North-Norwegian Literature - an Example of the Oppression of a Regional Culture

NILS M. KNUTSEN

NORTH-NORWEGIAN LITERATURE - AN EXAMPLE OF THE OPPRESSION OF A REGIONAL CULTURE

L Introduction

Since there is no difference, ethnically speaking, 1 between people of Northern and Southern Norway, North-Norwegian literature is not a minority literature in the usual sense of the term. But economically and politically Northern Norway has had a very weak position within the country as a whole during the last 4-500 years. Consequently, the cultural life in the North has been almost completely subdued by the cultural life in the political and economic centers in the South~ Through these centuries there has never been an open conflict between the culture in the North and in the South. The situation has rather been that of an undisputed Southern supremacy, accepted by both parts as something self-evident and "natural". Thus, North-Norwegian literature is not the expression of a subdued culture's heroic struggle against an overwhelming enemy. What the study of North-Norwegian literature does reveal, however - or more precisely, the study of the literature about Northern Norway - are the problems caused by the dominance of a central, "official", "National" culture. Such problems or conflicts may be found in most countries. This article can only give a rough sketch of the development of these problems in Northern Norway. As an introduction it is necessary to include some historical information on the political, geographical and economical factors having determined the cultural development of Northern Norway.

1 The Lapps of Northern Norway is of course not included here. 188 NILS M. KNUTSEN

II. A few facts

From the end of the Middle Ages to 1814, Norway was united with Denmark. Then Norway was united with Sweden until it gained national independence in 1905. This article will not discuss the effects of these two union periods on the govern- mental policies concerning Northern Norway. It is important to be aware of the great geographic distance between Northern Norway and the economic and cultural centers in the South, Bergen (mainly before 1850) and Oslo (mainly after 1814). Due to this distance a summer trip from Oslo to Tromso around 1800 could take as much as 10 weeks, depend- ing on your luck in finding available ships in Bergen or Trond- heim. In the winter time the trip was close to impossible; winter gales, unreliable sea-maps and lack of light-houses prevented ships from sailing up North. Thus the traveller had to walk or to pay the fishermen along the coast to take him from village to village, a more adventurous than efficient way of travellingd In 1838 the situation was improved by a steamer travelling between Trondheim and Hammerfest in the summer season. Winter travelling was as difficult as ever. The steamers grew better, however, and from 1893 they sailed day and night, summer and winter. Thus, in the course of 50 years the travelling time from Bergen to Hammerfest had been reduced from 6 weeks to 6 days. Today you may go from Oslo to Finland in two hours on a jet plane, but the North has still kept its role as the remote out- skirts of Norway, isolated, far away from the cultured centers of the South. Ever since the Middle Ages, North-Norwegian economy has almost exclusively been based on fishing. Fish from Northern

2 One of those who tried a winter trip to Northern Norway was an Italian, Francesco Negri, who went North in 1664. His book, Viaooio settentrionale, has been published in several editions in Italy.