, and he realized
that hitherto Norwegian literature had dealt but sporadically and
imperfectly with this central interest. His discovery proved to be
a literary revolution, for he of all poets possessed the genius to express
the people's thoughts and feelings in song and story. With dramatic
realism he has pictured the customs and character of the country
people among whom he was reared, and this classic portraiture of
real life he has woven into a delicate framework of romantic nature
painting which gives even the most scarred and drawn features
an almost youthful charm. The people could see themselves as in
a mirror, and by discovering their own worth they gained new confi-
dence in themselves and their native culture. No more powerful
stimulus could be imparted to the awakening national sentiment.
Other stories of the same kind appeared, as "Arne," "En glad
Gut," " Fiskerjenten, " etc.; and other masters followed Bj0rnson,
until a new literature had been produced, not only for the Norwegian
people, but about them. Henrik Ibsen had already approached the
same subject from another side. In 1850, when only twenty-two
years of age, he had published his first drama, "Catalina," in which
the dissatisfied and philosophizing youth represents the Roman
conspirator as a liberalist and patriot. When he reached his full
maturity he hurled his thunderbolts at the sluggish indifference
and romantic indolence of the Norwegian people in his great
masterpieces "Brand" and "Peer Gynt," in which nature painting
and character study has reached a never excelled degree of artistic
perfection,

^ Chr. Collin, Bj^rnstjerne Bj^rnson.

520 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

Even before Ibsen and Bj0mson had gained a reputation as poets
they had become prominent as leaders of a movement to create a
national theater. Hitherto Norway had been dependent on Den-
mark both for her actors and her dramatic literature. Through
the efforts of Ole Bull a theater was built in Bergen in 1850, and the
following year Ibsen was employed as stage manager. In Chris-
tiania a national theater was erected in 1851 to compete with the
Christiania theater, which had a Danish director, and which employed
only Danish actors. But the rivalry with the older competitor
became difficult for the new playhouse, and when the director of
the Christiania theater continued to employ Danes, the students
lost patience. When a new Danish actor was to appear, they as-
sembled under the leadership of Bj0rnstjerne Bj0rnson to the num-
ber of 600 and started such a tumult that nothing like it had been
heard since the "Campbeller battle" in the days of Wergeland.
Two days later Bj0rnson wrote an article in " Morgenbladet " out-
lining the program and demands of the young patriots. " A theater
in the capital," he says, "is an outpost of nationalism against for-
eign supremacy. The capital witnesses the most severe clashes
between that which is foreign and that which is our own. It has
to wage an important fight; it has great responsibility, and needs
forces and vigilant sentinels. . . . We have made rapid prog-
ress, but in regard to theater we have until lately been a dependency.
Our immortal Henrik Wergeland, who in this matter, as in many
others, was far ahead of his time, spoke for the first time with great
force and earnestness in behalf of a Norwegian theater. We are
grateful to the Danish artists, and we are not yet prepared to lose
them. They do not oppose our nationality much, as they are accli-
mated. But new foreigners, always new ones, result not only in the
destruction of what we are doing and have done, but it is an insult,
not against us alone, but against the power which is above us all,
our country. . . . Our beloved Henrik Wergeland should have
seen an evening like that of last Tuesday. He would have rejoiced
to have heard the storm of rough-music which shook the old prej-
udices. In his time he was in the minority, the smallest possible,
for he alone was the minority. Now he would have been in the
majority, a large and powerful majority. We have progressed

PLATE XVITT

Bj0knstjerne Bj0rnson.

n BEGINNING OP A NEW LITERARY DEVELOPMENT 521

possibly faster than he expected." ^ Bj0rnson carried to a successful
issue the fight for a Norwegian theater in Christiania, though he was
at the time only twenty-three years of age. He showed even at
this time the great qualities which soon placed him at the head of
the liberal movement as its peerless leader, the greatest since the
time of Henrik Wergeland. Professor Gerhard Gran describes
him as follows : " I have already mentioned that his literary works
were weapons, implements in his battles and his work. But his
great poetic genius endowed him also with other more direct aux-
iliaries for his work as ruler. His sovereign command of language
enabled him to coin in the heat of the conflict sudden surprising
pictures, in which his thoughts shone before the eyes of his subjects,
both sympathizers and opponents. Striking words flowed from
his lips, entered irresistibly into the minds of the listeners, and
chased around the country in search for new proselytes. The
dramatic element in his nature turned the political campaigns under
his leadership into exciting episodes, made the situation strained,
and urged all lines of thought and action forward to a solution, a
catastrophe. To this must still be added his great talent as an actor
— the plastic art of speech, and the no less beautiful and command-
ing figure, the orchestra of a voice which had a chord for every senti-
ment, and which was trained to an art of elocution which never
suffered a modulation to escape. So endowed was this chieftain.
Seldom have so many qualities of the leader been united in the same
person. With a patriotism tender as love, a faith which could move
mountains, a power of personality which overcame all obstacles, an
intuition which penetrated into the future, a practical judgment
and an ability to act which was always ready to solve the nearest
questions, a sense of justice which balanced all values, and, shed over
all, a poetic genius which poured its radiance on all his works and
spread its luster to many lands." ^

Among the great leaders who made this age illustrious and created
a new era of intellectual and social progress must also be mentioned
Camilla CoUett, Henrik Wergeland' s gifted sister. She did not
equal Ibsen or Bj0rnson in literary influence, but she was a gifted

^ Henrik Jaeger, Illustreret norsk Liter aturhistorie, vol. II., p. 596 ff.
* Gerhard Gran, Bj^rnstjerne Bj^rnson, H^vdingen, p. 46 ff.

522 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

writer and an original thinker, and rose to special prominence as
the founder of the woman's rights movement in Norway. In
her excellent novel "Amtmandens D0tre" she attacked the con-
ventional view of marriage which paid slight heed to woman's feel-
ings and her rights as a personality, and regarded the marriage
institution chiefly as a means of securing her daily bread. In her
later works, "Sidste Blade," "Fra de Stummes Leir," and "Mod
Str0mmen, " she discussed woman's rights in all relations of life.
Her works were battle signals which roused the women of Norway,
freed them from the old prejudices, and called them into a field of
widened activity as a distinct force in the new intellectual and social
progress.

These movements in various fields emanated from a vigorous
national spirit which attempted to realize its ideals, and sought to
rear a social structure conforming to its needs. The great liberal
national movement in Norway in the nineteenth century was not a
political struggle alone, but a distinct attempt of the nation's genius
to reassert itself after centuries of partial inactivity and foreign
tutelage. The Norwegian historical school, the collection and study
of folk-tales, art, and traditions of the past, the Landsmaal movement,
the realistic literary school, and, finally, the organization of a Liberal
political party which overcame all reactionary opposition, and
maintained Norway's rights to lead her own free and sovereign
existence, are phases of a development in which all vital forces of the
nation were concentrated. The great poUtical struggle grew out
of the attempt of the Bernadotte kings to rule Norway as a depend-
ency, but the vigor and determination with which the struggle was
waged was wholly due to the spirit of Uberty and progress created
by the new national development.

62. New Political Struggles. Proposed Revision of the

Act of Union

Through the revision of the Eidsvold constitution by the extra
session of the Storthing in 1814, the king was given the right to ap-
point a statholder for Norway, but this institution was very unpopu-
lar, and efforts were soon made to abolish it. In 1818 a bill was

NEW POLITICAL STRUGGLES

523

introduced in the Storthing for this purpose, but it received no sup-
port. The attempt was renewed in 1848 and 1854. In 1854 the
measure was passed, but it was promptly vetoed by the king. When
Charles XV. ascended the throne in 1859, he resolved to sanction
the bill, which had again been introduced in the Storthing. He gave
the representatives to understand that if the measure was adopted,
it would receive his sanction, and the bill was passed by an ahnost
unanimous vote. This
"dowry" to the Norsve-
gian people the king had,
undoubtedly, intended as
a token of his good-will,
which should serve to
strengthen still further the
sympathy of the Norwe-
gian Conservatives for a
closer union between the
two kingdoms. After
L0venskiold had resigned
in 1855, the office remained
vacant and lost all real
importance. Birch-Reich-
enwald, who in 1858 suc-
ceeded Vogt as the leading
man in the ministry,
favored the amalgamation
policy, and everything seemed to augur well for the attempt to draw
the two realms into closer union. But the sentiment in Sweden was
not so friendly as the Scandinavian movement seemed to indicate.
It had become evident to all that the union with Norway did not
constitute a compensation for Finland in a manner compatible with
Swedish interests, and the attempts hitherto made to modify the
terms of the union had proved unavailing. On November 2, 1859,
Anckarsvard introduced a measure in the Swedish Rigsdag, in which
he launched forth into a philippic against the existing form of union,
and proposed that it should be so modified as to be more satisfactory
to both peoples. His motion was applauded and supported by the

FiQ. 12. — Charles XV

524

fflSTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE

Swedish press, and when it was learned that the Storthing had passed
a bill to abolish the oflSce of statholder, the feeling grew intensely
hostile. It was clear that Norway would yield to no demand for
Swedish overlordship based on the treaty of Kiel, and the move of
the Storthing was regarded by some as rebellion. In the Rigsdag
Dahnan introduced a motion declaring the article in the Norwegian
constitution regard ng the office of statholder to be a part of the
union compact, which could not be altered without the consent of

Sweden. This view was,
undoubtedly, erroneous, as
the terms of union had
been embodied in another
document, and as a sov-
ereign and independent na-
tion unquestionably pos-
sesses the right to amend
its constitution without
asking the consent of an-
other power.^ But both
Anckarsvard's and
Dalman's motions were
adopted by the Rigsdag.
It was also decided to
undertake a revision of
the Act of Union, evidently
for the purpose of creating
a Swedish supremacy over
Norway, and the question of Norwegian statholder was to be
regarded as a union affair. To the latter proposition no Norwegian
ministry could agree, as it would establish Swedish authority over
the Norwegian constitution, but the king was intimidated by the
hostile attitude of the Swedish leaders, and as the Swedish ministry
threatened to resign unless he accepted their view, he finally refused
to sanction the measure passed by the Storthing. That Sweden
had won a victory in a purely Norwegian affair was evident, and the
episode did not tend to increase the Norwegian people's love for the

» B. Dunker, Flyveblad No. 4 og No. 6. Om Statholder posten.

FiQ. 13. — Queen Louise

II PROPOSED REVISION OF THE ACT OF UNION 525

union. The Norwegian press maintained on the whole a very cahn
tone in discussing the matter, but that deep resentment had been
aroused by this unexpected manifestation of anti-Norwegian feel-
ing in Sweden was clearly apparent. In the Storthing a committee
of fifteen, which was appointed to consider the situation, drafted
an address to the king, stating clearly and forcibly the right of the
Norwegian people to exercise full control over their constitution.
The first part of the document, written by Schweigaard, closes
with these words : " Against the claims advanced by the Swedish
Estates that the measure abolishing the office of statholder should
be treated as a matter with which Sweden is concerned, the Storthing
hereby submits to Your Majesty their respectful protest." The
second part of the address, written by Aal, states that a revision of
the Act of Union cannot be undertaken by the Norwegians on any
other basis than that of full equality between the two kingdoms, and
the right of each nation to manage its own affairs in all matters not
specifically designated as common interests. The third part, written
by Johan Sverdrup, is an eloquent appeal to the king, closing with
the statement that it would be the duty of His Majesty and the new
session of the Storthing to bring the question of the office of stat-
holder to a successful issue. After being carefully considered, the
address was passed by the Storthing in the night of April 23, 1860, as
a solemn protest against the attempt of the sister kingdom to impair
the sovereign right of Norway. In conformity with this address
the Norwegian ministry refused to agree to the proposed revision.
But the following year the Swedish minister of justice, De Geer,
submitted to the combined Swedish-Norwegian ministry a proposal
that the revision of the Act of Union should be undertaken according
to the motions of Anckarsvard and Dalman passed by the Rigsdag.
The principle of equality between the two kingdoms should be main-
tained, he said, but this should not be an absolute, but a relative,
equality. The share of each kingdom in the common government
should be made proportionate to the amount contributed by each
toward the defraying of joint pubUc expenses, and the joint legis-
lative assembly should consist of representatives from each king-
dom in proportion to the population. Sweden would demand "to
be regarded as primus inter pares in all matters in which the prin-

526 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

ciple of equality could not be maintained." ^ The resolution passed
by the Storthing, that " no Norwegian who loved his country and his
honor could agree to a revision of the Act of Union on any basis
save that of Norway's absolute equality with Sweden," was disre-
garded, and the Norwegian government was invited to join in the
work of revision as if nothing had been said. The Norwegian minis-
try unanimously refused to accede to the request, but disagreement
arose over certain expressions in their report, and Birch-Reichenwald
and two of his colleagues resigned. The ministry was then reor-
ganized with Frederick Stang as its real head, and the new ministry
assumed a different attitude to the question of revision.

After Birch-Reichenwald's resignation, and before Stang had
taken his seat in the new ministry, the report was finally purged of
the disputed expressions and submitted to the king, February 18,
1862. Point by point it controverted the reasons for revision as-
signed by the Swedish ministers. It reiterated the opinion of the
Storthing, expressed in the address of 1860, and declared that the
Norwegians could not agree to the proposed revision. De Geer
sought to refute the points in the report by reasserting the principle
which had already been declared, but he would not urge the revision
at that moment on account of the prevailing sentiment in Norway.
He declared, however, that he favored revision, and he expressed
the hope that the matter was only postponed, and that the time would
soon come when the revision could be carried out. A formal declara-
tion was added, stating that the king desired the revision to be under-
taken at a more opportune time, and that it should be carried out
without any obstruction from previously announced principles.
It was long thought that De Geer was the author of this declaration,^
but he has stated in his memoirs that the author was Stang himself.
From this circumstance it is clear that the Norwegian ministry- had
already consented to a revision, but this could not be undertaken
while the resolution which had been passed in the Storthing was
still in force. An attempt was, therefore, made to secure the repeal
of this resolution, but the constitutional committee to which the

1 Aug. Chr. Manthey, Dagb^ger for Aarene 1856-1874, p. 191 ff. O. A.
0verland, Norges Historic 1814-1902, p. 94 ff.

* Om Revi$ion of Foreningsakten mellem Sverige og Norge, vol. I., p. 175 fit.

n PROPOSED REVISION OF THE ACT OF UNION 527

matter was referred did not agree. A compromise measure was
adopted which, though very vague, was interpreted to mean that a
revision might be undertaken whenever the king should find the
moment opportune, but the principle of full equality between the two
kingdoms should be adhered to. The new constitutional committee
to which the work of revision was to be intrusted was appointed
February 6, 1865, and consisted of seven Norwegian and seven
Swedish members.

During these strange political maneuvers, by which Sweden had
succeeded in forcing through a measure wholly repugnant to the
Norwegian people, the Liberal leaders had made no protest. J. E.
Sars says that this strange silence was due to a desire to secure the
passage of some measures which they regarded as especially impor-
tant. These measures were, the introduction of the jury system,
and especially the question of yearly sessions of the Storthing, about
which Sverdrup said : " Let us all unite in working for yearly sessions
of the Storthing ; this is the greatest service we can show our country ;
all other things are only palliatives." Both the king and the min-
istry seemed favorably inclined to these reforms, but neither one was
passed at this time.

The Norwegian members of the constitutional committee were :
O. V. Lange, G. P. Harbitz, N. Vogt, E. Saxlund, N. K. Irgens, T. H.
Aschehoug, and O. G. Ueland. The first two soon withdrew, and
K. Platan and H. Th. Meinich were appointed in their place. The
committee was instructed to agree to no changes in the Act of Union
except such as might improve that document in minor details. But
the amalgamation policy of the Stang ministry, and. the influence
of "Morgenbladet," whose gifted editor, Chr. Friele, was Stang's
personal friend and supporter, made them yield to a general revision.
Such a step was favored by the conservative spirit and desire for
centralization of power represented by Stang and his colleagues,
and also by the Scandinavian sentiment, which at this time was very
strong.

The Pan-Scandinavian ideas had been stated in very vague terms,
and even the leaders of the movement could probably not have
defined their real aim. The enthusiastic talk about a united North
proved to be little more than a sentiment, which could not be reduced

528 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

to anything so prosaic as a distinct purpose. The feehng that the
three nations are in reality one people had been appealed to, and it
was thought that it constituted a bond of union so strong that it
would insure cooperation in case either should be attacked by a
foreign foe. Beyond this purely theoretical stage Scandinavianism
never advanced. The thought was beautiful, but it proved to be
too purely poetic to be of much practical value in time of great
emergencies.

When the Schleswig-Holstein question threatened to embroil
Denmark in war with Austria and Prussia, the sympathy for the
sister state grew very intense both in Norway and Sweden. King
Charles XV. conferred with Frederick VII. of Denmark, and nego-
tiations were carried on between the three realms with the aim of
creating a defensive alliance for defending the Eider as the southern
border of Denmark.^ The plan was opposed by leading cabinet
members both in Sweden and Norway. The Swedish minister of
finance, John August Gripenstedt, showed the king how dangerous
it would be to engage in war with Germany merely for the sake of
a vague sentiment, and pointed to Charles XII. and Gustavus IV.
as examples. Sibbern, Norwegian minister of state in Stockholm,
and Stang, head of the Norwegian ministry, were also opposed to
an alliance with Denmark unless the cooperation of the great powers
was assured. An earnest appeal was addressed to England, France,
and Russia to aid Denmark, but as no encouraging answer was re-
turned, Charles XV. was forced to abandon the plan of an alliance
with Denmark. King Frederick VII. died shortly afterwards,
and his successor, Christian IX., signed the new constitution for
Denmark-Schleswig, a step which immediately led to war with the
two German powers Austria and Prussia, who refused to allow the
duchy of Schleswig to be incorporated in the Danish kingdom. A
German army entered Holstein, and in February, Prussian and
Austrian troops crossed the Eider. This brought matters to such

1 Halvdan Koht, Die Stellung Norwegens und Schwedens im deutsch-d&n-
ischen Konflikt, Christiania Videnskabs-Selskabs Skrifter, 1907, p. 119 £f.
Aug. Chr. Manthey, Dagh^ger, vol. I., p. 330. John August Gripenstedt,
Minnen, vol, I., p. 250 f. Det Stangske System, Aftryk af Dagbladet. Halv-
dan Koht, Unionen og Freden. En historisk Udredning av svensk KrigS'
politik aiden 1814, p. 69.

II PROPOSED REVISION OF THE ACT OF UNION 529

a crisis that it appeared as if Norway and Sweden would be involved
in the war. The Swedish Rigsdag placed three million rigsdaler
at the disposal of the government to place the army on war footing,
and the Storthing passed a bill submitted by the government, em-
powering the king to use the army and navy of Norway in defense
of Denmark. Attached to this measure, however, were the condi-
tions that in case of an alliance with Denmark the forces used for
its defense would have to approximate those of the enemy in strength,
and Norway's extensive commerce would have to be protected.
These conditions were so exacting that they almost voided the meas-
ure itself. Some preparations were made, and a Norwegian-Swedish
squadron cruised in the Baltic, but no alliance was concluded, and
Denmark was left to her fate. Neither the Norwegian nor the
Swedish ministry would assume the responsibility for a war, and
the Storthing passed a declaration that " the majority of the Norwe-
gian people did not desire closer political relations with Denmark."
This gave the political Pan-Scandinavianism its death blow. Den-
mark was soon compelled to yield, and Lauenburg, Holstein, and
Schleswig were ceded to the German allies. The Scandinavian
sentiment still continued to live, and Scandinavian societies were
organized in all three kingdoms, but when the Norwegian Storthing
in 1871 refused to agree to the proposed revision of the Act of Union,
political Scandinavianism vanished. Before the close of King
Charles's reign the societies had disappeared, and Pan-Scandinavian-
ism as a distinct movement was dead.

The fate of Denmark in 1864 was a new illustration of the dangers
to which the smaller states are always exposed, and though the
Pan-Scandinavian idea had been rudely shattered, it is evident that
the need of closer cooperation was keenly felt both in Norway and
Sweden at the time. The revision committee, which labored under
the influence of this sentiment, was finally able to submit a draft
of a new Act of Union in 1867.^ Instead of the confederation of two
independent kingdoms established in 1815, the new document

* Underdanigst Betcenkning angaaende Revision af Foreningsakten mellem
Norge og Sverige af given af den ved kongelig Resolution af 6le Februar, 1865,
naadigst nedsatte Committee. Forslag til Foreningsakt mellem Norge og
Sverige.

VOL. II — 2 M

530 mSTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

proposed a federal union, in which Sweden should have predominance.
The king should reside permanently in Stockholm, and the Swedish
minister of foreign affairs should have charge of the foreign affairs
of both countries. The number of matters to be regarded as union
affairs was also to be greatly increased in both countries. This
would have turned the development into paths leading to ultimate
consolidation of the two realms, and leading men in Sweden hoped
that a union parliament could soon be established if this act was
adopted. In 1869 the measure was proposed to the Storthing as a
government bill to be taken up for consideration at the next session.
The measure seemed to have the best chance of being passed. Ueland,
the great leader of the binder, was a member of the committee which
had framed it, and the other leader of the binder, Jaabaek, who since
1865 had been actively engaged in organizing societies among his
followers, the bondevenforeninger, and who was chiefly interested in
the question of an economic administration, advised his friends
to have nothing to do with this measure, as it was " higher politics, "
with which they were not concerned. There seemed to be a real
danger that Norway's independence might be destroyed. But the
proposed bill became an issue which called into active opposition
the ablest leaders, and served to hasten the organization of the great
Liberal party, the "Left" (Venstre). Bernhard Dunker assailed
the proposed act in his work " Om Revision af Foreningsakten mellem
Sverige og Norge," second part (1868), and "Norsk Folkeblad"
and "Dagbladet" joined in the attack. T. H. Aschehoug, who had
been a member of the committee, sought to defend the measure,^
but the opposition was rapidly growing. In the debates in the Stor-
thing Ketil Motzfeldt and Johan Sverdrup led the attack, and the
measure was defeated by a vote of ninety-two to seventeen, 1871.
Repeated failures had shown that the character of the union could
not be changed, and the attempt to revise the Act of Union was not
renewed.

1 T. H. Aschehoug, Om Unionskomiteens Udkast til en ny Rigsakt. This
work first appeared as a series of articles in Morgenbladet.

n important reform measures 531

63. Important Reform Measures passed in the Reign of
Charles XV. The Rise of the Liberal or Venstre Party

Though the questions regarding the office of statholder and the
revision of the Act of Union had raised issues which for many years
attracted the chief attention of the lawgivers, many important
measures were passed which contributed to general progress. In
1860 a new school law was passed, based on recommendations sub-
mitted by Hartvig Nissen, by which a public school system was
created for the kingdom.^ All herreds and parishes should be divided
into school districts, and compulsory school attendance was estab-
lished for all children between eight and fourteen years of age. In
all districts where the homesteads were so situated that thirty pupils
could attend daily, permanent schools should be erected, and in
districts where this was not the case, instruction should b,e given
in their homes by itinerant teachers. ^

A new regulation was also made regarding the relative number
of representatives from rural and urban districts. The constitution
provides that the country districts should elect two-thirds, and the
cities only one-third, of the total number of representatives to the
Storthing, but because of prevailing rules of election, this ratio had
not been maintained. In 1857 the cities secured forty-four and the
rural communities only sixty-seven seats. In 1860 a bill, intro-
duced by Schweigaard, was passed, establishing in practice the pro-
visions of the constitution. The country districts were given seventy-
four representatives, and the cities only thirty-seven. This tended
to strengthen the opposition party, and gave the binder increased
political influence. A royal commission was appointed to examine
the jury system, but the bill finally submitted providing for its
introduction was defeated in the Lagthing, and the matter was
allowed to rest. Attempts were also made by the Stang ministry
to improve the military organization, and many bills were introduced
for this purpose. A new military code was adopted in 1866, and the
same year a new law for the regulation of the military service was
passed, but the majority in the Storthing was opposed to a new
army organization. The management of army and navy was so

^ W. Rein, Encyklopadisches Handbuch der Pddagogik, vol. VI., p. 319 ff.

532 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

severely criticized that the heads of those departments, General
Storm Wergeland and W. W. Hafner, resigned. The opposition was
rapidly growing. Jaabsek continued with great success to organize
societies among the binder, the hondevenforeninger, and his paper,
"Folketidende," became the most widely circulated newspaper in
the country. His clamor for public economy found general support
in the rural districts, and as he resisted every measure which he feared
might tend to increase the burdens of the rural population, he was
able to prevent additional military appropriations. The ministry
were also opposed by the Liberals, who desired reforms of various
kinds, and who were dissatisfied with its bureaucratic tendencies
and the position which it had taken on the revision question. The
different groups had their own organs. The "Folketidende" of
Jaabsek and his adherents had found a still more influential successor
in "Verdens Gang," edited by O. Thommesen. The organ of the
Liberals was "Dagbladet," edited by H. E. Berner, and the leading
Conservative papers were "Morgenbladet," edited by Chr. Friele,
and "Aftenposten," edited by A. Schibstead.

It had become the aim of the Liberal leader, Johan Sverdrup,
to introduce the parliamentary system and to lodge the supreme
power in the Storthing. His slogan was : " All power is to be united
in this assembly." "It is especially necessary," he said, "to make
the framework of our government as perfect for the future as possible.
This work cannot stop, if our political life is to be a blessing for our
country." So long as the opposition forces were divided into dis-
tinct factions more or less unwilling to cooperate, the Storthing could
not be strong, and Sverdrup's first aim was to unite the opposition
groups into a large Liberal party. He won Jaabsek to his side, and
the consummation of the work was hastened by the revival of the
issue of yearly sessions of the Storthing which had first been raised
in 1857. Bills for establishing this reform had been repeatedly
introduced, but they had not been passed, as it was feared that it
would lead to the introduction of the parliamentary system. When
the measure was again brought before the Storthing in 1869, A. M.
Schweigaard, who in 1866 had voted for the bill, arose and declared
that he would now vote against it. He was one of the most honored
and influential leaders, and his opinion had great weight, but Sverdrup

II THE RISE OF THE LIBERAL OR VENSTRE PARTY 533

waged the fight for the measure with great skill. " It will be regarded
as one of the greatest triumphs which has ever been won on the
path of progress in this country," he declared. The bill was passed
with eighty-one against thirty votes. "Sverdrup was the hero of
the hour," says L0vland. "When he stepped into the street he was
greeted with cheers by the populace. A liberal majority had been
created, the party of the Left (Venstre), and Sverdrup had become its
leader." ^

When Ueland and Schweigaard died in 1870, Frederick Stang
alone remained of the older leaders, and as head of the Conservative
forces he was to wage a long and losing fight against his doughty
antagonist. Yearly sessions of the Storthing and the existence of
the Liberal party made it possible to approach other issues with
greater chance of settling them according to the will of the people.
The question regarding the participation of the cabinet in the deliber-
ations of the Storthing had been an issue ever since Christian Magnus
Falsen in 1821 submitted a bill for amending the constitution on that
point. In 1824 his bill had been laid on the table even without
discussion, and repeated attempts to pass the measure had proven
unsuccessful. A bill embodying this reform, introduced by P. K.
Gaarder, was passed in 1851 by a large majority, but it was vetoed
by the king, and later efforts in behalf of the measure had failed.
In 1869 this reform was again proposed in a bill introduced by C.
Motzfeldt. It was moved for consideration in 1872, and an in-
tense struggle between Conservatives and Liberals was precipitated.
In his famous speech on the measure Sverdrup urged with great
force the necessity of introducing the parliamentary system. This
measure has become "a necessary corollary to the constitutional
provision establishing yearly sessions of the Storthing, through which
a new political system is necessarily established in our country,"
he declared. " It is necessary for both branches of the government ;
for the Storthing no less than for the ministry." "The responsibility
of the ministers will follow as a natural consequence when the minis-
ters are obliged to answer for their own acts and those of their col-
leagues whenever it is demanded." The leader of the Conservatives
in the Storthing, Professor T. H. Aschehoug, maintained that the

1 Nordmcend i det 19de Aarhundrede, p. 111.

634 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

measure involved the introduction of the parUamentary system like
that of England, and that this might lead to a tyrannous rule by the
majority, against which other countries had found it necessary to
provide safeguards in the form of an upper house which could protect
the minority. A hostile attitude between the ministry, led by Fred-
erick Stang, and the liberal majority of the Storthing, led by Sverdrup,
soon developed. It became evident that a struggle had begun
which would decide whether the Storthing or the crown should exer-
cise the highest authority. The provision of the constitution on
this vital point would be put to the severest test. The bill was
passed, March 9th, with a majority of eighty against twenty-nine
votes, but Stang and a majority of his colleagues in the ministry
advised the king to veto it. Two of the ministers who favored the
measure, O. J. Brock and N. K. Irgens, resigned. The veto caused
great excitement, and increased the growing tension between the Stor-
thing and the ministry. An address to the king was adopted, in
which the Storthing expressed its lack of confidence in the Stang
ministry, and gave utterance to the surprise and disappointment
caused by the veto. As a result, the ministers expressed their will-
ingness to resign, but when the king stated that he saw no reason
why he should change advisers, they remained in office, showing
that they regarded themselves as responsible to the king and not
to the Storthing. Only Riddervold, minister of ecclesiastical affairs,
retired.

64. Oscar II. The Office of Statholder Abolished. The

Veto Question

King Charles XV. was a strong man, but his health had been
impaired, and on returning from the baths of Aix la Chapelle, where
he had sought relief, he died at Mahno, September 18, 1872, at the
age of forty-six. As he left no male heir,^ his brother, Oscar Fred-
erick, Duke of Ostergotland, succeeded him on the throne as Oscar
II. It was the aim of the new king to secure a settlement of the
union question, and to bring about a better understanding between

1 Queen Louise died in March, 1871, and Prince Charles, bom in 1852,
passed away in 1854. Only a daughter survived the king, Princess Louise,
who married Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark in 1869.

n OSCAR II. THE OFFICE OF STATHOLDER ABOLISHED 535

the Norwegian ministry and the Storthing. The question regarding
the office of statholder had been repeatedly brought up. In 1873
a bill was again passed, abolishing the office, and creating instead that
of minister of state for Norway, who should be the recognized head
of the Norwegian ministry, a real prime minister. The king sanc-
tioned the measure, and Frederick Stang, who was already the leader
of the Norwegian ministry, was appointed to the new office.^

The issue regarding the participation of the ministers in the
deliberations of the Storthing was still pending, and as King Oscar
retained the Stang ministry, there was no prospect of more friendly
relations between the two parties in Norway. The election of 1874
became a real trial of strength between Conservatives and Liberals.
The Liberal party secured a majority in the Storthing, and a bill
providing for the seating of the ministers was passed by a vote of
seventy-four to thirty-five. The measure was again vetoed, but
it had now been passed twice, though not in a strictly unaltered
form, as the word statsministeren was changed to statsministrene,
because of the creation of the new office of minister of state for
Norway. In the elections of 1877 the Liberals were again victorious,
and the bill was passed a second time in an unchanged form with
increased majority, but it was promptly vetoed as before. The
political campaigns grew more intensely bitter, and the leaders of
both parties did their utmost to rally their adherents. The leading
Conservative organ, " Morgenbladet, " was predicting a change in
the situation. The binder, it was claimed, were awakening to see
that Sverdrup was guiding them along paths leading to a republic
and socialism ; they would soon turn and support the Conservative
party. But the election of 1880 resulted in a new victory for the
Liberals, and the bill for seating the ministers was passed a third
time, with ninety-three votes against twenty. Since the Moderates,
and even some of the Conservatives, joined the Liberals in voting

^ Up till 1905, when Norway was separated from Sweden, the Norwegian
ministry consisted of two branches: The division in Stockholm, consisting
of a minister of state and two other ministers, and the Norwegian cabinet
in Christiania, at first headed by the statholder. When that office was abol-
ished, the office of minister of state for Norway was created. This new
official received the same rank as the minister of state in Stockholm, and was
the head of the ministry.

