Editing Norway (section)

=== Literature ===
{{Main|Norwegian literature}}
{{See also|List of Norwegian writers}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2022}}
[[File:Henrik Ibsen av Eilif Peterssen 1895.jpg|thumb|[[Henrik Ibsen]], the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]].]]
<!-- [[File:Sigrid Undset 1928.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Sigrid Undset]]]] -->

The history of Norwegian literature starts with the [[Norse paganism|pagan]] [[Poetic Edda|Eddaic poems]] and [[skald]]ic verse of the ninth and tenth centuries, with poets such as [[Bragi Boddason]] and [[Eyvindr skáldaspillir]]. The arrival of Christianity around the year 1000 brought Norway into contact with European medieval learning, [[hagiography]] and history writing. Merged with native oral tradition and Icelandic influence, this influenced the literature written in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Major works of that period include ''[[Historia Norwegiæ]]'', ''[[Þiðrekssaga]]'' and ''[[Konungs skuggsjá]]''.

Little Norwegian literature came out of the period of the Scandinavian Union and the subsequent Dano-Norwegian union (1387–1814), with some notable exceptions such as [[Petter Dass]] and [[Ludvig Holberg]]. During the union with Denmark, the government imposed using only written Danish, which decreased the writing of Norwegian literature.

Two major events precipitated a major resurgence in Norwegian literature: in 1811 a Norwegian university was established in [[Oslo|Christiania]], and in 1814 the Norwegians created their first [[Constitution of Norway|Constitution]]. Authors were inspired and became recognised first in Scandinavia, and then worldwide; among them were [[Henrik Wergeland]], [[Peter Christen Asbjørnsen]], [[Jørgen Moe]] and [[Camilla Collett]].

By the late 19th century, in the [[Golden Age]] of Norwegian literature, the so-called "Great Four" emerged: [[Henrik Ibsen]], [[Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson]], [[Alexander Kielland]], and [[Jonas Lie (writer)|Jonas Lie]]. Bjørnson's "peasant novels", such as ''Ein glad gut'' (A Happy Boy) and ''Synnøve Solbakken'', are typical of the [[Norwegian romantic nationalism]] of their day. Kielland's novels and short stories are mostly naturalistic. Although an important contributor to early romantic nationalism, (especially ''[[Peer Gynt]]''), [[Henrik Ibsen]] is better known for his pioneering realistic dramas such as ''[[The Wild Duck]]'' and ''[[A Doll's House]].''

In the 20th century, three Norwegian novelists were awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]]: [[Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson]] in 1903, [[Knut Hamsun]] for the book ''Markens grøde'' ("[[Growth of the Soil]]") in 1920, and [[Sigrid Undset]] (known for ''[[Kristin Lavransdatter]]'') in 1928.