The Norwegian Society (''Norske Selskab'') was a literary society for Norwegian students in Copenhagen active from 1772 to 1813. Its members included authors, poets and philosophers. The Norwegian Society was formed in 1772 by

Ove Gjerløw Meyer Ove Gjerløw Meyer (c. 1742 – 4 November 1790) was a Norwegian jurist and government official, best known for founding the Norwegian Society. Career He was born around 1742, probably in Frederikshald (now Halden in Østfold, Norway). His father ...

. Their meeting place was Madame Juel's Coffeehouse ('' madame Juels Kaffehus'') in the ''Læderstræde''. It was a gentlemen's club, with the exception of the waitress Karen Bach and the poet

Magdalene Sophie Buchholm Magdalene Sophie Buchholm (15 March 1758 – 12 August 1825) was an 18th-century Norwegian poet. She was the only acknowledged female Norwegian writer of her time, and the only female in the academic society Det Norske Selskab. Biography Magdalene ...

, and the meetings were lively with speakers, song and discussion, poetry recitation improvisations and relatively significant intakes of punch. The club considered itself culturally conservative and devoted to the

rationalistic In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy'' ...

empirical Empirical evidence for a proposition is evidence, i.e. what supports or counters this proposition, that is constituted by or accessible to sense experience or experimental procedure. Empirical evidence is of central importance to the sciences and ...

style of Ludvig Holberg. The members of the Norwegian Society are often viewed as playing a central role in the wakening of Norwegian patriotic awareness at the close of the 18th century. Many of the poems and plays had patriotic themes. The society was discontinued in 1813 after the battle was won to establish the first Norwegian university, but a new gentlemen's club with the same name started in 1818.Norske Selskab history
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Central members

* Johannes Ewald (1743–1781) *

Johan Nordahl Brun Johan Nordahl Brun (21 March 1745 – 26 July 1816) was a Norwegian-Danish poet, dramatist, bishop of Bergen (1804–1816), and politician who contributed significantly to the growth of national romanticism in Norway, contributing to the growing ...

(1745–1816) * N. K. Bredal *

(1758–1825), only female member *

* Johan Vibe (1748–1782) * Søren Monrad *

Niels Treschow Niels Nicolas Treschow (5 September 1751 – 22 September 1833) was a Norwegian philosopher, educator and politician. Biography Treschow was born in Strømsø, now part of Drammen in Buskerud. He was the son of Peter Treschow (1718-1773 ...

(1751–1833) * Jakob Edvard Colbjørnsen *

Claus Fasting Claus Fasting (29 October 1746 – 25 December 1791) was a Norwegian playwright, literary critic, editor and civil servant. Among his literary works were the song ''Harmonisang'' (1769) and his journals ''Provinzialsamlinger'' (1791). Bio ...

* Claus Frimann (1746–1829) * P. H. Frimann *

Jonas Rein Jonas Rein (30 January 1760 – 21 November 1821) was a Norwegian priest, poet and member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. Background He was born at Øksendal in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. He was the son of parish prie ...

* Edvard Storm *

Jens Zetlitz Jens Zetlitz (26 January 1761 – 14 January 1821) was a Norwegian priest and poet. Zetlitz was born at Stavanger in Rogaland, Norway. At the close of the 18th century he traveled to the University of Copenhagen to study theology. He became a ...

* Johan Herman Wessel (1742–1785)

References

External links

Source
Norwegian literature Organizations established in 1772 1772 establishments in Denmark 1813 disestablishments in Denmark Organizations disestablished in 1813 Organizations based in Copenhagen Norwegian nationalism Denmark–Norway relations Diaspora organizations in Denmark {{Denmark-org-stub