History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North/Part 2/Chapter 2
CHAPTER II.
THE AGE OF THE REFORMATION.
THE Lutheran Reformation, which was solemnly inaugurated by the national assembly in Copenhagen, in 1536, aroused the people, at least for a time, from the intellectual lethargy in which it had been drowsing for many centuries. The whole people was deeply affected by the problems involved in this religious movement, and the intellectual emancipation secured in religious questions was also made available in other directions. The reformatory movement gave rise to a multitude of writings, which, though primarily concerned with the establishment of the ecclesiastical reform, still, on account of the widespread popularity they gained, also roused many minds to reflection, made them capable of higher culture, and produced in them a desire for intellectual improvement. The art of printing, which had been introduced in Denmark, in 1482, had at first been exclusively employed for the purpose of multiplying Latin books, grammars, and other scholastic works, but henceforth it also rendered important service in the publication of Danish works, and thus it became a powerful instrument for the diffusion of the new spirit among the people.
The Reformation came to Denmark from Germany. Yet even before Luther's doctrine had become known in Denmark, there existed in the minds of many individuals an undefined consciousness of the hollow and false condition into which Catholicism had sunk, and there was a desire to break the chains with which the Church fettered the people. As an evidence of this tendency we may regard the attempts made already at the close of the middle age to make the Scriptures accessible to the laity through translations into the vernacular. The conditions for a revolution were at hand; there was only need of an impulse from abroad, and when Luther at last raised his mighty voice, there at once spread in ever widening circles a realization of the existing wrongs. The kings immediately became interested in the movement, and, above all, Christian II, who clearly appreciated how closely religion was identified with the popular element. By the reforms which he tried to introduce in the public school system, he manifested his deep sympathy for the masses, and evinced a desire to raise the lower classes such as none of his predecessors, and but few of his successors, ever could boast. But his efforts met with no success, because they were too much in conflict with the egotism and prejudices of the ruling class. Both his ordinances for the improvement of the schools and his other laws were rescinded by his successor, Frederik I, who declared them to be "noxious and opposed to good morals." So when the great fermentation had subsided, when the new doctrines had become firmly established, and when all other matters had been arranged accordingly, the Latin again came to the front, and the national influences still at work had not sufficient strength to repress it. And yet the period between the close of the middle age and the learned age which followed the Reformation, deserves to be called a popular period, since the work done in it was for the people, and since the people were not only recipients, but also took part in the reforms accomplished. Many of the most prominent representatives of the age sprang directly from the ranks of the common people.
Among those who by their literary activity contributed to the cause of the Reformation Christian Pedersen unquestionably ranks first, and he is rightly styled "the father of Danish literature," since he was really the first important author in Denmark who was Danish both in spirit and language. Born in 1480, of parents probably belonging to the middle class, he became a canon in Lund and afterward studied in Paris, where he took the master's degree. In Paris he edited Peder Laale's collection of proverbs, and in 1514 Saxo's Danish chronicle, through which edition the latter was probably rescued from oblivion, for it cost him much trouble to secure a single manuscript copy. His labors for the cause of his country's history were not confined to the editing of this invaluable work, but he was also engaged on a translation or Danish adaptation of it, and even on a continuation of Saxo's chronicle. A few fragments of the latter have been preserved, and it would seem to have been carried down to the death of Christian I. Before the Reformation he produced in the Danish language a few religious works, chiefly intended for the use of laymen, prominent among which is his "Jertegns postille," a collection of sermons—probably based on Latin models—on the gospels and epistles of all the Sundays and sacred days, and each sermon contained meditations on some miracle (Jertegn) or other. When he afterward became a Protestant, he took it much to heart that he possibly had done much harm by this very postil and the papal errors which it helped to spread, for, as he says himself, "the fables and miracles, which it tells of, are things which men have themselves invented and imagined." In order to make such amends as he was able for this transgression, he now translated a Lutheran homily.