536 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

for the measure, it was evident that the reform was supported by a
general public sentiment. But the Stang ministry, which paid no
heed to the will of the people, again caused the bill to be vetoed.
The same day that the veto was announced to the Storthing, the
president, Johan Sverdrup, submitted a resolution that since the
measure had been passed in an unchanged form by three separate
Storthings, it should be declared law without the king's sanction,
and that it should be sent to the ministry to be proclaimed as law
in the manner prescribed for constitutional amendments. The resolu-
tion was passed June 9th by a large majority. But this only pre-
cipitated a new issue regarding the extent of the king's veto power.
The constitution provides that a bill passed in an unchanged form
by three successively elected Storthings becomes a law without the
king's signature ; but this measure was a constitutional amendment,
and the constitution did not explicitly state that such a measure
could become law without royal sanction. To the resolution passed
by the Storthing on June 9th the ministry returned the answer that
since the bill had not been sanctioned, and had, therefore, not be-
come a part of the constitution, it could not be proclaimed as such.
The question regarding the king's veto power in cases of consti-
tutional amendments had been answered in different ways by the
best authorities.^ The constitutional committee of 1824 with the

1 Among those who thought that the king had absolute veto in cases of
amendments to the constitution were : T. H. Aschehoug, Norges nuvcerende
Statsforfatning, vol. II., p. 231, first edition. Statsminister Stang, Om den
kongelige Sanctionsret ejter Norges Grundlov. Professor Ludvig Daae, who
characterized the resolution of June 9th as revolutionary, in a speech de-
livered at Ramnaes, September 29, 1883. Johannes Berg, who defended
Selmer and his colleagues in the impeachment trial, Den nye Stalsskik, Tillid
til Johan Sverdrup. L. Raknerud, Sanktionsretten i Grundlovssager og den
politiske Situation. H. L. Rydin, Unionen och Konungens SanktionsrdU
i norska Grundlagsjrhgor.

Among those who opposed absolute veto may be mentioned : H. N.
Stenbuch, professor of jurisprudence, Bemerkninger over Norges Grundlov,
Trondhjem, 1815. P. P. Flor, President of the Lagthing, Bemerkninger over
de paa Sdie ordentlige Storthing 1821 fremsatte Konstitutionsforslag, Dram-
men, 1823. Professor Fredrik Stang, Syslematisk Fremstilling af Kongeriget
Norges konstitutionelle grundlovsbestemte Ret, Christiania, 1833. H. H. Foss,
member of the Storthing, member of the cabinet, etc., Angaaende de til
Afgj^relse paa 7de ordentlige Storthing fremsatte Konstitutionsforslag og hvad
der om samme offentlig er ytret, Christiania, 1833. Ole Munch Raeder, Den

II OSCAR II. THE VETO QUESTION 537

learned jurist Chr. Krohg as chairman had expressed the opinion
that the king must be regarded as possessing absolute veto in eases
of constitutional amendments. And in an address to the king of the
same year the Storthing itself had expressed the same view, saying :
" The National Legislature admits that your Royal Majesty possesses
an absolute veto in cases of amendments to the constitution." But
Jonas Anton Hjelm held that the king had no such power. Ueland
and Sverdrup were of the same opinion, and Stang in his work on
the constitution, "Systematisk Fremstilling af Kongeriget Norges
constitutionelle eller grundlovsbestemte Ret," 1833, held that in
constitutional amendments, as in case of other bills, the king had
only a suspensive veto.^ The king requested the faculty of the
department of law of the University of Christiania to submit an
opinion on the veto question, and with only one member dissenting
they stated that according to their understanding of the consti-
tution it could not be amended without the king's sanction.^ But

norske Statsforfatnings Hisiorie og Vmsen, Copenliagen, 1841. A. S. 0rsted,
leading Danish jurist, and judge of the supreme court of Denmark, P. K.
Gaarder, jurist, Fortolkning over Grundloven og de ^vrige Love som danne
Norges Riges offentlige Ret, Christiania, 1845. S. Jaabaek, Den h^ieste Magt
i Staten, Mandal, 1883.

1 J. E. Sars, Norges politiske Historie 181 6-1 885, p. 634.

2 Sth. Prp. No. 20 {1881) angaaende Kongens Sanktionsret ved Grundlovs-
forandringer. Om Kongens Sanktionsret, Uddrag af det juridiske Fakultets
Betcenkning af 23de Marts, 1881.

N. L. Braekstad, The Constitutional Crisis in Norway, London, 1883.
Ole Ring, Im^degaaelse af Vetobetcenkningen, Christiania, 1881. C. Winter-
Hjelm, professor of jurisprudence, Om Grundlovens Principer og den Aand
hvori de under gjensidig Begrcensning er gjennemf^rte i dens enkelte Bestemmelser,
Christiania, 1863. Bj0rnstjerne Bj0rnson, Tale, Om Folkesuveroeniteten.
Tale, Om den norske Forfatningskamp. J. Belsheim, Lidt om det kongelige
Magtomraade i hvert af de forenede Riger; Mod det absolute Veto, Udtalelser af
navnkundige Jurister og Storthingsmcend i oeldre Tid; Om Magtfordelingen i
Grundloven og mod absolut Veto.

The member of the faculty of jurisprudence of the University of Chris-
tiania who did not agree with his colleagues in the opinion submitted was
Professor F. Brandt. He declared that under the circumstances he would
agree to decide in favor of absolute veto, but he added that he found the
question so doubtful, and the reasons for holding that the king's veto in
cases of constitutional amendments was merely suspensive to be so strong
that the doubt as to the real character of the veto ought to be removed by
an amendment to the constitution. Kampen mellem Norges Storthing og
Regjering, Aftryk af Dagbladet, Christiania.

538 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

after all had been said, the fact remained that the framers of the
constitution had failed to state what the power of the king should
be in the given instance. The best jurists stood divided, some claim-
ing that he had no veto power, as none had been specifically granted
him, others inferring that he had absolute veto. Under these cir-
cumstances the view taken by Stang that he had a suspensive veto
as in the case of all other bills might have been accepted, as J. E.
Sars suggests, as a fair compromise. When the ministry refused
to accept this view of the situation, and assumed an uncompromising
attitude in favor of absolute veto, a deadlock was created which
could only be broken by the defeat either of the Storthing or the
ministry, and the ultimate triumph of the one or the other of
the more extreme views.

The resolution of June 9th had scarcely been expected by Stang.
He realized that a determined struggle would be waged by the Stor-
thing, and as he was getting old, and feared the consequences of
the impending conflict, he resigned. He was a highly gifted man, and
in his long public career he had rendered his country eminent serv-
ice as professor of jurisprudence, as lawyer, and especially as head
of the department of the interior. But he was not a great states-
man. He was in spirit a bureaucrat, who loved to be shown implicit
obedience. His legal learning made him look at all questions from
a jurist's point of view, and under the influence of his conservative
friends he had developed as minister of state a decidedly reactionary
policy. He retired from ofiice with all outward show of honor, says
Sars. "The king expressed his appreciation of the valuable services
which he had rendered his country and his sovereign. But these
and other honors shown him could not conceal from his own contem-
poraries, or from posterity, the fact that he retired from office as a
defeated man, whose political policy had miscarried, because it rested
on erroneous premises."

After Stang's retirement a new ministry was formed by C. A.
Selmer, who had been representative in the Storthing and member of
the Stang ministry. Hitherto he had not been conspicuous as a polit-
ical leader, his only special qualification being his stanch adherence
to the policy of Stang and "Morgenbladet," who considered it to be
the chief object of the cabinet to defend the royal prerogatives.

PLATE XIX

Chr. Aug. Selmer

Emil Stang.

Oscar II.

Johannes Steen.

S0REN Jaab^k.

n THE VETO QUESTION 539

The position taken by the Storthing was enthusiastically supported
by a great majority of the people. A few days after the resolution
of June 9th had been passed, many thousands marched to Sverdrup's
residence and thanked him for his great service. Throughout
the country the representatives who had voted for the resolution
received a joyous welcome, and were lauded by the press and at
public political meetings. The ninth of June became for a time a
national holiday.^

Instead of attempting to allay the controversy between ministry
and Storthing, Selmer pursued a narrow bureaucratic policy which
only aggravated the situation. In 1878 a bill was passed transferring
the power of appointing lensmcBud from the amimand to the herred-
styre, a very timely and useful reform, but the measure was vetoed.
Other controversies also arose which served to increase the hostility
between ministry and Storthing, In 1880 the Storthing instructed
the committee on military affairs to prepare a plan for a new army
organization to be submitted to the next session, but the ministry
claimed that committees of the Storthing could not continue their
work between sessions, and refused to pay the allowances granted
the members. In 1868-1869 a commission had been appointed to
propose plans for the extension of the suffrage, but when a bill was
finally passed, in 1881, proposing to restrict male suffrage only by a
slight property qualification, the measure was vetoed. The following
year an appropriation bill was passed, granting financial aid to the
folkevoBbningssamlag, or skytterlag, a national organization of rifle
clubs, aiming at training the people in the use of firearms. But
also this measure was vetoed, as it was feared that the rifle clubs,
organized for the purpose of strengthening the national defense,
were the beginning of a parliamentary army created for the sake of
supporting the Storthing in case of emergency. A bill providing
for a central railway commission, six members of which should
be appointed by the Storthing, was sanctioned in part, but the last
clause, describing in what manner the members should be chosen; was
vetoed. It was evident that the dictatorial attitude of the ministry,
if allowed to pass unchallenged, would destroy the prestige and
impair the power of the Storthing. Not only had the ministers

1 Erik Vullum, F^lgerne af den 9de Juni.

540 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

undertaken to settle by their own fiat the mooted question of the
king's veto power in cases of constitutional amendments, but the veto
had been extended even to bills of appropriation, and had been used
in a way which would make the crown the supreme power in all
affairs of government. Instead of being the servants of the people,
carrying out the behests of the national legislature, the ministry
had become the representatives of the king, who regarded the will
of the people as a hostile force, which had to be checked and curbed
in order that the royal prerogatives might be preserved. If a system
should be allowed to develop, under which the executive department
should arrogate to itself the power of successfully resisting the will
of the people, expressed by its chosen representatives, the principle
of democratic government would be destroyed. The royal preroga-
tives, which might constantly be enlarged by inference and cabinet
interpretation, would be elevated to the dignity of a constitution,
which in doubtful cases would be given the preference over the
written fundamental law. Progress was hindered, and the efficiency
of the administrat on greatly reduced by the continual rivalry be-
tween the executive and legislative departments. True develop-
ment would demand that the king and the ministry should cease to
stand in opposition to the people; that the executive and adminis-
trative department should become the organ, not of the will of the
ruler, but of the sovereign will of the people, in harmony with the
constitution. By vesting in the Storthing the power of impeachment,
which might be used against any minister who pursued a course
deemed to be inimical to the interests of the country, the men of
Eidsvold had placed in the hands of the people a weapon which had
already been used on several occasions against recalcitrant members
of the cabinet. This sword might again have to be used to sever
the Gordian knot, but before resorting to so drastic a measure the
leaders of the Liberal party would place the issue before the country
at the next election, 1882. The king arrived in Christiania, and in
a speech from the throne he openly censured the Storthing for its
attitude on the veto question. The excitement throughout the
country grew very intense, and the campaign became one of the
stormiest ever witnessed in Norway. The Liberal leaders — Johan
Sverdrup, Johannes Steen, Bj0rnstjeme Bj0rnson, and other able

II THE VETO QUESTION 641

speakers — urged the people to rally to the defense of their political
rights, and to support the resolution of June 9th. As the suffrage
was restricted to landowners, many who on this account were dis-
franchised secured the rights to vote by acquiring title to marshy
and otherwise useless land. By the Conservatives they were called
in derision fagot-voters {myrmcend) } The Liberals won a decisive
victory, returning eighty-three members to the Storthing while the
Conservatives secured only thirty-one seats. But even after this
overwhelming defeat, the ministry showed no inclination to resign.
Impeachment was, therefore, the sole remaining constitutional
remedy to which the Storthing could resort. The precaution was
taken to choose only Liberals to the Lagthing, and on March 30,
1883, a measure was introduced in the Odelsthing instituting impeach-
ment proceedings against the members of the cabinet for having
advised the king to veto a bill passed by three Storthings, and for
refusing to promulgate the bill as law upon the request of the Stor-
thing. As the constitution provides that the king is blameless, and
that all responsibility falls upon his ministers, they alone could be
called to account.^ An attempt to negotiate a compromise between
the ministry and the leaders of the majority in the Storthing failed.
The Conservatives were unw Uing to agree to the retirement of the
ministry, and demanded that the L berals should concede nearly
every point in the controversy, among other things that they should
accept the theory of the king's absolute veto. Such a demand left
no room for compromise, and the bill of impeachment was passed
with fifty-three votes against thirty-two, April 23, 1883.

The impeachment proceedings began May 18th before the Rigsret,
a tribunal consisting of thirty-eight members, i.e. nine judges of
the High Court of Justice, and the members of the Lagthing num-
bering twenty-nine.^ The accused used their right to challenge

1 K. Lous, Det radikale Parti og Myrmandsvmsenet. Bj0rnstjerne Bj0mson,
Om Folkesuverceniteten eller det norske Folks Husbondsret, 1882.

^ Jakob Sverdrup, Minister ansvarligheden og Rigsretten, Sceravtryk af Vestn
landsposten, 1883.

' Rigsretten, dens Sammensoetning og forfatningsmoessige Myndighed, Chris-
tiania, 1880. Hartvig Lassen, Det radikale Parti og Rigsretten. G. Blom,
Mere om det radikale Parti og Rigsretten. Haakon L0ken, Minder fra RigS"
retstiden. Yngvar Nielsen, Under Oscar IPs Regjering, p. 222 £f.

542 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

and dismiss one-third of the members. The remaining twenty-six
conducted the trial, which lasted till February 18, 1884. All the
ministers were found guilty. The minister of state, J. A. Selmer,
was dismissed from office, and had to pay the cost of the trial. His
associates, Vogt, Holmboe, Helliesen, Jensen, Munthe, and Bachke,
were dismissed from office. Johansen, who in 1880 had opposed
the veto of the measure in question, and Chr. Schweigaard and Hertz-
berg, who had become members of the ministry after the measure
was vetoed, escaped with a fine.

For some time after the decree had been rendered, the greatest
excitement prevailed, as it was rumored that the king would disre-
gard the decision of the court. In the London "Pall Mall Gazette"
a correspondent writes, October 10, 1883 :

"Rumors have reached England that the decision of the tribunal
now engaged in trying the Norwegian ministry — in case the verdict
should be the dismissal of the ministers from their office — will be
set aside or disregarded, and that the king will express his confidence
in the ministers, and retain them in his Council, or that he may even
appoint a new Conservative ministry. But surely this, in a consti-
tutional country, is the first step towards revolution, and I cannot
believe the Executive entertains such treasonable designs. This
court is, unquestionably, a national tribunal, and the judgment
there expressed is the will of the people, which history teaches us it
is not wdl to tamper with. A coup d'Stat on the part of the king
has also been spoken of, and more than once recommended by the
Conservative papers in the country. It is surely too late in the day
for any constitutional king to think of forcing an absolute veto, which
is now really the bone of contention, upon his people at the point
of the bayonet, and if the Norwegians do not belie their traditions,
there seems but little chance of success for the king, if he were to
attempt to thwart the national will by force of arms. The Norwe-
gian people, who in 1814 took the bold and resolute step of standing
up for their liberty, and declaring themselves a free and independent
nation, may in the present year of grace, or whenever occasion de-
mands it, prove themselves as valiant as their forefathers to defend
their liberty. All the reports circulated about a rupture with Sweden,
the object of the majority in the Storthing to establish the republic,
and about civil war, may be entirely overlooked.

n THE VETO QUESTION 543

"The anxiety displayed by the Conservative press of the country
at the prospect of a change of the ministry is almost amusing to
Englishmen, who have become pretty accustomed to such political
vicissitudes ; these reactionary organs predict the ruin of the country
if the Liberals were to win the day, and the country be blessed with
a ministry who would work in harmony and good earnest with the
people's representatives. If the Norwegian people will have a
Liberal ministry, let the king by all means appoint such a one. Surely
the well-known honorable and sedate character of the Norwegians
is more than sufficient guarantee that the welfare and the liberty
of the country will be as zealously guarded in such an event as by
any Conservative ministry."

Many strange acts on the part of the government increased the
excitement, and gave further support to the belief that the decision
of the court of impeachment would not be respected. It became
known that Selmer had presided as minister of state after the decision
of the court had been rendered. It was rumored that loaded can-
nons were mounted on the fortress of Akershus, and that the army
rifles belonging to the national troops in many places had been ren-
dered useless, for fear, as it was said, of a rebellious uprising. But
this nervous alarm was finally allayed when on March 11th the
king dismissed Selmer in obedience to the decision rendered by the
court. The Storthing had won the battle. Its supreme authority
could no longer be questioned, nor could it be doubted that the parlia-
mentary system, according to which the cabinet must cooperate
with the majority in the legislative assembly, or retire, would hence-
forth be carried out in practice. The king, it is true, did not recog-
nize this principle, and appointed a new Conservative ministry headed
by Emil Stang, leader of the Conservative party. But the Storthing
continued to follow up its victory. The bill regarding the appoint-
ment of lensmcBnd, which had been vetoed in 1878 and 1881, was
passed a third time. The minister of the war department, Dahl,
and his successor, Munthe, were summoned before the Storthing to
explain the strange occurrences in their department at the time of the
trial of Selmer and his colleagues. The Liberal majority demanded
of the new ministry that they should promulgate as law the bill
regarding the seating of the ministers, according to the resolution

544 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

of June 9th, and that the decision of the court of impeachment
should be accepted in all its parts. If this was not done, impeach-
ment proceedings would immediately be instituted against them.
The Stang ministry, finding that they could not resist the majority
in the Storthing, resigned. The king now requested O. J. Broch
to form a coalition ministry, but this attempt failed, and he advised
the king to intrust the task of forming a new ministry to the Liberal
leader, Johan Sverdrup. A compromise was agreed upon, and Sver-
drup formed a Liberal ministry which quickly settled the pending
issues. The appropriations to the rifle clubs were sanctioned ; so
also the bill providing for a change in the method of appointing
lensmcend. The bill providing for a central railway commission was
also signed without any modification. But with regard to the bill
providing for the seating of the ministers, which involved the ques-
tion of the king's veto power, a compromise was arranged. The
measure should again be introduced in the Storthing with the addi-
tional clause providing that members of the cabinet should be made
eligible to the Storthing from districts in which they do not reside.
The bill was introduced by Levins Smitt, and was promptly passed and
sanctioned. On July 2, 1884, the Sverdrup ministry took their seats
in the Storthing, and were bidden welcome by President Johannes
Steen. The parliamentary principle had been formally recognized.

65. Further Development of the Norwegian Literary and
Cultural Renaissance

The great political struggles stirred the Norwegian people to
intense thoughts and feelings, and roused them to a new national
life. During the exciting conflicts waged for the defense of their
liberty and independence they had become active participants in
events which involved their most vital social and national interests.
The newborn independence had brought increased privileges and
opportunities, but it had also made new demands on the vigilant
intelligence of the individual. Every boy had begun to consider
himself a politician; in every household the conversation centered
on the great issues, the popular political leaders, the technical points
in the all-absorbing controversy. Business interests and economic

II HENRIK IBSEN 545

questions were pushed into the background. From year to year
the mind followed the deepening conflict with anxious fascination, or
joyous controversial interest. The poets who lived through this
exciting period as young men and political leaders imbibed the
strongly realistic spirit and love for the solution of great problems,
the distinguishing features of the intellectual as well as of the polit-
ical life of the age. At first they had been influenced by romanti-
cism. They had stood in romanticism to the waist, as Brandes
says of Ibsen.^ But the age of vague symbolism and sentimental
ballads had passed, and they developed under the influence of the
national conflict a modern novel and drama dealing with social and
psychological problems. Ibsen and Bj0rnson, who were the founders
of the new realistic school, were soon joined by their great contem-
poraries Jonas Lie, Alexander Kielland, and Arne Garborg. In
"Peer Gynt" Ibsen makes the visionary romanticist the mark of
his superb satire. Peer, the gifted dreamer, never accomplishes
anything, never even attempts it. He goes through life waiting
for good luck to perform the miracle of making him great. A more
worthless caricature of a man has never stirred an audience to laugh-
ter, but even the mirth is tinged with sadness. The trifling with
life's most solemn duties, the dreamy hallucinations of greatness in
the midst of poverty and indolence, the wasting of gifts and oppor-
tunities, the ludicrous self-centered egotism which destroys his soul
and his happiness, because he refuses to contribute to the happiness
of others, become a profound tragedy when viewed against the back-
ground of the struggling and suffering which surround him. So
useless are the romanticists in this practical world of ours, Ibsen
would say. This philosophy that the poet, the artist, the great
man is a divinely inspired individual who does not need to exert him-
self, who triumphs by virtue of his genius, which is thrown like a
witch's dowry into his cradle, is destroyed with one fell stroke. In
"The Pretenders" and "Brand" Ibsen had already set up another
philosophy, in which he makes the will and the character the central
forces in life, the true source of greatness. Success, or even great-

* Georg Brandes, Henrik Ibsen. Henrik Jaeger, Henrik Ibsen og hans
Verker. Anathon Aal, Henrik Ibsen als Dichter und Denker. Just Bing,
Norske Digte og Digtere. Henrik Jaeger, Norske Forfattere.
VOL. II — 2n

546 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

ness itself, is not a gift which luck drops into the lap of the indolent;
it is a trophy won by the one who has the resolute will, the courage
to conquer. Life is a perpetual conflict between things as they are
and as they ought to be. Into this conflict we must all enter, and as
a strong, undaunted, truth-loving character is the only true quali-
fication for a useful life, so an indolent and compromising spirit
is the source of our undoing. Brand raises the demand of "all or
nothing." You must not compromise with sin and injustice. You
must do what is right to the full extent of the demand of the divine
law. The will is the main thing. "Willingly and joyfully you
must suffer every anguish," says Brand to Agnes, and when she feels
her inability to fulfill such a demand, and leans her head upon his
shoulder, he consoles her by saying : " That you can't will be for-
given, but never that you lack the will." In "The Pretenders" he
shows the conflict between the doubting, hesitating, plotting Skule
Jarl and the upright and self-confident King Haakon. Both desire
to accompUsh great things. Achievements are their fascination.
The ability to do great deeds they regard as the true worth of life,
the measure of success. "Who is the greatest man?" asks Bishop
Nikolas. "The one who is the most courageous," repUes Skule.
"So says the chieftain," answers the bishop. "A priest would
say the most pious, a sage would say the most learned, but it is
neither of them, Jarl. The happiest man is the greatest. The
happiest is he who does the greatest deeds, he to whom the demands
of the age come like a passion, and create in him thoughts which he
cannot understand, points out to him the way which he does not
know whither it leads. But he must continue on the way until
he hears the people shout for joy ; and he looks about with staring
eyes, wonders, and realizes that he has done a great deed." This is a
characterization of Ibsen himself and of his age. In his epigrammatic
sentences, into which he has compressed fundamental truths regard-
ing life, character, personality, truth, right, the mission of the indi-
vidual, we find expressed the spirit of the age which waged war
against oppression, desired a life of freedom, solved great problems,
and assailed with youthful vigor the crumbling bulwarks of antiquated
political and social ideas.
The old social forms in Norway did not conform to the new polit-

PLATE XX

Henrik Ibsen.

n BJ^RNSTJERNE BJ^^RNSON 547

ical ideas, neither did they meet the wants of the kind of personality
which Ibsen and his contemporaries demanded. Sedate respecta-
bility and decorous, time-honored forms from which long since all
spirit had fled served as a cloak of hypocrisy and dishonesty. Old
prejudice stood in the v/ay of the recognition of talent and ability;
closer scrutiny revealed falsehood and hidden corruption in all rela-
tions of life. Against this spiritual weakness and moral depravity
in high places as in low the great writers declared relentless war in
their social dramas and novels. Society was to be purged of its
falsehood and corruption ; the life of the community as of the indi-
vidual should be based on truth and purity; the relations in love,
marriage, home, and state should be rendered sacred, not by con-
ventional forms, but by true affection, chastity, and honesty. In
social as in political life there was need of men and women who could
do great deeds. Only through a regeneration of society could the
development of free, moral, intelligent personalities become possible.
Every phase of life was scrutinized by Ibsen's searching eye in
"Love's Comedy," "The Pillars of Society," "A Doll House,"
"Ghosts," "An Enemy of the People," and the whole list of his
modern social dramas. Bj0rnson ceased writing idyllic descriptions
of country life, and turned his attention to social problems. In his
novel " Magnhild," in which he treats of woman's position in married
life and the mission of the individual, both scenery and people have
assumed somber traits which remind us of Ibsen's "Brand" rather
than of "Synn0ve Solbakken." It has all the characteristic features
of the new philosophizing, reforming realism, and in his succeeding
works, as "The New System," "Leonarda," "A Mitten," "A
Bankruptcy," etc., he deals with various features of social and moral
life with great dramatic force.

Among the great masters of this period no one excelled Alexander
Kielland in elegance of style and mastery in narrative and character
painting. At thirty he wrote his first novel, and at forty his literary
career was closed, but during this short period of ten years he en-
riched Norwegian literature with a series of masterpieces in which
he sharply attacked the prevailing social wrongs. About his first
novel, "Garmann and Worse," Henrik Jaeger writes:^ "This son of

^ Illustreret norsk Liter aturhistorie, vol. III., p. 841 fE.

548 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

a Stavanger patrician, who for a number of years had been manager
of some tile works, had early discovered the fatal contrast in modern
society between capitalist and laborer; the contrast between the
fortunate ones who sleep in their soft beds, and those who never
sleep on anything but chaff and straw ; the contrast between those
who have a taste for oysters and champagne, and can satisfy their
taste, and those who during their whole life never learn to know
what oysters and champagne are, who are condemned to live on
the shady side of life ; the contrast between that which is fine, but
can be simple, and that which is simple and still may be fine; the
contrast between opulence and want, between wealth and poverty;
the contrast between those who dance on the floor, and those who
cause the same floor to tremble with the hatred of millions; the
contrast between those who are buried with the singing of hymns and
the tolling of bells, and those who are buried as paupers about in
the same way that a dead cat is put into the ground, only with the
difference that in the former instance the minister speaks a few
words at the grave. About these contrasts Kielland speaks in his
first novel. His attacks on vice and corruption are often very severe,
but he never stoops to anything coarse or indelicate." Professor
J. E. Sars says : "The works of Alexander Kielland are, as all know,
singularly free from everything coarse and impure. In his de-
scriptions he never attempts to unduly stimulate the senses, nor does
he ever overstep the boundaries which the strictest modesty may
draw. His satire is unusually sharp and poignant, but it is never
directed against anything but falsehood and humbug, the vicious
and ridiculous, which without controversy ought to be removed from
the positions of honor into which it has been able to climb. His
works show no anti-Christian tendency ; on the contrary, they must
be said to reveal a deep sympathy with the genuine spirit of piety^
and an appreciation of all true Christianity." ^ Kielland was a
novelist, less versatile than Bj0mson, but no less a master in his
chosen field. In popularity as an author he is only excelled by Jonas
Lie, who has won the hearts of the Norwegian people to an unusual
extent. Lie's first novel, "The Clairvoyant " ("Den Fremsynte"),
was a literary triumph which suddenly made him known as a great

1 Norges Historic, vol. VI., 2, p. 12 ff.

PLATE XXI

n JONAS LIE. ARNE GARBORG 549

author. From the depths of his mystic mind he had brought forth
one of the finest pieces of art in narrative hterature. He began
late, as he was slow in discovering his own talents. But he soon
captivated the whole North, and won world-wide fame through his
matchless sea-tales, "The Pilot and his Wife," "Rutland," and
other novels, in which he has contributed the best that the world
literature owns in that field. The scope and true greatness of his
genius reveals itself in his novels dealing with family life, especially
"The Family of Gilje," in many ways his greatest work. The
various phases of social life he has treated in a series of novels, as
"A Life Convict," "Maisa Jons," "Niobe," and other works.^

Arne Garborg, the youngest of the five leading authors of this
period, was born in 1851. He is a deepTand original thinker, a
doubting, searching, critical, introspective soul of the type of Leo
Tolstoi. "That which constitutes myself," he says, "is a contempla-
tor in ceaseless hope and struggle, with a faith which every day van-
quishes doubt, and a doubt which, nevertheless, pulls the founda-
tion from under my faith, so that I must move further and further
upland whenever the river swallows up the sod which I believed to
be a sure foothold." ^ No one in Norway has wielded a better
pen, and no one has been his superior as a polemicist. His lyrical
productions have a rare charm, and his prose writings excel in bril-
liant idiomatic style and rare descriptive power. Very early in
his career he chose the Landsmaal as his literary language, but his
paper " Fedraheimen," which began to appear in 1877 in this language,
lived only seven years. Later he founded "Den 17de Mai," which
has become one of the leading papers. He has been an active liberal
politician and journalist, intensely interested in every public issue.
His contributions to the various questions of the day would fill
volumes, and constitute an important part of his literary work.
In some of his best books, like " Kolbotnbrev " and " Knudaheibrev,"
he narrates the story of his own quiet family life in his humble log
cabin among the lonely mountains of 0sterdalen and on the heath-
ery heaths of his native district of Jsederen. In these charming
narratives he has achieved the highest in description of country life

^ Arne Garborg, Jonas Lie. Erik Lie, Jonas Lie, Oplevelser. Jonas Lie,
et Festskrift. * Ivar Mortensen, Arne Garborg, p. 116.

