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

Humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

, the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

and the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

. Holberg is considered the founder of modern Danish and

Norwegian literature Norwegian literature is literature composed in Norway or by Norwegian people. The history of Norwegian literature starts with the pagan Eddaic poems and skaldic verse of the 9th and 10th centuries with poets such as Bragi Boddason and Eyvindr ...

. He was also a prominent

Neo-Latin Neo-LatinSidwell, Keith ''Classical Latin-Medieval Latin-Neo Latin'' in ; others, throughout. (also known as New Latin and Modern Latin) is the style of written Latin used in original literary, scholarly, and scientific works, first in Italy d ...

author, known across Europe for his writing. He is best known for the comedies he wrote in 1722–1723 for the

Lille Grønnegade Theatre Lille Grønnegade Theatre was a Danish theatre which was active from 1722 to 1728. It was the first public theatre in Copenhagen in Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most pop ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. Holberg's works about natural and common law were widely read by many Danish law students over two hundred years, from 1736 to 1936.

Studies and teaching

Holberg was the youngest of six brothers. His father, Christian Nielsen Holberg, died before Ludvig was one year old. He was educated in

, and was a teacher at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

for many years. At the same time, he started his successful career as an author, writing the first of a series of comedies. He began to study theology at the University of Copenhagen and later taught himself law, history and language. He was not particularly interested in theology as a career, settling for an ''attestats'' (similar to a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

today), which gave him the right to work as a priest; he did not attempt a

baccalaureus A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years (de ...

, magister or

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in the subject, nor did he follow a career as a theology professor, priest, or bishop. In Holberg's youth, it was common to study theology and specialize according to one's degree, for example in Greek, Latin, philosophy or history. For the purpose of becoming a lawyer, it was normal to study abroad. In 1736 the Danish Lawyer degree was established at the University of Copenhagen, a degree which continued to be granted for 200 years, and for which Holberg's writings remained common reading material throughout this time. Holberg was formally appointed assistant professor after having first worked as one without pay. He had to accept the first available position, which was teaching

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

. Later, he became a professor and taught

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. Finally, he was given a professorship in the subject which he prized most and was most productive in, history. Holberg was well-educated and well-traveled. In his adolescence, he visited large cities in countries such as the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and France, and lived for a short period of time in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

; and for a longer period of time in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, England (1706–1708), which was rare during that time as intellectual life was centered in continental Europe. He was not formally admitted to

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, but spent his time there using the libraries and participating in Latin discussions with the English students.

Writings

Holberg's travels were a main inspiration in his later writings these experiences matured him both artistically and morally. Holberg let himself be inspired by old Latin comedies and newer French comedies he had seen in Paris, and street theaters in Rome. His writings can be divided into three periods, during which he produced mainly history, 1711–1718; mainly satirical poetry and stage comedies, 1719–1731; and mainly philosophy, 1731–1750. His rich output of comedies during the middle period was shaped by his role as house dramatist at Denmark's first public theater, opened in Copenhagen in 1721. These comedies are the works on which his fame rests today, and they were an immediate and immense success. However the poverty caused by the

Copenhagen Fire of 1728 The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest fire in the history of Copenhagen, Denmark. It began on the evening of 20 October 1728 and continued to burn until the morning of the 23rd of October 1728. It destroyed approximately 28% of the city (me ...

, brought a wave of depression and puritanism upon the nation, which clashed with Holberg's satirical works, and as a consequence in 1731 he gave up his comedies and switched to philosophical and historical writings. Holberg's only novel, the

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

science-fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

Niels Klim's Underground Travels ''Niels Klim's Underground Travels'', originally published in Latin as ''Nicolai Klimii Iter Subterraneum'' (1741), is a satirical science-fiction/fantasy novel written by the Norwegian- Danish author Ludvig Holberg. His only novel, it describ ...

'' was originally published in Latin in 1741 as ''Nicolai Klimii Iter Subterraneum''.

