Books in Early Modern Norway

Gina Dahl, Dr. Art. (2007) in History of religion, University of Bergen, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Bergen. She has published extensively on book distribution in early modern Norway including Book Collections of Clerics in Norway, 1650–1750 (Brill, 2010).

“As a first general and comprehensive survey of what types of books were distributed and circulated in Norway in the early modern period, this book is a highly welcome research contribution to the scarcely covered field of book history in Norway and serves as a gateway into the vast topics within a research field that has yet to be studied in a Norwegian context. Internationally, it provides scholars with material for comparison, while on a national level it must be considered as a reference work.”Ane Ohrvik, University of Oslo. In: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 66, No. 2 (Summer 2013) , pp. 707-709.

• Chapter 1 – IntroductionChapter 2 –Books and Their Distribution2.1 Historical background2.2 Book market regulations2.3 Sales outletsChapter 3 – Books of Ordinary People3.1Schooling and reading 3.2Inventories in rural areas3.3Books in stock in urban areas3.4Changes in book patterns in the late eighteenth centuryChapter 4 – Books of the Clergy 4.1 Clerical education4.2 Books originating in Germany4.3 Books from the Netherlands and England4.4 Changes towards the end of the eighteenth century Chapter 5 – Books and the Liberal Arts 5.1 The artes training 5.2 The artes reception5.3 The variety of the classical legacy Chapter 6 – Books on Medicine6.1. Physicians and their educational background 6.2 The books of university-trained physicians6.3 Medical works among other sections of societyChapter 7 – Books on Jurisprudence7.1 Jurists and their educational background7.2 Books on jurisprudence circulating among the various officials7.3 Books on jurisprudence owned by other sections of society Chapter 8 – Enlightenment and Expansion8.1 Enlightenment and change8.2 The Norwegian case: structural changes in the world of books8.3 Literary genres and ‘other worlds’ Chapter 9 – Books for Entertainment9.1 Tales, stories and novels9.2 Travel literature9.3 Esoteric literatureChapter 10 – Conclusion Appendix 1Bibliography Index