Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe

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Narrative literature : Danish

  • Literature (fictional prose/drama)Danish
  • Cultural Field
    Texts and stories
    Author
    Kølle Martinsen, Lone
    Text

    19th-century historical literature in Denmark (which until 1814 also included Norway) is hybrid and found in all kinds of genres. Three “reservoirs” of historical topics can be identified: Old Norse poetry, medieval romances and folk balladry, three distinct heritages which often got blended in the emerging literature of the 19th century. A general characteristic were Nordic themes, as opposed to the classical heritage. Thus, northern European nations sought to cultivate what was conceived to be their “own” historical literature.

    Adam Oehlenschläger defended a thesis at the University of Copenhagen in 1800 entitled: “Would it be useful for the great Nordic literature to replace classical Greek literature with that of the Old Norse mythology?”  Oehlenschläger’s poem Guldhornene, published in 1803, provided an answer and is usually seen to mark the beginning of an intense use of and interest in Nordic history. The rise of philology, in Denmark represented by Rasmus Rask, spurred interest in ancient texts such as the Poetic Edda, the Heimskringla and Norse sagas such as Njals Saga. Using and merging Old Norse poetry such as Eddic and skaldic into modern genres became highly popular, as for example Oehlenschläger’s Hakon Jarl (1803) or the tragedy Axel og Valborg (1810). Nordic motifs were also used in the poetry of N.F.S. Grundtvig.

    Another historical source, Saxo Grammaticus’s 12th-century Gesta Danorum, also provided motifs for the young Romantic generation of poets, witness Oehlenschläger’s Hagbard og Signe (1815). Much early-19th-century literary production featured strong female characters from Old Norse mythology (shieldmaids and valkyries) in prominent roles. Oehlenschläger's comedy Freyas altar features the Old Norse love goddess who also figures in the Danish national anthem written by Oehlenschläger in 1819, Der er et yndigt land.

    Narrative literature of the period shows both Nordic (Scandinavist) and Orientalist penchants (Oehlenschläger’s Aladdin, 1805). The Danish colonies feature rarely, with the sole exception of B.S. Ingemann’s Kunnuk og Naja (1842), set in Greenland (which had become a Danish colony in 1814).

    The genre of the historical novel arrived in 1826 when B.S. Ingemann published Valdemar Seier (“Waldemar the Conqueror”), set in medieval times around the reigns of the Waldemars, and inspired by Saxo Grammaticus, Danish folk songs and medieval romances. The historical novel became immensely popular; after 1850 Carit Etlar (1816–1900) was a successful practitioner of the genre; his Gjøngehøvdingen (“Gjønge the insurgent chief”) and its sequel Dronningens vagtmester (“The queen’s guardsman”, 1855) are adventurous tales set in the 17th century, in the style of DumasLes trois mousquetaires (1846).

    In the disenchanted climate following the lost war against Prussia (1864), a more modern taste broke through with the literary criticism of Georg Brandes in the 1870; historicism was rejected as outdated and part of a discredited nationalistic chauvinism. Brandes called for a cosmopolitan and Realistic literature instead.

    If Ingemann's “Waldemar the Conqueror” defined the National-Romantic writing of the earlier 19th century, Johannes V. Jensen’s novel Kongens fald (“The king’s fall”, 1900-01) was a historical counterpart in the new tradition of Realism, depicting not the glorious Waldemars of medieval times, but the controversial Danish Renaissance monarch Christian II, who had beheaded the entire Swedish nobility in Stockholm in 1520.

    Word Count: 527

    Article version
    1.1.2.4/a
  • Auken, Sune (eds.); Dansk Litteraturs Historie II: 1800-1870 (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 2008).

    Busk Jensen, Lise (eds.); Dansk Litteraturs Historie III: 1870-1920 (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 2009).


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    All articles in the Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe edited by Joep Leerssen are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://www.spinnet.eu.

    © the author and SPIN. Cite as follows (or as adapted to your stylesheet of choice): Kølle Martinsen, Lone, 2022. "Narrative literature : Danish", Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe, ed. Joep Leerssen (electronic version; Amsterdam: Study Platform on Interlocking Nationalisms, https://ernie.uva.nl/), article version 1.1.2.4/a, last changed 04-04-2022, consulted 28-03-2024.