On his return to Denmark he became secretary to King Christian II. In this position he ever remained faithfully devoted to his prince, and when the latter, in 1523, was compelled to leave his country, Christian Pedersen accompanied him into exile. He lived in Holland several years, and the works he published in this country show that already at this time he had renounced Catholicism and become a convert to the new doctrine. He remained until his death one of the most ardent and valiant champions of the Reformation. Of particularly great importance was his translation of the New Testament, published in 1529, "for the use of the common people." It is in every respect superior to another translation which had appeared more than five years previously, and which had been attributed to the burgomaster of Malmö (Sweden), Hans Mikkelsen, who was also a faithful adherent of Christian II. This first attempt to place the New Testament in the hands of the laymen is not, however, the work of a single individual, though Mikkelsen may have done the major part of it. It was rather the joint work of the men who accompanied the king into exile, and it is even possible that the king himself may have done a part of it. It is not an unqualified success, and there remained a great need of a new translation. The language was upon the whole bad, and Christian Pedersen himself testifies that one of the chief reasons why he had undertaken a new translation was the fact that many complained that they could not understand the Danish of the earlier one. While Hans Mikkelsen's version failed to satisfy either the followers of the new doctrine or the Catholics, Christian Pedersen's became deservedly very popular on account of its clear, forcible style, and on account of the general ability with which he had performed his difficult task. As in the case of Hans Mikkelsen, so Christian Pedersen's translation was also made from the Latin, but with this provision, that both have followed "the best and most renowned clerks," and made use of both Erasmus of Rotterdam, and of Luther; still it must be affirmed that especially Pedersen used these authorities with great independence and judgment. The first one to translate fragments of the Bible into Danish from the original tongue was Hans Jansen. Christian Pedersen's translation of the Psalms of David is also superior to that made by Franz Vormoedsen, who had formerly been a Carmelite monk, but had become one of the chief leaders in the reformatory movement. Pedersen's work, when judged by the standard of the age, is remarkable for its exactness, vigor and euphony. It at once won the favor of the public and retained it for a long time. The pithy words of the translation frequently of their own accord, as it were, fell in verses and rhymes, and the frequent recurrence of alliterations impart to it a peculiar poetic flavor.
In order to make additional contributions to the spreading and establishment of the new doctrine, Chr. Pedersen edited several minor works, of which there in 1531 appeared no less than seven, chiefly adaptations of Luther's works. There is no room for doubt that the vigorous, telling words that he addressed to the multitude made a deep impression. Precisely this kind of works were needed to break the ground, works that did not go into the discussion of subtle dogmatic problems, but which addressed themselves with warmth and strength to the heart, a gift which this author possessed in an eminent degree. The one of these works which is most interesting to us is a free and admirably localized adaptation of a book by Luther on how children should be kept in school. On account of its vivid description of the deplorable condition of the Danish schools at that time, Pedersen's work, is of more than ordinary value to the historian of civilization. Still, among all these minor works this book, which had one simple, practical object for its aim, and pointed out the need of reform, is probably the one which in reality attained least practical usefulness. It appeared in the midst of religious fermentation, when men's minds were at the highest pitch of excitement, and the regulations which after the reformation were issued for the improvement of the schools emanated directly from the government, so that it is safe to say that the excellent little book in question could not possibly have had much influence on the matter. Of his other works we shall only mention the translations made, during his sojourn in Paris, of two popular works, Charlemagne and Olger the Dane, both of which were in that age regarded as perfectly authentic historical documents.
The rest of his remarkably industrious life devoted to the cause of religion and of the people, Chr. Pedersen spent in Denmark whither he had returned in 1531. Notwithstanding his open adherence to the banished king he was permitted, in consideration of his services to literature and to the reformation, to reside in his native country and "to eke out his living, as best he could, with printing"—"nære og bjærge sig med Prenteri." During the Count's war[1] he was secretary to Jörgen Kok, the brave burgomaster of Malmö. During the government of Christian III (1533-1559) he continued his literary activity, and the translation of the Bible, published in 1550, noted for its pure and terse language, and popularly known as Christian III's Bible, is in the main Pedersen's work. He died in 1554.
