264 



NORWAY NORWICH. 



NORWAY (Swedish Norrige, Danish Narge, pro- 

 nounced Notre), the proper native country of the 

 Normans (q. v.), a kingdom of the Scandinavian pen- 

 insula, is bounded to the west and north by the 

 Northern Atlantic ocean, to the east by Russia and 

 Sweden, to the south by Sweden and the Cattegat. 

 The history of the earliest and the middle ages of 

 Norway consists in legends contained in the Heim- 

 skringla, which is for Norway what the Edda is for 

 Iceland. See the magnificent edition of the Heim- 

 skringla (Copenhagen, 3 vols. fol., with a Latin and 

 Danish translation). Little is known of the history 

 of Norway before the end of the tenth century, when 

 the Christian religion was established there by Olaf 

 I. not without violence. Olaf II. continued this 

 forced conversion (1020), and made religion the means 

 of suppressing several petty princes who had a share 

 hi the government. Canute the Great, king of Den- 

 mark, conquered Norway (1028), but did not long 

 retain possession of it ; and the country had its own 

 monarchs again from 1034, who even for a time go- 

 verned in Denmark. When, with Hakon VII., the 

 male line of Norwegian kings became extinct, the 

 estates elected the young Swedish king, MagnusVIII., 

 Hakon's nephew, to rule over them. His grandson, 

 Olaf IV., was elected to the throne of Denmark in 

 1376, and on the death of his father in 1380, governed 

 both countries together ; and leaving no children at 

 his death, his mother, Margaret (q. v.), daughter of 

 Waldemar III., king of Denmark, inherited both 

 thrones ; from which time forward Denmark and 

 Norway remained united ; but yet the latter, with 

 some interruptions at a later period, retained its own 

 constitution. This union of both countries continued 

 till 1814. In 1812, some of the allied powers pro- 

 mised Sweden the kingdom of Norway if she would 

 unite with them against France. Norway was to be 

 taken from the Danes, who were allies of France. 

 After the battle of Leipsic (October, 1813), the 

 crown-prince of Sweden with his army proceeded to- 

 wards Denmark, and, after some bloody scenes in 

 Holstein, peace was concluded at Kiel (14th January, 

 1814), in which Denmark ceded the kingdom of Nor- 

 way to Sweden. But the Danish prince Christian, 

 governor of Norway, had been chosen independent 

 sovereign of Norway by the estates of that country, 

 who would not acknowledge the cession which Den- 

 mark had made of Norway to Sweden at the peace 

 of Kiel. The crown-prince of Sweden, therefore, 

 entered Norway (July, 1814), and, after several bat- 

 tles of not much importance, the country submitted 

 to the Swedes, not without suspicion of a secret un- 

 derstanding, although the people had solemnly sworn 

 in all the churches, some months previously, to lay 

 down their lives for independence. After this an 

 armistice and a convention were concluded at Moss 

 (August 14, 1814), according to which Norway 

 was to be united to Sweden, but as an indepen- 

 dent kingdom, and with a separate constitution. 

 The constitution which had been formed (May 17, 

 1814) for Norway, by the diet (Storthing) assembled 

 at Eidswold, was accepted by the king of Sweden. 

 It is true that disturbances arose in some parts of 

 Norway, but they were without effect ; and the Stor- 

 thing, assembled at Christiania, decided upon the 

 union of Norway with Sweden, October 20, 1814. 

 According to the constitution formed November 4, 

 1814, with a few alterations, Norway remains a free 

 kingdom, independent and undivided. On the Nor- 

 wegian coins the royal title is altered, so that Nor- 

 way is named before Sweden. A viceroy or governor 

 is to reside at Christiania, and the nation is to be 

 represented at Stockholm, by a deputation of three 

 Norwegians. Only the crown-prince or his eldest 

 son can be viceroy. A Norwegian or Swede may be 



appointed governor. The king has the executive 

 power; the Storthing, which consists of the dele- 

 gates of the nation, who deliberate and vote in two 

 chambers, called the Odelsthing and Logthing (q. v.), 

 the legislative. 



Norway has a population of 1,050,132, on a super- 

 ficial area of 122,960 square miles. The severity of 

 the climate is the cause of the thinness of the popula- 

 tion : in the eastern part it is excessively cold ; on 

 the coast it is somewhat milder. The air is healthy, 

 and the heat in summer very great, but of short con- 

 tinuance. The country every where contains nume- 

 rous morasses, forests, and barren tracts. A branch 

 of the Kjcelen mountains, under the name of the 

 Doffrefield, divides Norway into northern and south- 

 ern. The indented coast (from North cape, 71 10', 

 to Lindesnes) is lined with islands and islets. Some 

 parts of the country are favourable to pasturage, but 

 sufficient corn is not raised for the wants of the inha- 

 bitants, and in the north part of the kingdom a great 

 number of the inhabitants live on dried fish, and 

 bread, made, in part at least, of the bark of the pine 

 (pinus silvestris). The chief article of commerce is 

 ship-timber, exported principally to Britain. Other 

 articles of export are iron, copper, pitch, resin, salt, 

 butter, furs, potash, and dried fish, particularly her- 

 ring. The present condition of Norway is by no 

 means flourishing. The productions of the country 

 are in less demand than formerly, and the commerce 

 has very much declined, particularly the lucrative 

 trade to the Mediterranean. The mines are for the 

 most part neglected, and iron is even imported from 

 Sweden. The revenue in 1826 was 1,900,000 dol- 

 lars ; the expenditure 1,800,000. Measures are 

 taken for the extinction of the public debt, which 

 amounts to 3,500,000 dollars, exclusive of the bank 

 paper. The land force is fixed at 12,000 men ; but 

 in peace only 2000 are kept on foot. The navy in 

 1821 was composed of two frigates, six brigs, and 

 eight schooners. The inhabitants are Norwegians 

 and Finns, and of the Lutheran religion. Their 

 language closely resembles the Danish. The people 

 are ingenious, industrious, frugal, honest, and hos- 

 pitable, passionately attached to freedom and their 

 native country. 'The nation is composed of the nobles 

 (the further continuance of nobility was, however, 

 abolished by the Storthing in 1821), the clergy, 

 citizens, and peasants. The country is divided into 

 two counties and sixteen villages, or into five 

 bishoprics and four dioceses Aggerhgus (contain- 

 ing the capital, Christiania), Christiansand, Bergen, 

 and Drontheim (in which the city of Drontheim be- 

 longs to the diocese of Drontheim) , and Nordland 

 with Finmark (Norwegian Lapland). The Nor- 

 wegian literature is almost entirely composed of 

 periodical works, and works of local interest. There 

 are, however, some modern poets of Norway ; among 

 which are Zettlitz (died 1821), Olsen, and Harsen. 

 The periodical Saga is devoted to the old northern 

 languages. See Sweden. 



NORWICH ; a large, populous, and ancient city 

 of England, the metropolis of the county of Norfolk, 

 is situated 108 miles N. E. by N. from London, on 

 the river Wensum, which is navigable up to the town, 

 and over which it has'no fewer than nine bridges, 

 three of them of iron. It had formerly an embattled 

 wall, with twelve gates, and flanked by forty towers, 

 some remains of which are yet to be seen. The 

 castle stands in the centre of the town, and was first 

 erected in the sixth century, by the Saxons. The 

 keep, a principal tower, is the only considerable part 

 of the building which now remains. The cathedral 

 is one of the oldest in England, the building having 

 been commenced by Herbert, the first bishop, in 

 1096; and it was completed by WiH> v m Middleton, 