Ideology

In Paris, Holberg met the Danish-born French scientist Jacob Winsløw, who was

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Winsløw tried to convert Holberg, without success. Holberg enjoyed the debate, but it started a rumor in Copenhagen that Holberg had converted to Catholicism as Winsløw had, and as a consequence he felt it necessary to deny this to the Danish public, giving voice to anti-Catholic views on several occasions. Holberg believed in people's inner divine light of reason, and to him it was important that the first goal of education was to teach students to use their senses and intellect, instead of uselessly memorising school books. This was a new, modern understanding of the question of religion, and it shows he was a man of the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

. Holberg was interested in intellect because he felt that this is what binds society together. He also wondered why there was so much evil in the world, especially when one could let reason lead the way. One could say that he distanced himself from a religious explanation of evil towards a rational/

empirical Empirical evidence is evidence obtained through sense experience or experimental procedure. It is of central importance to the sciences and plays a role in various other fields, like epistemology and law. There is no general agreement on how t ...

train of thought The train of thought or track of thought refers to the interconnection in the sequence of ideas expressed during a connected discourse or thought, as well as the sequence itself, especially in discussion how this sequence leads from one idea to ...

, and this is important because of his status as an author; both in his time and ours. Holberg was open to biblical criticism, and his religious representation was, for the most part,

deism Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin term '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...

. He was critical of the notion of

original sin Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image ...

, instead subscribing to the notion of man's free will. Holberg's declared intentions with his authorship were to enlighten people to better society. This also fits in with the picture of Holberg as of the age of enlightenment. It is worth noting that Holberg enjoyed larger cities with deep culture – small cities and nature did not interest him. Like many scholars of his time, Holberg also influenced science. Holberg's concept for science was that it should be inductive (through experience built on observations) and practical to use. One example is his ''Betænkning over den nu regierende Qvæg-Syge'' (''Memorandum on the prevalent cattle disease'') (1745) where he reasons that the disease is caused by

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic scale, microscopic size, which may exist in its unicellular organism, single-celled form or as a Colony (biology)#Microbial colonies, colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen ...

Finances

In youth

Holberg had to live a modest life in his youth and early adulthood. He earned a living as a tutor and as a travel companion for noblemen and tried to work as a private sports coach at the university. He received further support from a grant to travel to other universities in other countries, namely Protestant universities, but it was a condition he did not respect since he searched out those places where the discussion were the loudest and the experiences were the largest. During his stay in England, Holberg set his eyes on academic authoring and on his return, he started writing about history. Later, he wrote also about natural and international law, possibly at the prompting of an older professor who likened him to natural and international law authors such as

Hugo Grotius Hugo Grotius ( ; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Hugo de Groot () or Huig de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, statesman, poet and playwright. A teenage prodigy, he was born in Delft an ...

and

Samuel Pufendorf Samuel von Pufendorf (; ; 8 January 1632 – 26 October 1694) was a German people, German jurist, political philosopher, economist and historian. He was born Samuel Pufendorf and Nobility, ennobled in 1694; he was made a baron by Charles XI of ...

. To make the most possible profit, Holberg published his own works and sold them as papers under a subscription to interested people, either bound or in looseleaf sheets. Holberg also tried, with some success, a publisher in Norway. There, his book about natural and international law was printed in several editions but did not garner him financial gains.

Investments

Holberg lived modestly and was able to invest a large part of the profits from the sale of his books on the side and lend them out or invest them in more active ventures. Several times in his writings he criticized townspeople and nobles who used their resources in unproductive ways to be carried round in chairs, to live in lavish houses and waste money on luxury. He ate reasonably and did not use his money on being driven around. He said that his travelling on foot, and continued walking, was the reason he could keep his

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, which had plagued him in the south, under control. When he came to the conclusion he could put his money in better ventures than trading, he started investing in real estate. His first large property purchase, Brorupgaard close to

Havrebjerg Havrebjerg is a village on Zealand (Denmark), Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Slagelse Municipality. History Maren Sørensen, considered to be the first female Danish priest, was ordained by Havrebjerg by the independent Grundtvigian priest Nie ...

, happened in stages; first he lent money to the owner at that time, and later took over the farm himself. Some years later, Holberg also purchased Tersløsegard by Dianalund, the only one of his properties which is preserved because the others in Bergen, Copenhagen and Havrebjerg have been either burned down or torn down. ;Sorø Academy and Holberg's will; Holberg was both unmarried and childless, but in the end of his life had a small fortune. He was interested in leaving a legacy and left his estate to

Sorø Academy Sorø Academy ( Danish: ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated by ...

