HOLBERG, LUDVIG HOLBERG, BARON Scandinavian writer, was born at Bergen, Norway, on Dec. 3, 1684. He was early left an orphan, and though his early education was provided by relatives, had a hard struggle at the University of Copenhagen, supporting himself by occasional tutorships. In 1704 he set out on his travels with 6o thaler in his pocket, but fell ill at Aachen, and had to make his way home on foot. In 1706-08 he was at Oxford working in the libraries there. On his return to Copenhagen he began to lecture at the University, and presently received from the king the title of professor for his Introduction to the History of the Nations of Europe (1711). He then obtained the Rosenkrantz grant for travel abroad. The years 1714-16 were spent in Italy and France, visiting the great cities. Holberg was still excessively poor, and travelled chiefly on foot. After his return to Denmark in 1716 he published his Introduction to Natural and Popular Law, but lived in extreme poverty until in 1718 he was appointed professor of metaphysics, and in 172o of public eloquence, at Copenhagen.
Hitherto he had written only on law, history and philology, although in a Latin controversy with the jurist Andreas Hojer of Flensborg his satirical genius had flashed out. But now, and until 1728, he created an entirely new class of humorous literature under the pseudonym of Hans Mikkelsen. The seriocomic epic of Peder Paars, the earliest of the great classics of the Danish lan guage, appeared in 1719. This poem was a brilliant satire on con temporary manners, and enjoyed an extraordinary success. But the author had offended in it several powerful persons who threatened his life, and if Count Danneskjold had not personally interested the king in him, Holberg's career might have had an untimely close. During the next two years he published five shorter satires. In 1721 Holberg became director of the first Danish theatre in Gronnegade, Copenhagen, where, in Sept. 1722, a Danish translation of L'Avare was produced. Until this time no plays had been acted in Denmark except in French and German, but Holberg now determined to use his talent in writing Danish comedy. The first of his original pieces performed was Den politiske Kandestober (The Pewterer turned Politician) ; and before the end of 1722 he produced Den Vaegelsindede (The Waverer), Jean de France, Jeppe paa Bjerget, and Gert the tiVest phalian. Of these five plays, four are masterpieces. Holberg took no rest, and before the end of 1723 the comedies of Barselstuen (The Lying-in Room), The Eleventh of July, Jakob von Thyboe, Den Sundeslose (The Fidget), Erasmus Montanus, Don Ranudo, Ulysses of Ithaca, W ithout Head or Tail, Witchcra f t and Melampe had all been written, and some of them acted. In 1724 the most famous comedy that Holberg produced was Henrik and Pernille. But in spite of this unprecedented blaze of dramatic genius the theatre had to be closed for lack of money, Holberg composing for the last night's performance, in Feb. 1727, a Funeral of Danish Comedy. This excessive labour for the stage had under mined the poet's health, and in 1725 he had determined to take the baths at Aachen ; but instead of going thither he wandered through Belgium to Paris, and spent the winter there. In the spring he returned to Copenhagen with recovered health and spirits, and worked quietly at his protean literary labours until the great fire of 1728.
In the period of national poverty and depression that followed this event, a puritanical spirit, which was little in sympathy with Holberg's dramatic or satiric genius, predominated. He there fore closed his career as a dramatic poet by publishing in 1731 his acted comedies, with the addition of five which he had no opportunity of putting on the stage. He adopted the serious tone of the new age, and busied himself for the next 20 years with historical, philosophical and statistical writings. During this period he published his poetical satire called Metamorphosis (1726), and his Epistolae ad virum perillustrem (1727), his Description of Denmark and Norway 0729), History of Denmark, Universal Church History, Biographies of Famous Men, Moral Reflections, Description of Bergen (1737), A History of the Jews, and other learned and laborious compilations. The only poem he published at this time was the famous Nicolai Klimii iter subterraneum (1741), afterwards translated into Danish by Baggesen. When Christian VI. died in 1747, pietism lost its sway ; the theatre was reopened and Holberg was appointed director, but he soon resigned this arduous post. The six comedies he wrote in his old age did not add to his reputation. His last published work was his Epistles, in 5 vols. the last of them posthumous (1754). In 1747 he was created by the new king Baron of Holberg. He died at Copenhagen on Jan. 28, 1754, in the loth year of his age. He was buried at Soro, in Zealand. He had never married, and he be queathed all his property, which was considerable, to Soro college.
Holberg was not only the founder of Danish literature and the greatest of Danish authors, but he was, with the exception of Voltaire, the first writer in Europe during his own generation. Neither Pope nor Swift, who perhaps excelled him in particular branches of literary production, approached him in range of genius, or in encyclopaedic versatility. Holberg found Denmark provided with no books, and he wrote a library for her. When he arrived in the country, the Danish language was never heard in a gentleman's house. Polite Danes were wont to say that a man wrote Latin to his friends, talked French to the ladies, called his dogs in German, and only used Danish to swear at his servants. The single genius of Holberg revolutionized this system. He wrote poems of all kinds in a language hitherto employed only for ballads and hymns; he instituted a theatre, and composed a rich collection of comedies for it ; he filled the shelves of the citizens with works in their own tongue on history, law, politics, science, philology and philosophy, all written in a true and manly style, and representing the extreme attainment of European culture at the moment. Perhaps no author who ever lived has had so vast an influence over his countrymen, an in fluence that is still at work after 200 years.
The editions of Holberg's works are legion. Complete editions of the Comedies are too numerous to be quoted ; the best is that brought out in 3 vols. by F. L. Lichtenberg, in 187o. Of Peder Paars there exist at least 23 editions, besides translations in Dutch, German and Swedish. The Iter subterraneum has been three several times translated into Danish, ten times into German, thrice into Swedish, thrice into Dutch, thrice into English, twice into French, twice into Russian and once into Hungarian. The life of Holberg was written by Welhaven in 1858 and by Georg Brandes in 1884. Among other works may be mentioned those by Robert Prutz (1857) and A. Legrelle (1864) .