Christian Pedersen has been called the father of Danish literature, and he well deserves this name, for he was, in fact, the founder of Danish literature in the true sense of this word. He was not only the first who engaged extensively in literary pursuits, but he also, on account of the wide circulation and great popularity of his works, exerted in many ways a decided influence on the subsequent literature of Denmark. One of the chief problems to be solved was the creation of a Danish literary language, and the services he here rendered cannot be overestimated. He was himself perfectly conscious of this task and of its importance, and he succeeded in writing Danish with a purity that had not been known before his time. In this manner he paved the way for his successors, and it is not Pedersen's fault that he did not get a more numerous following than he did. Meanwhile a few did follow the example set by him, and the way he had pointed out was never utterly lost sight of by the later generations. In course of time the current of events found it again, and there was evolved a literary activity which has continued down to the present day. His language is always lucid and fluent, his style is remarkably vigorous and graphic, and he frequently evinces the skill of the master. This is particularly true of his above-mentioned translation of the Bible, published in 1550. From a linguistic standpoint it is, without exception, the most remarkable monument from the age of the Reformation. At the same time Pedersen's works are conspicuous for their marked popular and national character. This also applies to his work while he was still a Catholic. He was already then striving to promote the education of the layman, and after he had embraced the Lutheran religion he continued in this line of work, not simply because it was one of the chief objects of the Reformation to win the masses, but, rather, he really had the well-being of the people at heart. He did not, therefore, confine himself to religious writings for the advancement of the ecclesiastical reform, but he also wrote about other things, and in these, too, he knew how to strike a key that was familiar to the people. His adaptations of old chronicles continued, long after his death, to be the favorite reading of the masses. In contrast with the tendency prevalent in his time of waging war against every intellectual inheritance the people possessed from the past, he cherished the old legends and ballads and other monuments of the intellectual life of the people, and it would be doing him injustice not to mention the fact that he clearly comprehended the kinship of the northern nations, a fact repeatedly set forth in unmistakable language in his writings.
Christian Pedersen was not one of the leaders in the great struggle between the old and the new doctrine. He was abroad at the time when the contest was raging most fiercely, and even if he had been at home it is scarcely probable that he would have taken any prominent part. As a rule he preferred to keep aloof from the events of the busy world. As he says of himself, "he had always been fond of a quiet life, and in the turbulent times he had sought retirement among his friends and relations." His works reveal to us a character for which quiet, literary labor must have possessed the greatest charm. Nor does he on the whole assume the uncompromising attitude of his fellow-protestants, and unlike the latter, he did not wholly break with the past. On the contrary, he protected all of the old that seemed to him useful or worthy of preservation, and at the same time he availed himself chiefly of the new elements of culture. In this respect Luther's work was of the greatest importance to him. In the first place the powerful words of the German reformer helped him to become clear in reference to those very ideas with which he had long been struggling without any satisfactory result, and they freed him from many prejudices which still clung to the times, and which prevented his independent intellectual development. Already the works he had published before he became a Lutheran contain distinct reformatory elements, and they clearly reveal the leading thought in his whole literary career, which was, that no one can be saved without the gospel and the holy faith. This was not only in direct opposition to the axiom of the Catholic church concerning the saving power of good works, but it also with equal emphasis urged that the word of God must be made accessible to the common man. In the "Jertegnpostille," mentioned above, he asserts that "no one must believe the gospels to be more sacred in one tongue than in another, but everybody should be able to read them in his own language."
