''Lady Inger of Ostrat'' (original title: ''Fru Inger til Østeraad'') is an 1854 play by Henrik Ibsen, inspired by the life of Inger, Lady of Austraat. The play, the third work of the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

's career, reflects the birth of Romantic Nationalism in the Norway of that period, and had a strongly anti-

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

sentiment. It centers on the Scandinavia of 1510–1540 as the Kalmar Union collapsed, the impacts of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

were becoming evident in Norway, and a last desperate struggle was being mounted to maintain Norwegian independence. Its initial sentiments were so strongly anti-Danish that Ibsen ultimately toned them down. Norwegian literature was virtually nonexistent during the period of the Scandinavian Union and the subsequent Dano-Norwegian union (1387—1814) — Ibsen characterized that period as "Four Hundred Years of Darkness." Ibsen was a major participant in a flood of nationalistic romanticism that followed the "Four Hundred Years of Darkness" and is recognized as one of the ''great four'' contributors of this period (the others being

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguishe ...

Alexander Kielland Alexander Lange Kielland (; 18 February 1849 – 6 April 1906) was a Norwegian realistic writer of the 19th century. He is one of the so-called " The Four Greats" of Norwegian literature, along with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson a ...

, and Jonas Lie). A unity of purpose pervades the whole period, recreation of a national culture based on the almost forgotten past. Subsequent research has shown the play ''Fru Inger til Østeraad'' deviates rather liberally from the actual historical events, and should be understood in its context as a statement of nationalism.

References

1854 plays Plays by Henrik Ibsen {{1850s-play-stub

See also

References