others in the Historisk Tidskrift (Christiania) and other periodicals;
also the articles by K. v. Armira, O. Bremer, K. Kaalund and V.
Gudmundsson in Pauls Grundriss der germanischen Philologie (vol.
iii., Strassburg, 1900). The above works are published in Christiania
except where otherwise stated. In English, there is a history of
Norway by H. H. Boyesen in the Story of the Nations series (London,
1900), and there are historical notes in G. Vigfússon and F. Y.
Powell’s Corpus poëticum Boreale (Oxford, 1883). The most important
original sources are: Snorre Sturlasson’s Heimskringla, or
Lives of the Kings of Norway (up to 1177), of which there is an
English translation by W. Morris and E. Magnússon, with a valuable
index volume compiled by the latter, in the Saga Library, vols. iii.-vi.
(London, 1893–1905). The original Icelandic text is edited by
F. Jónsson (Copenhagen, 1893–1901). For a critical investigation
into the sources of Snorri and the contemporary historians, see G.
Storm, Snorre Sturlasson’s Historieskrivning (Copenhagen, 1873,
with map of ancient Norway), and F. Jónsson, Den oldnorske og
oldislandske Litteraturs Historie (Bd. ii. Del. ii., Copenhagen, 1901).
Of later sagas, Sverre’s Saga (Fornmanna Sögur, vol. viii., Copenhagen)
is translated by J. Sephton, Northern Library (vol. iv.,
London, 1899), and Haakon’s Saga is given with a translation by
G. W. Dasent in vols. ii. (text) and iv. (translation) of the Chronicles
and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland (London, 1894). Other
important sources are: Diplomatarium Norvegicum, ed. C. Unger,
Christiania, and Norges Gamle Love indtil 1397, ed. R. Keyser and
P. A. Munch (5 vols., Christiania, 1846–1895). (B. S. P.)
1397–1814.—The history of Norway from 1397 down to the union with Sweden in 1814 falls naturally into four divisions. First, in 1450, the triple bond gave place to a union in which Norway became more firmly joined to Denmark. Next, in 1536, as the result of the Reformation, Norway sank almost to the level of a province. After 1660 she gained something in status from the establishment of autocracy in Denmark, and at the close of the period she became a constitutional kingdom on a footing of approximate equality with Sweden. But for the convulsions to which some of these changes gave rise, Norway possesses during this period but little history of her own, and she sank from her former position as a considerable and independent nation. The kings dwelt outside her borders, her fleet and army decayed, and her language gradually 15th century. gave place to Danish. Germans plundered her coasts and monopolized her commerce, and after 1450 Danes began to appropriate the higher posts in her administration.
When in 1448 Karl Knutsson was chosen king by the Swedes, and Christian of Oldenburg by the Danes, it was by force that Norway fell to the latter. On the 24th of November 1449 the Norwegians protested against Christian’s assumption of sovereignty over them, and against separation from the Swedes. Next year, however, the Swedes assented to the separation. Christian I. (1450–1481) gave estates and offices in Norway to his Danish subjects and raised money by pawning her ancient possessions, the Orkneys and Shetland islands, to the king of Scotland. His son Hans (1482–1513) purchased the obedience of the Norwegian nobles by concessions to their power. The imposing union continued in name, but the weakness of the nation and its government was strikingly illustrated when the Germans in Bergen besieged a monastery in which their enemy Olaf Nilsson, a high official, had taken refuge.