By emphasizing the importance of faith and the right of the layman to read the Scriptures he had grasped Luther's fundamental idea before Luther had yet expressed it. To this idea he clung to the last, and all his numerous religious writings are full of it. He was not gifted with Luther's gigantic spirit, but he worked with fidelity and untiring zeal, and the influence of his literary activity for the advancement, spreading and final establishment of the work of the Reformation can hardly be overestimated. His Danish works, which have recently appeared in a complete edition, will forever retain their value, for he was a prominent and very marked character, and he has justly been regarded as the revelation of the historical genius of his times in Denmark.[2]
In the same manner as Christian Pedersen, the brothers, Peder and Niels Palladius, also labored for the religious and moral education of the people. They both died in 1560. By editing a number of little books they sought to advance the cause of general education and morality, and thus they completed the work of reform begun by Pedersen. Peder (born 1503) was the more distinguished of the two brothers, who were the sons of plain citizens. He studied in Wittenberg, and by Bogenhagen he was warmly recommended to Christian III as a man peculiarly fitted to carry out the work of the Reformation. In his thirty-fifth year he became the first evangelical bishop of Zealand, and at the same time professor of theology in the University of Copenhagen, and in these positions he worked indefatigably for the cause intrusted to him. Among the numerous works which owe their origin to his professional activity, as a clergyman, his "Visitatsbog " is particularly deserving of mention. It is a work of great importance to a thorough knowledge of the customs and ideas of that epoch, and is unquestionably one of the most remarkable works in the old Danish literature. It is a collection of addresses which were delivered on his professional visits through his bishopric, and which he afterward revised and enlarged with reference to his subsequent experiences. From their very nature these addresses could not help dealing with a large number of topics, which taken collectively furnish an invaluable picture of the times for the student of the development of civilization. He had a rare gift of selecting effective starting points in his addresses from the social circumstances of his listeners, of leading them from their daily surroundings into spiritual realms, and thus of unfolding for them the doctrines of faith on the basis of things with which they were familiar. In this book, simple and straightforward as it is, there is revealed to us a great and commanding personality. Every page of it glows with a warm, vigorous and homely eloquence. That of this author's works, which in literary value comes the nearest to his "Visitatsbog," is a collection of sermons called "The Bark of St. Peter," a series of very striking meditations on the development of religion and on the various religious systems. It is, in fact, a system of dogmatics and a church history in nuce, and in it he lets pass no opportunity of attacking the papal church. In his writings, which were intended more directly for the use of the common people, he again and again boldly scourges the besetting sins of the age, avarice, swearing, blasphemy, etc., while several of his other works are written simply for edification.[3]
But the man who by word and deed contributed most to the reformation of Denmark was Hans Tausen (1494-1561.) He is the real representative of the Danish ecclesiastical reform, but he accomplished less with his pen than with the living word, and he carried out his mission with zeal and courage, not allowing himself to be intimidated by threats or reproaches. He sprang from poor Danish parents on the island of Funen, and in his twelfth year he ran away from home for the purpose of going to school. Possessing unusual intellectual faculties he soon gained numerous friends, and thus accomplished his desire. He received his education in the Odense school, and it seems that he also studied in Aarhus, at all events his name is found among the pupils of the above mentioned distinguished teacher, Martin Börup. On leaving the school he became a monk in the convent of Antvortskov, in Zealand, and afterward he went to Rostock, where doubtless were developed the germs of the change which took place in his religious views. From Rostock, where he had taken the different academic degrees and become a "docent" (instructor), he went to Copenhagen, where during one year he delivered lectures at the university, and thence he repaired to Wittenberg. He went to this city against the express wishes of his superiors. To satisfy them he first visited the orthodox Catholic universities of Cologne and Louvain, but the writings of Luther attracted him with irresistible power to Wittenberg, the head-quarters of the Reformation. Here, according to his epitaph, "he listened for more than a year with incredible eagerness to Luther himself" and was completely converted to the new doctrine. After his return to his own country he openly undertook the task of reformation in the very spirit of Luther. We cannot here enter into a detailed account of all the hardships he had to endure and the struggles through which he secured final victory to the cause of the Reformation in Denmark, and we must confine ourselves to mentioning that as the leader of the Protestants he made his confession of faith in their behalf at the "Herredag " (assembly of nobles and prelates) in Copenhagen in 1530, and replied to twenty-seven articles of faith by which the adherents of papacy sought to combat him. He also participated in the translation of the Bible into Danish, and the five books of Moses were translated by him from the Hebrew text (1535). Besides, he published several religious works, and among them a postil. This collection of sermons, which from cover to cover affords proof of the eminent position Hans Tausen must have occupied as a preacher, a fact which may also be inferred from the great results he achieved, gives us an interesting view of the state of the church generally during the reformation period. The author claims to have had in view, when he prepared the book, not only the needs of the laity, but also "the good and the advantage of those persons who stand in need of plain and simple instruction. * * * If they have the will, they may glean and learn so much from these sermons that, after teaching themselves during the whole week, they may afterward teach their parishioners on Sunday." As long as the struggle for ecclesiastical reform continued, he was fully occupied with the duties of his clerical office; but when the new doctrine had been established, and when the Copenhagen University had again been opened (in 1537), he resumed his teaching and lectured on the Hebrew language until 1541, when he was made Bishop of Ribe. Here he continued his literary activity and also translated the whole Bible from the original text, a work which has not been published and which with other of his productions is now lost.