, which was a royal riding academy, with the goal of creating an institution at a university level for young men coming from nobility. Holberg supported the idea of the academy, worked out suggestions to which academic direction it would take and was asked by the king's superintendent to refer some professors for the school. The influential Enlightenment writer

Jens Schielderup Sneedorff Jens Schielderup Sneedorff (22 August 1724 – 5 June 1764) was a Danish author, professor of political science and royal teacher and a central figure in Denmark in the Age of Enlightenment. Biography Sneedorff was born in Sorø, the son of th ...

was appointed professor at Sorø Academy at Holbergs request. The agreement with the king included that Holberg would be free of taxes from any income from the farms he owned, because the amount donated to the school should be larger than the amount he would pay in taxes. At the same time, he earned the title of ''

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

of Holberg''. Holberg's casket, a work of

Johannes Wiedewelt Johannes Wiedewelt (1 July 1731 – 17 December 1802), Danish neoclassical sculptor. He became a court sculptor, introducing neoclassical ideals to Denmark in the form of palace decorations, garden sculptures and artifacts and, especially, m ...

, can be seen in Sorø Monastery Church.

Examples of Holberg's financial management

It can be seen from Holberg's correspondence that he was very conservative with money where he thought it would not be of any use; for example, he was against raising the wage of the pedagogues of Havrebjerg. Holberg commented several times that he was willing to use money if it were put to good use, for example, he would use money on medication and supplies for his farm hands if they suffered from injury or illness. When academia had large economic difficulties, because funding was very limited, Holberg agreed to help fund the academy (at Sorø Academy) while he was alive.

Tributes

Norwegian

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

composed the ''

Holberg Suite The ''Holberg Suite'', Op. 40, more properly ''From Holberg's Time'' (Norwegian: ''Fra Holbergs tid''), subtitled "Suite in olden style" (), is a suite of five movements based on eighteenth-century dance forms, written by Edvard Grieg in 1884 ...

'' (opus 40) to honor Holberg. The suite is in the style of country dances from Holberg's time. In 1911

Johan Halvorsen Johan Halvorsen (15 March 1864 – 4 December 1935) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Life Born in Drammen, he was an accomplished violinist from a very early age and became a prominent figure in Norwegian musical life. He r ...

composed incidental music for a production of Holberg's ''Barselstuen'' (The Lying-in Room) in

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 ...

. Halvorsen later arranged the music into his ''Suite Ancienne'' op. 31, which he dedicated to the memory of Holberg. The Norwegian

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

awards the Holberg International Memorial Prize. The 4.5 million kroner (ca. €520,000) endowed prize was awarded to

Julia Kristeva Julia Kristeva (; ; born Yuliya Stoyanova Krasteva, ; on 24 June 1941) is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, literary critic, semiotician, psychoanalyst, feminist, and novelist who has lived in France since the mid-1960s. She has taught at Colum ...

in 2004, to

Jürgen Habermas Jürgen Habermas ( , ; ; born 18 June 1929) is a German philosopher and social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere. Associated with the Frankfurt S ...

in 2005, and to Shmuel Eisenstadt in 2006. There is a town named after Holberg on northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded by Danish immigrants in 1907.

Dan Shore Dan Shore (born 1975) is an American composer and playwright from Allentown, Pennsylvania, whose works include ''The Beautiful Bridegroom'', '' An Embarrassing Position'', ''Travel'', ''Works of Mercy'', and ''Lady Orchid''. Education Shore atte ...

's opera ''The Beautiful Bridegroom,'' for six sopranos, is based on Holberg's last play, ''Den forvandlede Brudgom.'' There is a statue of Holberg and a

boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway or wide road in a commercial district. In Europe, boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former ...

named after him (''Holbergsallmenningen'') in the centre of

Bergen, Norway Bergen (, ) is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 2025 the population is 294 029 according to Statistics Norway. The municipali ...

. A crater on Mercury is named for him.

Written works

Comedies

* ''

Den Politiske Kandestøber ''The Political Tinker'' ( Danish: Den politiske kandestøber) is a five-set satirical play published by Norwegian-Danish playwright Ludvig Holberg in 1722. Production history It premiered at Lille Grønnegade Theatre in Copenhagen on 25 Septem ...

