It is believed that men from dim pre-history where the first to appear in what is now Norway. According to the history on Norway known some 10,000 years ago the forefathers of the modern Norwegians used to hunt reindeer and other prey while on their long treks north. At that point in time the coastline was about 200 meters higher than what it is today. In Norway history the oldest proof of human activity that was discovered was on a hill in the southeast region of Ostfold. This part is not very far from the southern frontier with Sweden.
Early History
Everyone disagrees on the sensitive issue of from where the ancestors of toady’s Norwegians came from. Even the route they took for their journey north is open to debate but it can be safely said that one of these routes certainly passed through Ostfold. Artifacts’ have been found at settlements that are similar to the ones discovered in southern Sweden and Denmark. Another possibility is that of another route from the so called North Sea continent to southwest Norway. The early Norwegians were hunters who settled in small groups whenever nature permitted. Proof of their existence could be fathomed from remains of flint tools, clay vessels and rock carvings. In every part of the country one can find specimens of their art which have been hewn or ground into the rock. The carvings are a depiction of their prey such as reindeer, moose, deer, bears and fish. One will hardly find the appearance of people or boats.
Bronze Age (1500 – 500 B.C.)
This was the period associated with the transition to agriculture which can be timed to have started around 5000 to 6000 years ago initially in the area around the Oslofjord. One can see the farmers’ cultural relics and safely believe that they could have dominated the archeological finds. This was particularly in the area of South Norway. However, findings in the same time period but to the north of Norway show that the inhabitants were hunters. The sizeable settlements of hunters as well clearly show proof of a reasonable amount of cooperation between many people.
The Age of the Vikings (ca. 800 – 1050 A.D.)
This was the era which marked the ending of the prehistoric period in Norway. No written sources of knowledge have been found for the period and whatever is known is largely based on archaeological remains. However, one has been able to pick up details from the Sagas which have shed some light on this age. Even though, they were written down at a later period, the Sagas were based on word of mouth tales that were passed down from one generation to the next. Many historians have concluded that the Viking Age could have perhaps been the richest of all the prehistoric periods in the north. The Norwegian Vikings hailed mostly from the south and west of the country where the land had been utilized to the maximum it could tolerate. To the southeast and the north of Norway the settlement was based on agriculture and other activities which spread to previously uninhabited areas such as on the mountains and valleys. The Viking Age culminated in 1066 when the Norwegian King herald Hardruler and his men faced defeat at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in England.
The Middle Ages
The history of Norway cannot be thought of without a mention of the year 1130 which was a watershed year in Norwegian history. The civil wars which lasted right up to 1227 were conflicts which disrupted the period of peace. The year 1130 was special in many other aspects as well. It was the start of the so-called High Middle Ages. This was the period of population growth which got consolidated within the Church. Alongside there was also the rise and development of the towns. The power of the monarchy started to increase in the 1100s and 1200s which finally emerged victorious both over the Church and the nobles. This was the period which witnessed the emergence of a serving aristocracy over the traditional secular aristocracy.
Union with Denmark
There was marked economic deterioration in Norway during the late Middle Ages. There was a dwindling of population due to ravages and other plagues during the fourteenth century. This resulted in political consequences as well. The Norwegian nobility began to dwindle. Denmark began to gain a foothold as the important major Nordic land. 1450 saw the union with Denmark being established by treaty. It was a treaty which was supposed to have ensured the power of the Norwegian Council of the Realm at the time of selection of a monarch, but this stipulation was never respected. The treaty was also entered into to ensure a guarantee of the equality of the two realms. However, practice proved otherwise. And in 1536 Norway ceased to be an independent kingdom. Norway’s Council of the Realm was disbanded and the Norwegian church lost its autonomy. The Danish noblemen were allowed to take over positions as officers of the law in Norway and could earn their incomes from Norway too. This close political link to Denmark had its fallout as well. Norway had to be unavoidably dragged into the wars that Denmark waged with Sweden and the Baltic Sea powers. The Danish King even surrendered Norwegian land to Sweden. The fief of Trondheim was however returned to Norway.
Secession from Denmark
The almost 434 years of union between Norway and Denmark ended with the allied victory at Leipzig when in January 1814 Fredrik VI surrendered and cut links with Napoleon and handed Norway over to his Swedish opponents. The Norwegians were however not ready to accept the state of affairs wherein Norway was given the status of an independent state in union with Sweden with its own free constitution, national representation, own government and the right to levy taxes. The governor of Norway at that time was the nephew of the Danish King, Prince Christian Frederik. They met to secure a reunion of Denmark and Norway. Finally on the seventeenth of May at a meeting at Eidsvoll jut about some 70 km north of Oslo the constitution was adopted and Christian Frederik chosen as Norwegian king. Till date, May 17 is celebrated as the Norwegian nation al day. |
