Skoggangsmand on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
''Skoggangsmand'' ( en, Outlaw) is a novel from 1917, the debut novel of Norwegian writer Mikkjel Fønhus.
The legend about the Hedal Church is embedded in the story. ''During the
Plot
The story is set in rural Norway. The main character is a wild-tempered young boy, Hans Trefothaugen, who gets involved in fights and a stabbing, and ends up as an outlaw living in the forests. While enjoying the independent way of life in the wilderness, he is also desperately longing for the woman Ingrid Ødden, whom he knew from their childhood, and who later married. After various conflicts with the people of the village, Hans eventually ends up being caught and taken to prison.Fønhus, ''Skoggangsmand'' (1917)
The legend about the Hedal Church is embedded in the story. ''During the Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
, in the middle of the 14th century, the valley Hedal was depopulated, and the valley became a wilderness. A hunter, an outlaw living and hiding in the forest, one day shot an arrow after a capercaillie
''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Tetrao'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ...
, but missed and instead struck the church bell, after which the hunter discovered the old church. Entering the church, there was bear at the altar, and the hunter shot and skinned the bear. The hunter subsequently settled at a deserted farm south of the church.'' The gathering ''Hedalsmessa'', held at Michaelmas, is a central event in the novel.
Reception
The book received little attention by contemporary critics in Norway. It was received with enthusiasm by the later Danish Nobel laureateJohannes V. Jensen
Johannes Vilhelm Jensen (20 January 1873 – 25 November 1950) was a Danish author, known as one of the great Danish writers of the first half of 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1944 "for the rare strength and fert ...
, literary critic for the newspaper '' Politiken''. Jensen pointed at the similarities between Fønhus' picturing of the wilderness, and the international genre of wilderness writing.
Follow-up
Fønhus' literary breakthrough came with his next books, first the story collection ''Der Vildmarken suser
''Der Vildmarken suser'' is a story collection from 1919 by Norwegian writer Mikkjel Fønhus.
One of the stories, about the large killer bear "Rugg" in the Vassfaret forests, was published as a children's book in 1965, ''Fortellingen om slagbjà ...
'', and the subsequent novels ''Det skriker fra Kverrvilljuvet
''Det skriker fra Kverrvilljuvet'' is a novel first published in 1920 by Norwegian writer Mikkjel Fønhus.
His story collection '' Der Vildmarken suser'' and the follow-up novels ''Det skriker fra Kverrvilljuvet'' and '' Troll-Elgen'', gave Fø ...
'' and ''Troll-Elgen
''Troll-Elgen'' is a novel from 1921 by Norwegian writer Mikkjel Fønhus. The story is about the large moose "Rauten" and the hunter "Gaupe", and ends up with both the hunter and the hunted losing their lives. The novel was adapted into a film i ...
''.
References
20th-century Norwegian novels 1917 novels Novels set in Norway 1917 debut novels {{1910s-novel-stub