550 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

and scenery. But his musing spirit has especially dwelt on the often
ghastly problems of social life, which have yielded themes for works
like "Bondestudentar," "Tratte Msend," "Fred," "Hjaa'ho Mor/'
etc. "Garborg is at the same time romanticist and rationalist,
ascetic and a lover of beauty, ironist and believer. As author and
journalist, politician and agitator for the Landsmaal, atheist and
Christian advocate, he has shown tireless flexibility and alertness.
He has been at the same time the most impressible and most inflexible
spirit in our literature," writes Reider 0ksnevad. He manifested
early the strong will, the undaunted courage, and self-confidence of
the leader, who never shrinks from the conflict. For many years
he was the recognized head of the Landsmaal movement, and through
his intensely national spirit he became an inspiration to the young
people, who flocked in great numbers to his standard.^

These great authors and their contemporaries, like Jon Klsebo,
Elias Blix, Kristofer Jansen, John Lie, Theodor Caspari, Peer
Sivle, and others, created a literature which gave Norway rank among
the great nations in the field of higher intellectual culture. The
power and originality of this literature was soon recognized, and it
has exerted a great influence on the nineteenth century literary art
throughout the whole world. The creative Norse mind, freed from
political and social obstructions, has again given the nations a heri-
tage equaling that of the Eddas and sagas of old.

In all fields of intellectual activity the creative spirit showered
its wealth upon this age. A new national school of music was
originated by Norway's greatest composers, Edward Grieg,^ Johan
Svendsen, and other contemporaries, and in painting, a new realistic
school was founded by J. F. Thaulow, Christian Krohg, G. Munthe,
and E. Werenskiold. In sculpture, Stephan Sinding, Vigeland, and
Utsond have won great fame. In the various branches of higher
learning the same productivity and originality may be observed as
in literature and art. In mathematics Norway has twice produced
a genius whose name is forever linked to the highest achievements
in this field. The first was Niels Henrik Abel, who died in 1829, less
than twenty-seven years old, but who at that youthful age had won

* Arne Garborg, T. Mauland, Hulda Garborg, and others, in Syn og Segri,
January, 1911. ' Henry T. Finck, Edward Grieg.

n NEW SCHOOLS IN ART AND SCHOLARSHIP 551

world-wide fame as one of the greatest lights in the field of mathe-
matics,^ The other was Sophus Lie, who after having been tossed
about for some time with uncertainty as to his calling, suddenly
rose to greatness as a mathematician. "Yet in 1867 Lie was groping
around in uncertainty as to himself and his destiny," writes his
biographer, Hoist. "Two years later he was the leader among the
mathematicians of his age. Every new work was like a stroke of
the sword, which won new territory for his science, and new renown
for himself and his country. His mathematical productions are
very extensive. In his chief work, "Theori der Transformations-
gruppen," in three large volumes, he has opened a new field in mathe-
matical science. In 1886 he was called as regular professor of mathe-
matics to the University of Leipzig, but in 1894 the Norwegian
Storthing offered him a salary of 10,000 kr, per year if he would
return. He accepted the offer, but died in 1899 in Christiania.

In the field of philology Sophus Bugge has won world-wide rep-
utation. Of the many able men which Norway has produced in
this field no one has quite equaled him in renown. His researches
cover nearly all phases of Indo-Germanic philology, but especially
important are his interpretations of the runic inscriptions, his theory
regarding the origin of the runic alphabet, and his work on the origin
of the Northern myths, " Studier over de nordiske Gude- og Heltesagns
Oprindelse," which has created a new epoch in the study of Northern
mythology. Bugge opened new fields of research in Northern history
and tradition. Through his new viewpoints and profound scholarship
he fostered an intense scholarly interest and strictly scientific
methods, and contributed much to the awakening of a national spirit.

A most typical exponent of the spirit of this age is the great his-
torian J. E. Sars, one of the most influential leaders of the national
liberal movement. The founders of the Norwegian historical school,
R. Keyser and P. A. Munch, had developed a scientific historical
research, and had formulated the fundamental theories of Norwe-
gian nationality, on which later historians have continued to build.
They had written great works on the earlier periods of Norwegian

^ Nordmoend i del 19de Aarhundrede, Niels Henrik Abel. Abel's works,
edited by Sylow and Sophus Lie, were published in the French language in
Christiania, 1881, at the expense of the government.

552 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

history, but a systematic exposition of the national development of
the Norwegian people was still lacking. All the older historians
had regarded the history of Norway as consisting of two parts, to
which they might with profit devote their attention; the earlier
period up to the time of the Kalmar union, and the modem period
after 1814. The period of union with Denmark was regarded as
an era of dependence and national stagnation, about which they
preferred to keep silent. In 1834 Henrik Wergeland had charac-
terized the situation as follows : " Modern Norway and ancient
Norway appear like two halves of a broken ring which fit exactly
together; the middle period is but the bogus soldering which we
must break away to restore the genuine parts." This view was cor-
rect in so far as it recognized the intimate relation between ancient
and modern Norwegian culture, but it was wholly erroneous as an
explanation of the historic development of the Norwegian people.
The unbroken continuity and general character of this development,
the national warp and woof in the whole social and historic fabric
was first fully shown by Sars in his leading work, " Udsigt over den
norske Historic." Henrik Wergeland first indicated it in his
"Norges Konstitutions Historic," but Sars made it the basis of a
new interpretation of Norwegian history. He showed that the
Norwegian people in early times did not consist only of binder under
a patriarchal rule, but that an aristocracy had been developed, more
powerful than that of Sweden and Denmark. When Harald Haar-
fagre united all Norway under his rule, the herser, or chieftains, lost
their former power, but the struggle between the kings and the aris-
tocracy continued until the chieftain class was destroyed. When
the old royal line died out, Norway entered the union with Denmark
without a warlike aristocracy strong enough to be the leaders of
the people. Norwegian society had become democratic at a time
when Sweden and Denmark were ruled by a strong warlike aris-
tocracy. This explains the inferior position of Norway during the
period of union. But the destruction of the aristocracy was in many
ways a benefit to Norway. There was no longer any powerful upper
class which could oppress and enslave the people, as in Sweden and
Denmark. The binder retained their land and their personal free-
dom. Social conditions were created which were most favorable

PLATE XXII

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n NEW SCHOOLS IN ART AND SCHOLARSHIP 553

to a national development along new lines, and when the modern
era dawned, Norway quickly outstripped Denmark and Sweden in
the development of democratic social conditions and free political
institutions. When seen in the proper light, the period of union with
Denmark was an era of slow inner growth which shaped conditions
favorable to a new national development. The apparently sudden
change brought about in 1814 was the culmination of a long social
evolution, and the rapid progress made by the Norwegian people
during the last century finds its explanation in conditions which had
shaped themselves in the union period. The political development
of the Norwegians under their own representative government after
1814 is treated by Sars in his second great work, " Norges politiske
Historic 1815-1885." These two works became household books
in Norv/ay, and as their spirit was not only historical, but national,
they strengthened the patriotic sentiment, dispelled the Pan-Scandi-
navian dream, and inspired the people with pride in their own his-
tory, and confidence in their ability to restore to their kingdom its
ancient glory. What the Norwegian historical school had begun,
Sars had continued, until Norway could now be said to have recovered
the once lost legacy of her own past history.

The national development had also awakened new interest in
popular and higher education, and the improved schools in turn
became the intellectual arsenals which equipped the people with
new ideas and mental force for the solution of their cultural prob-
lems. Great stimulus was given popular education by the folk-
high-schools, which began to flourish in the seventies. These schools
were built in the country districts for the use of the rural population,
and were organized according to the plan originated in Denmark
by N. F. S. Grundtvig. They represented a strong patriotic move-
ment, and are in reality not high-schools in any sense of the word.
Their aim is not to impart instruction in such a way as to make the
pupil learned, but to awaken intellectual life, to kindle interest by
lectures on history and literature and the study of the mother tongue.
Classical and foreign languages are banished. There are no fixed
courses of study and no examinations. The pupils attend at inter-
vals, especially during the winter months, when they have time,
usually one or two winters. It was found that long courses of study

654 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

often monopolize the attention and interest of the young people;
hence short periods of attendance are preferred, as the school is to
fit them for a successful life in their own home environment. Great
stress is laid especially on the development of character and per-
sonality. Christopher Bruun, one of the leaders of this movement
in Norway, writes: "As Norway has received her great poets, so
we hope that she may receive her great statesmen, great thinkers,
great warriors, — if they should be needed, — great spirits in all
fields. But what we especially desire is men who know how to work
for a cause, not only for wife and children, who understand how to
sacrifice for it, to fight for it, and carry it to victory. Even if we do
not lack such strong men nowadays, it cannot be denied that they
are few enough, and that we need many more. The education which
our young people receive in our higher schools cannot produce such
a spirit. They learn a number of things which are worth little, but
of that which is most important they learn little and learn it poorly." ^

The folk-high-schools have exerted a very beneficial influence,
but as they are private schools, their number has always been limited.
In 1877 the government took steps to organize a system of secondary
schools for the young people of the rural districts. These were of
two kinds, the evening schools and the ami schools, supported partly
by the government and partly by the local districts.

In 1865 a new school commission was created with Hartvig Nis-
sen as chairman, and as a result of the labors of this body, the school
law of 1869 was passed, creating a new system of secondary schools.
The middelskole, or higher public school, with a course covering a
period of six years, was opened for children between the ages of nine
and fifteen years who had finished the grades of the primary public
schools. By the law of 1896 this course was shortened to four
years. The middelskole prepares for the gymnasium, where the regu-
lar course covers a period of three years. A reorganization of the
public school system was effected by the law of 1889, which still
forms the basis of public school organization in Norway, though it
has been modified by later legislation.^

1 Christopher Bruun, Folketige Grundtanker, p. 137.

* W. Rein, Encyklopadisches Handbuch der P&dagogik, vol. VI., p. 287 fif.
David Allen Anderson, The School System of Norway, Richard Badger Pub-
lishing Company, Boston.

n the sverdrup ministry 555

66. The Sverdrup Ministry. Norway under Parliamentary

Government

Johan Sverdrup formed a ministry including a number of the
most influential Liberal leaders. Ole Richter became Norwegian
minister of state in Stockholm, Ludvig Daae minister of war, Aimar
S0renssen minister of justice, Sofus Arctander minister of the in-
terior, Baard Haugland minister of finance, Elias Blix, noted scholar
and poet, minister of education and church affairs, and Birger Kildal
minister of the auditing department. All these were men of ability,
who enjoyed the full confidence of the people. But Sverdrup's two
nephews, J. Stang and Jakob Sverdrup, who became members of
the Swedish branch of the ministry, were not very prominent, and
enjoyed no special confidence. Their appointment was looked upon
with disfavor, and proved to be a mistake, as the Liberals favored
the able and popular Johannes Steen, who was second only to Sver-
drup himself in influence. It soon became evident that the hitherto
prevailing harmony might be disrupted for no very serious reason.
So long as the Liberal party had to fight a strong and determined
Conservative opposition, it had presented a united front, but after
this opposition had been almost destroyed, the various groups which
had united under the leadership of Sverdrup might cease to cooperate.
Jaabsek still led a large faction of the binder, whose favorite issue
was economy in the administration; and the church reform group,
who were opposed to atheism and modern European ideas, was
growing very strong in the southwestern districts. The first seri-
ous discord between these factions occurred in connection with a
proposal submitted to the Storthing by Bj0rnson and Jonas Lie, that
Alexander Kielland should receive a similar poet's salary which
had already been granted Bj0rnson, Ibsen, and Lie. There could
be no doubt that Kielland's reputation as an author entitled him to
this recognition, but the committee to which the petition was referred
considered it inadvisable "to give official sanction to a literature
which was opposed to the prevailing views on religion and morality."
When the measure was brought up in the Storthing by the dissenting
chairman of the committee, it was defeated by a small majority.
Bj0rnson brought the matter also before the next Storthing in 1886,

556 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

but it was again defeated, as a faction of the Liberal party voted
with the Conservatives. Lars Oftedal, a very influential clergyman
from Stavanger, was especially active in opposition to this measure,
though he had on former occasions praised Kielland's works. He was
leader of the church reform group, and editor of "Vestlandsposten,"
a paper which had gained considerable circulation. Jakob Sver-
drup, member of the ministry, who belonged to the same group,
proposed a reform by which the congregations were to receive greater
influence in the administration of church affairs. Each congrega-
tion should elect a council, which might propose a candidate for
clergyman in case of vacancy, and might grant permission to others
than the clergyman to speak in the church. This was a purely
administrative reform, but Oftedal and his group sought to bring
it forward as a general issue, on which a new Christian Liberal
party could be organized to oppose those who favored atheism
and anti-Christian views. Christianity and morality was to be
associated with the proposed reform as a campaign issue, but in
this he did not succeed, as all other factions of the Liberal party
opposed it.

The Sverdrup ministry entered the campaign of 1885 on the issue
of parliamentary government, and reforms in the judicial system,
the army, the administration, and the public school system. "Full
confidence in Johan Sverdrup" became the campaign cry which
carried the Liberal party to victory. When the Storthing assem-
bled, Sverdrup controlled a safe majority, and he secured the adop-
tion of the proposed plan for a new army organization as well as the
passage of a bill providing for the introduction of the jury system,
July 1, 1887. Other important measures might have been carried
through but for the attempt to establish the church reform proposed
by Jakob Sverdrup. This had aroused bitter opposition, and the
larger part of the Liberal party were in favor of postponing the matter
for a time. Johan Sverdrup himself, however, insisted on present-
ing the bill to the Storthing. It was already too late to consider
it at that session, but when it was brought up in 1887, it was rejected
almost unanimously.^ As the bill had been originated by a member
of the cabinet, its overwhelming defeat raised the question if the

^ A. M. St. Arctander, De Sverdrupske Ministerkriser.

n THE SVERDRUP MINISTRY 557

ministry should resign. Three ministers, Astrup/ Arctander, and
Kildal, demanded that Jakob Sverdrup, who had originated the bill,
should retire, but the other members did not consider this necessary.
The ministry might remain unchanged, they thought, as the bill
was not a leading measure, on which they had all united. Jakob
Sverdrup did not retire, and the three tendered their resignation.
They were persuaded, however, to remain in office until the matter
could be brought before the next session of the Storthing, when the
question of parliamentary principles would be discussed. The
Liberal majority in the Storthing prepared to question the ministry
in regard to its attitude to these principles, but a majority of the
ministers had agreed that no definite answer should be given. To
this course Astrup, Arctander, and Kildal would not agree, and they
retired from the ministrJ^ Blix also resigned a few days later. To
the questions of the Liberal majority as to his position regarding
parliamentary principles, Johan Sverdrup returned only evasive
answers, but he promised to reconstruct the ministry in harmony
with the Liberal majority, such as he considered that majority to
be constituted. A split had already taken place in the Liberal party.
Against the supporters of Sverdrup, who called themselves National
Liberals, or Moderate Liberals, stood the Pure Liberals, led by Johan-
nes Steen. The confidence in Sverdrup was shaken, and when he
reconstructed his ministry by appointing as members many who had
not been prominent in political affairs, the prestige of the old chief-
tain rapidly waned. The Pure Liberals demanded that the prin-
ciples of the parliamentary system should be carried out, and Sver-
drup's great reputation could no longer shield him from attack,
when it became evident that he had forsaken these principles, which
had been the issue in the whole political conflict. The tragic death
of Ole Richter, Norwegian minister of state in Stockholm, increased
the ill-will against the ministry. He had opposed Sverdrup' s tac-
tics in the church reform question and the manner in which the minis-
try had been reconstructed. He held that the position of the ministry

1 When Ludvig Daae retired from the ministry in April, 1885, the depart-
ments of war and navy were united into one department of defense, and H.
R. Astrup was placed at the head of the new department of labor which was
now created.

558 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

was untenable, that by remaining in oflBce they violated the parlia-
mentary principles, which they had made their main issue. Cir-
cumstances had forced him into opposition to his chief, but he was
unable to break off all relations with him, and resign. The attempt
to cooperate with a ministry with which he could no longer agree
involved him in contradictory courses of action which rendered the
situation unbearable. He finally resigned, June 6, 1888, bid fare-
well to his colleagues, and was going to return home. But before
leaving Stockholm he committed suic de in his hotel. This news
caused a great sensation, and the Pure Liberals attempted to over-
throw the Sverdrup ministry by a vote of lack of confidence, but
the motion brought was not considered, because of the approaching
elections. In 1888 the Conservatives, led by Emil Stang, secured
fifty-one seats, the Pure Liberals thirty-eight, and the Moderate
or National Liberals, who supported the ministry, only twenty-two.
It was evident that Sverdrup no longer enjoyed the confidence of
the people, and in the face of so overwhelming a defeat he ought to
have retired. But he preferred to remain in power, and was able
to do so for a time, as the Conservatives gave him their support,
not because they agreed with their old adversary, but because they
might derive some advantage from prolonging the life of the minis-
try. Finally, on June 26, 1889, the Conservative leader, Emil
Stang, proposed a vote of lack of confidence in the Sverdrup ministry,
and Sverdrup and his colleagues resigned before the resolution was
put to a vote. A Conservative ministry was now formed under the
leadership of Emil Stang. The split in the Liberal party had become
permanent, and the two Liberal groups waged a bitter fight against
one another. The Pure Liberals were especially acrimonious in
their attacks on Johan Sverdrup, whom they regarded as a renegade*
The intense party feeling led them, as Sars says, " not only to greatly
misjudge Sverdrup, who despite his weakness and errors must be
regarded as one of Norway's greatest men, but they slandered their
own party, and threw a dark shadow upon its past history." Johan
Sverdrup 's public career was now closed. In 1891 he was elected
representative to the Storthing from Stavanger ami, but he died
before the session opened, February 17, 1892.
The parliamentary principle had gained undisputed recognition.

n NORWAY UNDER PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT 559

By the proposed vote of lack of confidence in the Sverdrup ministry
the Conservative leader himself had accepted the view that no minis-
try can remain in power without the support of the majority in the
Storthing. Many of the great issues, like the abolishing of the office
of statholder, the introduction of the jury system, the extension of
the suffrage, the reform of the school system, etc., had also been
carried through before the Liberal party had been swept from power.
But one difficult question yet remained unsettled, that of Norway's
equal rights with Sweden in dealing with diplomatic and foreign
affairs. According to existing provisions, the Cabinet Council for
Foreign Affairs, which should deal with diplomatic matters affecting
both countries, should consist of the Swedish minister of state and
one other member of the Swedish cabinet, together with the Norwe-
gian minister of state in Stockholm, or, in case of his inability to
be present, another member of the Norwegian ministry in Stockholm.
In 1885 the Swedish Rigsdag changed the Swedish constitution in
such a way as to disturb this relation, without conferring with the
Norwegian government. According to this change, Sweden should
have three members in the Council to Norway's one, and the diplo-
matic affairs, which had hitherto been reported by the king, should
be reported by the Swedish minister of foreign affairs. This was
such an undisguised attempt to treat Norway as a dependency that
the Swedish government saw the necessity of taking steps to prevent
a new union controversy. The Swedish minister of justice proposed
in a joint session of the Swedish-Norwegian ministry in Stockholm
that Norway should be represented in the Council by two ministers.
But this attempt at compromise stranded on the protests from the
Norwegian members, who opposed the consideration of a purely
Norwegian affair in joint session.

After the king had sanctioned the measure passed by the Rigsdag,
he proposed that the relative number of Swedish and Norwegian
members in the Cabinet Council for Foreign Affairs should be fixed
by a new clause to be added to the Act of Union. The Norwegian
ministers in Stockholm, Ole Richter and Jakob Sverdrup, proposed
that the Council should consist of six members, three from each
kingdom. To this plan the Swedish ministry consented, with the
understanding that the Swedish minister of foreign affairs should

560 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

report all joint diplomatic matters, a condition which the Norwegian
ministers accepted. When the plan was proposed to the Storthing,
it caused prolonged and animated debate. It was clear that the
relative number of members in the Council was not the main feature
of the measure, for Swedish supremacy would be virtually con-
ceded by making the Swedish minister joint minister of foreign
affairs. This feature of the measure was vigorously opposed. Johan
Sverdrup said at the time : " The amendment which is to be inserted
in our constitution must not be made to depend on the action of
Sweden as to whether the proposed measure will become a part of
the Act of Union. It has its own value, and it will produce conse-
quences which are unavoidable." When the matter was brought
up in the joint ministry in 1886, the Swedish members demanded
that the Swedish minister should be made joint foreign minister,
but to this the Norwegian members refused to agree. On June 21st
the Storthing passed the following resolution :

"In accordance with repeated and concordant declarations, by
which former Storthings have upheld Norway's equal rights with
Sweden in the union, the present session of the Stortliing ex-
presses the conviction that the Norwegian people, in loyalty to
the king and country, will defend the rights and honor of the
kingdom, and support the government and the Storthing in their
efforts to secure for Norway the share in the administration of
foreign affairs which rightfully belong to her by virtue of her posi-
tion as an independent kingdom placed on equal footing with Sweden
in the union."

In 1891 the Stang ministry reached an understanding with the
Swedish government, and a new proposal was submitted. The
question as to whether the minister of foreign affairs should be a
Swede or a Norwegian should this time be omitted, and should be
settled by later negotiations, a provision which led the Swedish Rigs-
dag to reject the plan, as they thought that too great concessions
had been made to the Norwegians. When it was brought up in
the Storthing, the Liberal leader, Carl Berner, proposed the following
resolution : " In accordance with declarations of earlier Storthings,
the present session of the Storthing maintains Norway's equality
with Sweden in the union, and the right of the kingdom to manage

II DEMAND FOR A SEPARATE CONSULAR SERVICE 561

its own foreign affairs in a manner warranted by the constitution;
and expresses the confident behef that the Norwegian people will
never agree to an arrangement which may prove a hindrance to the
exercise of Norway's full rights on this point." The resolution was
passed by fifty-nine votes against fifty-five, both groups of the Liberal
party supporting it, and the Stang ministry immediately resigned,

67. The Demand for a Separate Norwegian Foreign Office
AND Consular Service

When Emil Stang and his colleagues resigned, a new ministry
was formed by Johannes Steen, leader of the Pure Liberals, 1891.
It was clear that the chief problem awaiting solution was the ques-
tion regarding the administration of Norway's foreign affairs. Recent
events had shown that no attempt to strengthen Sweden's position
in the union could succeed, as Norway resolutely demanded complete
independence in all matters not designated as union affairs.^ That
the Norwegians desired to get their own minister of foreign affairs
was well understood by the Liberal leaders, but they were uncertain
as to what extent this desire should be made the issue in the coming
campaign. The platform drafted by the Pure Liberals in Chris-
tiania contained clauses advocating universal suffrage, the abolition
of the office of viceroy of Norway to which the king's oldest son
could be appointed, the organization of the administration of Norwe-
gian foreign affairs in such a way as to bring it under control of the
Norwegian government, etc. But in spite of the hesitation of the
leaders the question of a separate Norwegian foreign department
became the leading issue, and the Pure Liberals, who had been a
minority when the new ministry was organized, secured a safe ma-
jority in the next session. A bill passed by the Storthing abolish-
ing the ofiice of viceroy was sanctioned by the king, June 30, 1891,
but this was a measure of secondary importance. The question as

^ Otto Varenius, Den gemensamme Utenrigsministern och Likstdlligheten.
Rudolf Kjellen, Unionen sddan den skapades och sadan den blifit. I Uten-
rigsministerfrdgan. Udenrigsstyret historisk fremstillet. H. L. Braekstad,
The Norwegian Swedish Contest, a Reply to Constance Sutcliff's article "Scan-
dinavia and her King,'' in The Fortnightly Review of October, 1897. I.
Floodstrom, Unionen och Unionsdocumenten; Sverigeoch Norges Utriksstyrelse.
VOL. II — 2 o

662 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

to what the mmistry should do in regard to a separate Norwegian
foreign department was the topic of all-absorbing interest.^

The Liberal leaders saw that although the people desired a foreign
minister, it would be useless to attempt to carry such a measure at
that time, as it would be opposed by the Conservative party as well
as by Sweden, Instead of raising so difficult an issue, the Steen
ministry re'solved to make the more modest demand for a separate
Norwegian consular service, about which it could not be success-
fully urged that it was a union affair.^ This was a matter of vital
importance, as it affected Norway's economic interests in a most
direct way. Norway contributed 41 1 per cent of the joint expenses
for consular and diplomatic service, but her trade interests were often
poorly cared for. The two kingdoms were to a large extent com-
mercial rivals, and as all consuls were appointed by the Swedish
government, many salaried consuls were kept in places where Nor-
way had no use for them, and in many places where Norway had
a large trade, no consuls were found. Bernhard Dunker, a strict
Conservative, wrote in 1866, that the past twenty years had proven
the advisability for each kingdom in certain instances to use the
right to appoint its own consuls. "But Sweden," he adds, "has"
been so jealous regarding the diplomatic representation in foreign
countries that there could never be a question of appointing Norwe-
gian consuls in places where Norway alone has commercial interests.
But since Norway's commerce is now twice as large as that of Sweden,

1 Munch Rseder, Unionen og egen Udenrigsminister. Arne Gaxborg,
Norges Selvstasndighetskamp, p. 55 ff. Det norske Venstre fra 1884 til 1909,
Utenrigsminister-Sp^rgsmaalet, Konsulatsaken. L. M. B. Aubert, Norges
folkeretslige Stilling, p. 214 fif. J. Belsheim, Selvstoendighet og Union, p. 51 ff.
J. Utheim, Grundloven om Norges Udenrigsstyre. Marcellus, Bidrag tU
den Skandinaviska Unionens Historia. N. Hoier, Statsforbundet mdlan
Sverige och Norge. H. C. Berner, Norsk eller fcelles Udenrigsminister.

•'•'While the Act of Union does not mention the consular service, the
revised Norwegian constitution of November 4th has two paragraphs (22
and 92) which show that the consuls were to be regarded as purely Norwe-
gian officials." Sigurd Ibsen, Unionen, p. 149. J. Utheim, Grundloven og
eget Udenrigsstyre. Fridtjof Nansen, Norway and the Union with Sweden,
p. 48 ff. The views of the Conservatives are stated by Professor Bredo
Morgenstjerne, in Norges nuvcerende Statsforfatning, vol. I., p. 152 ff. K.
Nordlund, Den Svensk-Norska Krisen, p. 7 ff. Oscar Alin, Unionskomi-
Uns Resultat. Sigfried Wieselgren, Sammenslutning eller Skilsma^sa.

II DEMAND FOR A SEPARATE CONSULAR SERVICE 563

Norwegian merchants, shipowners, and seamen have always desired
consuls in some places where Sweden has not considered it neces-
sary to have any." ^ At the request of the Storthing the ministry
appointed a committee to investigate the consular service and report
on the necessity of separate Norwegian consuls. The committee
found that the interests of Norway demanded separate consuls.
But the Swedish ministry declared the consular service to be a
union affair, which could be settled only by mutual agreement.^
This view was rejected by the Storthing, which passed on March 1,
1892, a resolution introduced by Moursund, declaring the organiza-
tion of a separate consular service to be a purely Norwegian affair
to be settled by the Norwegian authorities, though the conditions
growing out of the existing arrangement had to be adjusted accord-
ing to mutual agreement. The department of the interior concurred
in the findings of the committee, and submitted a plan for separate
Norwegian consuls which was passed by the Storthing. The min-
istry advised the king to sanction the measure, but he submitted
instead a written document which he claimed contained his opin-
ion in the matter. The ministers pointed out that he could submit
no such opinion except by the advice of his cabinet, and further
action was postponed until the king should arrive in Christiania,
when he would discuss the measure with his ministers. After his
arrival they learned in a private interview that he would not sanction
the bill, and at the formal meeting of the ministry they tendered
their resignation. They consented, however, to remain in office
temporarily until a new ministry could be organized. Several
attempts to form a new ministry failed, and the Storthing advised
Steen and his colleagues to accede to the king's request and remain
in office, with the understanding that the question of separate con-
sular service should remain in abeyance for a time. To this the
ministry consented, on condition that the consular question should
be regarded as a purely Norwegian affair, and that the ministry
might bring it up at any time. Both the Norwegian Storthing and
the Swedish Rigsdag remained firm on the pending issue, the one

^ B. Dunker, Om Revision af Foreningsakten mellem Sverige og Norge,
p. 151 f.

^ H. L. Rydin, Antekningar om den norska Vensterns Unionspolitik.

564 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

holding that Norway had the right to organize a separate consular
service whenever it should be deemed necessary, the other asserting
that the consular service was intimately connected with the diplo-
matic service, that it was a union affair, which could only be settled
by mutual agreement. As there was no prospect of any immediate
change in the situation, and as the king still refused to sanction the
bill providing for Norwegian consuls when it was again proposed
by the ministry, Steen and his colleagues retired from office, April 22,
1893.1

It would, undoubtedly, have been the wiser policy for the Steen
ministry to have remained in office for a time according to the advice
of the Storthing, without attempting to revive the question of separate
consuls before the elections of 1894. But Steen, who was otherwise
a very able leader, showed an anxiety to act in harmony with the
majority which approached timidity, and made him the servant
instead of the leader of his party. His resignation at this time
made it impossible to form a ministry supported by the Liberal
majority, and Emil Stang formed a Conservative ministry, " in order
to avert the danger," as he explained it, "of leaving the king without
advisers, and the country without a government." Lack of support
naturally confined the work of the new ministry to routine affairs,
and its existence was threatened from the outset. The Liberal
press attacked it with bitterness and scathing sarcasm, claiming that
it was organized in opposition to parliamentary principles for the
purpose of helping the king to defeat the measure for a separate
Norwegian consular service. In the Storthing the Liberal majority
met them with undisguised hostility. Ullmann, one of the leading
Liberals, said that the Stang ministry was conceived in sin and born
in iniquity, that the wages of sin is death, and that the ministry
would die a very violent death. A motion of lack of confidence in
the new ministry was immediately passed, and a resolution was
adopted, stating that the measure passed by the Storthing regarding
the consular service would have to be acted upon by the king before
the close of the fiscal year. A bill was also passed July 3, 1893,
providing for the removal of the union sign from the Norwegian

^ C. H. Schweigaard, Konsulatsagen som politisk Middel. Alfred Mohn,
Une Page d'Histoire de la Civilisation la Subde et la Revolution Norwegienne.

