NORWICH
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NORWICH
Fallize, later Bishop of Alusa, under whom the mission
has steadily developed, although not yet large.
Especially noteworthy among the men who of late
years have been reconciled to the Church are the
former gymnasial rector Sverenson, and the author
Kroogh-Tonning, doctor of theology, originally a
Lutheran pastor at Christiania. All monastic orders,
Jesuits excepted, are allowed, but there are no mon-
asteries for men. On the other hand the missionaries
of the female congregations. Sisters of St. Elizabeth,
Sisters of St. Francis, and Sisters of St. Joseph of
Chambery, numberingabout thirty, have gained useful
and active fellow-workers. There are a few thousands
of Catholics, for whom there are churches in Chris-
tiania (St. Olaf and Halvard), in Bergen, Trondhjem,
Fredrikshald, Tromso. Fredrikstad, Altengaard, Ham-
erfest. Cathohc hospitals exist in Christiania, Ber-
gen, Drammen, and Christiansand, and there is a num-
ber of Catholic schools towards which the Protestant
population has shown itself friendly. In 1897, for the
first time in three hundred years, the feast of St. Olaf
was celeljrated at Trondhjem.
HisTORV OF .\rt. — During the Middle Ages art was closely connected with religion, and its chief task was the building and embellishment of churches. Some twenty old wooden churches {Slavkirker), still in exist- ence, show with what skill Norwegians made use of the wood furnished by their forests. At a compara- tively early date, stone was used, first in the Roman- esque, then in the Gothic buildings. Some of the work thus produced has a singular and characteristic charm. Besides primitive churches of one aisle with rude towers and belfries, as at Vossevanger, there are in existence churches of three aisles with pleasing, and at times relatively rich ornamentation. The fagades of some of these are flanked by two towers, as at Akers, Bergen, and Stavanger. The most striking achievements of Norwegian architecture are the cathe- dral of St. Magnus at Kirkwall in the Orkneys, and, what is even finer, the cathedral at Trondhjem. The latter has had a chequered history. Built originally in 1077 by Olaf the Quiet (Kyrre) as a "Christ Church" of one aisle over the bones of St. Olaf, it served at first as the burial place of the kings. When in 1152 Trondhjem (Nidaros) was made an archdiocese, it became a place of pilgrimage for the entire kingdom, and the gifts of the faithful made possible the neces- sary enlargement of the cathedral. In 1161 Arch- bishop Eystein Erlandson began its restoration in the Romanesque style. Obliged to flee from King Sverri, he became acquainted during his stay in England with Gothic architecture and made use of this style on his return. This is especially evident in the unique octagon erected over St. Olaf's grave, evidently an imitation of "Becket's Crown" in Canterbury cathe- dral. Eystein's successors completed the building according to his plans. The cathedral was twice damaged by fire but each time was repaired (in 1328 and in 14.32). It fell into almost complete ruin after the great fire of 5 May, 1.531, and for several hundred years no attention was paid to it. A change came with the awakening of national pride, and the restora- tion of the cathedral is now nearing completion. Its most valuable treasures, the body of the great Apostle of Norway St. Olaf and the costly shrine that enclosed it, have disappeared. In 1537 the shrine was taken to Copenhagen, robbed of its jewels, and melted, while the bones of the saint were buried by fanatics in some unknown place to put an end forever to the veneration of them. The wood-carv'ings, paintings, and other objects of art, which formerly adorned Norwegian churches, have been either carried off or destroyed.
This was not so frequently the case in the northern part of the country, and in other districts .some few objects escaped. Among the works of art especially interesting m.ay be mentioned; (in wood-carving) the altar of the Virgin in the Church of Our Lady at Ber-
gen, and the altar in the Ringsacker church on Lake
Nysen; (in painting) the antependium at Gal; (in re-
hef work) the doorways of the churches at Hyllestad
and Hemsedal ; the baptismal font at Stavanger, reli-
quaries, as at Hedal ; censers, as at Hadsel ; crucifixes
and vestments. The finest medieval secular building
is King Haakon's Hall, a part of the former royal palace
at Bergen. Beautifully carved chairs, rich tapestries,
and fine chased work are further proof of the degree of
culture attained by Catholic Norway.
