Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/754

* NORWEGIAN LITERATURE. 642 NORWICH. sagcn, wlucli contains descriptions of his owii of natural scenery and popular life. The recogni- tion of lliis material pointed out a new direction in Norwegian literature and has had a profound effect upon latter-day writers. The present period of Norwegian literature, and the period of its broadest dcvelopnieut, be- gins with Bjiirnson and Ibsen, the greatest writ- ere that Norway has produced. W ith tlicni liter- ature enters upon a new era of productivity at lioiiie, and, wliat had not been the case before, of influence abroad ; for the work of these two poets, even at an curly time in their career, had carried the name and fame of Norwegian litera- ture far beyond the cnnlines of Norway and of Scandinavia, until now, and jirineipally tlirough them, it has become in the widest sense a living and forceful part of the literature of the world. (For details see Bjornsox; Ibskn.) Jonas Lie (b.l833), who plainly shows the influ- ence of Bjornson, has written sea-stories that have attained great popularity. His first novel. Den Frem.tynte,''Te Visionary." appeared in 1S70. His most successfxil and widely known novel is Lodscn og linnx Tlualru. '"The Pilot and His Wife." He attains, however, a higher ar- tistic result in his later novels of modern social life, Liissalvn, "The Life Convict;" Familien paa Oiljp, "The Family at Gilje;" A'lt Malstrijm, "A Maelstrom;" and others that have been writ- ten since 1883. Anna Magdalena Thoresen (18in-ln03) also shows the influence of Bjorn- son in her talcs of nature and popular life. Her Billeder fra Jlidnnlssnkns Land, "Pictures from the Land of the Jlidnight Sun," is possibly her best work. The most original of the woman writers of Norway is Camilla Collet (1813-i)5), the sister of the ]K)et Wergeland, whose most important novel is the realistic Amtmandcns Dottrc, "The Magistrate's Daughters." After Ibsen, Bjiirnson. and Lie, the fourth great name in Norwegian literature of the present |>eriod is Alexander Kjolland (b.l84n). Although his sub- jects arc exclusively Scandinavian, he In-longs, more than any of his c(luntv^llen, in his literary aflinities less to Norway and more to Europe, whose general cultural tendencies he reflects. Kjelland's best work is contained in his short stories, the first volume of which appeared as yovellcttcr in 1879. His novels, the gi-eatcst of which is Skipper Worse, whoso theme is the pietistic movement in Norway, are all novels of tendency. Learned literature in Norway, although it has made inijiortant contributions to theology, to the physical sciences, and to philosophy, has found its highest and most characteristic expression in liis- tory. The foumler of historical writing in Nor- way was Rudolf Keyser {1803-fi4). who wrote yortjcK IJiftlorie, "History of Norway;" Den norsk-c liirlrs Ilislonc. "History of the Churdi in Norway;" and other works on the histori' and antiquities and literature of his native oountry. His pupil. Peter Amlreas Munch (1810-fi3"i, wrote, as his most important work. D<7 unr.ilc Folks Historic. "History of the Norwegian Peo- ple." In collaboration with Keyser and with Carl Tiichard T'nger (1817-071. he' also ilid philo- logical work of value in eiliting Old Norse texts. .Tohan Krnst Sars (b.lSS.i). in his T'd.iiril orrr den vnrskc TJistorir, "Keview of Norwegian His- tory," has produced one of the most notable prose works in the language. In every field of literary activity modem Nor- way has unfolded, and is still unfolding, an extraordinary dcvelopnieut, and this not only from the point of productivity, but in the quality and character of the work produced. The most distinct tendencies in Norwegian literature of the present period are the pessimistic-natural- istic direction originally pointed out by Ibsen, and the optimistic-realistic direction of Bjiirnson and his followers, but there are writers who be- long to neither school. Other writers than those mentioned have made a name outside of Norway, as well as at home. Among them are Aasmund Olafsson Vinie (1818-70). KristolTer .Janson (b.l841), Arne fJarliorg (1).18.t1), Amalie Skram (b. 18.^7). and still more recently, Knut Hamsun, Gabriel Finne, and 'illiclm Krag. Consult: Horn, Ilixtury of the Literature of the Scandinavian North, trans, by Anderson (Chi- cago, 1884); Gossc, Xortherii Studies (London, n. d.) ; Schweitzer, Geschichte der skandinavi- schen Litleratur {CeTa. 1890) ; Ja'ger, Illustreret Xorsk Literaturhistorie (Christiania, 1896); llalvorsen, Norsk Forfatterlexikon, lHVi-56 (ill.. ISSl). NORWEGIAN MUSIC. See ScANDlNAnAN Music. NORWE'GIUM (Neo-Lat., from :ML. yoriec- gia, XorLcgia, Norway). A name given by Bahll to a substance separated by him from the mineral gersdorffitc found on the island of Ostweii, Norway. It is also said to exist in some specimens of unrefined lead. Its elementary cliaractcr, however, has not been positively estab- lished. NORWICH, nor'rich or nOr'rij. Capital of Norfolk. England, and a county in itself, on the Wcnsum. immediately above its confluence with the Yarc. 20 miles west of Yarmouth, and 98 miles north-northeast of London (Map: Eng- land, H 4). The town covers an area of about five miles in circumference, and is skirled on its north and east sides by the river. On the west and soiith it was surrounded by walls which have be<"n removed to make rocmi for the extension of the city. In the market-place and its vicinity arc many large shops and good houses. The castle, finely situated on an elevation near the centre of the town, originally covered with its works an area of about 23 acres. The bridge over the ditch has one of the largest and most perfect Anglo-Norman arches in existence. The massive quadrangular Norman keep is now used as a museum. The cathedral, almost wholly Norman in plan, was founded in 1004 bv Bishop Herbert Losinga. It is 411 feet long. 191 feet broad at the transepts, and is surmounted by a spire 31.") feet high. Near the cathedral are a numlicr of ancient and interesting structures now more or less in ruins, among which may be mentioned Saint Ethelbert's and the Erpingham Gate, the former in P<'corated English, the latter in late Perpendicular, and both valuable and rich specimens of their styles. There are many jiluces of worship, of which Saint Peter's Mancroft, a handsome cruciform edifice of the fifle<'nth cen- tury, with a remarkably fine peal of 12 liells, Saint .Andrew's. Saint Clement's. Saint George's, Saint Giles's Saint Michael's, and others are worthy of mention. The free grammar school was founded by Edward. The city possesses public recreation grounds covering an area of 200 acres.