The Norwegian Society
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The Norwegian Society (Det Norske Selskab) was a literary society for Norwegian students in Copenhagen. Its members included authors, poets and philosophers. Det Norske Selskab was formed in 1772. Their meeting place was Madame Juel's Coffeehous (madame Juels Kaffehus) in the Læderstræde.
It was a gentlemen's club, with the exception of Karen Bach, 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 Ludvig Holberg.
The members of Det Norske Selskap came to play 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.
[edit] Central members of Det Norske Selskab
- Johannes Ewald (1743-81)
- Johan Nordahl Brun (1745-1816)
- N.K. Bredal
- Ove Gjerløw Meyer
- Johan Vibe
- Søren Monrad
- Niels Treschow (1751-1833)
- Jakob Edvard Colbjørnsen
- Claus Fasting
- P.H. Frimann
- Jonas Rein
- Edvard Storm
- Jens Zetlitz
- Johan Herman Wessel (1742-1785)