II THE STANG MINISTRY 565

flag, but the measure was vetoed by the king. A few days later
the appanages of the king and the crown prince were reduced from
336,000 kroner and 80,000 kroner respectively to 256,000 and 30,000
kroner, and the allowance for table expenses for the two ministers
of state, 15,000 kroner in Stockholm and 10,000 kroner in Christiania,
was canceled. The refusal of the king to sanction the bill providing
for a separate Norwegian consular service, and the selection of a
body of advisers opposed by the Liberal majority in the Storthing,
created an intensely hostile feeling. A bill was passed, providing
that the joint consular service should terminate January 1, 1895,
and the budget for this service for the year 1893-1894 was allowed
only on the condition that the ministry should announce to the
Swedish government the dissolution of the joint consular system, and
should submit to the Storthing a plan for the organization of a sepa-
rate Norwegian consular service. But the bill was not sanctioned.
The money for the consular budget, which was not allowed, because
the conditions were not complied with, was taken from the fund for
incidental expenses, and when the Storthing passed a new bill with-
drawing the contribution to the legation in Vienna, the king decided,
contrary to the advice of the ministry, to continue that legation,
and Norway's share of the expenses was to be advanced by Sweden.
In the elections of 1894 the Pure Liberals secured fifty-nine seats,
and the Conservatives and Moderate Liberals fifty-five. The vic-
tory was not so decisive as might have been expected, but the Stang
ministry immediately retired from office. They had accepted their
portfolios, as Stang explained, only to avert the danger of being
without a government, and it had been their aim to attend to the
routine duties only until the election could be held. Their inability
to settle the pending consular issue must have been evident to all,
and the accusation that they attempted to prevent such a settle-
ment, and that they disregarded the parliamentary principles, was
as unjust as it was unfounded. Stang had already shown that he
was in full sympathy with parliamentary practice, and he again
demonstrated this when he resigned immediately after the elections.
The vituperative attacks on him and his colleagues by the Liberal
press and the majority in the Storthing only harmed the Liberal
cause, as it was evident that the blame for the unfortunate situation

566 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

could not attach to those who had undertaken the burdens of gov-
ernment only until the people could get the opportunity to express
their opinion through the election. Stang's statement that he wished
to avert the danger of being without a government had been ridi-
culed, but after his resignation it soon^Jaecame apparent that there
was real danger of such a situation. \The king) invited the Liberal
leader Steen to form a new ministry, but attached such conditions
that Steen refused. Several other leaders, both Conservative and
Moderate, were approached, but no one found that he was equal
to the task, and Stang was compelled to remain in office for a time
against his wish.^

The Swedish Rigsdag assumed a more hostile and uncompromising
attitude. Bitter expressions were indulged in both by the Rigsdag
and by the Swedish press, and it was urged that a new act of union
would have to be adopted, " which should reconstruct the Norwegian
constitution on a safer foundation," as Charles John had expressed
-— ^ it. The war budget was doubled, war supplies were stored in large
quantities near the Norwegian border, and troops were stationed
in the border provinces. The Swedish minister of foreign affairs,
Lewenhaupt, who had shown a disposition to extend a brotherly
hand to the Norwegians, resigned, as it appears, according to the
wish of minister of state Bostr0m, head of the Swedish ministry,
and in his place was appointed the uncompromising Count Douglas.
y Everything indicated that there was grave danger of an open rup-
\ ture between the kingdoms. Leading Swedish politicians who sym-
L--pathized with Norway wrote to their Norwegian friends, and warned
them to be on their guard against the warlike spirit of the Swedish
ministry. One prominent Swedish leader, probably Adolf Hedin,
wrote: "It is believed that the government, which has a new act
of union in its pocket, will call an extra session of the Rigsdag.
The new act of union is to be adopted by the Rigsdag, and will
then be submitted to the Storthing. If Norway remains without a
government, and no agreement can be reached with the majority
in the Storthing, the Swedish army is to march against Norway.
These are said to be the main features of the plan." ^ The Swedish

* Forholdet mellem Norge og Sverige, vor Selvstcendighedskamp % de sidste
tyve Aar, Bergen, 1905. * J. E. Sars, Norges Historic, vol. VI., 2, p. 153 ff.

II THE HAGERUP MINISTRY 567

plan was not to declare war, but to seize Christiania and Trondhjem.
This would have crippled the Norwegian defense, and would have
enabled Sweden to dictate terms. The plan might have succeeded,
as Norway's defenses and military affairs had been sadly neglected.^
The feeling of grave danger cooled to some extent the ardor of party
strife, and a petition was sent to the Storthing from Christiania,
signed by twenty-five Conservatives, twenty-two Pure Liberals,
five Moderate Liberals, and four Independents, asking the repre-
sentatives not to refuse to negotiate with Sweden regarding a settle-
ment of the controversy, as such a course would be political impru-
dence, and would forfeit the sympathy of the European powers.
A similar petition was sent from Bergen, signed by men like Sofus
Arctander and Christian Michelsen. "These petitions," says Sars,
"may be regarded as the beginning of a coalition of the parties with
regard to foreign politics which was to carry the cause of independence
to ultimate victory." Even the parties in the Storthing began to
show a more conciliatory spirit. On June 7, 1895, a joint motion
submitted by members of all the parties declaring in favor of nego-
tiations with Sweden was passed with ninety votes against twenty-
four, and appropriations were also made covering Norway's share
of the expenses connected with the diplomatic and consular service.
After several unsuccessful attempts the king finally succeeded in
the fall of that year to form a new ministry of prominent men from
all parties, headed by the conservative leader, Fr. Hagerup.

The policy of the Liberal party regarding the consular question
had failed, and they had suffered a defeat which was regarded by
all as a national humiliation.^ Sweden had won a signal victory,
and leading Swedish statesmen felt sure that the Norwegians would
soon learn to see the futility of the struggle in which they had en-
gaged ; they would offer to negotiate, and a new act of union could

^ Threats of war found expression both in the Conservative and Liberal
Swedish press. The Goteborgs Handels- och Sjofarts-Tidning, one of the
leading Liberal organs, wrote in November, 1894 : ''' If we should finally
deem it necessary to appeal to the God of Hosts in order to maintain the
union, we should place as a motto on our flags ; * Not the union as it is, but
union with a joint foreign minister, Norwegian or Swede, etc' .'' Den svenske
Krigsplan mod Norge, Christiania, 1895.

* J. E. Sars, Svenske Seire, norske Nederlag % Unionspolitiken, Samtiden^
1905.

568 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

be carried through which would answer to the demands of Sweden.
They felt sure that the defeat of the Liberals would split their party,
and would greatly strengthen the Conservatives, who favored a
strong union. They were soon to learn, however, that their cal-
culations had been based on false premises ; that instead of weaken-
ing the Liberals, their defeat had only strengthened them, and that
even the Conservatives began to waver in the strong union policy
which they had hitherto advocated. In course of time the reasons
which had led the Conservatives to favor a closer union with Sweden
had disappeared one by one. The attempt of the old official
bureaucracy to perpetuate their political power and social influence by
seeking the support of the king against the growing democratic spirit
had failed utterly, as the common people had gained complete
control. The Pan-Scandinavian sentiment had vanished, and even
the economic benefit of the union, to which they had pointed with
pride and confidence, proved to be an illusion. The lack of a sepa-
rate consular service was a serious obstacle to the growth of Norwe-
gian commerce, and as Sweden developed a system of protective
tariff, while Norway introduced free trade, no very intimate rela-
tions between the two kingdoms could be maintained. In 1874 the
Mellemrigslov was passed, which admitted to Sweden a munber of
Norwegian articles free of duty. It was renewed in 1890, but in
1895 it was repealed, and Norway's commercial relations with Swe-
den were no more intimate than with any other foreign power. The
growing national spirit, the desire of removing all obstacles which
stood in the way of Norway's free development tended to strengthen
the Liberals, to lessen party differences, and to change the demand
for a separate consular service from a party issue to a national cause.
The new ministry appointed in 1895 a committee of seven to nego-
tiate with a similar Swedish committee regarding the pending consu-
lar issue.^ During the negotiations between these committees quiet
prevailed both in the press and in the Storthing. A bill for the
removal of the union sign from the Norwegian flag, passed by the

1 The members were : Getz, Schweigaard, Blehr, Thorne, Olai Olsen,
Sivert Nielsen, and W. Konow. Olsen and Nielsen resigned, and Fritz Han-
sen and J. L0vland were appointed in their place. The Swedish members
were: Ehrenheim, Sparre, Restadius, Olof Jonson, von Steyern, and the
professors AUn and Trygger.

n THE STEEN MINISTRY 569

Storthing for the second tune, was vetoed, but no other important
measure was introduced. In the elections of 1897 the Liberal party
won a decisive victory, securing seventy-nine seats, while the Con-
servatives retained only twenty-five, and the Moderate Liberals
ten. The Hagerup ministry resigned, and Steen was invited to
form a new Liberal ministry.

On March 26, 1898, the union committee submitted to the Stor-
thing the result of their negotiations. Both the Norwegian and
the Swedish members had split into two groups, and four different
plans for the solution of the difficulty were submitted, neither of
which had the slightest chance of being adopted.^ The Swedish
and Norwegian cabinets agreed after a short conference that nothing
further could be done in the matter.^

The bill providing for the removal of the union sign from the
flag was passed a third time in 1898. It was vetoed by the king,
but according to article seventy-nine of the constitution it was
promulgated as law. An intense agitation against this step was
carried on in the Swedish press and by Swedish historians, who de-
clared that it was "the beginning of the end," that in this measure
the dissolution of the union was to be found "like the embryo in
the seed." ^ The Swedish foreign minister, Douglas, refused to
announce the change to foreign powers, but he was asked by his
chief, Bostr0m, to resign, and Lagerheim, who succeeded him, gave
due notice to consuls and foreign powers of the change in the Nor-
wegian flag.^

Though supported by a large majority, the new ministry did not
reopen the consular question. The experience of past years had
proven that the most careful preparation was necessary, and they
undertook instead to increase the nation's sinews of strength for
the conflict which could not long be avoided. It was their aim to
introduce universal suffrage in order that the people might participate

^ Underdanig Betcenkning afgiven af den til Udarheidelse af Forslag til
forandrede Bestemmelser om Norges og Sveriges Forening ved kongelig Resolu-
tion af ISde November 1895 nedsalte Komite, tilligemed de af Komiteens enkelte
Medlemmer udarbeidede Forslag, Christiania, 1898.

2 Oscar Alin, Unionskomitens Resultat.

* Flagfragan. R. KjeUen, Ret och Banning i Flagfragan.

* Rudolf Peersen, Rent Flag.

570 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

more directly in political and public affairs. By the law of 1898
full right of suffrage was extended to all men twenty-five years of
age who had resided in the country five years, still resided there,
and were not receiving aid as paupers, nor had received such aid
for one year prior to the election. In 1901 women received the
right to vote in local elections, if they had an income of 400 kroner in
the cities or 300 kroner in the country, or, in case of married women,
if their husbands had that income. By these laws the numerous
working classes in the cities were enfranchised. In 1898 the time for
the meeting of the Storthing was changed from February to the
first week-day after the 10th of October. This made it possible to hold
longer sessions, as the representatives from the country districts
could more easily stay away from home during the winter months.

Since the crisis of 1895, special attention was also devoted to the
army and navy, which had hitherto been neglected. Large military
budgets were voted for both branches of the service, aggregating
about twenty million kroner, and the work of improving the defenses
of the kingdom was carried forward with great energy by successive
ministers of the department of defense: Olss0n, Hoist, and Georg
Stang. A fleet of four armored warships and many torpedo boats
and smaller vessels was provided, and modern fortifications were
constructed for the defense of the seacoast cities. The efficiency
of the army was greatly increased, large stores of ammunition and
war material were collected, and in 1901 an appropriation of 3,380,000
kroner was made for fortresses to be erected on the Swedish border
from Fredrikshald to Kongsvinger. This plan was carried out by
the energetic Lieutenant-Colonel Georg Stang. Many modern forts
were built which might have made a Swedish invasion difficult.^

In the election of 1900 the Liberals were again victorious, and
the Steen ministry could remain in oflfice supported by a large ma-
jority. In 1902 Steen retired, and Otto Blehr formed a new minis-
try. In that year the question of the consular service was again
brought up, this time by the Swedish minister of foreign affairs,

^ These border forts were divided into four groups: 1. Kongsvinger,
2. Urskog, 3. 0rje, 4. Fredriksten. See Karta ofer neutrala Zonen och
norska Grdnsfdstningarne jdmte Delegerades Forslag til Oferenskommeher,
Stockholm, 1905.

n NEGOTIATIONS WITH SWEDEN 571

Lagerheim. He proposed that a joint Swedish-Norwegian commit-
tee should be appointed to investigate how a separate consular serv-
ice for the two kingdoms might be organized. A joint committee
of two Norwegians and two Swedes was appointed in January, 1902,
and on July 26th they submitted their report stating that no serious
obstacles to the organization of separate consular service for the
two kingdoms could be found, that separate Swedish and Norwegian
consuls could be appointed, responsible to their respective govern-
ments, and that the supervision hitherto exercised by the Swedish
foreign minister over Norwegian consuls could be dispensed with.
On the basis of this report the two governments resumed their
negotiations, and in 1903 they reached a preliminary agreement,
dated March 24th, containing the following points : (1) Separate
consular service is to be created for Sweden and Norway. The
consuls of each kingdom are to be responsible to the authorities in
their own country which its government may designate. (2) The
relation of the consuls to the minister of foreign affairs is to be regu-
lated in both kingdoms by identical laws, which cannot be altered
or repealed except with the consent of the governments of both.
The question regarding the minister of foreign affairs they agreed
not to discuss.^ The diflBcult question seemed to be fairly on the
way to a satisfactory solution, but some points in the agreement made
the Norwegians hesitate. The Norwegian consular service should
not be wholly emancipated from Swedish control. To some extent
the Norwegian consuls would still be subject to the Swedish minister
of foreign affairs, who was to act as foreign minister for both king-
doms; and this relation should be regulated by laws which could
not be changed or repealed. That such an arrangement might serve
to rivet upon Norway a sign of dependence and inferiority was
justly feared. But it was hoped that by continued negotiations all
difficulties might be overcome, and an effort was made to unite all
parties in support of this program. Bj0rnstjerne Bj0rnson himself
became an earnest advocate of negotiations,^ and "Verdens Gang"

^ A. C Drolsum, Das Konigreich Norwegen als souverdner Staat, p. 26 ff.
S. C. Hammer, Del merkelige Aar 1906. Underdanig Betcenkning afgiven
af den under 18de Januar, 1902, nedsatte Konsulatkomite.

2 Bj0rnstjerne Bj0rnson, Forhandling, bare Forhandling eller det som kan
/fire til Krig, Samtiden, 1904. J. Castberg, Om Begivenhederne i 1905.

572 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

and other Liberal organs supported this policy. In the elections
of 1903 Liberals and Conservatives united and formed the Coalition
party (Samlingspartiet) , which favored negotiations with Sweden,
a program which gained such support that the party received a
majority in the new Storthing. The Blehr ministry resigned, and
a new Coalition ministry was formed with Hagerup as minister of
state. Norway had met Sweden's advances with all possible mani-
festations of friendly spirit, and it was hoped that the negotiations
officially instituted between the two governments would result in
a speedy settlement of the difficulty. In a meeting of the joint
ministry in Stockholm, December 11, 1903, Lagerheim reported the
agreement of March 24th of that year. This was accepted both
by the Swedish and the Norwegian ministers present, and it was
ratified by the Norwegian Storthing, and approved by the king.
This made it an officially established compact between the two gov-
ernments. The protocols and documents from the meetings of the
cabinets were sent to the Storthing, which referred them to the
constitutional committee. The committee reported that official
documents showed that full unanimity existed between the two gov-
ernments and the king regarding the agreement reached March
24th, i.e. that separate consuls should be appointed for the two king-
doms, and that the relation of these officials to the diplomatic serv-
ice should be regulated by identical laws. Nothing seemed now
to stand in the way of a speedy settlement of the question. The
Storthing took steps to organize a Norwegian consular service, and
drafted a bill embodying the identical laws which were to govern
the relations between the consuls and the minister of foreign affairs.
The bill was forwarded to the Swedish minister of state, Bostrom,
May 28, 1904, but he waited till September before he undertook to
examine it. This long delay aroused suspicion, and it was feared
that the plan might miscarry. This fear became almost a certainty
when Lagerheim, the Swedish foreign minister, resigned, because
Bostrom disagreed with him regarding the proposed settlement of
the consular question.^ On November 23d Bostrom arrived in
Christiania, and submitted to the two Norwegian ministers of state,
Hagerup and Ibsen, his "Reasons," a document in which he laid

* Yngvar Nielsen, Norge i 1905, p. 159 f.

THE DEPENDENCY CLAUSES 573

down the fundamental principles for the identical laws. These
principles were widely different on many essential points from the
agreement already reached. He demanded, among other things,
that the Swedish minister of foreign affairs should be made joint
foreign minister, while the agreement left this question in abeyance.
He also demanded that the Cabinet Council for Foreign Affairs
should have the power to dismiss Norwegian consuls, a provision
which would violate the constitution, and reduce Norway to a de-
pendency. The two ministers refused to accept the principles pro-
posed by Bostrom, and there seemed to be little hope of arriving
at a new agreement. But Hagerup still made an attempt. In
December, 1904, he went to Stockholm, where the Swedish ministry
submitted to him the laws which had been drafted regarding the
consular service. These laws had been based on the principles of
Bostrom, and contained among other provisions the six " dependency
clauses" (5, 6, 8, 11, 16, and 19). 5. provided that the authorities
governing the consular service should, in case of vacancy, give the
minister of foreign affairs all desired information regarding the candi-
dates for the position. 6. provided that in consular reports the
name of Sweden should always precede that of Norway. 8. The
authorities governing the consular service should issue no instruc-
tions to the consuls which should come in conflict with the decisions
of the minister of foreign affairs. 11. If the minister of foreign affairs
should learn that a consul disturbed the good relations of the two
united kingdoms and a foreign power, he should report this to the
Cabinet Council for Foreign Affairs or the joint ministry, whereupon
the king should examine the matter in the presence of the ministry
of the kingdom in question. 16. Under certain circumstances a
consul should be dismissed by the minister to the country where
he was stationed, and a consul so dismissed could not be reappointed
without royal order upon report of the minister of foreign affairs.^
19. In some countries the joint consular service should continue.
The Norwegian ministers would not accept these paragraphs, and
asked Bostrom to omit them. This he would not do, and the nego-
tiations terminated. Why Bostrom should consider it worth while
to submit these conditions, which would have reduced Norway to a

^N. Gjelsvik, Hvem har begaat Traktatbrud? Aftenposten, July 25, 1905.

674 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Swedish dependency, and which he must have known would never
be accepted, it is difficult to explain, except by assuming that he
chose this way of breaking off negotiations, as he did not wish to
consent to a separate consular service for Norway.^

The failure of the negotiations so auspiciously begun created great
disappointment in Norway, and precipitated a crisis which united
all parties. The minister of state, Hagerup, said in reporting the
result to the Storthing: "Our people are anxious to maintain. the
peace and good understanding which are equally important to both
nations. But the present condition is unbearable, and it cannot last
long without endangering the good understanding which has hitherto
existed between them. The aim must, therefore, be to establish
to the fullest degree such conditions as will give Norway the position
which rightfully belongs to her as a sovereign kingdom, a cause in
the defense of which all Norwegians have stood, and henceforth
will stand united." ^ "If this cannot be done in the existing union,
it will be necessary to consider the creation of such new and freer
forms for the cooperation of both nations and the promotion of their
mutual interests as all shall wish to preserve, and to a higher degree
than institutions constitute the lasting and valuable foundation for
a union between free peoples." These words from a leading Conser-
vative show that recent events had caused the best friends and sup-
porters of the union to ally themselves with the Liberals. The Con-
servative papers, like " Aftenposten " and "Morgenbladet," were
no less indignant than the Liberal press, and urged that, since all
negotiations had failed, the Storthing should take matters into its
own hands, and that Norway's honor and independence should
be defended at any cost. From all parts of the country petitions
were sent to the Storthing advocating decisive measures, and giving
assurance that the people would make any sacrifice necessary to
defend their liberty and independence.^

1 Forh. Statsraad Chr. Knudsen, Spredte Minder fra 1905.

* J. E. Sars, Norges Historie, vol. VI., 2, p. 220. Det norske Venstre
fra 1884 HI 1909, En politisk-historisk Oversigt utgit av Norges Venstreforening,
Christiania, 1909, p. 22 f.

' Numerous resolutions of that kind are found in Unions Opl^sningen
by F. V. Heiberg, 1905, p. 125 fif. This work is a collection of official docu-
ments connected with the events of that year.

II THE MICHELSEN MINISTRY 676

The Storthing had appointed a special committee of nineteen to
examine the protocols and documents dealing with the negotiations,
and to submit plans for further action. Several had been suggested.
Some favored renewed negotiations, but all parties finally agreed
that the Storthing should pass a law establishing a separate consular
service. Such a law might be made by passing it in three separately
elected Storthings, but this would take many years, and such a
delay might be dangerous. But a bill might also be passed contain-
ing a clause stating that at a certain future date it would be pro-
claimed as law. This, the quickest and most direct way, was recom-
mended by the special committee.^

As to the manner of meeting the crisis the ministry stood divided.
Hagerup himself, professor of jurisprudence, a scholar, and a man
of great ability, lacked resoluteness and decision. As a last resort
he would abrogate the Act of Union, and make a joint king the only
bond of union. But he hesitated to take so decisive a step, and
favored negotiations. Christian Michelsen and J. Sch0ning, who
preferred immediate and energetic action, resigned, and the ministry
was forced to retire.^ A new ministry representing all parties was
formed by Michelsen, who selected as his associates J. L0vland,
minister of state in Stockholm, Sofus Arctander, minister of com-
merce, General W. Olss0n, minister of defense, Gunnar Knudsen,
minister of finance, Christopher Knudsen, minister of ecclesiastical
affairs and education, A. H. Vinje, minister of agriculture, E. Hagerup
Bull and H. Bothner, members of the branch of the Norwegian min-
istry in Stockholm. All party differences had been dropped, and
all stood united in support of the new ministry which was to guide
the nation through so perilous a crisis.

Because of ill health King Oscar II. had temporarily turned
the government over to his son, Crown Prince Gustaf, who was to
act as regent. When it became evident that the consular question
threatened to disrupt the union, the regent took steps to open
new negotiations. While on a visit in Christiania, he sent a letter
to the special committee, in which he urged them to take no step
which might imperil the union. On his return to Stockholm, the

^ F. V. Heiberg, Unionens Opl^sning 1905, p. 117 ff. Unionens Opl^sning,
en Dagbog, Sceravtryk av Aftenposten, 1905. * Ibid., p. 29 f.

576 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

Swedish Rigsdag appointed a special committee to confer with the
ministry, and on April 5, 1905, the regent invited the cabinets of
both kingdoms to resmne negotiations with a view to create a joint
foreign minister, who might be either a Swede or a Norwegian, and
to establish separate consular service for both kingdoms in such a
way that in all matters touching foreign relations the consuls should
be responsible to the minister of foreign affairs. Bostrom resigned,
and Ranstedt, who had been member of the ministry, and was sup-
posed to be more favorably disposed towards the Norwegian demands,
was placed at the head of the Swedish cabinet. But these apparent
concessions did not change the situation. Ranstedt had voted in
favor of the "dependency clauses" in Bostrom's document, and
there was no evidence of any change in the Swedish point of view.
The Norwegian government refused to renew the negotiations until
a separate Norwegian consular service should be established. This
condition was not accepted, and nothing further could be done in
regard to the matter. By these offers of continued negotiations
Sweden succeeded, however, in gaining some sympathy among for-
eign powers, while Norway's refusal to negotiate was interpreted
as wrong-headedness and obstinacy.^ But several able Norwegian
writers, as Fridtjof Nansen, A. C. Drolsum, and H. L. Brsekstad,
pleaded Norway's cause in foreign countries with such success that
the tide of sentiment turned, and sympathy for Norway became
pronounced in France and Germany, and, finally, also in England.^
A foreign loan of forty million kroner was also floated on very favor-
able terms, and it was resolved by the Storthing that this sum should

1 In England The Daily Graphic declared that jealousy and vanity had led
the Norwegians to dissolve the union, and other leading papers like The
Daily Express, The Daily Mail, and The Standard spoke in a similar strain.
Only the Liberal Westminster Gazette sided with Norway. The leading
French papers like Le Temps and Journal des Dihats sympathized with Nor-
way, as did also many of the leading Russian papers. S. C. Hammer,
Det merkelige Aar 1905, p. 64.

2 Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegen und die Union mil Schweden; Norway and
the Union with Sweden. H. L. Braekstad, The Constitutional Crisis in Nor-
way; The Norwegian-Swedish Conflict; The Constitution of Norway. A. C.
Drolsum, Sovereign Norway and her State Rights; Das Konigreich Norwegen
als souverdner Staat; together with a German translation of the Norwegian
Constitution ; Skal Norge bcere Skylden for Ufreden i Norden t

PLATE XXIII

The Storthing Building.

Royal Palace, Chhistiania.

THE CRISIS OF 1905 577

constitute a reserve fund to be used only in cases of emergency.
On May 10th the special committee submitted a bill providing for
the creation of a separate Norwegian consular service. The law
should go into effect April 1, 1906, and the government should be
instructed to notify the Swedish government that the joint consular
service would terminate on that date. The bill was passed by both
branches of the Storthing unanimously after a very short debate.
The resolution that the Swedish government should be notified of
the termination of the joint consular service was passed against
ten dissenting votes.

It was hoped by some that the king would sanction the bill. Many
believed, or professed to believe, that as king of Norway he would
yield to the unanimous wish of the people. But in this they were
disappointed. At a meeting of the joint Swedish-Norwegian ministry
in Stockholm the Norwegian members, L0vland, Bothner, and E.
Hagerup Bull, strongly urged him to sanction the measure, but he
yielded to the wish of his Swedish advisers, and vetoed it. The
Norwegian members refused to countersign the veto, and immedi-
ately handed him their resignations.^ These he would not accept,
as he feared that he would get no new Norwegian ministers. But
they would not undertake the responsibility of remaining in office,
and returned to Christiania. The whole ministry thereupon notified
the king that they found it necessary to retire from office, and no
one could be found in all Norway willing to attempt to form a new
ministry under the circumstances.

The ultimate crisis had been foreseen, and the people remained
calm and collected. The press indulged in no invectives, but spoke
with a firmness and straightforwardness which could not be misun-
derstood. "The Swedish papers fear that Norway will violate the

1 The Swedish professor Wicksell, of the university of Lund, wrote : ''If
such a demand as King Oscar made in a letter to President Berner, that the
king's will even without the advice of a responsible ministry has the char-
acter of a public act and can void a resolution passed by the Storthing, had
been made in Sweden, it would have been met with indignant protest by all
parties. Such a king's days, not to say hours, woxild surely have been
numbered in Sweden."

The German paper. Frankfurter Zeitung, said, June 8, 1905: "If there is
a revolution, it has been started by the king, and not by the Storthing."
Unset Jaren, Hvem tvang os ind i, og hvem tvang os alter ud av Unionen ? p. 50.
VOL. II — 2 p

578 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

constitution," wrote "Verdens Gang," June 5th. "There is no
cause for anxiety. The constitution will be upheld on all points
where it has not been violated by others. In Sweden they have
found it necessary to deprive us of our king. He has been deposed
without cooperation from Norway. On the contrary, his Norwe-
gian advisers made the most earnest remonstrances to prevent it,
but to no avail. The king of Norway has been deposed in Sweden.
Thereby certain changes took place in the constitution itself. The
Norwegian government will prove that this has happened, and there-
upon, supported by the nation, without hesitation or excitement,
it will undertake to establish normal conditions in the country on
the basis of the constitution." ^ On June 7, 1905, the Storthing
assembled to receive notice of the resignation of the ministry. After
the minister of state. Christian Michelsen, had reported the king's
veto of the consular bill, and had stated that he and his colleagues
had found it necessary to resign, as they would not be responsible
for the step taken by the king, the president of the Storthing, Carl
Berner, proposed the following resolution : " Whereas all the mem-
bers of the ministry have resigned, and whereas His Majesty the
king has declared himself unable to secure a new cabinet, and whereas
the constitutional royal power thereby has ceased to operate, the
Storthing empowers the members of the ministry which has this
day retired from office to act as a temporary government for Norway,
and to exercise the powers granted the king in accordance with the
constitution and the laws of the kingdom, subject to the changes
made necessary by the fact that the union between Sweden and Nor-
way under the same king is dissolved, and that the king has ceased
to act as king of Norway." ^ No one asked for the floor to discuss
the resolution, and it was passed unanimously without being debated.
A communication was also sent to the king, informing him of the
dissolution of the union, and asking him to consent to the election
of one of the Bemadotte princes as king of Norway. The union
existed no longer. Norway and Sweden had parted, but the greatest
anxiety prevailed, and every one asked himself : " What will Sweden
do?"

» Quoted by J. E. Sars, Norges Hiatorie, vol. VI., 2, p. 253.
* P. V. Heiberg, Unionena Opl^sning 1906, p. 289 f.

PLATE XXIV

n THE CEISI8 OF 1905 579

Norway was well prepared for the emergency, but Sweden has a
population more than twice as numerous, led by a strong nobility,
jealous of their honor, and proud of their country's former greatness.
No one could doubt that the dissolution of the union by Norway's
own fiat would be a rude shock which would be felt especially by
the Swedish nobility as a distinct humiliation, and war between
the two nations, long and destructive, equally ruinous to both,
might be the unavoidable result. But many circumstances served
to restrain the ardor of those who felt disposed to make the sword
the arbiter of the dispute. The introduction of a new army organi-
zation, which had been but half completed, and the lack of stores
and ammunition greatly reduced the efiiciency of the Swedish mili-
tary forces. The possibility of Russian aggression, as well as the
sympathy for Norway shown by the great powers, would render a
war hazardous even under more favorable circumstances, and King
Oscar II., who had always been a noble-minded friend of peace, would
scarcely now in his old age embroil the two nations in a fratricidal
war for the preservation of a union which could be maintained only
by sacrificing the peace and well-being of both peoples. Among
the common classes in Sweden the desire for a peaceful settlement
of the diflBculty was very strong. The laborers, socialists, and numer-
ous friends of the peace movement spoke in defense of Norway, and
declared themselves opposed to war in a manner which must have
made a deep impression. "The day when old Sweden recognizes
that goodness is greatness, and abandons all evil with its empty
titles, the day when our national assembly joins the Storthing in a
friendly dissolution of the union, will be a holy day, and all Swedes
will be a united people," wrote K. P. Arnoldson, one of the leading
Swedish peace advocates. "The safest thing in the midst of all
uncertainty," he says in another place, " is to be just to your neighbor,
be he an individual or a nation. Let the Norwegians be permitted
to manage their own affairs in peace. This principle the press with
its great influence should impress upon the people's mind during
the growing difficulties. This is an admonition as well as a prayer.
It is the prayer of one who loves his country." ^ In 1905 the Swedish
peace association decided to join in the May demonstrations of the

^ K. P. Arnoldson, Unionens sidste Dagar, p. 21, p. 27.