After the downfall of Christian II. (1513–1524) the position of Norway in relation to Denmark was changed for the worse. She was ruled for a century and a quarter by Danish officials; the churches and monasteries of Norway were sacked by Danes, and Danes were installed as pastors under the Lutheran system, which the Norwegians were 16th century. compelled to accept in 1539. Soon Norway was dragged by Denmark into the so-called Seven Years’ War of the North (1563–70). However, the power of the Hanse League in Bergen was broken. The rule of the Oldenburg dynasty proved neglectful rather than tyrannical, and under it the mass of the peasants was not flagrantly oppressed. Christian IV. (1588–1648), who founded Christiania, may almost be said to have discovered Norway anew. He reformed its government and strove to develop its resources, but his policy involved Norway in the loss 17th century. of the provinces of Jemtland and Herjedalen, which were ceded to the Swedes by the peace of Brömsebro (1645). The Danish war of revenge against Carl X. of Sweden resulted in further territorial loss by Norway. By the peace of Roskilde (1658) she was compelled to renounce the counties of Trondhjem and Baahus, and although the former was restored by the peace of Copenhagen, two years later, her population fell below half a million. The Swedes had now acquired the rich provinces in the south and south-west of the Scandinavian peninsula, and their ambition to extend their frontiers to the North Sea became more pronounced and more possible of accomplishment. From the middle of the 17th century, however, the Dutch and English made their influence felt, and the political status of Norway could no longer be regarded as a purely Scandinavian affair. The establishment of hereditary autocracy in Denmark by Frederick III. in 1660 conferred many benefits upon Norway. Personal liberty perhaps suffered, but the Norwegian peasant remained a freeman while his counterpart in Denmark was a serf. Norwegian law was revised and codified under Christian V. (1670–1699), who was well served by the Norwegians in his attempt to regain the lost provinces.
Under the sons of these monarchs, Frederick IV. and Carl XII., Norway was once more compelled to pay for Danish aggression. Her shipping was destroyed, and in 1716, when driven from continental Europe, the Swedish hosts fell upon her. Two years later, however, the death of Carl XII. at the border fortress of Frederikshald 18th century. averted the danger. During this war Peter Tordenskjold, the greatest among a long series of Norwegian heroes who served in the Danish fleet, won undying fame. Before the close of the 18th century something had been done towards dispelling the intellectual darkness. Holberg, though he flourished outside Norway, was at least born there, and by stemming the tide of German influence he made the future of Norwegian literature possible. At the close of the century Hans Nielson Hauge, the Wesley of Norway, appeared, while the growth of the timber trade with England gave rise to a great increase in wealth and population. In a century and a half the number of the Norwegian people was doubled, so that by 1814 Norway comprised some 900,000 souls. In 1788 the oppressive law that grain should be imported into Norway only from Denmark was repealed, and thanks to Danish policy Norway actually drew financial profit from the wars of the French Revolution.
The Norwegian national movement was to render a decade at the beginning of the 19th century more memorable in Norwegian history than any century which had passed since the Calmar Union. In 1800 the Danish government committed the Norwegians to the second Armed Neutrality, and therefore to a share in the battle of Copenhagen, Beginning of Norwegian national movement. by which it was broken up. It was not until 1807, however, that Norway was fully involved in the Napoleonic wars. Then, after the bombardment of Copenhagen, she was compelled by Danish policy to embrace the cause of Napoleon against both England and Sweden. Commerce was annihilated, and the supply of food failed. The national distress brought into the forefront of politics national leaders, among whom Count Hermann Jasper von Wedel-Jarlsberg was the most conspicuous. As yet, however, patriotism went no further than a demand for an administration distinct from that of Denmark, which was conceded in 1807, and for a university nearer home than Copenhagen. In 1811 the government assented to the foundation of the university of Christiania. (W. F. R.)
1814–1907.—After a union of nearly 400 years between Norway and Denmark, the Danish king, Frederick VI., without consulting the Norwegians, ceded Norway to Sweden by the treaty of Kiel (January 14, 1814). Some time previously Sweden had joined the allies in their struggle against Napoleon, while Denmark had, Events leading to the union with Sweden. unwisely, sided with the French. In 1813 the Swedish crown prince, Bernadotte, afterwards King Carl XIV.,[1] proceeded to Germany and took command of one of the armies of the allies. After the power of Napoleon had been broken at
- ↑ In 1810 he was elected heir to the Swedish throne, in succession to the childless king Carl XIII., who died in 1818.
