Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/201



ROM our description given in the preceding chapters of the beginnings of Danish-Norwegian literature it appears that vigorous efforts to establish a literature had already been made in various directions and important results had been attained, but the really decisive impulse was given to the literary activities of these countries when Ludvig Holberg appeared. He not only cleared the ground and winnowed away a vast amount of rubbish which had hindered the development of intellectual life, but what was of chief importance, the barriers were thrown down which had for centuries separated the people from the learned class, and which the Reformation, with its fresh breath sweeping through the northern lands, had not been able to remove, but which yielded to Holberg's powerful attacks, never to rise again. It is true that all that was to be achieved in this direction could not possibly be done by one single man. There was need of the coöperation of a whole generation, but the first mighty impulse was given by Holberg.

Ludvig Holberg was born in Bergen, Norway, December 3, 1684. His father had risen from a common soldier to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and Ludvig, who was the youngest of twelve children, was according to the cus-