'', 1722 (Eng. ''The Political Tinker'' / ''The Pewterer turned Politician'') * ''

Den vægelsindede ''Den vægelsindede'' is a Danish play. The three-act comedy was written by Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen ...

'', 1722 (Eng. ''The Waverer'' / ''The Weathercock'') * ''Jean de France eller Hans Frandsen'', 1722 (Eng. ''Jean de France'') * ''

Jeppe på bjerget ''Jeppe on the Hill; Or, The Transformed Peasant'' () is a Danish comedy by the Norwegian playwright Ludvig Holberg, written during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. The play premiered at the Lille Grønnegade Theatre in 1722, and w ...

eller den forvandlede Bonde'', 1722 (Eng. ''Jeppe of the Hill, or The Transformed Peasant'') * '' Mester Gert Westphaler'', 1722 (Eng. ''Gert Westphaler'') * ''Barselstuen'', 1723 (Eng. ''The Lying-in Room'') * ''Den ellefte Junii'', 1723 (Eng. The Eleventh of June) * ''

Jacob von Tyboe Jacob von T(h)yboe , or simply ''Jacob von Thyboe'', is a satirical play first published by Ludvig Holberg in 1723. It premiered at the Lille Grønnegade Theatre in Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denm ...

eller den stortalende Soldat'', 1723 (Eng. Jacob von Tyboe, or The Bragging Soldier) * ''Ulysses von Ithacia'', 1723 (Eng. ''Ulysses of Ithaca'') * '' Erasmus Montanus eller Rasmus Berg'', 1723 (Eng. '' Erasmus Montanus or Rasmus Berg'') * ''Don Ranudo de Colibrados'', 1723 * ''Uden Hoved og Hale'', 1723 (Eng. ''Without Head or Tail'') * '' Den Stundesløse'', 1723 (Eng. ''The Fidget'') * ''Hexerie eller Blind Allarm'', 1723 (Eng. ''Witchcraft or False Alert'') * ''Melampe'', 1723 * '' Det lykkelige Skibbrud'', 1724 (Eng. ''The Happy Capsize'') * ''Det Arabiske Pulver'', 1724 (Eng. ''The Arabian Powder'') * ''Mascarade'', 1724 (Eng. ''Masquerade'') * '' Julestuen'', 1724 (Eng. ''The Christmas Party'') * ''De Usynlige'', 1724 (Eng. ''The Invisible'' / ''The Masked Ladies'') * ''Diderich Menschenskraek'', 1724 (Eng. ''Diderich the Terrible'') * ''Kildereisen'', 1725 (Eng. ''The journey to the source'' / ''The source Journey'') * ''Henrich og Pernille'', 1724–1726 (Eng. ''Henrik and Pernille'') * ''Den pantsatte Bondedreng'', 1726 (Eng. ''The Pawned Farmers helper'' / ''The Peasant in Pawn'') * ''Pernilles korte Frøkenstand'', 1727 (Eng. ''Pernille's Brief Experience as a Lady'') * ''Den Danske Comoedies Liigbegængelse'', 1727 (Eng. ''Funeral of Danish Comedy'') * ''Den honette Ambition'', 1731 (Eng. ''The honest/honourable ambition'') * ''Den Forvandlede Brudgom'', 1753 (Eng. ''The Changed Bridegroom'') * ''Plutus eller Proces imellom Fattigdom og Riigdom'', publ. 1753 * ''Husspøgelse eller Abracadabra'', publ. 1753 (Eng. ''The house's Ghost or Abracadabra'') * ''Philosophus udi egen Indbildning'', publ. 1754 * ''Republiqven eller det gemeene Bedste'', publ. 1754 * ''Sganarels Rejse til det philosophiske Land'', publ. 1754 (Eng. ''Sganarel's Journey to the Land of the Philosophers'')

Poems

* ''Peder Paars'', 1720 * ''fire Skæmtedigte'', 1722 (Eng. ''Four poems for fun'') * ''Metamorphosis eller Forvandlinger'', 1726 (Eng. ''Metamorphosis or Changes'')

Novels

* ''Nicolai Klimii iter subterraneum'', 1741. (Translated to Danish by Hans Hagerup in 1742 as ''Niels Klims underjordiske Rejse''.) (Eng.

