Björnson

Björnson, BJÖRNSTJERNE, a celebrated Norwegian writer, was born 8th December 1832, at Kvikne, in Østerdalen, where his father was pastor. After studying at the university of Christiania from 1852, and then for a year at Copenhagen, he returned to Norway in 1857, and published his beautiful tale Synnöve Solbakken, which at once attracted universal attention, and is still regarded as having marked an epoch in the recent literature of Norway. Immediately afterwards he was appointed manager of the Bergen Theatre by its proprietor Ole Bull, and in 1858 he published the tale Arne and the drama Halte-Hulda. In 1859 he left Bergen to be editor of the newspaper Aftenbladet at Christiania, but his stay there was cut short by the violent controversies in which he soon became involved; and in consequence he withdrew the next year to Copenhagen, where he collected a number of his shorter tales, and brought them out, together with the drama Mellem Slagene, under the title of Smaastykket. From 1860 to 1862 he lived in Rome, where he wrote several lyrical poems, the drama Kong Sverre (1861), and the trilogy Sigurd Slembe (1862); and on his return to Norway in 1863 the Storting awarded him a yearly pension. In the next two years he produced two plays, Marie Stuart in Scotland and De Nygifte, for the theatre at Christiania, of which he was director from 1865 to 1867, at the same time editing the Norsk Folkeblad; but, resigning these appointments in 1867, he again lived abroad from 1872 to 1876, when he returned to Norway, and settled for some years in the country near Lillehammer. Björnson held the highest place in popular favour as a political orator, and took an active part in the movement which led to the victory of parliamentary government in Norway. Though he lived in Paris in 1883-88, he still made his influence felt in Norwegian politics as a leader of the 'Peasants' Party.' Björnson has also written the tales En Glad Gut (1860), Jernbanen og Kirkegaarden (1866), Fiskerjenten (1868), Brudeslaatten (1872), Magnhild (1877), Kaptejn Mansana (1879), and Det flager i Byen og paa Havnen (1884); the plays Sigurd Jorsalfar (1872), En Fallit and Redaktören (1875), Kongen (1877), Leonarda and Det ny System (1879), En Hanske and Over Ævne (1882); a volume of Digte og Sange (new ed. 1880); and numerous pamphlets on political and religious questions of the day. A number of his tales have been translated into English and German, and several of his plays have secured a footing on the German stage. Both as a poet and a novelist Björnson stands in the first rank among living Scandinavian writers. Some of his songs are among the chief favourites of his countrymen; and his tales, which have been compared to the old sagas for their terse and vigorous diction, are strikingly vivid pictures of Norwegian peasant-life. See Brandes, Björnson og Ibsen (Copenhagen, 1882).