580 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

labor organizations, and on the 1st of May a procession numbering
30,000 marched through the streets of Stockhohn. The peace
association carried two banners with the inscription : " Justice to
Norway, Peace with Norway," and "Pax quaeretur Justitia" (peace
is secured by justice). Emil GuUers spoke to the vast audience on
the subject "Peace with Norway," and emphasized that peace is
won by justice, as stated on the peace banner. But justice to Nor-
way required the appHcation of the Golden Rule : " Therefore all
things whatsoever that ye would that men should do to you, do ye
even so to them." "Justice to Norway," said the speaker, was
interpreted correctly by the Norwegian peace advocate, who said :
" Sweden should treat Norway as the Swedes would wish to be treated
by the Norwegians, if Norway was the larger and stronger nation."
After the speech the vast audience sang the Norwegian national
song: "Ja, vi elsker dette Landet," and the following resolutions
were adopted by all the 30,000 people assembled :

" We, the laborers and other peace-loving and liberal-minded men
and women of Stockholm, express our positive disapproval of the
short-sighted union policy of our government and the Swedish Con-
servative press, which endangers the union of the two countries,
and the future welfare of both nations.

*' Union and good understanding with Norway can be maintained
only through complete equality of the two kingdoms, and the un-
qualified recognition of the right of both to manage their own affairs,
including such foreign affairs as concern either kingdom alone.

" We demand that our government shall respect Norway's right to
establish a separate consular service, and that so soon as a measure
is submitted which has been passed by the Storthing and sanctioned
by the cabinet, negotiations with Norway shall immediately be
instituted for the purpose of effecting an arrangement of the adminis-
tration of foreign affairs which will receive the sanction and support
of both peoples.

" We demand justice for Norway, peace with Norway." ^

No one exerted a greater influence for peace than the Swedish
statesman, Adolf Hedin. J. L0vland, Norwegian minister of state

1 Emil GuUers, Fred med Norge. Gustaf Edw. Pahlcrantz, Sveriges Ratt
och Pligt, Ernst Liljedahl, Sveriges Ratt och Ara.

II THE CRISIS OF 1905 581

in Stockholm, writes: "I received him in the minister's hotel in
Stockholm after the king had refused to sanction the consular bill.
When he heard what had happened, he talked a long time about the
situation. He was sick and suffered much. Death had already set
its mark upon him, but he retained his interest with wonderful
energy. When I had helped him down the stairway and through
the entrance he said with tears in his eyes : ' Farewell. I see what
will follow. You are the last Norwegian minister of state in Stock-
holm. My hope of a happy union between the three free and inde-
pendent Northern nations has been shattered. But possibly it
is best. If we only can avoid inaugurating the future with war and
brother hatred! My days are soon ended. Farewell!' During
the whole summer he used his influence for peace in the press and
in the Rigsdag. I received many letters from him, but I could not
answer them until I was in Karlstad. Then I wrote him, and asked
him not to refuse reelection to the Rigsdag. Later I was able to
telegraph that there was prospect of a peaceful settlement. This
news gave him great joy in his last moments. He died before the
Karlstad negotiations were completed." ^

When the king was notified that Norway had dissolved the union,
he immediately telegraphed an earnest protest, and the Rigsdag
was convened in extra session to consider the situation. A proposi-
tion submitted by the ministry recommended that no attempt should
be made to preserve the union by force, as a union so maintained
would be a source of weakness rather than of strength. But the
union could not be dissolved without the consent of Sweden, and a
demand would be made for a satisfactory settlement of various im-
portant matters, as this alone could insure peaceful relations in the
future. In order that an agreement might be reached on the basis
of which the dissolution of the union could be effected, the king should
be empowered to institute negotiations with Norway. The proposi-
tion was referred to a special committee, which submitted its report
July 25. The report represents a compromise between the extreme
views of those who demanded that Norway should be subdued by
force of arms, and those who favored a peaceful dissolution of the
union without any attempt to dictate terms. As conditions for

1 For Alle, norsk Kalender, 1909, p. 76 f.

582 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE 11

consent to the dissolution the committee proposed that Norway
should present a formal request after a new Storthing had been
elected, and after the Norwegian people through a plebiscite should
signify their desire for the dissolution of the union. If these condi-
tions were complied with, negotiations might be entered into for the
arrangement of terms, on which the final agreement might be based.
This measure was passed by the Rigsdag, but on the same day, even
before it had been officially announced in Norway, a government
bill was introduced in the Storthing ordering a general plebiscite in
order that the people might get an opportunity to ratify the step
taken on June 7th. The bill was unanimously passed, and the
plebiscite, which was held August 13, 1905, revealed a singular
unanimity. The notice given was very brief, and many sailors
and fishermen could not reach home in so short a time. But of the
435,576 voters in the kingdom, 371,911, or 85 per cent, were able to
cast their ballot. Of these, 368,208 voted in favor of the dissolution
of the union, and 184 against it. 3519 ballots were discarded. Never
has a nation expressed a more unanimous opinion on a public question,
and never has a people made a more determined effort to be present
at the polls.^ The Storthing thereupon extended a formal request
to Sweden to cooperate in the dissolution of the union by entering
into negotiations for the purpose of arriving at an agreement. A
committee consisting of Christian Michelsen, J. L0vland, Carl
Berner, and B. Vogt was appointed to treat with a similar Swedish
committee, consisting of the minister of state, Lundberg, and the
cabinet members, Wachtmeister, Hammarskjold, and Staaff.
During the negotiations, which were carried on at Karlstad from
August 31 till September 23, 1905, great anxiety prevailed, and
troops were stationed on both sides of the border. But the commit-
tees finally succeeded in reaching an agreement. Both kingdoms
agreed to submit to the Hague Tribunal all controversies which they
cannot settle by direct negotiations, providing that they do not in-
volve the independence, integrity, or vital interests of either kingdom.
Along both sides of the border from Fredrikshald and Str0mstad
to a point where Ulva and K3aralv cut the sixty-first parallel, a

^ F. V. Heiberg, Unionens Opl^sning 1905, p. 309 ff. Yngvar Nielsen,
Norge i 1906, p. 433 fl.

PLATE XXV

n THE KARLSTAD AGREEMENT 683

neutral zone was created, inside of which no military operations of
any kind can be carried on. The new fortresses which of late years
had been erected within that zone should be razed, and no new ones
are to be erected in the future.^

For humanitarian reasons the Finns, who live as nomads in the
northern part of both countries, should be allowed to enjoy the same
privileges which were granted them by codicil I, in the treaty of 1751.
But the law of 1883, which had been substituted for this codicil,
is to remain in force till 1917.

Both kingdoms pledged themselves not to hinder or prohibit
the free transportation of goods in transit through either realm, and
rules were established for the utilization of lakes and water courses
common to both countries.

The clause providing for a neutral zone and the dismantling of
the fortresses created much ill-will in Norway, as it was felt that
Sweden sought to humiliate the kingdom. Both in the press and
in the Storthing spirited protests were made against these features
of the agreement,^ but the members of the committee conducting
the negotiations, and their supporters, showed that the fortresses
in question were of little or no military value. It was urged that
in order to avoid war and all its evil consequences the conditions
ought to be accepted, as they involved no vital interests, and as
Sweden would accept nothing less. This wisely chosen course of
the most prudent leaders finally prevailed. On October 9th the
agreement submitted by the committee was sanctioned by the Stor-
thing, only sixteen votes being registered against it. The Swedish
Rigsdag annulled the Act of Union October 16th, and authorized
the king to recognize the union as dissolved.^ On October 27th

^ The fortresses which had to be razed were : Urskog (Dingsrud), Prje»
and Kroksund, and the new fortresses of Fredriksten, Gyldenl0ve, Overbjerget,
Veden, and HjelmkoUen. The old fortifications at Fredriksten, with which
many historic memories are associated, remain, but they are not to be used
for military purposes. Kongsvinger was left outside the neutral zone, but
its fortifications are not to be extended or increased.

* Hvad Landet mener; Karlstadforhandlingerne og Grcensefcestningerne.
This is a collection of quotations from forty-eight Norwegian papers regarding
the Karlstad agreement. Christiania, 1905. H. D. Lowzow, Groensefor-
terne, en militcer Utredning.

' The Act of Union was in reality a treaty between the two nations. See
N. Gjelsvik, Rigsakten som Traktat, Samtiden, 1905.

584 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

King Oscar II. issued a proclamation to the Norwegian people an-
nouncing his abdication as king of Norway. To this he added the
statement that he could not consent to the election of a prince of his
family as successor to the vacant throne.

After the union with Sweden had been dissolved, the attention
was directed to the problem of establishing a new government.
Many hoped that a republic would be proclaimed/ but all agreed
that on account of the gravity of the situation any agitation for the
purpose of changing the form of government would be inopportune
and unwise. By preserving the old Norwegian throne the new gov-
ernment would revive in a most direct way the proudest traditions
of the past, and no great change would have to be made in the consti-
tution. The leading men were in favor of a liberal monarchy,^ and
the people would be sure to welcome a national king appearing as
the successor of the Haralds, Haakons, and Olavs who in time past
had made Norway great.

After Oscar II. had signified his unwillingness to consent to the
choice of a Bernadotte prince, the government turned to Prince
Charles of Denmark. This step was supported by the press, and
it soon became clear that, if elected, the prince would be received
with enthusiasm in Norway. Through marriage with Princess
Maude, daughter of Edward VII. of England, he was closely related
to the English royal family, which could only serve to strengthen
the friendship between the two realms. Prince Charles declared
himself willing to accept the throne, if the Norwegian people should
signify their consent through a general plebiscite. The Storthing
accordingly ordered a plebiscite to be held, November 12th-13th.
Four-fifths of the total number of votes cast were registered in favor
of the monarchical form of government and the election of Prince
Charles. On November 18, 1905, the necessary changes were made
in the constitution, and on the same day the prince was unanimously

1 Nikolai Lundegaard, Republik eller Konged^mme. Stian Bech, Konge-
d^mme eller Republik. Urbain Gohier, La Republique escamotbe en Norwige,
Paris, 1905.

2 Norges Statsforfatntng, Udtalelser af Bj^rnstjerne Bj^rnson, Fridtjof
Nansen, Ernst Sars, Johan Bredal. J. E. Sars, U nionsopl^sning og nalionalt
Konged^mme. Stortingspresident Berners Tale i Storthinget den 28de Okto-
ber 1906.

PLATE XXVI

King Haakon VII.

II POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS, 1905-1914 585

chosen king of Norway by the Storthing. In the afternoon session
a telegram from the prince was read, through which he announced
that he accepted the throne, that he assumed the name of Haakon
VII., and that his Httle son, the crown prince, would be called Olav.
On November 25th the king with Queen Maude and Prince Olav
arrived in Norway, and two days later he took the oath on the consti-
tution in the presence of the assembled Storthing. On June 22, 1906,
King Haakon VII. and Queen Maude were crowned in the Trondhjem
cathedral. After centuries of national obscurity, of bitter struggle
for freedom and independence, the people could at last mingle their
voices with the joyful anthems of praise and thanksgiving that Nor-
way had gained her full freedom, untarnished by foreign guardianship,
or irksome, unprofitable union with another state.

68. Political and Social Conditions, 1905-1914

Shortly after the coronation ceremonies, the campaign for the new
elections was opened in Trondhjem by Christian Michelsen, who advo-
cated a moderate policy aiming to secure further guarantees for the
integrity and independence of Norway. He failed to secure a ma-
jority of the members returned, but his ministry remained in power
for a time by mutual consent, as no party was strong enough to form
a new ministry representing a majority. In 1907 a controversy
arose regarding the regulation of the water in Lake Mj0sen. The
different party groups combined against the ministry, and as Michel-
sen had been in delicate health for some time, he resigned. Before
he left Christiania, 50,000 people marched to his residence to express
their love and admiration for the retiring leader, who had guided the
nation with such skill through the great crisis of 1905. On the 2nd
of November a treaty, which was largely the result of his efforts, was
concluded with England, France, Germany, and Russia, by which
these powers agreed to guarantee the independence and integrity
of the kingdom, Norway promising not to cede any territory to a
foreign power. The treaty should remain in force for the period of
ten years, and if not abrogated two years before the expiration of
that term, it should be continued for another decade.

After Michelsen retired, J. L0vland, who had been minister of

HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

foreign affairs, formed a new cabinet. He is a statesman of great
ability and sound liberal views, but he found difficulty in uniting
a majority on any definite policy. The political parties were in-
creasing in number, and the growing solicitude for the welfare of
the common classes had created a great divergence of opinion on
nearly all public questions. The Moderate Liberals, or Ofted0ler,
practically disappeared in 1900, but new parties appeared. The
Labor party, organized in 1887, developed strong socialistic ten-
dencies, and under the leadership of John Castberg, who entered
the Storthing in 1900, it grew in strength and influence. In 1903 the
Socialists, led by Alfred Eriksen, appeared as a new political party
in the Storthing. Both these groups opposed the L0vland ministry,
and other even more serious opposition was soon encountered. The
question of conservation of natural resources, raised by the Michel-
sen ministry through the "concession laws," which aimed to prevent
foreign capitalists from gaining permanent possession of the mines,
forests, and waterfalls of the country, had developed into an issue
which produced a split in the Coalition party. Gunnar Knudsen,
who favored a strong conservation policy, seceded and organized
the Radical Liberal party. Aided by the Socialists, this group suc-
ceeded in overthrowing the L0vland ministry, and Knudsen formed
a new ministry in March, 1908. The remaining part of the Coalition
party was organized into the Liberal-Liberal party (Frisindede
Venstre) in 1909. According to conservative or radical tendencies
the poHtical parties in Norway now ranked as follows: Conser-
vatives, Liberal-Liberals, Radical Liberals, Labor Party, and So-
cialists.

The attention of the new ministry was chiefly devoted to the prob-
lem of conservation of natural resources, probably the most important
economic question which the Norwegian people has hitherto been
called upon to settle. Norway, which was generally regarded as
a poor country, where the tillable area is very small, and the natural
resources limited, was found to possess great abundance of mineral-
bearing rock and a vast amount of water power which can be turned
into use in mining and manufacturing, the great wealth-producing
industries of modern times. The rapid development of mining and
manufacturing bid fair to revolutionize economic conditions in Nor-

PLATE XXVII

n POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS, 1905-1914 587

way, and to produce most important social changes, but no great
harm may be done to the people's social well-being if an industrial
life is developed as a result of inner national growth. The use of
electric power makes it possible to eliminate one of the most objec-
tionable features of modern industrial life, the grouping of factories
in great commercial centers, due to the use of steam power, which
requires a large supply of coal. The use of water power and elec-
tricity makes it convenient to locate factories in the neighborhood
of waterfalls. This insures to the industrial laborers more healthy
conditions, and tends to identify them socially with the rural rather
than with the urban population, a feature which may prove of great
importance in the future social development. But a danger of
another kind threatened to make the new industrial development a
most serious social problem. Foreign capitalists sought to acquire
possession of the mines, waterfalls, and power stations of the coun-
try. This peaceful conquest made by foreign capital, if allowed to
proceed unhindered, might lead to the establishing of the kind of
industrial feudalism found in other countries where capitalism holds
sway. Foreign laborers would be brought into the country, and
the Norwegian people would be gradually reduced to a class of wage-
earners toiling for foreign masters. Gunnar Knudsen, minister of
state, wrote in 1910: "The question connected with the concession
laws has been debated during the last four years. In 1906 the
Michelsen ministry proposed the concession laws, which were called
'panic laws' by the Conservative press. At that time a veritable
raid was made on our natural resources, especially by foreigners.
But we might ask : Were there no laws which could put a stop to
this raid? Yes, even the law of 1888 provides that foreigners in
order to secure realty in this country must obtain concession or
royal permission. But it appeared that it was the so-called Norwe-
gian companies, capitalized by foreigners, who under this guise se-
cured a very large share of our natural resources; not waterfalls
alone, but also forests and mines. Then the Michelsen ministry
proposed the so-called 'panic laws,' which provided that foreign
stock companies had to obtain concession in order to obtain title
to real estate in our country. This was a very important provision,
and it was bitterly opposed. But the bill became a temporary law.

588 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE n

which remained in force till last year, i.e. the temporary law was
reenacted from year to year. But there was a constant demand that
this temporary arrangement should cease." In 1909 the Knudsen
ministry secured the passage of more rigorous concession laws, con-
trolling the purchase of forests, mines, waterfalls, and power stations.
In regard to real estate in general this law provides that foreigners
must obtain concession in order to secure realty of any kind, but
citizens and Norwegian stock companies may buy without concession
timber areas not exceeding 250 acres. From 250 to 1250 acres may
be bought by Norwegian citizens, or local communities, with the
restriction, however, that they must not own over one-tenth of the
total thnber area of the herred, and the community has the right of
preemption in all such purchases. The aim of this provision is to
prevent foreign as well as native capitalists from securing possession
of the forests, which are to be left as far as possible in the hands of
the local communities.

With regard to mining the law provides that prospecting and trial
operation may be carried on without concession, but the right to
work a mine must be secured through concession, which imposes
several conditions. The government has the right to impose a
tax of three per cent, figured on the value of the output of the mine.
The concession is granted only for a fixed period, not exceeding
eighty years, after which time the ownership of the ceded property,
together with machinery and improvements, reverts to the govern-
ment without compensation.

The purchase and sale of waterfalls and rapids representing less
than 1000 horse power are unrestricted. The right to use larger
waterfalls must be secured through concession, which imposes quite
rigid conditions. Citizens must be allowed to become partners
in the undertaking for which the concession is granted, and condi-
tions may be established preventing persons who use another water-
fall, or who own a majority of shares in another company, from secur-
ing a majority of shares in the new undertaking. The herred in
which the power station is located is to receive at a moderate price
for public use five per cent of the power developed, and the state is
to receive five per cent on the same conditions. The concession
is granted for a period of not less than sixty years, and not more

II POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS, 1905-1914 589

than eighty years. After this period the waterfalls, dams, water
mains, pipes, etc., become the property of the state without com-
pensation.^

The most important feature of the concession laws is the provision
that mines and waterfalls can be leased only for a term of years, and
that at the expiration of that period these resources, together with
improvements, revert to the state. This constitutes an effective
barrier against the creation of monopolies controlled by foreign
capital. The Conservatives, who opposed the measure as socialis-
tic legislation, directed their attack against this feature of the law.
It was claimed that such a provision was unconstitutional, that it
violated the right of private ownership, that it would destroy per-
sonal initiative, and would retard progress by keeping foreign capital
out of the country. But the supporters of the measure preferred
to insure to the people full control of the natural resources of the
country, even if industrial development should make slower progress,
and the wisdom of this policy is now generally recognized. The
prophecies of the opponents have failed to materialize. Rapid
industrial progress is being made under the new law, and the feeling
that the new industries in reality belong to the whole people has
created a confidence and optimism which will insure a rapid develop-
ment of energy and talent in Norway's industrial growth.

In the elections of 1909 the Conservatives and Liberal-Liberals
combined, and succeeded in electing sixty-four representatives as
against forty-eight Radical Liberals and eleven Socialists. Of the
majority group forty-eight were Conservatives and nineteen Liberals.
Owing to this defeat the Knudsen ministry resigned, and W. Konow
of S0ndre Bergenhus, leader of the Liberal-Liberals, formed a
new ministry in the winter of 1910. Both the Conservatives and
the Liberals recommended state accident insurance and sickness
insurance for seamen, and old age pensions for all persons above
seventy years. Both parties favored a restriction of the concession
laws, and demanded that the right of private ownership should

^ Gunnar Knudsen, Foredrag om Koncessionslovene i Kristianias Handels-
stands Forening, 1910. / Dagens Strid, II. Vor ^konomiske Politik, Chris-
tiania, 1909. Koncessionslovene, Redakt^r Likens Foredrag i Handelsfor-
eningen, 1909. Norsk Lovtidende, 1909, p. 533 ff. Lov av 1909.

590 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

not be impaired. Both demanded the maintenance of the parlia-
mentary form of government, and advocated the establishing of
referendum and the right of the king to dissolve the Storthing.
The Conservatives also inclined to favor a royal suspensive veto in
cases of constitutional amendments. The last planks of their plat-
fonn were attacked by Otto Albert Blehr in a speech in Bergen,
September 4, 1910. He showed that these features belonged to dif-
ferent political systems; that the right to dissolve the Storthing
is a feature of parliamentary government not to be recommended
in Norway, where the representatives are elected for the short period
of three years, though it is used in England, where the representatives
are elected for the period of seven years. The referendum is opposed
in principle to the parliamentary system, as it removes the decision
of important measures from the legislature, and gives it to the whole
people.^ Neither of these features was carried through by the new
ministry, nor were any changes made in the concession laws; but
some progress was made in legislation aiming at securing better
conditions for the laboring classes, a problem to which the more
radical parties had devoted special attention.

By the law of 1894 government accident insurance was established
for certain classes of laborers engaged in more dangerous pursuits.
All employers in these occupations are required to insure their
laborers. The required assessments are collected by the govern-
ment, and all accidents must be reported to the Rigsforsikringsan-
stall, or Government Insurance Commission, which has full manage-
ment of this kind of insurance, and decides what damages are to
be paid. The employers cannot be held responsible for accidents,
as the government through its inspectors provides all possible safety
appliances for the protection of the laborers, and the damages are
paid by the commission in form of insurance. This law was supple-
mented by new measures in 1899, 1906, 1908, and 1911, by which
the accident insurance was extended to an ever larger number of
occupations.

^ Stiftsamtmand Blehrs Foredrag i Bergen 4de September 1910 om Grund-
lovsvetoet og dels Forbindelse tned H ^ireforeningens nye Programsaker : Op-
l^aningsret og Folkeavstemning. Aa. Bryggesaa, Biir Oplftsningsret opstiUea
som Valgprogramf I Dagens Strid, I.

n POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS, 1905-1914 591

By the law of 1909 sickness insurance was made compulsory for
all laborers above fifteen years of age who had an income not exceed-
ing 1200 kroner in the rural districts, or 1400 kroner in the cities.*
They are divided according to their income into four classes, re-
ceiving a proportionate indemnity in case of sickness. Two-tenths
of the premium is paid by the state, one-tenth by the employer, one-
tenth by the community, and six-tenths by the laborers collectively.
For other laborers the insurance is voluntary, if their yearly income
does not exceed 800 kroner in the country, or 1000 kroner in the
cities, or if their estates do not exceed 7000 kroner in the country,
or 10,000 kroner in the cities. In 1914 the law was made to include
laborers with an income of 1600 kroner in the country and 1800
kroner in the cities. The insured are now divided into five classes,
receiving an indemnity of 0.60, 0.90, 1.50, 2.10, and 2.70 kroner per
day.

Unemployment insurance according to the St. Gallen system was
introduced by the law of 1906, according to which the government
furnishes one-fourth of the out-of-work benefits paid by the various
labor organizations. The local communities to which the unem-
ployed belong must, however, reimburse the government two-thirds
of the sum furnished.

Strict control of the use of intoxicating liquors has also helped
to improve the conditions of the laboring classes. In 1871 the
Gottenburg system was introduced in Norway. In 1894 the rules
for the organization of companies for selling liquors under this system
were made more rigid, and in 1904 a law was passed which reduced
the sale and use of intoxicants to a minimum, and placed Norway
next to Finland at the very top of the list in regard to temperance.'
According to this law the beverages which are subject to control

^ 7 Dagens Strid, I., O. A. Eftest0l, Sykeforsikringen. Det norske Venstre
fra 1884 HI 1909, V., Sociale Sp^rgsmaal. E. H. Downey, in his work
Accident Indemnity in Iowa, points out that the Norwegian plan of state
insurance for accidents has been adopted also by American legislators. See
p. 127, 152. Frankel and Dawson, Workingmen's Insurance in Europe.
lUustreret norsk Konversations-Leksikon, Sykeforsikringen.

* Eilert Sundt, ^druelighedstilstanden i Norge. Hs. Gurstad, Lav am Salg
og Skjcenkning af Broendevin, 01, Vin, Prugtvin og Mj^d, af 17de Mai 1904,
Knut Gjerset, Brcendevins Samlagene og Avholdsarbeidet i Norge, Decorah,
Iowa, 1911. Absalon Taranger, Borregaardsprivilegiet, Dokument Nr. 16.

592 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

are divided into two groups: (1) Distilled liquors, including all
beverages containing above fifteen per cent of spirit, and all wines
containing above twenty-one per cent of spirit. (2) Fermented
liquors, including wine, beer, mead, and cider, containing a less per
cent of spirit than the first class. Denatured alcohol is not included
in either group.

Regarding the right to prepare distilled liquors, strict rules are
found in the law of 1887. They must be manufactured in distil-
leries controlled by the state through its inspectors, and the internal
revenue amounts to 1.68 kroner per liter, figured on the basis of a
purity of 100 per cent. The distillers may sell to any one in quanti-
ties not less than 250 liters (a little over fifty-nine gallons). They
may also sell in small quantities of not less than 0.35 liter on sealed
bottles, which must not be opened at the place of purchase : (a) to
those who have a concession to retail liquor, (6) for export, (c) for
medical and scientific use. Concession to organize a company for
selling intoxicating beverages is granted in a community only when
a majority of all the voters of the district, both men and women,
vote in favor of it, and only one such company can be organized in
each community. The concession is granted for the period of six
years, after which time the question must again be submitted to
the vote of the people. The persons receiving the concession or-
ganize as a stock company, and choose a manager, who must be
acceptable to the local authorities. Liquor may then be sold by
the company in as many places in the community or city as the local
authorities, or city council, may designate. The stock company
doing business under the concession receives a profit of not more
than five per cent a year on the capital invested. Of the surplus
the community receives fifteen per cent, the stock company ten per
cent, the ami ten per cent, and the government sixty-five per cent.
The thirty-five per cent received by the company, the community,
and the ami are used for public purposes for which funds have not
otherwise been provided, but the money is so expended as not to
reduce the burdens of taxation. The right to sell fermented liquors
is granted by the local district authorities or the city council to
companies or private persons. The places of sale and the number
of such concessions are also determined by the same authorities.

n POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS, 1905-1914 593

The right of sale may be limited so that these beverages can be sold
only to guests and travelers, as in hotels, or it may be a right to sell
to all persons, except to children below the age of fifteen years.
How effective this system has been in controlling the liquor traffic
is shown by statistics. In all the country districts of Norway only
six companies have been granted the right to sell liquor. In thirty-
six cities no such right has been granted. In all the cities of Norway
there are only 181 places where liquor is sold. The use of intoxicants
has been correspondingly reduced. In 1833 the consumption of
alcoholic beverages amounted to sixteen liters per capita. In 1900
it had been reduced to 2.9 liters. The use of alcohol and distilled
liquors in the various countries in 1901-1905 was as follows :

Distilled Liquors
Liters

Alcohol
Liters

Finland ....

2.8

... 1.9

Norway ....

3.2

... 2.4

Sweden ....

7.6 ....".

... 5.3

United States . .

5.4

... 5.5

(Jreat Britain . .

4.5

... 7.8

Germany ....
Denmark ....

14.1

... 9.4
. . . 10.9

France ....

. . . 18.9 1

The temperance movement has spread so rapidly in Norway that
237,000, or about ten per cent of the entire population, now belong
to the various temperance organizations. The restriction in the use
of intoxicants has resulted in a marked reduction in the percentage
of still births and mortality among infants. Insanity, suicides,
and deaths due to alcoholism have decreased, the number of persons
in jails and penitentiaries has been reduced, much energy has been
conserved for productive labor, and much poverty and misery have
been averted. The successful work for temperance is now generally
regarded as a most important step in the social development of the
Norwegian people in modern times.

In 1912 the Konow ministry was overthrown by their Conserva-
tive allies, who objected to the opinion expressed by Konow on the
question of the use of the Landsmaal. The controversy regarding

^ Sundbarg, Apercus statistiques inter nationaux, 1908. The figures under
alcohol represent the total amount of alcohol in distilled liquors, beer, and
wine.

VOL. II — 2 Q

594 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE U

the relative position of the Landsmaal and the Danish-Norwegian
language had grown very intense, and the Conservatives were very
dissatisfied, because the Landsmaal had been placed on equal footing
with the Danish-Norwegian. In 1878 the following rule was made
by the government regarding the use of the Landsmaal in the public
schools: "The instruction is to be given as far as possible in the
children's own vernacular. Gradually they can then be taught to
understand and write the Danish-Norwegian book language." In
1885 the Landsmaal was legalized as a standard oflBcial language
equal to the Danish-Norwegian. The following motion was passed
by the Storthing May 12th with seventy-eight votes against thirty-
one: "The ministry is requested to make such arrangements that
the Norwegian vernacular is placed on equal footing with our regu-
lar literary language as an official and school language." ^ In 1901-
1902 it was introduced in the normal schools, or teachers' seminaries,
on a par with the older literary language, and in 1907 a bill was passed
by the Storthing providing that candidates for the degree of Bachelor
of Arts should write twolessays, one in each language, to show their
knowledge of both. The Landsmaal had, finally, been accorded
full recognition, and it is now extensively used in the schools, in the
university lecture rooms, in the Storthing, and even by members
of the cabinet. But a hostile agitation has been kept up against
its use as an official and literary language, and especially against
the test Imposed on candidates for the B. A. degree. Most of the
Conservatives could not be reconciled, and when Konow in a lec-
ture expressed himself as favoring the Landsmaal, they turned
against him, and forced him and his ministry to resign. A new
ministry was formed February 20, 1912, by the Conservative leader
Bratlie. He attacked the concession laws, and sought to effect the
repeal of the provision by which they were made to apply to Norwe-
gian stock companies. But in this attempt he failed. In the elec-
tions in the fall of 1912 his party was defeated. The Radicals and
the Labor party captured seventy-six seats, and the Socialists twenty-
three ; the Conservatives and their allies the Liberals retained only
twenty-four seats. Gunnar Knudsen, leader of the Radicals, re-
turned to power as head of a new ministry.

