Per Gynt (, ) is a Norwegian fairy-tale which originated in the

traditional region A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

Gudbrandsdal Gudbrandsdalen (; ) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending toward the Romsdalen vall ...

. The story of Per Gynt is set in the

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

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 ...

. Per Gynt's home in the folklore is traditionally claimed to have been Nordre Hågå farm in Sødorp parish at

Nord-Fron Nord-Fron is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vi ...

in the county of

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...

. The tales encompass the themes of identity, relationships and personal stories from a lonely hunter. The folk tale tells of the eponymous Per Gynt and his various exploits. He rescues three dairy-maids from

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

s and shoots the

Bøyg The Bøyg (, ), also referred to as the "Great Bøyg of Etnedal" is a legendary gnome-like creature in Scandinavian folklore. It is a great troll from Telemark and Gudbrandsdalen. It is commonly characterized as a giant, slimy serpent which st ...

, a

which takes the form of a gigantic serpent and stands as a hindrance to travellers. The fairy-tale was recorded by

Peter Christen Asbjørnsen Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (15 January 18125 January 1885) was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore. They were so closely united in their lives' work that their folk tale collection ...

in ''

Norwegian Folktales ''Norwegian Folktales'' () is a collection of Norwegian folktales and legends by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. It is also known as ''Asbjørnsen and Moe'', after the collectors. Asbjørnsen and Moe Asbjørnsen, a teacher, and ...

'' (''Norske Huldre-Eventyr og Folkesagn'') which was first published in 1845. Asbjørnsen included the stories about Per Gynt into the section "Reindeer Hunting at Rondane" (''Rensdyrjakt ved Rondane''). The folktale served as inspiration for

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's play ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

'' which was published in 1867. Ibsen added considerable material, such as Per Gynt travelling to Africa, crossing the Sahara and meeting with a Bedouin princess – 19th-century themes far beyond the scope of the original fairy-tale. The play appeared on stage in 1876, accompanied by incidental music by composer

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 ...

, who later prepared the '' Peer Gynt Suites''.

References

Other sources

* *Meyer, Michael (1974)
Ibsen: A Biograph
' (Abridged edition. Pelican Biographies ser. Harmondsworth: Penguin) *Sverre Mørkhagen (1997) ''Peer Gynt – historie, sagn og «forbandet Digt»'' (Oslo: J.W. Cappelens forlag.)

External links

* {{Peer Gynt Norwegian fairy tales Norwegian folklore Scandinavian folklore