or ''Nicolai Klimii's subterranean Journey'' or ''The Journey of Niels Klim to the World Underground'' Bison Books, 2004. )

Essays

* ''Moralske Tanker'', 1744 (Eng. ''Moral thoughts'') * ''Epistler'', 1748–54 * ''Moralske Fabler'', 1751 (Eng. ''Moral Fables'') * ''Tre latinske levnedsbreve'', 1728–1743

Historical works

* ''Introduction til de fornemste Europæiske Rigers Historier'', 1711 (Eng. ''Introduction to the Greatest European Empires Histories'') * ''Morals Kierne eller Introduction til Naturens og Folke-Rettens Kundskab'', 1716 (Eng. ''The Core of Morality or Introduction to Natural and International Law'') * ''Dannemarks og Norges Beskrivelse'', 1729 (Eng. ''Denmark's and Norway's Description'') * ''Dannemarks Riges Historie'', 1732–35 (Eng. ''The Danish Empire/Kingdom's History'') * ''Den berømmelige Norske Handel-Stad Bergens Beskrivelse'', 1737 (Eng. ''The Famous Norwegian Commercial Hub Bergen's Description'') * ''Almindelig Kirke-Historie'', 1738 (Eng. ''General Church History'') * ''Den jødiske Historie fra Verdens Begyndelse, fortsat til disse Tider'', 1742 (Eng. ''The Jewish History From the Beginning of the World, Continued till Present Day/These Times'') * ''Adskillige store Heltes og berømmelige Mænds sammenlignede Historier'', 1739–53 (Eng. ''Several Great Heroes' and Famous Men's Compared Histories'') * ''Adskillige Heltinders og navnkundige Damers sammenlignede Historier'', 1745 (Eng. ''Several Heroines' and Noteworthy Ladies' Compared Histories'')

Memoir

*
Memoirs of Lewis Holberg
', 1737 (published in English, 1827)

Notes

References

* A primary source is Ludvig Holberg's Latin Testament. It can be recommended to use: Holberg, Ludvig, and Aage Kragelund. ''Ludvig Holbergs tre levnedsbreve 1728–1743''. København: G.E.C. Gads Forlag, 1965. The edition contains an introduction, Holberg's texts in both Latin and Danish, commentaries and an index. * * Thomsen, Ole B. ''Embedsstudiernes universitet en undersøgelse af Københavns universitets fundats af 1788 som grundlag for vores nuværende studiestruktur''. København: Akademisk Forlag, 1975. * Grethe Ilsøe: Juridisk eksamen for ustuderede. Kollektiv biografi af 1. kandidatgeneration (eksamensårgangene 1736–65) i: Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift, 1985, nr. 2 * Jens Hougaard: ''Ludvig Holberg. The Playwright and his age up to 1730'', Odense University Press. 1993. . * Caterina Marrone: ''Le lingue utopiche'', Nuovi Equilibri, Viterbo, 2004

995 Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no Michikane gains power and becomes Rege ...

p. 338, *Bent Holm: ''Ludvig Holberg. A Danish Playwright on the European Stage. Masquerade, Comedy, Satire''. Vienna: Hollitzer, 2018. .

External links

* * *
Complete works of Ludvig Holberg (Danish originals)
at Archive for Danish Literature
A sound recording of Holberg's comedy The Arabian Powder
at Lost Plays.com
Ludvig Holberg's writings
nbsp;– a Danish-Norwegian website under construction {{DEFAULTSORT:Holberg, Ludvig 1684 births 1754 deaths People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School 18th-century Danish dramatists and playwrights Danish male writers 18th-century Danish memoirists Danish essayists Norwegian dramatists and playwrights Norwegian essayists Writers from Copenhagen University of Copenhagen alumni Writers from Bergen Norwegian emigrants to Denmark 18th-century writers in Latin 18th-century male writers 17th-century Danish writers 18th-century Danish historians 18th-century Danish scientists 17th-century Norwegian people 18th-century Norwegian novelists 17th-century Norwegian writers 18th-century Norwegian writers 18th-century Norwegian scientists Norwegian male novelists Norwegian satirists Danish satirists Norwegian satirical novelists Danish satirical novelists Danish male dramatists and playwrights Rectors of the University of Copenhagen Male essayists 18th-century essayists Enlightenment philosophers Writers from Denmark–Norway