» / Dagens Strid, I., J. L0vland, Sprogenes LikeatiUing.

n POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS, 1906-1914 595

The question of the king's veto power in cases of constitutional
amendments had never been formally settled, but after 1905 no
fear could be entertained that the king would ever again venture
to assert such a prerogative. The matter might have received no
further attention, if an incident had not occurred which made it
necessary to settle the question definitely. Toward the close of
the session of 1908 the Storthing had passed a bill repealing article
thirty-three of the constitution, and by an oversight the bill had
not been placed before the king for his signature before the Storthing
adjourned. In this case the question of the king's veto would neces-
sarily have to be raised in conformity with article eighty of the
constitution, which reads: "The Storthing remains in session so
long as it deems it necessary. When it is adjourned by the king,
after its deliberations are closed, he also passes on the bills not already
acted on, by either vetoing or signing them. All measures which
he does not formally sanction are to be regarded as vetoed." The
question would then arise, if the constitutional amendment which
had not been signed should be regarded as vetoed. That the king
has no veto power in such cases was generally held, but nowhere
expressly stated. The king, therefore, made a solemn declaration,
consonant with an opinion submitted by the minister of justice,
that in cases of constitutional amendments he has no veto.^ But
it was still possible that the veto question might be revived. If the
king according to the constitution had the right to veto constitu-
tional amendments, he could not relinquish it even by a solemn
declaration. In order to avoid further misunderstandings, article
112 of the constitution was so changed by an act of June 11, 1913,
as to deprive the king of the power of veto in cases of constitutional
amendments.

The development of democratic social conditions has been no less
essential to the progress of the Norwegian people during the last
century than the establishing of political freedom and national
independence. Without local self-government and the right of all
to share the rights and privileges as well as the duties and responsi-
bilities the work of the Eidsvold men would have lost its real signifi-

1 Stiftsamtmand Blehrs Foredrag i Bergen 4de September 1910 om Grund'
lovsveioet.

596 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

cance, and the nation would have been shorn of much of its strength.
This has been clearly understood, and efforts have been made to
extend equal privileges and opportunities to all, in order that the
interest and energy of the whole people may be united in the work
for social progress. The suffrage has been constantly extended,
until all persons of age, both men and women, now have the right
to vote. By the law of May 29, 1901, women received the right
of suffrage in local elections, if they had an income of 300 kroner in
the country, or 400 kroner in the cities, or, in case of married women,
if their husbands had that income. In 1907 they received limited
suffrage in general elections. In 1911 the first woman representa-
tive, Anna Rogstad, took her seat in the Storthing, and in 1912
women were made eligible to all oflBces, except those of cabinet
members, or of the ecclesiastical or military service. In 1898 suf-
frage had been granted to all men twenty-five years of age who had
resided in the country five years, and in 1913 the same right of gen-
eral suffrage was also extended to women. Article fifty of the
constitution was amended to read: "All Norwegian citizens,
men and women, who are twenty-five years of age, who have lived
in the kingdom for five years, and still reside there, shall have the right
to vote."

The economic development has kept pace with the political and
social progress. The increase in the national wealth and the pro-
ductive power of labor has been very rapid, especially during the
last fifty years, owing to modern inventions and the use of scientific
methods in production. The first few miles of Norwegian railway
were constructed in 1854. At present the total length of railways
in the country amounts to about 2000 miles, and excellent systems
of government-owned telegraphs and telephones have been con-
structed. The water power wholly or partly developed amounts
to 1.17 million horse power, and industries are being rapidly developed.
The growth in dairying and agriculture may be seen from the fol-
lowing figures :

Value of grain crop in 1865, 34.4 million kroner

Value of potato crop in 1865, 19.1 million kroner

Value of dairying products in 1865, 52.8 million kroner
Value of meat products in 1865, 12.7 million kroner

in 1907, 38.2 million
in 1907, 30.7 million
in 1907, 101.5 million
in 1907, 20.9 million

n POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS, 1905-1914 597

The amount of milk per cow has been increased in seventy years
from 500 Hters to 1386 liters. The improvements in economic condi-
tions, which has increased the general comfort, shows also as a direct
result an increase in population from 1,702,000 in 1865 to 2,415,452
in 1912.

The Norwegian people have become the custodians of their own
destiny to the fullest possible extent, and the rapid progress made
during the last decades proves how freedom and democratic social
conditions contribute to a people's general well-being. The spirit
of vigor and enterprise which has enabled the Norwegians to main-
tain their national independence, and to enter with success upon a
new industrial development, has carried them, also, into the fields
of exploration, where they have shown no less daring and originality
than did their ancestors, the Viking sea-kings of old. In 1887-1889
Fridtjof Nansen with a few companions succeeded in crossing the
glacier-covered Greenland on ski. This feat of endurance and dar-
ing was followed by his arctic expedition, 1898-1896, on which he
undertook to explore the region of the north pole. By letting his
ship "Fram" become embedded in the ice fields north of Siberia,
he hoped that the ocean current which traverses that region would
ultimately carry him across the pole itself. In this he did not suc-
ceed, but he reached a higher latitude than any explorer had done
before, and his expedition is one of the most valuable and interesting
of the kind ever made.

In 1898-1902 Otto N. Sverdrup, who had accompanied Nansen
as captain of the "Fram," led a second Norwegian expedition to the
arctic regions. The northwest coast of Greenland was explored,
and several new islands were discovered. Almost simultaneously
Carsten Borchgrevink made an expedition to the antarctic region,
sailing from England in 1898 with the ship "Southern Cross." He
spent the winter on the antarctic continent, located the south mag-
netic pole, and reached, in 1900, a latitude of 78° 50'.

Roald E. G. Amundsen had served as first mate on the "Belgica,"
1897-1899, on an expedition undertaken for the purpose of locating
the south magnetic pole. On his return he purchased a small ship,
"Gj0a," and decided to fit out an expedition to locate the north
magnetic pole. The expedition started in 1903, and a summer and

598 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

two winters were spent in determining the location of the magnetic
pole, and in studying the magnetic conditions of the earth in those
regions. In 1905 the voyage westward was continued in the hope
of finding the much-sought northwest passage. Through the vast
ice fields the little ship proceeded, and after passing the Simpson
and Dolphin straits it finally entered the open sea, August 21, 1905.
The northwest passage had at length been found. Upon his return
the doughty explorer began preparations for an expedition to the
south pole. In 1911 he established his winter quarters on the Great
Barrier) and by a series of marches he reached the south pole, Decem-
ber 16, 1911.1

These fearless explorers had found new paths to enterprise and
honor, and they followed them in the old Norse spirit, which regarded
honor and achievement as the only imperishable earthly possession.

Cattle perish,
kindred die,
thou wilt die also,
but one thing I know
which will never die,
the honor which thou hast won.
(Havamdl.)

69. Norwegian Emigration to America. The Norwegian3 in
THE United States

The demand that the world should be populated and developed
has come to the nations of Europe like the duty and destiny of
parenthood. So much vital force has been contributed to the develop-
ment of the new nations in both hemispheres that the peoples of the
Old World have felt it as a distinct loss, sometimes even as a calamity.
Youth and vigor have been given to the growing states in North
and South America, in Australia and Africa, till the cheeks of the
older social organisms have turned pale. But he who looks beyond

» Fridtjof Nansen, The Norwegian Polar Expedition, 1893-1896, London
and Christiania, 1900; Fram over Polarhavet, Christiania, 1897. C. Borch-
grevink, Ncermest Polen, 1900. First on the Antarctic Continent, 1900. Roald
Amundsen, Northwest Paaaagen, 1907 ; SydpoUn, 1912.

MODERN NORWAY

Bratsberg '

BuskeruJs

1-.

Hedemarkcus "

J.- I.

Jarlsberg og Larviks amt

Kristians aint.

. Lister og Maudals amt.

Nedenes amt.

Nordre Bergcnhus amt.

.\;

Nordlands amt.

N.I .

Nordre Trondhjeius amt.

I-.

Komsdals amt.

Smaaleneiies amt.

- U.

--. Sondre Bergenhus arat.

s.r._

Soiidre Trondhjems amt.

n NORWEGIAN EMIGRATION TO AMERICA 599

the pangs of the hour, and measures development by the progress
of humanity, will recognize that even for those who have given most
a new era of development has come. Paths have been blazed to a
fuller degree of self-realization, and the strength sacrificed returns
to the rising generations with new life and fuller joys.

In Norway emigration has been so heavy for almost a century that
it has been viewed with grave apprehension as a serious menace to the
growth and well-being of the nation. To a small country, number-
ing less than two and a half million inhabitants, the yearly loss of
so many thousands of the best citizens must be a source of deep regret.
Ability and energy are continually lost by the constant drain;
friends are parted, old firesides deserted, and a feeling of sadness is
created which obscures the vision, and makes the people view the
' phenomenon of emigration even with needless alarm.

Many circumstances have contributed to increase emigration
from Norway during the past century. The encouragement given
by friends and relatives already in this country, the advertising done
by railways and steamship companies, the easy communications
between Europe and America, and love of travel and adventure
have undoubtedly stimulated the longing of the young people to see
the New World beyond the seas; but economic conditions have
been at all times the chief cause. Since the industries were little
developed, the chief pursuits were lumbering, fishing, farming, and
dairying. But the tillable area is limited, and before scientific meth-
ods came to the aid both of fisherman and husbandman, labor even
in these pursuits yielded small returns. The problem of finding
profitable employment, of securing a degree of economic independ-
ence and well-being was for many attended with serious difficulty,
and the population usually kept in advance of economic progress.
Modem science and industrial progress are rapidly changing the
whole economic character of the country, and Norway will, undoubt-
edly, be able to support many times the present number of inhabit-
ants. But emigration until quite recently must be regarded as an
overflow of population, an attempt of the surplus to find opportunity
to build new homes under more favorable conditions. Since this
is its real character, it follows that it is self-regulating, and that
it will vary with changing economic conditions both at home and

a'%^1

600 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

abroad. In the April number of " Normandsforbundet " for 1913
Mr. Gottenborg shows how the emigration to America until quite
recently constantly increased, and how its rise and fall have depended
on economic conditions at home. "While the number of emigrants
in the period 1836-1842 only reached a few hundred," he writes, "it
rose in 1843 to 1600, and has since not fallen below 1000 a year.
In 1847 the potato crop in Norway was poor, times were hard, grain
J \sipb^Jy -prices high, and economic conditions generally unfavorable. For

u^ this reason emigration rose to 4000 or 5000, and this number remained

quite constant with few exceptions from 1851 to 1865, though the
economic conditions improved. ... In 1866 emigration increased
suddenly to 15,455 from 4000 the year previous, owing chiefly to
the closing of the Civil War, which had hindered emigration. In the
following years the number was gradually reduced from 10,357 in
1873 to about 4000 in 1874-1878, because of improved economic
conditions, extensive railway construction, and other large enter-
ij^ prises. But in the eighties another period of hard times came.
1^ 0^ Railway construction ceased, and the emigration reached a volume

jLpuT^ greater than ever before. In 1882 the number rose to 28,804, and

-^<d during that whole decade it exceeded 20,000 per year, except in

1884-1886 and 1889, when the number was 13,000 to 15,000 a year.

y^ The same conditions existed in the beginning of the nineties. In

TvM^ 1893 about 19,000 emigrated, but in 1894 the number was reduced

to 5642 because of good times. ... In 1899, when the times
again became hard, the number rose again. In 1900 it reached
11,000, in 1901 13,000; it soon increased to 20,000, and in 1903 it
reached about 27,000. It remained above 20,000 till 1907, but it
dropped in 1908 to 8500 because of hard times in America. In
1909 it rose again to 16,000, and in 1910 to almost 19,000, but dropped
again in 1911 to about 12,000, and in 1912 to 9105." Mr. Gotten-
borg finds that in the period 1850-1911 707,986 persons emigrated
from Norway.^

1 The real emigration to America did not begin till in 1821. ."From the
year 1820 the United States government supplies us with immigration statis-
tics; but unfortunately for our present purpose, Sweden and Norway are
grouped together in these down to the year 1868, and hence it is impossible
to determine how many came from each country. From the year 1836
we are helped out by Norway, where the government in that year began

II NORWEGIAN EMIGRATION TO AMERICA 601

As soon as economic conditions can be established which will
enable all the people to live at home in reasonable comfort, few will
be tempted to go as emigrants to foreign lands, and emigration will
soon cease. Dr, Isaac A. Hourwich has shown that the new eco-
nomic development in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark has greatly
reduced emigration from these countries. In Germany and Den-
mark emigration has ceased altogether and immigration has begun
instead. "The progress of agriculture," says this author, "has
turned Denmark into a country of immigration. Considerable
numbers of Polish peasants come during every agricultural season to
work on the farms in Denmark; in 1907 their number was 6251." ^
The same will undoubtedly happen in Norway, if the present indus-
trial and economic development continues uninterrupted. "The
recent industrial progress of Norway can be gauged," says Hour-
wich, "by the fact that from 1897 to 1908 the quantity of horse
power used increased 146.5 per cent. The average number of wage
earners, reduced to the basis of 300 working days per year, increased
during the same period forty-five per cent, while the population
increased during the same period only nine per cent." ^ The various
industries now support over one-third of the population.^ The
growing demand for labor, the increase of wages, the greater security
given the wage earners through accident and sickness insurance
and non-employment funds, and the rapid improvement of economic
conditions in general have already caused a noticeable decrease in
emigration. Before many years have passed, it may have ceased to
work annoyance, and to sap the strength of the nation.

The emigration from Norway to America may be said to have
begun in 1821, when Cleng Peerson, of Tysvser parish, north of Stav-
anger, and Knud Olsen Eide, from the island of Fogn, were sent by
some Quaker friends of the district to investigate conditions in the
New World. After three years they returned, and their reports
were so favorable that several families, led by Lars Larsen Jeilane,

to collect and preserve statistics of emigration." R. B. Anderson, First
Chapter of Norwegian Immigration, p. 38.

1 Isaac A. Hourwich, Immigration and Labor, p. 108, 204.

2 Statistique Industrielle pour Vannee 1 908, edit^e par V office des Assur-
ranees de VEtat, p. 18*, 230*, Christiania, 1911.

* Thome Hoist, Industri og industrielle Problemer, Christiania, 1914.

602 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE If

resolved to emigrate. A small sloop, "Restaurationen," was pur-
chased, Captain Lars Olsen and Mate Erikson were hired, and the
little vessel, carrying fifty-two persons, set sail from Stavanger,
July 4, 1825. After a perilous and adventurous voyage they reached
New York October 9th of that year, fifty-three in number, as Mrs.
Lars Larsen Jeilane had given birth to a daughter.^ In November
they reached their final destination, Kendall, then called Murray,
in Orleans County, New York, where the first Norwegian settlement
was founded. Here they bought land from Joseph Fellows at the
price of five dollars per acre, and agreed to pay for it in ten yearly
installments. The summer was already spent, but they succeeded
in building a log cabin, and by threshing with the flail the grain of
their neighbors, a work for which they received every eleventh
bushel of wheat, they secured the necessary supply of food for the
winter. In the spring they cleared and seeded a couple of acres,
and the next fall they could harvest their first crop. The difficulties
and discouragements encountered were many, but the colonists soon
learned to love their humble homes in the new country. It appears,
however, that they failed to secure proper title to their land.^ Joseph
Fellows, who was a Quaker, seems to have been very generous and
kind, but they were probably unable to pay the purchasing price,
and most of them sought new homes in the western states, especially
in La Salle County, Illinois, where the second Norwegian settlement
was founded at Fox River in 1834.

Not a few persons emigrated from Norway during the decade
1825-1835, but they came as individual immigrants, and no new
Norwegian settlement was founded. In 1835 Knud Slogvig, who
had come to America in the sloop "Restaurationen," returned to

* R. B. Anderson, The First Chapter of Norwegian Immigration. George
T. Flom, A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United States. Hjalmar
Rued Holand, De norske Setlementers Historic. O, N. Nelson, History of
the Scandinavians and Successful Scandinavians in the United States. Knud
Langeland, Normcendene i Amerika. Symra, Decorah, Iowa. Martin
Ulvestad, Normcendene i Amerika, deres Hisiorie og Rekord. Jobs. B. Wist,
Den norske Indvandring til 1850 og Skandinaverne i Amerikas Politik.

An extensive bibliography of works dealing with Scandinavian immigra-
tion and pioneer history is found in O. N. Nelson's work History of the Scan^
dinavians and Successful Scandinavian in the United States, p. 265 ff.

» Ibid., p. 134 m ff.

II NOBWEGIAN EMIGRATION TO AMERICA 603

Norway, and many people from the districts between Bergen and
Stavanger flocked to hear his accounts of the New World. The de-
sire to visit America spread rapidly, and in 1836 two brigs, " Norden "
and "Den norske Klippe," sailed from Stavanger with about two
hundred emigrants, led by Knud Slogvig. On arriving in America
most of them were persuaded by the intrepid Cleng Peerson to go to
Fox River, La Salle County, Illinois, where he had already founded
a new settlement in the great western wilderness. Fox River soon
became a thriving community, but the attempt to found a third
settlement was less successful.

In 1837 two ships, "iEgir" from Bergen and "Enigheden" from
Stavanger, sailed to America with about 170 emigrants. They
intended to go to the Fox River settlement, but on arriving in Chi-
cago they were told that La Salle County was very unhealthy, and
a number, led by Ole Rynning, were persuaded to go to Beaver
Creek in Iroquois County. In this marshy wilderness they built
their homes, but the fall rains soon turned it into a swamp, and in
the spring the whole region was inundated. The privations and utter
hopelessness of the situation might well fill the most courageous
hearts with despair. Many fell victims to malaria and dysentery,
among others Rynning himself. The colony was abandoned, and
those who were able made their way to the settlement at Fox
River.

In 1839 about forty emigrants formed a new settlement at Muskego,
Wisconsin, the first Norwegian settlement in that state. Already
in 1845 plans were laid for the publication of a Norwegian newspaper,
and two years later "Nordlyset," published by Even Hegg and James
D. Reymert, began to appear in the town of Norway, Racine County,
in this settlement.^ In 1844 the first Norwegian Lutheran church
was built by Rev. C. L. Clausen. In 1839 the first Norwegian set-
tlers also appeared at Rock Prairie and Jefferson Prairie, and in
1840 the great Norwegian settlement at Koshkonong, Dane County,
Wisconsin, was founded.

These early settlers had shown the way where thousands were
soon to follow. In 1843 the number of Norwegian immigrants
rose, as already stated, to 1600, and during the next decades they

* Joha. B. Wist, Norah-Amerikanernea Featakri/t, 1914.

604

fflSTORY OF THE XORWEGIAN PEOPLE

came in ever increasing numbers to take possession of the fertile
unsettled plains of the great West. According to "The Thirteenth
Census of the United States" the Norwegians in this country num-
bered, in 1910, 979,099. Of these, 403,877 were born in Norway ; the
other 575,222 were bom of immigrated Norwegian parents. But
if the Norwegian element in its entirety should be counted, we would
still have to add the whole second generation born in this country,
which is even more numerous than the first, and it would not be
unfair to count also a considerable part of the third generation.
According to the most conservative estimate, then, the number of
Norwegians in the United States in 1914 is not less than 1,600,000.
The greater number have settled in the northwestern states and in
Washington, Oregon, California, New York, Massachusetts, and New
Jersey, where according to the census they are distributed as follows :

BOBN IN NOBWAT

Born of Immigrated
Norwegian Parents

Total

Minnesota ....

105,303

174,304

279,607

Wisconsin . .

57,000

100,701

157,701

North Dakota

45,937

77,347

123,284

Illinois . . .

32,913

35,525

68,438

Washington

28,368

24,361

52,729

New York . .

25,013

12,392

34,405

Iowa . . .

21,924

44,978

66,902

South Dakota

20,918

39,828

60.746

California . .

9,952

7,194

17,146

Michigan . .

7,638

9,136

16,774

Montana . .

7,170

6,773

13,943

Oregon . . .

6,843

6,592

13,435

Massachusetts

5,432

2,938

8,370

New Jersey

5,351

3,001

8,352

"The Thirteenth Census of the United States" shows that 68.7
per cent of the Norwegians live in the states of Minnesota, Iowa,
North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas,
and " they show a greater tendency toward concentration than any
other nationality," says the census. Very few live in Missouri.
If we substitute Wisconsin instead, the percentage will be even
much higher.^

^Thirteenth Census of the United States, vol. V., p. 179.

II THE NORWEGIANS IN THE UNITED STATES 605

According to report of W. J. Harris, director of the United States
Bureau of the Census, the foreign element constitutes about one-
third of the entire population of the United States, or 32,243,382,
counted according to the mother tongue. But this number is too
low for reasons already stated. Of this large foreign element 87.5
per cent speak one of the eight leading foreign languages in the fol-
lowing proportion :

English 10,037,420, or 31.1 per cent

German 8,817,420, or 27.3 per cent

Italian 2,151,422, or 6.7 per cent

Polish 1,707,640, or 5.3 per cent

Yiddish "1 1,676,762, or 5.2 per cent

Hebrew J

Swedish 1,445,869, or 4.5 per cent

French 1,357,169, or 4.2 per cent

Norwegian 1,039,975, or 3.1 per cent

Other languages 4,039,975, or 12.5 per cent

The Norwegian tongue, then, is one of the eight languages which is
spoken most in the United States.^ But as an ethnic element in
the American people the Norwegians are of far greater relative im-
portance than even these figures would indicate. In Norway popu-
lar education has reached the highest stage of efficiency, and illiteracy
is wholly confined to the mentally imbecile. The reports of the
United States Commissioner of Immigration also show that the
Scandinavians are the best educated immigrants which land on our
shores, and as they are accustomed at home to popular govern-
ment and democratic social conditions, they are better qualified
than almost any other immigrants to enter into the full spirit of
American institutions. In the development of the states of the
[orthwest they have been a most potent factor both economically
and intellectually. Statistics show that as tillers of the soil they
rank higher than other nationalities, and that they choose farming
as their vocation to a far greater degree than any other people. In
1900 49.8 per cent of all Norwegians in America were farmers, 42.3
per cent of all Danes, and 30.2 per cent of all Swedes. If we add also
the laborers in the rural districts, who are usually farm hands, the

^ Symra, May, 1914, Knut Gjerset, Litt om Nordmoendene i Amerika i
1814.

606 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE

percentage will be : of Norwegians 59.3 per cent, of the Danes 52.3
per cent, and of the Swedes 43 per cent.^ "The Thirteenth Census

of the United States" for 1910 shows that of the foreign-born white
population a much larger percentage own their farms than of the
native white population, the ratio being 81.4 per cent to 66.3
per cent.' But the available statistics indicate that of the Scandi-
navians a larger percentage own their farms than of most other
nationalities. They own more than their share of the soil, and have
reached a higher degree of prosperity than almost any other nation-
ality in the rural districts. According to the census of 1910 10,886
of the farmers of the state of North Dakota are born in Norway.'
Of these, 9562 own their farms, while 1341 are renters. If the farms
were not so large, the number of renters would be still smaller, but
in that state the average acreage of farms is 382.3 acres, with an
average value of $13,109. In Minnesota the average acreage is
177 acres and the average value not less than $12,000. "The coun-
ties where the Norwegian population is largely located will be found
in southern, western, and northwestern Minnesota, the richest agri-
cultural counties of the state. There is, perhaps, no more prosperous
agricultural region in the United States," writes Auditor of State
Samuel G. Iverson. "Those who have given the matter some
thought," he continues, "agree with me that about one-third of the
farms of Minnesota are owned by those who were born in Norway,
or their descendants, and that these number now in the aggregate
from 450,000 to 500,000 ; one-third of the 165,000 farms of the
state would be 55,000, which at an average of $12,000 would be
$660,000,000."

The intelligence and diligence which have enabled the Norwe-
gians to become so successful in economic pursuits have character-
ized their efforts also in other fields. Especially noticeable are
these traits in political life, where they have shown an ability which
has made them an influential factor especially in the Northwest.
At first they had many difficulties to contend with as a foreign ele-

^ Reports of the Immigration Commission, vol. XXVIII., table I. A, p.
216 ff., quoted by Hourwich, Immigration and Labor, p. 198.
* Bulletin of Agriculture, 1910, table 13.
» Thirteenth Census of the United Slates, vol. V., p. 180.

n THE NORWEQIANS IN THE UNITED STATES 607

ment. But as they are trained from home to exercise the duties of
popular government, they were soon able to take an active part in
all civic duties. Many have become true leaders in their communi-
ties, and the number of those who have been elected to the highest
oflSces is relatively very large. Five have been governors, four lieu-
tenant governors, twelve congressmen, three United States senators,
besides one of the senators from Utah whose mother is Norwegian.
Eight have been secretaries of state, seven state treasurers, four state
auditors, one state attorney-general, one state superintendent of
public instruction, and two judges of state supreme courts. Many
have also been employed in the federal service. Ten have been
revenue collectors, ten consuls, and three United States ministers
to foreign countries. Thousands of others have held positions of
trust and honor in community and state. The fact that the Norwe-
gians in America even in the first generation have been able to achieve
such success is not an accident, but is due to the intellectual culture
which they have received as a heritage from their fatherland.
Closer investigation reveals the fact that their life in this country
is more closely connected with their history and development at
home than a casual observer might be led to think.

The freedom of the Norwegian people is the result of a long de-
velopment, and their struggle for liberty has been of the same con-
servative kind as that of the English nation. They did not win
their freedom suddenly through a revolutionary uprising, but the
struggle which lasted through centuries was waged for the sake of
preserving the freedom which was theirs from time immemorial.
Throughout the period of union with Denmark the conflicts were
small and scattered, but so bitter that they fostered an intense spirit
of liberty, and served to develop a marked willfulness in the popular
character. In 1814 the national independence was quickly won,
but during the union with Sweden, Norway, as the weaker state, had
to exert the utmost vigilance to maintain the principles of sovereignty
and equality granted in the constitution and the Act of Union. All
premises and provisions had to be diligently scrutinized, and keen-
eyed statesmanship had to preserve what the spirit of liberty had
won. In these long struggles the Norwegian people have not only
had an experience in popular self-government which has proved most

608 HISTORY OP THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE H

valuable in their new environment in America, but they have de-
veloped in the trials of these struggles a self-assertive social tempera-
ment, an austere spirit of liberty, a rigid adherence to established
principles, and a conservatism of thought which is clearly noticeable
in their political life in the New World. They have for the most
part joined the Republican party, which represented the principles
of freedom and the rights of man in the great Civil War. They
found in this party to a large extent their own ideals, they learned
to love it, they felt proud of its lofty principles and great achieve-
ments, and they have clung to it with a fidelity which finds its ex-
planation in their own long struggle for liberty. In politics the
Norwegian could never be an opportunist. He takes the matter
seriously, and demands clear issues and rigid principles which he
can fully sanction. For this reason he has never been very success-
ful in American city politics, where the bosses have held sway, where
everything has been allowed, and where principles have often been
regarded as political stupidity. In their loyal adherence to their
chosen party the Norwegian people have been ably assisted by the
Norwegian-American press, which with but few exceptions has al-
ways supported the Republicans, an attitude which it has not changed
even when general defection has threatened. The Norwegian-
American papers have always regarded new parties and untried
political principles with skepticism, and have maintained that re-
forms and true progress could best be secured through the tried old
party.^

The love of liberty and the conservative loyalty to principles
which characterize the Norwegians are nowhere more clearly seen
than in their church organizations, in which they have realized to
the fullest extent their own ideas. The five Norwegian Lutheran
church bodies in America now number over half a million members,
and they are still growing rapidly. Their own official statistics
show figures as on the following page :

^ A history of the Norwegian- American press is found in Norak-Ameri-
kanernes Festskrift, 1914-

THE NORWEGIANS IN THE UNITED STATES

609

The United Church . . .
The Norwegian Synod , .
The Hauge Synod . . .
The Lutheran Free Church
The Eielsen Synod . . .

Members

CONOREGA-
TI0N8

Pastors

Value op
Property

276,596

1570

589

$2,250,000

162,287

1048

410

1,843,000

60,000

364

169

650,000

38,000

371

172

1,350,000

1,500

12,900

538,383

3379

1346

$6,105,900

There has been much controversy between these different groups
regarding questions of doctrine and church practice, but with regard
to the great issue of preserving the Lutheran faith as they have in-
herited it from their fathers, they have all been animated by the same
spirit. On this point they have shown a conservatism which has
its root in the national character, and which has given the Norwe-
gian Lutheran Church in America its dignity and strength. This
trait is the more remarkable, because it is associated with the most
pronounced spirit of freedom in all matters touching the general
management of church affairs. Instead of preserving the state-
church features, to which they had been accustomed at home,
they have established in this country a free church, based on the
most democratic principles of popular government. The congre-
gation is at the same time the organic unit and the highest authority,
and manages its own affairs without outside official supervision.
The affairs of the whole church are decided at yearly conventions
of delegates sent by the congregations. All officials are elected
for short terms, and their powers are so limited that they act as
counselors and advisers rather than as supervisors.

True to their belief that knowledge is power, the Norwegians
have always been earnest supporters of the state universities and
public schools. But they have also built a number of private col-
leges and high schools where the courses are supplemented by such
branches as will tend to create among the young people an interest
in the history and culture of their own people, as it is believed that
the inspiring traditions and tender memories of the fatherland can
yet teach valuable lessons, if properly preserved and respected.
Besides the regular high school and college curriculum, considerable
attention is devoted in these schools to Norwegian history and liter-

VOL. II

610 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE II

ature, religion, and music, the subjects which represent in a special
way the heritage which the Norwegian people have received from
their fathers. Thirty such schools, with 300 instructors and 4400
students, are now in operation.

The centennial of Norway's independence was celebrated in 1914
with a centennial exposition and great festivities in Christiania, and
a great number of Norwegian-Americans returned to the old father-
land for the occasion. On the Seventeenth of May a procession of
30,000 children with Norwegian flags, and a large number of Norwe-
gian-Americans with American flags, marched through the streets
of the capital. At Eidsvold the Storthing assembled in regular
session in the old hall where the constitution was framed in 1814,
and on May 20th a festive religious service was celebrated in the
cathedral at Trondhjem. In June a musical festival was held in
Christiania by thousands of singers assembled from all parts. A
choir of 250 trained Norwegian singers from America, led by Julius
Jseger, Emil Bj0rn, and the composer Alfred Paulson of Chicago,
assisted, as did also the Luther College Concert Band, which in
answer to a special invitation made an extensive concert tour in
Norway under the leadership of President C. K. Preus of Luther
College, and the musical director. Carlo A. Sperati. The celebration
closed with a festival on the Fourth of July, when the visiting Norwe-
gian-Americans brought their formal greetings to their fatherland.
For over a year a large committee, headed by State Senator L. O.
Thorpe of Willmar, Minnesota, had been engaged in collecting a
memorial fund, which on that day was presented to the Storthing
by Professor H. G. Stub, D.D., of St. Paul, Minnesota, President
of the Norwegian Synod. The Memorial Fund Committee was
represented by Dr. T. Stabo of Decorah, Iowa, the United Church
by its president. Rev. T. H. Dahl, D.D., and the State of North
Dakota by its chief executive, Governor L. B. Hanna, who pre-
sented to the Norwegian government a statue of Abraham Lin-
coln. This piece of art, the work of the Norwegian- American sculp-
tor Paul Fjelde, was a present from that American commonwealth,
Ajj ' XM which is indebted to the sons and daughters of Norway for so much
-^|W^ of its progress and prosperity. It was a token of the spirit which has
knit strong the fraternal ties between the Viking race of the North
and the land of freedom in the New World.