Besides the persons already named who strove to promote and establish the Reformation by their writings, there were, of course, many others who were of no small significance to their age, but who sink into comparative insignificance when compared with those great characters. Among their adversaries there was only one prominent individual, Povel Helgesen (Paulus Eliæ). He was born about the year 1480 at Varberg, in the present Swedish province, Halland. His father was a Dane and his mother a Swede. For some time he was a monk in the Carmelite convent of Helsingör, but later in the reign of Christian II he became a lector in the University of Copenhagen. He is known by the nickname "Vendekaabe" (Versipellis, turn-coat), because he at first enthusiastically favored the ecclesiastic reform, but when it came, he assumed an attitude of hostility toward it. He was one of the first to oppose the objectionable sale of indulgences, even anticipating Luther himself, with whom he agreed in many respects. It is also said of him that when Magister Martin Reinhard at the summons of Christian II came from Wittenberg to Copenhagen to preach the new doctrine, he served the latter, who was ignorant of the Danish language, in the capacity of interpreter of his sermons to the people; but there are no conclusive proofs of this. At all events it seemed at one time as if this man, whose learning and eloquence had deservedly given him a wide reputation, and who was regarded as one of the ornaments of the Danish university, would become one of the leading spirits of the Reformation. But it was not long before Helgesen relinquished the cause which he had so ardently supported in the beginning. He declared that Luther in his attack on the Roman church went much further than he could follow him. As the fundamental principles of the Reformation developed, it became manifest that it aimed at nothing less than a complete overthrow of the existing church, and to this Povel Helgesen could not lend his support. He was in favor of a reformation on the basis of the old church by simply removing the abuses which in course of time had crept in, but he was unwilling to give up the fundamental standpoint of the Catholic church. He therefore abandoned that course of progress which he had previously entered upon, and became, generally speaking, an ardent and violent champion of Catholicism, and this in spite of the many abuses which were repulsive to him. Although he deeply sympathized with the Reformation in many respects, still he thought it was essentially a dangerous undertaking on account of its revolutionary character, and that it consequently ought to be arrested as soon as possible. With voice and pen Helgesen endeavored to stem the ever advancing tide, and on the invitation of the Catholic bishops he travelled through the country, seeking with his sermons to bring the people into the right way, but in vain. He simply made himself the object of hatred and scorn, for at this stage of the struggle his course could only be looked upon as an apostacy induced by base motives. Judged by history, however, which is independent of all party-passions, Povel Helgesen stands a highly gifted man, who throughout his whole life acted purely from honest convictions. It may be said of Povel Helgesen that, notwithstanding his great talents, he was not abreast with his times and did not comprehend what his age needed, though his course was clear and logical enough from his standpoint, and he certainly was consistent in the violent warfare in which he engaged in behalf of his principles. In his many published works we find him an equally honest and impartial warrior. The most of them deal with religious controversies, and some of them are addressed personally to some of the reformers. In controversy he was full of fiery passion, and his pen poured forth venom and gall upon his enemies; but his position was one eminently calculated to embitter his feelings, for he fought single-handed against all, opposing Catholics as well as Protestants, as he discovered serious faults in both parties. He by no means ceased to expose those abuses in the Catholic church which at an earlier time had offended him, and he continued to denounce the avarice, pride and immorality of the upper class of the clergy, and the result was that the Catholics looked on him with suspicion, while in the eyes of the Lutherans he was merely a contemptible renegade. In the general opinion of the people he was and remained a "Vendekaabe," and so in spite of the great talents he possessed he achieved but little in the way of stemming the tide of contemporary events.
