Ludvig Holberg, The Founder of Norwegian Literature and an Oxford Student

A scholarly lecture traces the life and intellectual formation of a prominent Scandinavian writer, recounting his childhood in Bergen, an early military appointment, and formative years at a rural vicarage where access to English and French books and observation of peasant life influenced his tastes. It describes his opposition to pedantic classical schooling, his rise to literary and philosophical prominence as a dramatist, historian, and moralist, and emphasizes the role of English culture and an Oxford sojourn in shaping his contributions to modern Danish and Norwegian letters.