INDEX

Aal, Jacob, 424-425, 427.

Aal, Niels, 422, 442, 444.

Aasen, Ivar, 493, 496-500.

Aasgaardsrei, 97.

Aasled, battle of, 33.

Abel, Niels Henrik, 550-551.

Abildgaard, F. S., 510.

Absolutism introduced in Denmark-
Norway, 228-235.

Act of Union, 445 ; attempt to revise,
514, 525 ; new attempt at revi-
sion, 527, 529-530; annulled,
583.

Adelaer, Kort, Norwegian admiral,
254-255.

Adler, Job. G., 419.

Adlercreutz, Swedish general, 394-
396.

Adlersparre, Swedish general, 395-
396, 421.

"^gir," emigrant ship, 603.

"Aftenposten," 532.

Agmund Finnsson, drotsete, 42.

Ahlefeld, Frederick, 250, 262.

Ahnen, Preben von, 221.

Albrecht of Mecklenburg, duke, 16-
19, 22.

Albrecht of Mecklenburg, king of
Sweden, 18, 29 ; defeated and
imprisoned, 33 ; liberated, 36.

Albrecht the Younger, 29.

Alexander I. of Russia, 384.

Algotsson, Bengt, royal favorite, 16.

Alvsson, Knut, commandant of Akers-
hus, 83 ; slain, 84.

Amt, 233.

Amtmand, 233 ; for Iceland, 237.

Amtsthing, 482.

Amundsen, Roald E. G., explorer,
597-598.

Amund Sigiirdsson Bolt, leads an up-
rising in Norway against Eling
Eirik of Pomerania, 49-50.

Ankarsvard, 523-524.

Anker, Carsten, 371, 422-423, 431,
435.

Anker, Peter, 418-419, 424, 427, 435.

Anna Catharine of Brandenburg,
queen of Christian IV., 197.

Anna, daughter of Christopher
Trondss0n, married to Earl of
BothweU, 157.

Anna Gyldenl0ve, 118.

Anneke Jans Bogardus, 246-247.

Antonius, first preacher of Lutheran-
ism in Norway, 124.

Appanages reduced, 565.

"Arbeiderforeningernes Blad," labor
paper founded by Markus
Thrane, 509.

Arboga, council of, 48.

Archemboldus, John Angellus, 109.

Arctander, Sofus, 555, 557, 567, 575.

Arenstorf, Frederick, 256.

Aresson, J6n, Bishop of H61ar, 139-
142.

Aristocracy, the old, disappearance
of, 1-3 ; why a strong feudal
aristocracy did not develop in
Norway, 2-3 ; of little signifi-
cance, 235.

Armfelt, general, attacks Norway,
392-394.

Armfelt, Swedish general, in Norway,
317-318 ; his retreat, 319.

Army, 253-254, 259, 269 ; condition
of in the seventeenth iCentury,
304-307.

Arnoldson, K. P., Swedish peace
advocate, 579.

Arrebo, Anders Christensen, 287.

Art, 293.

Asbj0rnsen, P. Chr., 491^92.

Aschehoug, T. H., 527, 533.

Aschenberg, general, 310, 313.

Assembly of Estates, 208-209.

Astrup, H. R., 557.

Aufklamng, 339; influence of in

611

612

INDEX

Danish politics, 344-345, 353-

355, 371, 402.
August, Charles (Christian August),

391-398; elected Swedish crown

prince, 397.
Augustinuss0n, Melchior, 292.
Axtorna, battle of, 153.

Bachke, O. A., 542.

Bacon, Francis, 338.

Bagge, Jacob, Swedish admiral, 151.

Bagge, Stig, Norwegian sea-captain,

144, 149.
Bank of Norway, 449.
Beaver Creek, Iroquois County, 111.,

Norwegian settlement, 603.
Bech, bishop, 422.
Benedict, Bishop of Bergen, 54.
Benzon, Jakob, statholder, 354.
Berg, Magnus, artist, 293.
Bergen, becomes a Hanseatic city,

19; sacked by the Victual

Brothers, 35-36; some of its

finest edifices destroyed, 124;

becomes center of Lutheranism,

137-138.
Bergen, Latin school, 125, 138.
''Bergens Fundats," 163.
"Bergens Rimkr0nike," 163.
Bernadotte, Prince of Pontecorvo,

ordered to attack Sweden, 392;

see Charles John.
Berner, Carl, Liberal leader, 560,

578, 582.
Berner, H. E., editor of !'Dag-

bladet," 532.
Bernstorff, A. P., 360, 363, 378, 379,

381—382
Bernstorff, J. H. E., 344-345.
Bilde, Claus, commandant of Bohus,

121.
Bilde, Eske, commandant of Bergen-

hus, 121, 135.
Bille, Anders, Danish general, 222.
Birch- Reichenwald, 523, 526.
Birger, king of Sweden, 4.
Bjelke, Henrik, 212, 222.
Bjelke, Jens Tillufsen, married to

Lucie Gyldenl0ve, 217, 225.
Bjelke, J0rgen, 221, 225, 226.
Bjerregaard, H. A., 466.
Bj0rnBon, Bj0rnstjeme, 502, 618-

519, 520-521, 547.

Bjornstjema, general, Swedish envoy
to Moss, 442.

Black Death, 12-14.

Blanca, or Blanch, of Namur, mar-
ried to Magnus Smek, 6, 15.

Blehr, Otto, ministry of, 570-572,
590.

Blekinge, ceded to Sweden, 223, 228.

Blix, Elias, 550, 555.

Blom, Gustav Peter, 427.

Bod0 case, 454.

Bogardus, Eberhardus, 246-247.

Bohuslen, ceded to Sweden, 223, 228.

Bolt, Aslak, archbishop, 55, 59, 67-
68.

Bombelles, count, in Denmark, 414.

Bonde, Laurents Hanss0n, trans-
lated sagas, 163.

"Bonden i Bryllaupsgarden," 292.

B0nder, not peasants, 506-507.

B0nder, resist oppression, 83, 85;
condition of, in Norway, 188-192,
272, 275-276, 278-281, 477, 484-
504 ; condition of in Denmark,
336-337; in Norway, 337, 349,
364-369, 374-375; after 1814,
450, 465.

B0nder-lensm8Bnd, 100.

Bondevenforeninger, 530.

Bornholm, battle of, 89, 153 ; ceded
to Sweden, 223 ; given to Den-
mark, 229.

Bostrom, Swedish minister of state,
566-576.

Bothner, H., 572, 575.

Bothwell, Earl of, 157.

Brsekstad, H. L., 576.

"Brand," 519.

Brandt, Enevold, 352-356.

Bratlie, J. K. M., Conservative
leader, 594.

Bredal, Nils Krog, 373-375.

Bredtvedt, home of Hans Nielsen
Hauge, 405.

Brinch, Diderich, 293.

Broch, major, 442.

Broch, O. J., 534, 544.

Br0msebro, peace of, 213.

Brun, Johan Nordahl, 373-376.

Brunkeberg, battle of, 76.

Bruun, Christopher, 554.

Bruun, Samuel Olsen, 288.

Budde, Vinoence, 313, 319.

INDEX

613

Bugge, Samuel, 288.

Bugge, Sophus, 491, 551.

Buk, Olav, commandant of Akers-

hus, 52.
Bureaucracy, development of, 234-

235.
Bm-enskjold, Swedish general, 308.

."Campbelleme," drama, 472-473;
the Campbeller battle, 472.

Camstrup, Ole, poet, 292.

Carolina Mathilda, queen of Chris-
tian VII., 349-358.

Caspari, Theodor, poet, 550.

Castberg, John, 586.

Castles, few in Norway, 28.

Cathedral schools, 89-90.

Catherine II. of Russia, 361-362,
369, 378.

Catholic propaganda, 193-194.

Chancellor, attempts to find a north-
east passage, 181-182.

Charles II. of England, and Freder-
ick III., 238-239.

Charles IX., king of Sweden, 198,
199.

Charles X. Gustavus, 220-227.

Charles XII. of Sweden, 303-304,
306 ; returns to Sweden, 309-316 ;
his second invasion of Norway,
316-319 ; his death, 317-318.

Charles XIII. of Sweden, 396, 421 ;
issues proclamation to the Nor-
wegian people, 438 ; elected king
of Norway, 444 ; death of, 450.

Charles XV., viceroy of Norway
while prince, 517 ; ascends the
throne, 517 ; his reign, 523, 534.

Charles John, becomes Swedish
crown prince, 406 ; relation to
Napoleon and Emperor Alex-
ander I., 407 ; receives promise of
Norway, 407 ; receives promise of
Seeland, 408; abandons hope of
receiving all of Norway, 410 ; aids
the allies against Napoleon, 410-
412 ; invades Denmark, 414-415 ;
his view of the treaty of Kiel,
416; becomes Norwegian crown
prince, 444 ; his amalgamation
policy, 451-454; his onslaught
on the Norwegian constitution,
455-560 ; his circular note to the

powers, 457; proposes amend-
ments to the constitution, 458-
459 ; combats Norwegian spirit of
hberty, 461-464.

Charlotta Ameha, queen of Chris-
tian v., 249.

Christian, prince, heir to the throne,
215.

Christian I., 66-67 ; his charter, 67 ;
crowned and married, 69; ad-
ministrative policy of, 71-73;
personal traits and character, 74 ;
mortgages the Orkney and Shet-
land Islands, 74 ; succeeds Karl
Knutsson as king of Sweden, 75 ;
made Duke of Holstein and
Count of Sehleswig and Stor-
marn, 75 ; defeated at Brunke-
berg by Sten Sture, 76 ; visits
Italy and the German Emperor,
76-77.

Christian II., as prince in Norway,
84-86 ; childhood of, 103 ; char-
acter, 104 ; crowned king, 105 ;
favors the Lutheran Reformation,
109; subdues Sweden, 110-111;
the Stockholm massacre, 112-
113; rebellion against him in
Denmark, 115; leaves Denmark,
116; his reforms, 116-117; at-
tempts to regain his kingdom,
125-126; imprisoned, 126; his
death, 148.

Christian III., as duke in Norway,
121; elected king, 128-129;
seeks to reduce Norway to a
province of Denmark, 131-134;
church ordinance of, 138 ; en-
larges the navy, 144; introduces
mining in Norway, 145 ; as king,
147-148.

Christian IV., 183-184; childhood
and education, 184 ; nature of his
rule, 184-185; his visits to Nor-
way, 185 ; code of, 192 ; charac-
ter of, 197; marriages, 197;
internal administration of, 197 ;
in the Thirty Years' War, 205-
206; attitude toward Sweden,
210 ; death of, 216.

Christian V., 248 ; his character,
249; coronation of, 249-250;
character of his rule, 262-271 ;

614

INDEX

luxury laws of, 264-266; police
regulations, 266-267 ; code of,
267 ; character of, 270 ; adminis-
trative policy of, 270-271.

Christian VI., 328-335 ; his foreign
policy, 330-332 ; his Sabbath or-
dinances, 333.

Christian VII., 349-357.

Christlania, taken by Charles XII.,
312.

Christians and, 273.

Christie, W. F. K., 424, 435, 441, 444,
449.

Christina, Munk, wife of King Chris-
tian IV., 197-198.

Christina, queen of King Hans, de-
fends Stockholm, 88.

Christina, queen of Sweden, 211, 219,
220.

Christopher of Bavaria, elected king
of the three realms, 51-52 ; his
reign, 64-65.

Christopher, Count of Oldenburg,
128.

Church of Norway, 53-55; change
in ritual, 296 ; condition of, in the
seventeenth century, 296-300 ;
churches sold, 325.

Cities of Norway, 173-174, 272-273 ;
population of, 276-277.

Clausen, C. L., pioneer preacher in
America, 603.

Clementsson, Arne, Bishop of Ber-
gen, 55.

Closterlassius (Klosterlasse), 193-
194.

CoaUtion party, 586.

"Code of Christian IV.," 192;
"Code of Christian V.," 267-268.

Colbj0rnsdatter, Anna, 313.

Colbj0rnsen, Christian, 363-364.

Colbj0rnsen, Peter and Hans, 313.

CoUart, Claude, 151-152.

Colleges, Administrative, 232, 251,
262.

CoUett, CamiUa, 473, 521-522.

CoUett, Jonas, 422, 442, 444, 448;
impeachment of, 460.

Colonial affairs, 44-46.

Commerce, see Trade.

Concession laws, 586-589.

Confirmation, introduced in Nor-
way, 334.

Conservative party (H0ire), 533,
541, 555, 565, 567, 569, 589, 590,
594.

Consular service, 562-565, 570, 574.

Conventicle Act of ^1741, 485; re-
pealed, 486.

Copenhagen, bombardment of, 386;
University of, 90.

Copenhagen roadstead, battle of,
383.

Council, the king's, development of,
4 ; seldom assembled by Queen
Margaret, 42; in the reign of
Eirik of Pomerania, 46 ; weak-
ened influence of, 55-56, 72, 86;
powers of, 102, 103; of Norway
destroyed, 131, 142.

Councils of magnates, 158-159.

Count's War, 128-134.

Creutz, Cornelius, Norwegian naval
officer in Russian service, 247.

Crisis of 1905, 576-585.

Crusenstolpe, M. J., 484.

Daa, Ludvig Kr., 473, 486-488,
504; turns Conservative, 513.

Daae, Ludvig, 555.

"Dagbladet," 531, 532. >

Dahl, J. C, painter, 493.

Dalejunker, Swedish pretender, 120-
121.

Dalman, 524.

Danebrog, Danish flag, 134.

Danes, appointed to office in Nor-
way, 56; made members of the
Council, 56 ; 82-86.

Danish overlordship, character of,
186.

Danish sympathy for Norway in
1814, 436-437.

Dass, Petter, poet, 289-291.

De Geer, 526.

Deichmann, Bishop of Christiania,
323-324.

Deism, 338-339.

Democracy in Norway, development
of, 56-64.

"Den Constitutionelle," Conserva-
tive paper, 471, 487.

Denmark, Reformation in, 109-110,
126-127 ; peasants oppressed,
126-127, 186-187; rule of the
aristocracy overthrown, 228-229 ;

INDEX

615

Norwegian settlement with, 455-

456.
J' Den 17de Mai,'' Landsmaal paper,

549.
Dependency clauses, 573.
Det danske Literatur-Selskab, 373.
Det norske Selskab, 373, 401, 402,

466.
Det skandinaviske Literatur-Selskab,

380.
" Diplomatarium Islandicum," 93.
" Diplomatarium Norwegicum," 93.
Diplomatic and consular service, see

Consular service.
Diriks, Chr. A., 425, 441, 448.
Ditmarsken, incorporated in the

duchy of Holstein by Emperor

Frederick III., 76-77; attempt

of King Hans to seize it, 87-88 ;

conquest of, 148-149.
Dobeln, Swedish general, 394.
Dolgorouki, in Copenhagen, 409-410.
Dolmer, Jens, author of "Norges

Rige Arverige," 219-220.
Domus Sancti Olavi, 90.
Dorothea of Brandenburg, widow of

King Christopher, married to

Christian I., 60.
Dorothea of Lauenburg, married to

Christian III., 147.
Douglas, count, Swedish statesman,

566, 569.
' ' Draft of 1436," new act of union, 50.
Dragsmark, monastery of, secular-
ized, 110.
Drivstuen, 170.
Drolsum, A. C, 576.
Drotsete, 42, 48.
Dunker, Bernhard, 471, 505, 530,

562.
Dynekilen, battle of, 315-316.
Dyveke, 85 ; death of, 105, 106.

East India Company, 196.

Edda, 495.

Education, prior to the Reformation,
89-90; after the Reformation,
294r-300 ; in the time of Pietism,
334-335.

Edvardss0n, Edvard, 292.

Egede, Hans, 325-326.

Eide, Knud Olsen, pioneer in Amer-
ica, 601.

Eidsvold, Assembly of Notables,
419 ; Constituent Assembly, 420 ;
423-432; constitution, 424-432.

Eidsvold guarantee, 448-449.

Einarsson, Gissur, 140-141.

Einarsson, Jdn, priest of Skalholt,
139.

Eirik Magnusson, rebels against his
father, 16.

Eirik of Pomerania, chosen heir to
the throne of Norway, 33 ;
crowned king of Norway, Sweden,
and Denmark, 36 ; married to
Philippa, daughter of Henry IV.
of England, 39; his reign, 43-
52; his administrative policy,
46-47 ; takes up his abode in
Gothland, 51 ; deposed in Sweden
and Denmark, 51 ; turns pirate, 52.

Eirik XIV. of Sweden, 149-154.

EUne Gyldenl0ve, 118, 120, 130.

Elizabeth (Isabella), sister of Em-
peror Charles V. married to King
Christian II., 105.

Emigration, Norwegian in the sev-
enteenth century and later, to
Holland, 239-243; to England,
243-245; to America, 245-247;
to Russia, 247 ; to America in
the nineteenth century, 598-605.

Engelbrechtsdatter, Dorothea, 288.

Engelbrechtsson, Engelbrecht, leads
the Swedes in rebellion against
King Eirik of Pomerania, 47-48.

Engelbrektsson, Olav, archbishop,
106, 120, 122-126, 129, 130-133.

Englandsfarere, traders engaged in
commerce with England, 26.

English sympathy for Norway in
1814, 435-436.

"Enigheden," emigrant ship, 603.

Epidemics, 174-175.

Eriksen, Alfred, leader of Socialist
party, 586.

Essen, Henrik von, governor-general
in Norway, 421, 448.

Evald, Johannes, 373.

Everth, John, English smuggler in
Norway, 454.

Falsen, Christian Magnus, 419, 424,

425, 428, 431, 448-449.
Falsen, Enevold, 392-393, 419, 441.

616

INDEX

Faroe Islands, Reformation in, 142,
237 ; how Denmark retained
these islands, 415.

Fasting, Claus, 373-375.

Fauchald, P., 478-479, 485, 506.

Faye, A., 491.

"Fedraheimen," Landsmaal paper,
549.

Fine, Arnoldus de, 292.

Finkenov, Nicholas, Archbishop of
Nidaros, 54.

Finland, taken by the Russians, 392-
397 ; treaty of Fredrikshamn, 397.

Finns, missionary work among, 327-
328.

Flag, Norwegian, 454, 480-481, 482,
514, 568-569.

"Flateyjarbdk," 93.

Fleet, Danish-Norwegian, 12, 88-89,
196, 269 ; seized by the English,
386-387.

Flor, P. P., 471.

Fogderier, 101.

Fogeds, origin of this title, 28;
tyranny of, 34, 48-49, 100; ex-
tortions of, 158-159, 233.

Fogstuen, 170.

"Folkebladet," Liberal paper, 471.

"Folketidende," 432.

Folk high-schools, 553-554.

Folk-songs, 94-96.

Folk-tales (fairy-tales), 94-100.

Fontainebleau, peace of, 261 ; treaty
of with France, 387.

Foreningen til norske Fortidsmindes-
merkers Bevaring, 493.

Forligelseskommissioner (Commis-
sions of arbitration), 430.

Formandskab, 482.

Formandskabs-distrikter, 482.

Forster August, English ambassador,
in Norway, 437.

Fortresses on the Swedish border,
570, 583.

Foss, Herman, 485.

Fossegrim, 492.

Fox River, La Salle County, El.,
Norwegian settlement, 602.

Franklin, Benjamin, 339.

Frederick I., 117; becomes King of
Norway, 119; favors the Lu-
theran Reformation, 123; his
charter, 126-127.

Frederick II., 148-155; internal ad-
ministration of, 155-160.

Frederick III., 216 ; charter of, 216 ;
character of, 218; interested in
alchemy, 218 ; war with Sweden,
220, 223 ; second war with Swe-
den, 224-228; introduces abso-
lutism in Denmark, 228-230; in
Norway, 230-235; and Charles
II. of England, 238-239; death
of, 247.

Frederick IV., 300-309; his char-
acter, 300-302 ; takes part in the
Great Northern War, 302-304;
visits Norway, 305 ; hires mer-
cenaries, 305 ; trips to Italy, 306 ;
concludes treaty with Poland and
Russia, 306 ; The Great Northern
War, 309-322; closing years of
his reign, 323-328.

Frederick V., 343-349.

Frederick VI., birth of, 352; be-
comes regent, 363, 370 ; becomes
king, 389 ; in time of Napoleonic
wars, 385-415; his narrow-
minded absolutism, 389, 396;
his solicitude for Norway, 412-
414.

Frederick, Adolph, of Holstein-Got-
torp, chosen king of Sweden, 331.

Frederick, Christian, sent to Norway,
412-413 ; his marriage to Char-
lotte Frederikke, 413; he es-
pouses the cause of Norway, 418 ;
summons Assembly of Notables
at Eidsvold, 419 ; chosen regent,
419; summons a Constituent
Assembly at Eidsvold, 420 ;
elected king, 432 ; abdicates, 443.

Frederick, Count of Palatinate, mar-
ried to Dorothea, daughter of
Christian II., 130; candidate for
the Norwegian throne, 131.

Frederick, Prince of Hessen, 311.

Frederick, Prince of Hessen, com-
mander of Danish army, 414,

Frederick, Prince, regent, 358.

Frederick the Great, 339.

Fredriksborg, peace of, 321.

Fredrikshald, attacked by the
Swedes, 313.

Fredriksten, attacked by the
Swedes, 313.

INDEX

617

Fredriksodde, captured by the
Swedes, 222.

Friele, Chr., editor of ."Morgen-
bladet," 527, 532.

Friis, J0rgen, statholder, 191-192.

Friis, Peder Clauss0n, 162 ; "Norigis
Beskriffuelse," 162; translation
of "Sagas of the Kings of Nor-
way," 162, 192.

Frimann, Claus, 373-376, 402.

Frimann, Peder, 373.

Gaarder, P. K., 533.

Gabel, Frederick, 237.

Gahn, general, defeated at Lier and
Matrand, 439.

Galle of Thorn, Olav, 117, 120-121.

Gantzius (Gaas), Claus Hansen, 288.

Garborg, Arne, 549-550.

Gata, battle of, 18.

Geheimekonceil, 359.

Gims0, monastery of, secularized,
110.

Gjaldkeri, 28.

Gj0, Mogens, 105.

Glommen River, fortifications of,
269.

Gottenborg, founded, 198 ; system in
Norway, 591-593.

Gottorp, 302-303; question of, set-
tled, 344.

Graatop, Halvard, leads a new upris-
ing against King Eirik of Pomer-
ania, 51.

"Granskeren," Liberal paper, 487.

Great Northern War, 302-309.

Greenland, trade with, 14 ; attempts
to restore communications with,
106 ; communications reestab-
lished, 195-196; The Greenland
Company, 196; Hans Egede in,
325-326 ; new colonies in, 336 ;
how Denmark got possession of
the island, 415.

Greifswald, University of, 90.

Gren, Magnus, commandant of Ber-
gen, 72.

Griffenfeld, Peder Schumacher, 229,
250-254, 255-257, 262-263.

Griis, Peder, commandant of Akers-
hus, 84.

Gripenstedt, John August, 528.

Grotius, Hugo, 339.

Grundtvig, N. F. S., 501.

Gude, Hans, painter, 493.

Gudmundsson, Dade, 141-142,

GuUers, Emil, Swedish peace advo-
cate, 580.

Gunnerus, Johan Ernst, Bishop of
Trondhjem, 347.

Gustav, crown?prince, 575.

Gustavus II. "Adolphus, 199-200,
204^206.

Gustavus III., king of Sweden, 360,
369; 371,377.

Gustavus IV., king of Sweden, 391-
396.

Gyldenl0ve, Hans Ulrik, 198 ; Chris-
tian Ulrik, 198 ; Ulrik Christian,
198.

Gyldenl0ve, Nils Henriksson, of
0straat, 117-118.

Gyldenl0ve, Ulrik Frederick, stat-
holder, 236-237, 252-261; de-
fends the binder, 279; retired,
302.

Gyldenl0ve War, 253-261.

Gyldenstjerne, Aksel, statholder, 183,
189-190.

Gyldenstjerne, Eriok, commandant
of Elfsborg, 84.

Gyldenstjerne, Mogens, comman-
dant of Akershus, 121.

Gyllenstjerna, Christina, 111-113.

Gypsies, 166-169.

Haagenstad, Ole, 477.

Haakon VII. (Prince Charles of Den-
mark), elected king of Norway,
584-585 ; crowned, 585.

Haakon Magnusson the Younger,
7-8, 15-19; marries daughter of
Valdemar Atterdag, 18 ; last
years of his reign, 27-29.

Haalogaland harried by the Russians
and Karelians, 6.

Hagerup-BuU, E., 575, 577.

Hagerup, Fr., Conservative leader,
557; ministry of, 567-569; sec-
ond ministry of, 572-575.

Halland, ceded to Sweden, 223, 228.

Halmstad, council of, 68-69 ; new
council of, 80-81.

Halvardss0n, Rolv, leader of binder,
159.

Hamar, cathedral, burned, 154,

618

INDEX

Hamarhus, destroyed, 154.

Hammarskjold, K. H. L., 582.

Hans (John), king, 77 ; proclaimed
king of Sweden, 81 ; charter of,
81 ; expedition against Ditmar-
sken, 87-88; war with Sweden
and Liibeck, 88-89.

Hanseatic merchants in Norway, 8-
10; receive charter from King
Magnus Smek, 9; make use of
gunpowder, 12; could not sail
north of Bergen, 14 ; wage war
with Valdemar Atterdag, 18;
gain ascendency in the North,
19-27 ; wage war with Denmark-
Norway, 21-24 ; influence in
Norway, 25-27 ; institute a reign
of terror in Bergen, 65; retard
development of Norwegian cities,
66 ; kill the commandant of Ber-
gen and many people, 73 ; shown
great favors by Christian I., 73 ;
their privileges restricted by
Hans's charter, 81 ; war with,
82; their privileges restricted,
85 ; lose their naval supremacy,
89; sack Bergen, 118-119; their
trade monopoly destroyed, 145-
147.

Harbitz, G. P., 527.

Hauge, Hans Nielsen, 402-405.

Haugland, Baard, 555.

Hausmann, commander-in-chief of
the Norwegian army, 309.

Haxthausen, General Gottschalk,
422, 440-441.

Hedin, Sven Adolf, Swedish states-
man and peace advocate, 566,
580-581.

Hegermann, 448.

Hegg, Even, editor and publisher of
:'Nordlyset," 603.

Heiness0n, Mogens, 158.

Helliesen, H. L., 543.

Helogaland, taken by the English,
387-388.

Helsingborg, besieged and taken by
Valdemar Atterdag, 17.

Henriksson, Henrik, chancellor, 42.

Herdekinn, 170.

Herjedalen, joined to the diocese of
Trondhjem, 155, 170; ceded to
Sweden, 213.

Herre, Bernhard, 492.

Herred, local administrative district,
482.

Herredsstyre, body of selectmen, 482.

Hersleb, Bishop of Christiania, 329,
334.

Hertzberg, N., 542.

Hessen, Prince Carl of, 370.

Heyberg, Nils, poet, 292.

"Hildinakvad," 96.

Hu-t5stj6rar, 28.

Hjaltesson, Olav, Lutheran bishop at
Hdlar, 142.

Hjelm, Jonas Anton, 476, 479, 484,
504.

H0eg-Guldberg, Ove, 356, 358, 363.

Hoel, Halvor, 453.

H0fudfat, Herlog, leads an uprising,
85-86.

Hogland, battle of, 370.

H0iesteret, 230, 236-237; in Nor-
way, 431.

Holberg, Ludvig, 339-343, 371-372.

Hoick, Count Conrad, 352.

Holgerss0n, Jens, sea-captain, 88-89,
153.

Holland, Norwegian seamen in, 239-
243.

Hollanders, allowed to trade in Nor-
way, 182, 184; aid Sweden
against Denmark-Norway, 210-
211.

Holmboe, J., 542.

Hoist, P. C, 489.

Holstein, united with Denmark, 75.

Horn, Gustav, occupies Skane, 210.

Hornemann, C. G., 459.

Hostrup, C, 501-502.

Houses, in Norway, 172.

Hoved0, monastery, burned, 126.

Hoven, Reinhold von, 225, 259.

"Hrokkinskinna," 93.

Huitfeldt, Henrik J0rgen, 313.

Huitfeldt, Ivar, Norwegian naval
hero, 307.

Huitfeldt, Paul, commandant of
Akershus, 155 ; statholder, 156 ;
"Stiftsbog," 156.

Huitfeldt, T0nne, 226-227.

Hulder, fairy, 492.

Humanism in Denmark-Norway,
108; in Norway, 160-164.

Hume, David, 338.

INDEX

619

Hundebunden, battle of, 227.
Husmsend, peasants, 607-509 ; given
better protection, 512.

Ibsen, Henrik, 519, 545-547.

Iceland, trade with, 14, 15 ; English
driven away from, 107 ; Refor-
mation, 139-142 ; landfoged for,
237 ; stiftsamimand for, 237 ; how
Denmark got possession of the
island, 465.

Indre, seized by the Swedes, 211-213.

Industry, 284.

Ingebj0rg, duchess, daughter of
Haakon V., 4^6.

Inger, Lady of 0straat, 118, 120, 124,
130.

Insurance of laborers, 590-591.

Intelligence party, adherents of J. S.
Welhaven, 471.

Irgens, N. K., 527, 534.

Isebrand, Wolf, leader of the Dit-
marskers, 87.

Ivar Agmundsson, 7.

Jaabaek, S0ren, 504, 530, 532, 555.

Jackson, Sir Francis, English diplo-
mat, 386.

Jansen, Kristofer, 550.

Jarl, title of abolished, 2.

Jefferson Prairie, Wisconsin, Nor-
wegian settlement, 603.

Jeilane, Lars Larsen, pioneer, 601.

Jaemtland, joined to the diocese of
Trondhjem, 155; ceded to Swe-
den, 213.

Jens, Bishop of Oslo, 67.

Jensen, C, 542.

Jensen, P. A., poet, 492.

Johansen, J. L., 542.

John III., king of Sweden, 154.

Jonas, Trina, mother of Annecke
Jans Bogardus, 24&-247.

Jonkoping, peace of, 397.

Jdnsson, Arngrim, 292.

Jdnsson, Sigurd, drotsete, 52, 67.

J0tunheim, discovered, 492.

Judiciary of Norway, 430-431.

Juel, Nils, Danish admiral, 254, 257.

Juliane Marie, queen of Frederick V.,
350, 363.

Jurisprudence, criminal, 177-178,
192.

Juul, Povel, poet, 291-292.
Juntas, battle of, 394.

Kalmar, union of Norway, Sweden,
and Denmark, 36-38; Act of
Union, 37; war, 197-203.