History of Literature. — Norway can hardly be said to have an indigenous literature. As regards material and arrangement, the clu-onicles and narra- tives are very much the same both in the north and the south (for Icelandic Sagas see Icelan dig Liter.ature). We here treat specifically Protestant literature only so far as individual writers, such as the brothers Munch, refer in poetry or prose to the Catholic era in Norway, and thus indirectly further the interests of the Church. The historical investigations and writ- ings of Bang, Dietrichson, Daae, and Bugge have overthrown many historical misstatements and judg- ments prejudicial to Catholicism. These works have influenced even Protestant theology in Norway, so that its position towards Rome is relatively more friendly than in other countries. If heretofore no Norwegian Cathohc has made a great contribution to the national hterature the reason is obvious. Of late years, however, various books have been pub- lished of an edifying, apologetic, or of a polemical nature. There is a Cathohc weekly, the "St. Olav".
When not otherwise noted, the place of publication is Chris- tiania: Diplomatarium Norwegicum (1849 — ); Munch, Det norske fotkets histoHt (8 vols., 1852-63); Sahs, Udsigt over den norske historie (189.3 — ); Odhner, L&rohok i Sveriges, Norges och Danmarks hisloria (7th ed., Stockholm, 1886); Zohn, Staat u. Kirche in Norwegen bis z. IS. Jahrh. (Munich, 1875); Ketser, Den nOTftke Kirkes Historie under Katolicismen (2 vols., 1856-S); R w^., J'^hi'!* nr'-r den Norske Kirkes Historie under Katolicismen ( i ^ - : i ; 1 1 . 1 ^ ' f -l^igt over den Norske Kirkes Historie e/ter Refor- mr : -" ; Storm, Hist, topogr. Skrijter om Norge og norske
7,, J. , h: i Norge i det 16de Aarhundrade (1895) \ BavH'
UAKi:.i..u, .\<-,i;,„tAe Fahrten, II (Freiburg, 1890); Dietrichson, De Norske Ulackirker (1892); Idem, Vore Faedres Verk; Norges Kunst i Middelalderen (1906) ; Idem, Omrids af den norske Litera- tura Historie (Copenhagen, 1866-9); Schweitzer. Phil. Gesch. der skand. Literatur (3 vols., Leipzig, 1886 — ); Oestergaard, Illustreret Dansk Lileraturhistorie (1907); Halvorsen, Norsk For/atterlexikon 1S74-1S81 (1883 — ); Kirkeleksikon /or Norden (Copenhagen, 1897 — ), 53 pts. already issued: Die kathol. Mis- sionen (Freiburg, 1873 — ) ; Hermens and Kohlschmidt, Protest. Taschenbuch (Leipzig, 1905).
P. Wittmann.
Norwich (Nordoviciim; Norvicum), Ancient Diocese of. — Though this see took its present name only in the eleventh century, its history goes back five hundred years earlier to the conversion of East Anglia by St. Felix in the reign of King Sigeberht, who suc- ceeded to the kingdom of his father Redwald on the death of his half-brother Eorpweald in 628. St. Felix fixed his see at Dunwich, a sea-coast town since sub- merged, the site of which is in Southwold Bay. From Dunwich, St. Felix evangelized Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire, the counties which formed the dio- cese. He was succeeded by Thomas (647), Beorhtgils (Boniface), who died about 669, and Bisi, on whose death, in 673, St. Theodore, Archbishop of Canter- bury, divided the see into two, with cathedrals at Dunwich and Elmham. The following are the lines of episcopal succession based on the most recent re- search, with approximate dates of accession where known : —
Dunwich: Mcc\, 673; