Buekorps (; literally "Bow Corps" or "Archery Brigade") are traditional marching neighbourhood

youth organization The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for Minor (law), minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted othe ...

s in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The tradition is unique to

. The organizations, which are called ''bataljoner'' (battalions), were first formally organized in the 1850s and are run entirely by the youths themselves. Fourteen different such battalions are active in Bergen, each belonging to a certain part of town. In the past brigades were also formed in other Norwegian cities, but these were mostly defunct by the early 20th century. Though the structure and ceremony of the Buekorps has military roots, the brigades are active in various other ways, ranging from physical activity and play to charitable work. Members range in age from about 7 to over 20, and adult veterans play a role in supporting the organizations and during certain events. The groups consist of privates (usually carrying wooden rifles or crossbows), officers (older children with more seniority) and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

s. The buekorps have their official season from March through the summer, but are most active during spring, with Norwegian Constitution Day on May 17 as the high point of the season. On that day they are a prominent and popular part of the parade through the streets of Bergen. In addition, the buekorps have their own celebratory days. One of these is the day they celebrate the founding date of their battalion. Every fourth year is ''Buekorpsenes Dag'' (The Buekorps Day), a series of competitions and pageantry.

Background

The tradition dates back at least to the 19th century when children would imitate the adult militia soldiers performing close order drill. Even from back to the days of

Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Denmark–Norway, Dano–Norwegian dual monarchy. He was infl ...

it is told of boys playing and marching on the streets of

. The city

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

fascinated boys in the 18th and 19th century. They would build their own "fortresses" where they would play and engage in "warfare" against other boy-

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

s. Consul August Konow tells from his lifetime that at the end of the 18th century there existed boy-gangs and companies who marched around and engaged in "warfare" with each other. These gangs were called "Nordnæs Kompani" and "Nykirkealmeningens Kompani" and were direct copies of the town militia. Governor Fredrik Hauch also tells from the same time about boy-gangs who were copying the town militia. Names like "fjeldeguttene" ("the Fjeldet-boys"), "markeguttene" ("the Marken-boys") and "dræggaguttene" ("the Dræggen-boys") were known at the end of the 18th century. Johan Sebastian Welhaven with his poem 'børnelege' (children's games) from 1839 gives a picture of his childhood-years in 1814:
''"Vi stilledes os siden i lange Rader, marsjerende tappert i byens gader ;vi plyndrede Søstrenes Dukkeskrin og gjorde Mundurer av silke og lin. I krigsraadet taltes med megen vekt om fienden stilling og skjulte planer, paa chefens kommando, vi stormede kjækt med skillingstrompeter, karduspapirfaner".'' ''("We organized ourselves in long rows, marched bravely the streets of the city; we plundered our sisters' doll-boxes and made coats out of

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

and

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

. In the council of war we gravely discussed the enemy's position and secret plans, and on the command of the chief we charged with shilling trumpets and paper banners".)'' Nils Hertzberg says of the 1830s: there were organized boy-gangs in the different neighbourhoods which under changing alliances gave each other full-blown

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

s: the Nordnæs-, Drægge-, Nøste- and Skive-Boys. They employed guards and scouts who made strategic moves to surprise the enemy. In the 1850s these boy-gangs still rampaged, but the violence and hostility had to come to an end. Who it was that finally ended these hostilities and turned them into the current peaceful pursuits of the ''buekorps'' is uncertain.

History

Traditionally an activity exclusively for boys, the first girl buekorps was formed in 1991. This stirred some controversy in Bergen, but the girl and mixed gender battalions are now accepted by most people. The buekorps tradition, even with many battalions experiencing trouble in keeping up the recruiting of new members, continues to be a popular and proud feature of Bergen, excepting the odd complaint about noise.

Lørdagskorps and Søndagskorps

''Lørdagskorps'' ("Saturday-brigades") and ''Søndagskorps'' ("Sunday-brigades") are historically the two main types of buekorps. These terms originate from the day the brigades marched on. Saturday-brigades were composed of the sons of those who could afford to take a day off on Saturday to march. The three surviving Saturday-brigades are ''Nordnæs Bataillon'', ''Nygaards Bataljon'' and ''Dræggens Buekorps''. Sunday-brigades were the ones from

working-class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

neighbourhoods where the children had to work on Saturdays, and thus could not march on any other day. Most of the brigades were Sunday-brigades. Some of these brigades came from such poor families that they could not afford real uniforms, wearing instead ornate shirts. Today, ''Laksevågs Bueskyttere'' and '' Løvstakkens Jægerkorps'' still march in these shirts.

The current brigades

* Dræggens Buekorps (24 March 1856), – ''Dræggens Archery Company'', boys brigad

* Eidsvaags Kompani (28 April 2008) "Eidsvaags Værve Kompani", Boys brigade. * Fjeldets Bataljon (22 May 1857), ''Fjeldets Battalion'', boys brigade * Laksevågs Bueskyttere (8 May 1894), ''Laksevåg's Archerers'', boys brigad

* Lungegaardens Buekorps (7 October 1994), ''Lungegaarden's Archery Company'', girls brigad

* Løvstakkens Jægerkorps (11 May 1903-18, 30 April 1928-64, 11 May 1999-), ''Løvstakken's Jeger Company'', mixed brigade

* Markens Bataljon (4 June 1859), ''Marken's Battalion'', boys brigad

* Mathismarkens Bataljon (15 June 1887), ''Mathismarken's Battalion'', boys brigade * Nordnæs Bataillon (3 May 1858), ''Nordnæs' Battalion'', boys brigad

* Nygaards Bataljon (14 June 1857), ''Nygaard's Battalion'', boys brigad

* Sandvikens Bataljon (17 May 1857), ''Sandviken's Battalion'', boys brigad

* Skansens Bataljon (22 May 1860), ''Skansen's Battalion'', boys brigad

* Skutevikens Buekorps (8 July 1853), ''Skuteviken's Archery Company'', boys brigad

* Sydnæs Bataljon (7 June 1863), ''Sydnæs' Battalion'', boys brigad

* Wesselengens Bataljon (24 April 1873), ''Wesselengen's Battalion'', boys brigad

Former brigades in Bergen

Since the 1850s there may have existed more than 200 different brigades overall. Dates of foundation and discontinuation are often unknown. Known brigades are listed here:BuekorpsMuseum - Buekorps med registrerte gjenstander
/ref>Buekorpsene i Bergen: i tekst og bilder gjennom hundre år, Torstein Sletten, ED.B. GIERTSENS FORLAG, 1972, * Allegatens Bataljon * Asylplass Bataljon * Baglergatens Kompani (1911-18?) * Baneveiens Bataljon * Bingen Hellebardkorps * Bingen Jegerkorps * Blauengens Kompani * Blekebakkens Kompani * Bispengens Kompani * Bjørgvin Compagni (1869) * Bjørgvins Kompani (1932-36) * Boligens Kordekorps (Ladegårdskorpset) (?-1895) * Boligens Kårdekorps (Henrik Wergelands korpset) (?-1888) * Borgerskolens (Buekorps?) * Breistølsveiens Kompani (1889-1925?) * Bødkergadens Kompagni * Bønes Batalion * Christinegaard Bataljon (1938-40) * Damsgårds Batalion * Det raske Fjellkorps (1876-79) * Dokkens Kompagni * Dragefjellskorpset (1881-?) * Eidemarkens (Buekorps?) * Ekrenbakkens Kompani * Elvegatens Kompagni * Engens Buekorps * Fastings Buekorps (?-1860s?) * Fjeldets Kompani (1895-?) * Fjellborgs Kompani (1924-29) * Fjøsanger Kompani (1950-60s?) * Fredrikbergsgatens Kompani * Fridalens Kompani (1950s?) * Fæstningens Buekorps (?-1862) * Granbakken Jægerkorps * Granesmugets Kompani (1913-39?) * Grønnevoldgatens Kompagni * Grønnevolds Kompagni * Gyldenpris Kompani * Gørbitzgatens Kompani * Hans Haugesgate Kompani (1920-33) * Haugens Bataljon * Haugens Buekorps * Haugesmugets Kompani * Haugeveiens Kompani * Heiens Kompani * Holmens Kompani * Hop Bataljon (1918-22) * Høggeblokkens Kompani (1912-20?) * Isdalens Kårdekorps * Jektevikens Kompani * Kalmarhavens Compagni * Kippersmauets Bataljon (1930-33) * Kirkegatens Jægerkorps (1920-47) * Kleivens Buekorps (1850s?-?) * Klokkerhagens Kompani * Korskirkealmeningens Kompani (1904?-13) * Krohnengens Bataljon * Krohnvikens Bataljon (1852–1916) * Kronstad Bataljon (1922-63) * Ladegaardens Bataljon (21 April 1880-85, 1889–1921, 1924-70) * Ladegårdens Compagni (1891-1917?) * Laksevåg Bataljon (1872–1940) * Langeveiens Kompani (1920-26) * Langhauens Kompani * Legdenes Kompani (1 April 1956-61) * Lille Markens Kompagni * Lille Dræggens Buekorps * Løvstakkveien Kompani * Markeveiens Compagni * Markeveiens Jægerkorps (1880s) * Martin Vahlsgates Kompani (1901-28) * Meyermarkens Kompani (1905-20) * Minde Bataljon (1950s?) * Mulelvens Bataljon * Mulens Bataljon (14 June 1898-1903, 1911-17, 1920-57, 1980-84) * Muralmendingens Companie (1880s) * Møhlenpris Kompani (1895–1912, ?-1923) * Natland Bataljon (1959-63) * Nedre Stølens Kompani (1898-1904?) * Nessets Bataljon * Nordnes Lekeplads Kompani (1918-28) * Nordre Møhlenpris Kompani * Nordre Skutevikens Kompani (1928-39) * Nordre Skuteviksveiens Kompani (1928-39) * Nye Sandviksvei Kompani * Nykirkealmeningens Kompani (1875?-1916) * Nymarks Kompani * Nøstets Batalion (7 May 1870-1961) * Nøstets Kårdekorps (bef. 1855-70) * Olav Rustiesgates Kompani (1972-80) * Paaschemarkens Bataljon * Paradis Bataljon * Parkens Compagni * Persenbakkens Kompani (1928-32) * Planens Kompani (1956-65, 1974-82) * Rennebanens Kompani (1920-25?) * Repslagersgatens Jægerkompani (1918-38) * Rosenbergsgatens Bataljon * Rothaugens Kompani (1932-34, 1988-90?) * Sandviksveiens Buekorps * Scjadenbergshavens Kompani (1910-30) * Skanseliens Kompani (1932-57?) * Skivens Kårdekorps * Skytterbanens bataljon * Slettens Bataljon (1959-65?) * Slottsgatens Kompani * Smaa-Skansens Bataljon * Smørsalmendingens Companie (1880s) * Solheims Bataljon (1927-30s, 1946-50s) * Storemøllens Compani * Strandveiens Bataillon * Strandgatens Jægerkorps * Strangehagens Kompani * Stupets Bataljon (1952-56) * Stølens Kompani (1860-65?, 1947-48) * Svanevikens Kompani * Sverresborg Jegerkorps (1902-12) * Sverresgatens Jægerkorps * Sydnæskleivens Kårdekorps * Tamburengens Jægerkorps (1904-10?) * Teatergatens (Kompani?) * Toldbodalmendingens Compagni * Trangesmauets Kompani (1875?-1932) * Tverrgatens Kompani (1918-31, 1955-57) * Utsiktens Kompani (1974-75) * Vardens Kompagni (1965-75) * Vaskerelvssmugets Compagnie * Verftets Kompani (1871-73, 18 March 1894-1961) * Verftets Kompani II (1874-?) * Verftets Kårdekorps (1873-74) * Victor Müllers (Buekorps?) * Vognstølbakken Bataljon * Vågens Bataljon (1 June 1991-27 April 2008) * Ytre Sandvikens Bataljon * Øvregadens Buekorps (1875-1912?)

Former brigades in other cities

In the past there have also existed buekorps in other cities. However, they were mostly defunct by the early 20th century. It is somewhat uncertain to what degree all of these were to the original tradition of buekorps. They did anyway start after inspiration of the buekorps of Bergen. Known ones are listed here:

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

* Arendals Yngre Guttekompani Bodø * Bodø Guttekorps

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

* Bragerøens Buekorps * Guttekorpset Birkebeineren * St. Olafklevens Buekorps

Flekkefjord Flekkefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Lister Region, Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the ...

* 1:ste Buekorps Flekkefjord * Fjeldgatens Guttekorps * Flekkefjord Buekorps

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

* Fredrikstad Buekorps

Gjøvik Gjøvik () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Gjøvik (town), town of Gjøvik. Some of the villages in Gjøvik include Biri, Norway, Biri, Bybrua, ...

* Gjøvik Guttekorps

Grimstad Grimstad () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the Grimstad (to ...

* Grimstad Guttekorps

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

* Hamar Guttegarde

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

* Grønhaugens Turnforening (buekorps) * Haraldsgadens Buekorps * Hasseløens Buekorps * Haugesunds Buekorps * Haugesunds Garde * Risøens Buekorps Hemnesberget * Hemnes Guttekorps

Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal counties of Norway, county. The admin ...

* Storgatens Guttekorps Levanger * Levanger Buekorps

Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

* Molde Guttekorps

Nordfjordeid Nordfjordeid is the administrative centre of the municipality of Stad, Norway, Stad in Vestland county, western Norway. It is located at the end of the Eidsfjorden, an arm of the main Nordfjorden (Sogn og Fjordane), Nordfjorden, west of the large ...

* Eids Guttegarde * Eids Guttekorps

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

* Christiania Garde * Løven (1868-?) * Urania Garde (?-1905)

Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest municipality in Norway, and together the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sand ...

* Sandnes Buekorps Sandnessjøen * Sandnessjøen Guttekorps

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

* Kongsgaard Buekorps * Nylunds Buekorps * Stavanger Buekorps * Svithuns Buekorps Steinkjer * Nordsiden Buekorps * Stenkjær Guttekorps Tingvoll * Tingvolds Guttekorps

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

* Tromsø Guttekorps Vardø * Løvepatruljen

Volden Volden is a Norwegian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Brit Volden (born 1960), Norwegian orienteer *Lars Volden (born 1992), Norwegian ice hockey player See also

*Volden Group, Norwegian seafood company *Volden, Aarhus, a st ...

* Voldens Guttekorps

Ålesund Ålesund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality. The centre of the town of Ålesund lies on the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, Ålesund, Asp� ...

* Rød Garden Tiger * Viking Garden * Aalesunds Garde

References

1 - 12 Individual web pages for the brigades

External links

{{commons category, Bergen Buekorps
Buekorpsene.com
Youth organisations based in Norway