Kammererer, 234.

Karl of Hamar, bishop, 86.

Karlstad agreement between Nor-
way and Sweden, 583.

Kendall, see Murray, fixst Norwegian
settlement in America, 602.

Keyser, Rudolf, 347, 493^94, 551.

Kiel, treaty of, 415, 444-445.

Kielland, Alexander L., 547-548, 555.

Kildal, Birger, 555, 557.

King, seeks to increase his power,
55-56; lawmaking power of,
102-103.

Kingo, Thomas, 296.

Kjerulf, Halfdan, 492.

Kjerulf, Theodor, 492.

Kj0ge Bay, battle of, 259; another
battle of, 307.

Klsebo, Jon, 550.

Klokkertolden, 138.

Klopstock in Denmark, 372-373.

Kn89r0d, peace of, 200.

Knickerbockers, of New York, de-
scended from the Norwegian
midwife, Trina Jonas and her
daughter Annecke Jans Bogardus,
246-247.

Knight, title of retained, 2.

Knudsen, Christopher, 575.

Knudsen, Gunnar, 575 ; ministry of,
586-589; second ministry, 594.

Knudsen, Roland, 288.

Knutsson, Jacob, Bishop of Bergen,
later of Oslo, 54.

Knutsson, Karl (Bonde),.48; elected
Swedish regent, 51, 65; becomes
king of Sweden, 67 ; chosen king
of Norway by a faction led by
Aslak Bolt, 67 ; crowned king of
Norway, 68; grants a charter,
68; forced to surrender Norway
to Christian I., 68; driven from
Sweden, 75; recalled and again
exiled, 76 ; becomes again king of
Sweden, 76.

Kogge, 12.

Kolberger Heide, battle of, 212.

620

INDEX

"Kongelov" (lex regia), 229.

Konghelle, burned, 23, 154.

Kongsberg, silver mines, 195.

Konow, W., ministry of, 589-593.

Koshkonong, Dane County, Wiscon-
sin, Norwegian settlement, 603.

Krabbe, Iver, 221.

Krag, Frederick, vice-statholder in
Norway, 309, 323.

Krebs, lieutenant-colonel, 439-440.

Kringen, battle of, 202.

Kringla, society, 490.

Krohg, Christian, 448, 459.

Kr0pelin, Hans, commandant of
Bohus, 56.

Krumedike, Hartvig, 56, 67, 83, 117.

Krumedike, Henrik, 120.

Krumedike, Sophia, 121.

Kruse, colonel, 311.

Kvistrum Bro, battle of, 370.

Labor movement started by Markus
Thrane, 507-514 ; party, 586, 594.

Ladegaards0en, royal residence, 443.

Lagerheim, Swedish minister of for-
eign affairs, 569-570, 572.

Lagmandsret, court of justice, 431.

Lagthing, branch of the Storthing,
430.

Laing, Samuel, 428-429, 452.

Land, distribution of, 63.

Landfoged, for Iceland, 237.

Landsmaal, 496-500, 593-594.

Landstad, M. B., 491.

Lange, O. V., 527.

Language, Norse, Middle Period, 91-
93 ; Danish in Norway, 92.

Lappo, battle of, 394.

Larvik, 183.

Latin school at Bergen, founded, 125.

Lehmann, Orla, 503.

Len, 100.

Lendermand, title abolished, 2.

Lensherre, 100-101 ; 155-156.

Lensmand, 100-101, 157.

Lerche, F. G., 512.

Lessing, 339.

Leszczynski, Stanislaus, 306.

Lewenhaupt, Swedish minister of
foreign afifairs in Bostrom's min-
istry, 566.

Liberal party (Venstre), 530, 532-533,
535, 556 ; spUt in the party, 557.

Liberals, Liberal (Frisindede Ven-
stre), 586, 589.

Liberals, Moderate, 557-558, 565,
567, 569.

Liberals, National, 557-558.

Liberals, Pure, 557-558, 561, 565,
567, 569.

Liberals, Radical, 586, 589.

Lie, John, 550.

Lie, Jonas, 548-549.

Lie, Sophus, 551.

Lier, battle of, 439.

Lillethinget, labor convention, 510.

Lillienskjold, Hans, 292.

Lindeman, L. M., 492.

Literature, 89-100; in the seven-
teenth century, 285-293 ; reli-
gious, in the seventeenth century,
296-297 ; at the time of Holberg,
337-343 ; in the eighteenth cen-
tury, 371-376; new national,
402, 464-475 ; romanticism, 490-
500, 544-553.

Ljodhus, burned, 43 ; council of, 52.

Local self-government, 478-479 ; es-
tablished, 481^82.

Locke, John, 339.

Lofthus, Chr. J., 365-369.

Louise of Mecklenbxirg, queen of
Frederick IV., 301.

Louise Gyldenl0ve, 120, 130.

Louise, queen of Charles XV., 524.

Louise, queen of Frederick V., 343.

L0vendal, U. F. V., statholder, 308.

L0venskiold, Severin, 424, 427; im-
peached, 481 ; statholder, 486, 543.

L0vland, J., 575, 577, 580-581, 582;
ministry of, 585-586.

Lumber trade, with England and
HoUand, 178-182.

Lund, battle of, 258 ; peace of, 261.

Lundegaard, Teis, 477.

Lunge, Vineence, 118-126, 129-131.

Lungegaarden, in Bergen, 121.

Lutter am Bamberg, battle of, 206.

Lutzow, general, 310.

Luxury laws of King Christian V.,
264r-266.

Lykke, Nils, 124, 130.

Maalstraev, 496.

Magnus Smek, king, 6-9; his cam-
paign in Finland, 14-19.

INDEX

621

Magnusson, Ami, 292.

Manufacture, 284.

Margaret, daughter of Christian I.,
married to James III., of Scot-
land, 73-74.

Margaret, daughter of Valdemar
Atterdag, ruling queen of the
North, married to King Haakon
Magnusson the Younger, 18, 28 ;
elected queen of Denmark, regent
of Norway, and queen of Sweden,
32-33 ; character of her rule, 34,
40-43.

Margaret Gyldenl0ve, 119.

Mariboe, Ludvig, 459, 476.

Maristuen, 171.

Marsk, 48.

Marstrand, burned in the war with
the Hansa towns, 23 ; taken by
Tordenskjold, 320-321.

Martens, Count, of Prussia, in Nor-
way, 437.

Martin of Skalholt, 141.

Maschius, Hans Mortensen, 288,

Matrand, battle of, 439-440.

Maud, queen of Haakon VII., 584r-
585 ; crowned, 585.

Meddomsret, court of justice, 431.

Medhjelpere, assistants in the
church, 300.

Mellemrigslov, 568.

Mercantilism, 335-336 ; abandoned,
364.

Mercenaries, 305.

Merchant marine, 12, 283.

Merchants, native, 25-27.

Michelsen, Christian, 567 ; ministry
of, 575, 578, 582, 585, 587.

Miltzow, Gert Henriksen, 293.

Mining, in Norway, 144-145.

Minister of state, office created, 535.

Moe, J0rgen, 491-492.

Mogenss0n, Michel, 287.

M0hlen, J0rgen, thor, 284.

Monkhoven, Jan von, 200-201.

"Morgenbladet," 504, 506, 527, 532.

Morier, I. P., in Norway, 435.

Morner, General Carl Gustav, 310.

Moss, Convention of, 442.

Moth, Sophia Amalie, 249, 256.

Motzfeldt, C. F., 533.

Motzfeldt, Ketil, 530.

Motzfeldt, Peter, 424, 448.

Motzfeldt, U. A., 471.

Munch, A., 472, 492-496, 502.

Munch, Johan Storm, 402-466.

Munch, P. A., 347, 471, 493-496,
551-552.

Mund, Pros, Norwegian admiral, 212.

Munk, Erik, 152, 154.

Munk, Jens, 239.

Munk, Ludvig, 159, 185.

Munkeliv, monastery of, 73.

Munthe, A. F., 542-543.

Murray, see Kendall, first Norwegian
settlement in, 602.

Muskego, Wisconsin, Norwegian set-
tlement, 603.

Muus, Anders, Bishop of Oslo, 82.

Myrmaend, fagot-voters, 541.

"Najad," destruction of, 413-414.

Nansen, Fridtjof, 576, 597.

Nansen, Hans, 228.

Napoleonic wars, 382-398.

Narva, battle of, 306.

"Naturrecht," 339.

Navy, deterioration of, 12 ; new, 88-
89, 196, 269.

Neergaard, John, 477, 479.

Newspapers, Norwegian, first papers,
348, 376.

Nilss0n, Jens, bishop, 163-164 ;
"Visitatsb0ger," 164.

Nilsson, Olav, commandant of Ber-
gen, 52; seeks to control the
Hanseatic merchants, 65, 71-73.

Nissen Hartvig, 554.

Nobility, aboHshed in Norway, 455.

N0k, 492.

Nonneseter, monastery, 121, 123.

Norby, S0ren, sea-captain, 88, 113,
115.

Norderhov, the Swedes at, 312-313.

Nordfarere, native Bergen mer-
chants, 24-25.

Nordiske Forening in London, 379.

Nordiske Selskab, in London, 244.

"Nordlyset," first Norwegian news-
paper in America, 603.

"Norges Daemring," 471, 596-597.

"Norges gamle Love," anden raekke,
93.

"Norges Rige Arverige," 219-220.

"Norsk Folkeblad," 530.

"Norsk So," 163,

622

INDEX

Northeast passage, attempts to find
it, 181-182.

Northwest passage, search for, 196;
discovered, 598.

Norway, becomes an elective mon-
archy, 70-72 ; its position in the
union, 131-139; Council of, de-
stroyed, 131 ; codes of law of
translated into Danish, 143 ;
ruled by Danish officials, 142-
143; army of, 206-207; for-
tresses of, 207 ; new social classes,
207-209 ; conditions in the seven-
teenth century, 272-284; during
the wars of 1807-1814, 387-398 ;
attitude towards the treaty of
Kiel, 417-419; sentiments and
conditions after 1814, 446-450;
relation to Sweden, 515; neu-
traUty guaranteed by treaty, 585 ;
economic progress, 596-597.

Norwegian, emigration in the seven-
teenth century and later, see
Emigration ; seamen in Holland,
England and Russia, 239-247;
army, 253-254, 259; sea-cap-
tains, 260 ; army, 269 ; colonies
in America, 602-610; language
in America, 605 ; farmers in
America, 605-606; chm-ehes in
America, 608, 609; education,
609-610; centennial in 1914,
610.

Norwegians in America, 602-610 ; in
pubUc Ufe, 606-608.

Nyborg, council of, 43.

Nykoping, sacked by the Victual
Brothers, 35,

Nystad, i)eace of, 321.

Nystuen, 171.

Odelsthing, branch of the Storthing,

430.
Oehlenschlseger, Adam, 501.
Official, class in Norway, 282.
Oftedal, Lars, 556.
Ofted0ler (Moderate Liberals), 586.
"Olaboka," 477.
piand, battle of, 152, 199 ; battle of,

257.
Olav, crown prince, 585.
Olav Haakonsson, son of Haakon

Magnusson the Younger and

Margaret, 28; placed on the
throne, 30; his death, 31.

Olavsson, Amund, last Catholic
bishop in the Faroe Islands, 142.

Old Norse language, towards the
close of the Old Norse period, 10-
11; East Norse, 10 ; West Norse,
10; Pstlandet develops its own
dialect distinct from that of
Tr0ndelagen, 11.

Olss0n, W., general, 570, 575.

Opdam, Jakob von Wassenaer, 224.

Oravais, battle of, 394.

0resundstolden (Sound toU), 44.

Orloflf, general, in Norway, 437.

Orning, Eirik Ottess0n, Norwegian
admiral, 212.

Oscar I., 489-517.

Oscar II., 534, 575, 577, 579 ; abdi-
cates as king of Norway, 584.

0stgaard, Nicolai, 492.

Overhofretten, 236.

Overkrimminalretten, 392.

Oxe, Torbern, 105.

Oxenstjerna, Axel, 210.

Paalsson, Agmund, Bishop of Sk^l-
holt, 139-140.

Parliamentary system, Johan Sver-
drup advocates it, 533 ; bill giving
the ministry seats in the Stor-
thing passed and vetoed, 535-
536; the resolution of June 9th,
536.

Patriots, the followers of Henrik
Wergeland, 471.

" Patrouillen," Liberal paper, 459.

Paul, Emperor of Russia, 382, 384.

Pederss0n, Absalon, teacher in the
Latin school in Bergen, 138, 160-
162; "Liber Capituli Bergensis,"
160 ; widow of burned, 175.

Pederss0n, Geble, 125, 134-135;
Lutheran bishop in Beigen, 137,
138, 160.

"Peer Gynt," 519.

Peerson, Cleng, 601-603.

Peter, Czar of Russia, 303, 306.

Philippa, daughter of King Henry IV.
of England, married to King
Eirik of Pomerania, 39; her
character and popularity, 47.

Physiocrats, 346.

INDEX

623

Pietism, in Norway, 325, 332-335.

Pining, Didrik, 45, 82.

Platen, B. B. von, statholder, 461-
463.

Plebiscite, in Norway, November,
1905, 584.

Pl0en, Duke John Adolph, 255, 258,
263.

Ploug, C, 501-503.

Poltava, battle of, 306.

Pomerania, Swedish, ceded to Den-
mark by the treaty of Kiel,
415.i

Poniatovski, general, 311.

Population, in the sixteenth century,
164^165, 516.

Pothorst, 45, 82.

Press, foreign, regarding Norwegian-
Swedish conflict, 576.

Prestebakke, battle of, 393-394.

Printing, first books printed in Den-
mark and Norway, 90-91.

Pufendorf, 339.

."Querelae Swedieae," 150.
Quirini's account of Norway, 56-60.

Railways, first in Norway, 516;
total mileage of, 596.

Ramsey, Alexander, leader of Scotch
mercenaries, 201-202.

Rantzau-Ascheberg, 352.

Rantzau, Count Christian, stat-
holder, 329.

Rantzau, Daniel, 153.

Rantzau, John, 129.

Rationalism, 402.

Ravaldsson, Nils, commandant of
Olavsborg, 84.

Reflf, Hans, Lutheran bishop, 137.

Reformation, in Denmark, 109-110,
126-127; in Norway, 134-139;
in Iceland and the Faroe Islands,
139-142.

Reich wein, Georg von, 225.

Rein, cloister of, 124.

Rein, Jonas, 373, 376, 402.

Reinhard, Martin, Lutheran re-
former in Denmark, 109.

."Restaurationen," sloop, 602-603.

Reventlow, Anna, 301, 329.

Reventlow, count, 301, 306.

Revenues, 235.

Reymert, James D., editor and pub-
lisher of "Nordlyset," 603.

Riber, first Lutheran bishop of the
Faroe Islands, 142.

Riehter, Ole, 555, 557-558, 559.

Riddervold, H., 485, 534.

Ridefogeds, 263.

Rigsret, 541.

Riis, C. P., 492.

Rock Prairie, Wisconsin, Norwegian
settlement, 603.

Romanticism, 466, 489-500.

Romsdal, ceded to Sweden, 224 ; re-
stored to Norway, 228.

R0ros, copper mines of, 195.

Rosen, Count von, governor-general
in Tr0ndelagen, 421.

Rosenkilde, P. V., 435.

Rosenkrans, Erik, commandant of
Bergen, 152.

Rosenkrantz, 444.

Roskilde, peace of, 223.

R0slein, Swedish secret agent in
Norway, 453.

Rostock, University of, visited by
Norwegian students, 90; battle
of, 259.

Rousseau, 338.

Rud, Otto, Danish admiral, 153.

Rudbeck, Olof, 292.

Riigen, Island of, ceded to Denmark,
415.

Russia, relation to, 516-517.

Rynning, Ole, 603.

Sserna, seized by the Swedes, 211-213.

Sagas, 495.

Sagen, Lyder, 402.

Salmundsson, Eirik, regent, 68.

Sarpsborg, burned, 154.

Sars, J. E., 551-553.

Sawmills, established, 179.

Saxlund, E., 527.

Scandinavianism, 380-406 ; 500-504,

517-518, 527-529.
Schibstead, A., editor of "Morgen-

bladet," 532.
Schimmelmann; E., 363.
Sehleswig and Stormam, united with

Denmark, 75.
Sch0ning, Gerhard, 347.
Sch0nneb0l, Erik Hansson, 163.
Schools, 194, 531, 653-554.

624

INDEX

Sehultze, Hans, 492.

Sehwach, Conrad, 402.

Sehweigaard, A., 471, 486-489, 532-
533.

Sehweigaard, Chr., 542.

Scotch, mercenaries, 200-203.

Sehested, Hannibal, statholder, 209-
211 ; his administrative policy,
213-215, 230, 248.

Seiersted, general, 440-^41.

Selmer, C. A., minister of state, 538-
539 ; impeachment of the Selmer
ministry, 541-542 ; dismissed,
543.

Selskabet for Norges Vel, 399-^01.

Seventeenth of May, 460-^63.

Seven Years' War, 148-155.

Sibbern, Georg, 528.

Sigbrit Villums, 85, 105-106.

Sigismund, king of Poland, 198.

Sigurd Hafthorsson, 7.

Silverstolpe, Axel Gabriel, 461.

Sinclair, George, in Norway, 201-203.

Sjoblad, Swedish admiral, 259.

Sj0-len, naval districts, 273.

"SjurSarkvaetSi," 96.

Skane, added to Sweden, 9, 223, 228.

Skjold, Lasse, foged, 84.

Skram, Peder, Danish naval com-
mander, 129.

Skrivere, 233.

Skytterlag, 539.

Slagheck, Didrik, 109, 112-114.

Slogvig, Knud, 602-603.

Slotsloven paa Akershus, 304.

Snaphanerne (guerillas), 257.

Sneedorff, F., 379, 396.

Socialists, 586, 589, 594.

Soelvold, P. P., 472.

Sommerhjelm, 444, 448.

Song-dance, 94r-96.

Sophia Amalie, queen of Frederick
III., 216, 248.

Sophia Magdalena, queen of Chris-
tian VI., 328, 332.

S0renssen, Aimar, 555.

S0renssen, S. A. W., 480, 484.

Sound toll, 44.

Staaff, Karl, 582.

StabeU, A. B., 504-506.

StabeU, general, 440.

Staffeldt, major, defeats the Swedes
at Trangen, 393 ; 440.

Stang, Emil, Conservative leader,

543, 558; ministry of, 558-561;

second ministry of, 564, 566.
Stang, Frederick, 471, 515, 526, 527,

533f-534 ; appointed minister of

state, 535; retires, 538.
Stang, Georg, 570.
Stang, Jacob, 555.
Statholder, ofi&ce of created, 155 ;

attempt to abolish, 512, 523-

525 ; abolished, 535.
"Statsborgeren," Liberal paper, 472,

485.
Stavanger, 273.
St. Clair, jarl of the Orkney and

Shetland Islands, 27.
Steen, Johannes, 513, 540 ; president

of Storthing, 544, 555; ministry

of, 561, 564-566.
Steigentesch, Count von, of Austria,

in Norway, 437.
Stenbock, Gustav, Swedish general,

222.
Stenbock, Magnus, Swedish general,

307-309.
Stiftsamt, 233.
Stiftsamtmand, 233.
Stiftsskrivere, office of, 156, 234.
Stigss0n, Otto, Norwegian sea-cap-
tain, 144.
Stjernskjold, Claes, Swedish governor

of Trondhjem, 225-226.
Stockholm massacre, 112-113.
St. Olav, tales about, 97 ; his coffin,

136 ; body of, 151-152.
Storm, Edward, 375-376.
Stormam and Ditmarsken united

with Holstein, 76-77.
Storthing (National Legislative As-
sembly), 429; first regular, 448-

450 ; of 1830, 476 ; of 1833, 478 ;

of 1836, 436; of 1839, 485; of

1842, 486 ; bill for yearly sessions,

532.
Struensee, 351-356.
Stndents'lJ nioniStudentersamfundet),

462, 471.
Sture, Sten, 76 ; Swedish regent, 81 ;

wages war against the nobles and

the Danes, 81, 88.
Sture, Sten, the Yoxinger, 89, 109-

111.
Sture, Svante, 88-89.

INDEX

625

Suffrage, 429, 539, 541, 570, 596.

Suhm, Peter Friedrich, 347, 494.

Superstitions, popular, 96-97.

Svane, Bishop of Seeland, 228.

Svarte-Jons, Danish commandant of
Akershus, 49, 51, 56.

Sveinsson, Brynjulf, 292.

Sverdrup, Georg, 419, 424-425, 441,
459.

Sverdrup, Jacob, 555, 557, 559.

Sverdrup, Johan, 509, 513, 527, 530,
532-534, 540; minister of state,
544; ministry of, 555-558.

Sverdrup, Otto N., explorer, 597.

Sweden, leaves the union with Den-
mark-Norway, 115.

"Synn0ve Solbakken," 518-519.

Sysselmaend, 100; syssel, 100.

Syvstjernen, 327.

Talbot, GUbert, 239.

Tank, Carsten, 370, 441.

Tariff and free trade, 488.

Tausen, Hans, Lutheran reformer in
Denmark, 127-128.

Tautra, monastery, 124.

Taxes, kinds of, 157, 235. '

Tegner, Esaias, 501.

Temperance, work for, 591-593.

Theater, in Denmark, 341-342 ; in
Norway, 520-521.

Thu-ty Years' War, 199, 204-206.

Thomasius, 339.

Thomiss0n, Hans, author of
"Danske Salmebog," 296.

Thommesen, O., editor of ''Verdens
Gang," 532.

Thomson's " Seasons," influence of,
373.

Thornton, English ambassador to
Denmark, 415.

Thrane, Markus, 508-510.

Throndsson, Olav, elected arch-
bishop, 68.

Tidemand, Adolph, painter, 493.

Tordenskjold, Peter, 314-316; 320,
322.

Torfaeus, Thormod, 292,

Torstensson, Lennart, invades Den-
mark, 210.

Toverud, battle of, 393.

Trade, with Iceland and Greenland,
14 ; conditions of, in Norway,

VOL. n — 2 8

24-25; with Iceland and Green-
land, 27-28, 45; with Holland
restricted, 77 ; with Iceland made
free, 82 ; with England and Hol-
land, 179-182; companies, 196;
of various countries, 238 ; 273-
276; with England, 275; 282-
284 ; 335-336 ; 361, 378, 397, 447,
516.

Trangen, battle of, 393.

Travel, in the sixteenth century, 169-
172.

Traventhal, peace of, 304.

Treschow, professor, 422, 448.

Tritzschler, H. E., general, in com-
mand of the Norwegian army,
304.

TroUe, Gustav, 109-110, 112-114.

TroUe Herlxif, Danish admiral, 152-
153.

TroUe, Nils, statholder, 225.

Trondhjem, besieged by the Swedes,
317-319.

Trondhjemske Videnskabs-Selskab,
346.

Trondhjem's len ceded to Sweden,
223 ; restored to Norway, 228.

Trondss0n, Christopher, Norwegian
sea-captain, 144.

TuUin, Christian Braunmann, 373.

Tunsberghus castle destroyed, 84.

Tybring, Vig, battle of, 223.

Uddevalla, battle of, 259.

Ueland, Johan, Gabriel, 478-479,
506, 513, 527, 532.

Ulfeld, Korfits, 215, 218-219, 222.

Ulfeld, Leonora Christine, 210-219.

UUmann, Viggo, 564.

Ulrika Eleonora, succeeds Charles
XII., on the throne of Sweden,
320, 331.

Unger, C. R., 494.

Union with Sweden, 416, 445; dif-
ferent views of, 451 ; relation of
Norway to Sweden, 479-481 ;
dissolved, 578, 583.

Universities, visited by Norwegian
students, 89-90, 194.

University, a Norwegian, agitation
for, 347-348; 401.

Upsala, University of, 90.

Urup, Aksel, Danish general, 222.

626

INDEX

Valdemar Atterdag, 9; captures
01and and Gothland, and sacks
Wisby, 17; gains possession of
Sk&ne and Blekinge, 17 ; in war
with the Hanseatic cities, 21-22 ;
relation to Denmark, 28-29.

Valkendorf, Christopher, 146-147,
158.

Valkendorf, Eriok, archbishop, 82,
92, 106.

Varberg, Act of, 7.

Vasa, Gustav Eriksson, 110, 113;
heads a rebellion against Chris-
tian II., 114-115; king of Swe-
den, 115, 198.

Venstre party, see Liberal party.

"Verdens Gang," 532.

Verelius, Olof, 292.

Veto question, 536-538, 595.

Vibe, Ditlev, vice-statholder, 307, 323.

Victual Brothers, origin of, 35;
sacks Bergen, Malmo, and Nyko-
ping, 35 ; destruction of, 36.

"Vidar," periodical, 471.

Vidkunsson, Erling, 7.

Vind, Danish admiral, 212.

Vinje, A. H., 575.

Vinje, A. O., 500.

Visborg, Eilerik, 226.

Vogt, B., 582.

Vogt, J. H., 486, 505.

Vogt, N., 527, 542.

Voltaire, 338.

Vordingborg, peace of, 44.

Wachtmeister, F. C, 582.

War, Count's, 128-134; Thirty
Years', 199, 204-206 ; with Swe-
den, 210-213 ; Gyldenl0ve, 253-
261; Great Northern, 302-309;
with England and Sweden, 1807-
1809, 387-397 ; of 1814, 433-442.

Water power, 596.

Wedel-Jarlsberg, 391-392; his po-

litical policy, 396-397 ; works for
a Norwegian university, 400-
401 ; attitude towards Prince
Christian Frederick, 413; 424r-
425, 427, 444, 448, 459; made
statholder, 481-483, 486.

Weidemann, 450.

Welhaven, Johan Sebastian, Henrik,
Wergeland's opponent, 469-473,
485, 491, 502.

Wergeland, Henrik, 464r-465 ;
creates a new liberal national
movement, 467-475 ; seeks to
seeiu"e just treatment of the Jews,
474; historical works, 474; his
death, 475; political program,
479, 484; 490-491, 493; 552.

Wergeland, Nicolai, 400-401, 424r-
425, 427.

Wessel, Johan Herman, 373-375.

Westen, Thomas v., 326-328.

West India Company, 196.

Wicksell, professor, of Lund, opinion
of the policy of Oscar II., 577.

Willoughby, attempts to find a north-
west passage, 181-182.

Wisby, sacked by Valdemar Atter-
dag, 17; taken by the Victual
Brothers, 35.

Wistenakker, Diderich, received Tele-
marken as a fief, 56.

Witchcraft, trials, 175-178.

Wittenberg, University of, 90.

Wittenborg, John, commander of the
Hanseatic fleet, 18.

Wolff, Christian, 339.

Wolff, Simon O., 402, 466.

Wormius, Ole, 292.

Wrangel, Gustav, Swedish general,
223, 224.

Wullenwever, Jiirgen, 128.

Zetlitz, Jens, 373, 380, 402.
rZinclar Vise," 201-202, 376.

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bibliographies the means for further study. We are glad to notice
the attention which the writer has paid in the space at his disposal
to the part played by the English Common Law in the development
of English institutions, the more so because in a volume of this
kind it is generally a matter which, for various reasons, is insuffi-
ciently emphasized. The results of modern research are shown
repeatedly in the volume, and particularly in Professor Cross's
estimate of the real significance of the Magna Carta, influenced, it is
apparent, by McKechnie's labours. Altogether, it may be doubted
whether there is at present available another general introduction to
English history which is at the same time so carefully and attractively
written, and so obviously the product of a sound historian."

— Athenaiim.

" His method is strictly chronological. He dispatches the pre-
Norman period with commendable brevity in seventy-five pages.
He gives in admirable fullness the subsequent growth of English
institutions, especially in the Tudor and Stuart periods ; this is wise,
for American students are the inheritors, in large part, of these in-
stitutions and should know how they came into being. The nine-
teenth and twentieth centuries receive sufficient attention to give
a clear account of the Irish imperial and other important political
questions. Military history is largely suppressed. Especially wel-
come, on the other hand, are the excellent characterizations of the
more important works in the long range of English literature from
Beowulf to Browning." — Nation.

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York

NEW BOOKS ON GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

German World Policies

(Der Deutsche Gedanfce in der Welt)

By PAUL ROHRBACH
Translated by Dr. EDMUND VON MACH

Cloth, i2mo, $1.25

Paul Rohrbach has been for several years the most popular
author of books on politics and economics in Germany, He is de-
scribed by his translator as a "constructive optimist," one who, at
the same time, is an incisive critic of those shortcomings which
have kept Germany, as he thinks, from playing the great part to
which she is called. In this volume Dr. Rohrbach gives a true in-
sight into the character of the German people, their aims, fears and
aspirations. It is his opinion that if Germany deserves it, knows
what she wants, and learns how to adapt herself to constantly alter-
ing conditions, her growth and the spread of German kidtur are
almost unlimited. Only, however, when certain defects have been
corrected and provided a certain course is followed, all of which
Dr. Rohrbach discusses intimately and fully, can Germany expect
to take her place with the world powers and maintain it.

" A constructive work by a German ' moderate ' who has had
great influence among his own people." — Review of Reviews.

" Professor Edmund von Mach has rendered a distinct service to
Germany and Germans by translating * German World Policies '
into English. This is a statement by an intelligent and capable
German of what he believed his country and people stood for and
what they were likely to achieve." — New York Sun.

"A valuable, a most informing book, which at the present hour
acquires a doubled significance." — New York Tribune.

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York

NEW BOOKS ON GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Russia and the World

By STEPHEN GRAHAM

Author of " With Poor Immigrants to America," etc.

Illustrated, Cloth, 8vo, $2.00

Stephen Graham is always entertaining, a fact to the truth of
which the many readers of his previous volumes will testify. In
addition to his pleasing style he has, in the present book, a subject
of commanding interest and one on which he is well qualified to
write. He has been for years a peculiarly sympathetic student of
Russia. He has tramped through the country and knows its prob-
lems more intimately probably than any other English or American
author. This record of his observations and conclusions makes
fascinating reading. Among the topics which Mr. Graham takes
up under the general heading War are : Why Russia Is Fighting,
Is It a Last War ? Russian Literature and the War, and Russian
Children and the War. In his chapter on Nations in Russia he
discusses the Russians, Germans, Poles, Jews and British. Under
Individuals he describes the Tsar, the Russian Minister of Affairs,
the Grand Duke, and the Censor. He also considers in some de-
tail Russian policies — the vodka prohibition, arbitration and the
future of Russia.

•' On laying down the book, the reader may well feel that, for
all its tears and laughter, and its genius for description, it has an
importance other than literary." — London Times.

" Contains a great deal of Real Importance." — New York
Times.

" Turn where the reader will in this book, he will find enlighten-
ment." — Boston Transcript.

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York

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