Scandinavian Literature - Norwegian Literature

Norwegian Literature

The period from the 14th century up to the 19th is considered a dark age in Norway's literature though Norwegian-born writers such as Peder Claussøn Friis and Ludvig Holberg contributed to the common literature of Denmark-Norway. With the advent of nationalism and the struggle for independence in the early 19th century a new period of national literature emerged. The dramatist Henrik Wergeland was the most influential author of the period while the later works of Henrik Ibsen were to earn Norway an influential place in Western European literature. In the 20th century notable Norwegian writers include the three Nobel Prize winning authors Knut Hamsun, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and Sigrid Undset.