Paul Helgesen, who also took part in the ecclesiastical controversy that was raging in Sweden,—for instance, by addressing a letter to Gustav Vasa—did not confine his literary activity to religious works, and there is no doubt that the so-called Skiby Chronicle was produced by him. It continued down to 1534, and is the only historical work of importance from that time. On account of its peculiar blending of the objective enumeration of events in the form of annals with a passionately subjective criticism of persons and things, it furnishes an exceedingly interesting mirror in which are reflected the history of the age, and at the same time the different moods of the author contemplating the political and ecclesiastical events.[4]
The influence of the Reformation on the development of poetical literature was not particularly great, though it may have been the cause of an increase in the production of poetry in the Danish tongue. By the leaders of the Reformation and by a few others a number of hymns were written partly on the basis of the psalm literature begun near the close of the Catholic time. A still greater number were translated from German, but in all of them the poetical element is utterly smothered by moral and dogmatic rules and statements. Little or no attention was given to the form. A spirit of exaltation was fashionable among the evangelical people of that time, and whoever happened to be in an exalted state of mind sang as best he could. Whether his hymns pleased the congregation, and whether they were to be preserved and printed, depended on altogether different circumstances than those of a more or less artistic form. It is, indeed, difficult to understand how the greater part of all these hymns were preserved from age to age, for neither in their external form nor in their contents can they be said to differ much from ordinary prose.[5]
Of greater interest are the political poems, particularly the biting satires on the papacy and on Catholicism and its institutions in general. One of the best ones is Hans Tausen's allegorical song on truth and falsehood. It represents how the former is everywhere banished by the latter, and by the monks who are determined to starve truth to death, how it is kept imprisoned until freedom is, after all, at last promised to it. This poem is vastly superior to Tausen's other poetical performances, and when we consider the pithy, pregnant language in which it is written and the fidelity with which the main thought is sustained to the end, it will be found to be without a peer in Denmark's satirical literature of this period. It has evidently been composed in a moment when the religious and ethical enthusiasm turned the warrior into a true poet,—perhaps during some lull following the great storms in which the cause he fought for had suffered the most imminent peril, probably about the year 1533, when by "special grace" he had been sentenced by the bishops to resign forever his office of preacher, and when he had revenged himself by undertaking the defence of one of those same bishops against the infuriated mob that threatened the prelate's life. The prose satire, "Ain klegliche Botschaft dem Bapst zukommen," written in 1528, by the Swiss, Niklas Manuel, one of the most witty and striking polemical works of that age, is with a great deal of humor reproduced in Danish verse, and so exquisitely is it localized for the benefit of the Danish reader that, did we not know the original, we should hardly take it to be a translation or adaptation. There is another work which seems to be of a purely Danish origin: "A dialogue between Peder the smith and Adser the the peasant," a work which raises its voice "against all such errors as have for many years been practiced in the Pope's church." The latter is decidedly one of the best literary productions from the time of the Reformation. There is also a Danish versification of a legend, which, during the Middle Ages, was widely circulated throughout Europe, though it probably originally came from Denmark, about the devil who becomes a servant in a convent, and encourages the monks in their godless conduct, so that each and all of them are at length on the point of being precipitated into hell, until they finally discover whom they have admitted into their midst, are converted and repent. It cannot be definitely ascertained when this poem about "Brother Rus" came to Denmark, but it was probably at the time when people became aware of the excesses perpetrated by the monks; that is to say, about the beginning of the sixteenth century. The Danish adaptation is based on a Low German version, but it has been rendered with great freedom and greatly surpasses its model both in its humor and graphic style. Accordingly it continued to maintain itself as a favorite book of the people long after it had lost its real sting, simply on account of the pleasant and amusing manner in which the legend was treated.[6]
