Norway

E

Social Structure

A striking feature of Norwegian society is a strong egalitarian outlook and the absence of conspicuous social divisions. Great wealth is not obvious. There is little poverty and few slums or luxury homes. Apart from forested areas, there are few large private landholdings in Norway. Farming, forestry, and fishing are typically small-scale, seasonal, family activities. Norway’s living standards are among the highest in Europe.

Norwegians’ sense of equality stems from the fact that feudalism was never thoroughly established in the country. For centuries Norway was administered by a small class of civil servants whose rule was neither tyrannical nor arbitrary. In the 20th century, Norwegians began to use the economic power of the state as a leveling force, and a steeply graduated tax on income helps fund the nation’s generous social services. Another leveling influence is the strict control of housing, most of which is financed by a state housing bank and constructed by cooperative housing associations.

Egalitarianism has a counterpart in respect for, and compliance with, the law. Norwegian legal institutions date to the early Middle Ages, when regional assemblies of freemen pronounced judgments even against their kings. Norway’s modern criminal code is humane, and there are comparatively few police. The equality of women in Norway is protected by law and by custom. Women are well represented in professions such as law, teaching, medicine, and the ministry. Most women with families work outside the home, in part because of the prevalence of state-run child-care centers.

F

Way of Life

The unity of the family has been a core Norwegian trait since Viking times. In rural areas the family remains the most important social unit. Ownership of an ancestral farm is protected by the odelsrett, a practice that gives a family the right to repurchase farmland even if it has recently been sold. Family members will make long journeys to attend weddings, christenings, confirmations, and burials. This closeness is frequently carried over into urban life.

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Outdoor recreation plays a large role in national life. Norwegians prize solitude and self-reliance, and many people choose to walk or ski or camp alone. Swimming, sailing, fishing, and hunting are other activities that have special appeal for Norwegians. Association football (soccer) is widely played and attracts large audiences, as do the international ski-jumping competitions at Holmenkollen near Oslo. In the Winter Olympic Games, which Norway has hosted twice (Oslo, 1952; Lillehammer, 1994), Norwegians have earned more medals than any other country.

Norwegian workers are entitled by law to four weeks of paid annual holiday, and they are allowed to take three of those weeks during the summer months. In addition, eight church holidays are observed and widely used for recreation, along with the two national holidays—Labor Day (May 1) and Constitution Day (May 17). When summer comes, a favorite—and economical—form of holiday is found in retreating to the hytte, a simple summer home in the mountains or by the sea.

G

Culture

Norway retains a rich folk culture that has roots in the Viking age (see Viking Art). During the 19th century a renaissance of Norwegian culture occurred that was strongly influenced by nationalism and romanticism. This renaissance drew on many stylistic and thematic elements in western European culture as well as aspects unique to the Norwegian experience, including the struggle for an independent identity and a deep fascination with nature. Today, the Norwegian government plays an active role in cultural preservation through its large collections of folk art and music, and through state subsidies that provide grants to artists, fund exhibitions and other cultural projects, and permit outright purchases of works of art. State-supported schools teach traditional folk arts such as woodcarving, ornamental painting, and tapestry.

Norway has produced some of the world’s most famous explorers. The fearless Vikings preceded pioneers such as Fridtjof Nansen, who in 1888 was the first person to cross Greenland, and Roald Amundsen, who was the first to navigate the Northwest Passage and, in 1911, to reach the South Pole. In 1947 Thor Heyerdahl set out to prove his theory that people from South America had settled the islands of the South Pacific Ocean. He drifted 6,920 km (4,300 mi) from Peru to Polynesia on a balsa raft called the Kon-Tiki.

G

1

Literature

Norwegian literature goes back more than 1,000 years. Poems and sagas (medieval Icelandic prose narratives) produced from the 9th through the 13th centuries recorded the lives and experiences of the Norwegian Vikings. The oldest Norwegian literature took the form of poetry and includes eddic poetry (Poetic Edda), based on legends and mythological figures, and skaldic poetry, produced mainly by Norwegian court poets known as skalds. These poems, which offer valuable information about Norse mythology and history, were transmitted orally and first written down in the 13th century (See also Icelandic Literature). Norwegian literary and cultural traditions waned following the union with Denmark at the close of the 14th century and the growth of Danish influence.

A revival in Norwegian literature occurred after Danish rule ended in the early 19th century, as part of a nationalist movement to reassert an independent cultural identity. Nineteenth-century Norwegian writers to achieve international prominence include playwright Henrik Ibsen; novelists Jonas Lie and Alexander Kielland; and Nobel Prize winning authors Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Knut Hamsun, and Sigrid Undset. Important writers of the 20th century include poets Tarjei Vesaas and Stein Mehren and novelists Sigurd Hoel, Johan Falkberget, and Dag Solstad.

G

2

Performing and Visual Arts

The 19th-century renaissance of Norwegian culture brought with it a great flowering across the arts. Early expressions of a truly Norwegian style were produced in music by the composer Edvard Grieg and on canvas by the painter Johan Christian Dahl. Grieg achieved international renown for composing a memorable suite to Peer Gynt, Henrik Ibsen’s famous verse drama.

Other important Norwegian artists of the 19th and 20th centuries include composers Christian Sinding and Arne Nordheim; painters Adolph Tidemand and Edvard Munch, who introduced expressionism to Norway; and sculptor Gustav Vigeland, whose sculpture park in Oslo has gained international attention.

Norway has a small government-subsidized film industry that produces several feature films and dozens of documentaries or short films annually. A film festival is held annually in Haugesund.

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