- Norske Folkeeventyr
"Norske Folkeeventyr" ("Norwegian Folktales") is a collection of Norwegian folktales and legends by
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen andJørgen Moe . It is also known as Asbjørnsen and Moe, after the collectors.Asbjørnsen, a teacher, and Moe, a minister, had been friends since the age of 13 or 14 by the time they published the folktales – the collection of which had been an interest of both for many years. The work must be seen in connection with Norway’s new-won independence, and the wave of nationalism that swept the country in the 19th century. The authors considered the stories remains from
Old Norse mythology, and the period of Norwegian greatness before the union withDenmark .Norwegian
orthography at the time was very similar to Danish. The language was therefore poorly suited for retelling fairy tales, which stemmed from a uniquely Norwegian tradition, and had its sources in local dialects that were even more distinctive than they are today. Asbjørnsen and Moe solved the problem by applying the principles of theBrothers Grimm : using a simple linguistic style in place of dialects, while maintaining the original form of the stories. At the same time the language in the tales also contained many words from Norwegian dialect, and helped create an autonomous Norwegian written language, distinct from Danish.The fairy tales of Asbjørnsen and Moe were first released in small pamphlets. Later they were re-published in one collection in 1845 and another in 1848. In 1870 the collection known today was published, and the original language has been retained in since then. Later editions of the work were famously illustrated by the Norwegian artists
Erik Werenskiold ,Theodor Kittelsen ,Otto Sinding and others.Fairy tales
External links
* [http://runeberg.org/folkeven/ Norske Folkeeventyr in Norwegian]
* [http://far.no/ Norske Folkeeventyr audio books in Norwegian]
* [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/asbjornsen_moe.html English translation of Norske Folkeeventyr: Popular Tales From the Norse translated by George Webbe Dasent, Third Edition, 1888]
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