The poetry we have from the reformation period, besides the psalms and satires is of slight importance, when we of course except the linguistic and historical interest which attaches to all old productions. Worthy of special mention is however the translation from the Low German, the animal fable, Reineke Fuchs, by the Copenhagen counsellor, Herman Vejgere. This "elegant and amusing book about the fox" appeared in 1555, and is a very successful adaptation of the original. It long remained a favorite and had to be republished several times.[7]
The allegory of the "Dance of Death," so popular in Europe during the middle ages, also came to Denmark, and from the manner in which the Catholics are represented in it, its introduction there must have occurred after the beginning of the Reformation, but before its complete establishment, in other words about 1530.
The first efforts in Denmark in the field of dramatic composition also belong to the reformation period. All of them belong to the so-called school-comedies, which maintained their position until after the beginning of the eighteenth century, and which during this long epoch constituted the only dramatic productions in Denmark. We therefore think it best to say at once all that we have to say on this topic, though in so doing we go far beyond the limits of this chapter.
The school-comedies derive their names from the fact that they were particularly connected with the schools and partly also with the university. There they were produced, that is to say in most cases translated from Latin or German or adapted from foreign originals. The most of these pieces went by the name of "moralities," by which term the people of this age understood spiritual plays, which were intended by dramatic representation to illustrate some moral principle and to appeal to the feelings of the listener. Then there were mysteries or representations of scenes from sacred history. On the other hand "Fasnachtspiele " (carnival plays), which were so popular in Germany, were seldom seen in Denmark, and only one comedy of this kind has been preserved. Of greater dramatic works, such as were played in other countries for the benefit of the people, there is not the slightest trace in Denmark.
The school-comedies on account of the epic and allegorical element so prominent in them, are essentially different from the later dramatic literature. There is no effort to preserve unity of action, of time, or of place, nor do they concern themselves about any motive for the action. They were partly intended for edification, this applying to representations of Bible stories; partly for instruction, this applying to the moral allegories, which furnished examples to be shunned or imitated; and partly, finally, for the amusement of the spectators. In the last class the low comical element predominated.) So frequently are the didactic and amusing elements united that the designation "amusing and useful comedies," would apply to the majority of them.
The first Danish plays of this kind, of which we have any record, are the three so-called Christian Hansen's Comedies, preserved in a manuscript from 1531. The faithless wife, a burlesque, very amusing carnival drama, is, as it seems, borrowed from the German, though no German original is to be found. It is the only comedy of this kind extant in Denmark. The "Judgment of Paris" is a short, allegorical, mythological "morality," of very slight value, and the "Dorothea comedy" is the translation of a Latin "Saints' play" written by the knight Chilian of Wellerstadt in the beginning of the sixteenth century. The epilogue is, however, original Danish. These works have been attributed to the above named Christian Pedersen, who was at one time rector of the Odinse Latin school; but the proofs are insufficient. All that is certain is that he was the author of the epilogue to the "Saints' play."
A mystery-play from the period of the Reformation is the drama on the national saint, Knud Lavard, "Ludus de sancto Kanuto duce." In spite of its Latin title it is written in Danish verse and is probably an adaptation of the Latin legend in regard to the life of Duke Knud, who played a principal part in the church festivals celebrated in the Catholic time in commemoration of that saint. In this "mystery" less prominence is, however, given to Knud as a saint than to his historical character. This is the only attempt in the old Danish literature at writing a national drama, and it is consequently of very great interest, though it has no important intrinsic merits.
The first author of dramas after the period of the Reformation was Hans Sthen, who in the latter half of the sixteenth century wrote his moral allegorical play, "Kortvending" (the change of fortune), the basis of which is manifestly taken from the above-mentioned allegory, "The Dance of Death." Peder Hegelund (1542-1614), rector in Ribe, wrote a "comicotragedia," called "Susanna," chiefly based on a Latin original. From Hieronymus Ranch (1539-1607), without comparison the most interesting of all these old playwrights, we have the dramas "Kong Salomons Hylding" (the crowning of King Salomon); "Samsons Fængsel" (Salomon's Prison); "Karrig Niding" (Miser and Nithing). Both the first are very remarkable on account of the lyric passages they contain. This is particularly noticeable in "Samsons Fængsel;" it has, not improperly, been styled the first Danish opera. The songs interwoven vary in style and contents, some being moral, others merry, and a few of them are simply exquisite, full of freshness and life and thoroughly popular in style. The author's renowned "Fuglevise" (bird-song), the only poem we know him to have written outside of his plays, is an allegorical comparison between different kinds of men and birds, and it, too, is graphic and humorous. Hieronymus Justesen's best work is, however, of a totally different kind. It is "Karrig Niding," a popular burlesque which long enjoyed great popularity, and which contains many passages marked by a fresh, though somewhat bold, humor, and in which the author's faculty of giving his characters individual traits reaches its climax. Upon the whole this contemporary of Shakespeare was unquestionably a poetic and especially a dramatic talent, who under favorable circumstances would have accomplished important results, and even that which he did produce in the heavy style of the age may still be read with pleasure by all who possess sufficient culture to appreciate an utterly obsolete form of art. He was not a genius who was able to reject the traditional form and create a new one, but he managed to get more from the old materials than any one else had succeeded in producing from them before him, and in certain directions he even added something new. Of other old comedies still extant we shall here only mention the play "De Mundo et Paupere," because there occur in it certain passages that have some resemblance to passages in Holberg.[8]
- ↑ The Count's war (Greven's Feide) is the usual name in Denmark of the war between the adherents of the deposed king, Christian II, under the leadership of Count Christopher of Oldenburg, and the party of Duke Frederik of Holstein, afterwards King Frederik I.
- ↑ Christian Pedersen, danske Skrifter, udgivne af Brandt og Fenger I-V, Copenhagen, 1850-56.
- ↑ Peder Plade's Visitatsbog udgiven af Svend Grundtvig, Copenhagen, 1872.
- ↑ Povel Eliesens danske Skrifter udgivne af C. E. Secher, I, Copenhagen, 1855. Chronicon Skibyense in Scriptores rerum Danicarum, II.
- ↑ Psalmeböger fra Reformationstiden udgivne af Chr. Brunn, Copenhagen, 1865-66. Den danske Psalmedigtning af Brandt og Helvig, I-II, Copenhagen, 1846-47. The latter is the chief work on the songs of Denmark.
- ↑ Viser fra Reformationstiden udigvne af Chr. Bruun, Copenhagen, 1864. Peder Smed og Adser Bonde may be found in J. F. Fenger's "Kirkehistoriske Samlinger, II, Copenhagen, 1853-56. "Broder Rus" was edited by Chr. Bruun, in Copenhagen, 1868.
- ↑ Herman Vejgere. En Ræfuebog, Copenhagen, 1555, and many times since.
- ↑ De tre ældste danske Skuespil, Copenhagen, 1874; Ludus de sancto Kanuto duce, Copenhagen, 1868; "Kortvending" in Danske Samlinger, I, Copenhagen, 1866, and Hieronymus Justesen Ranchs danske Skuespil og Fuglevise, Copenhahagen, 1876-1877, are all edited and annotated by S. Birket Smith. Hegelund's "Susanna," Copenhagen, 1578.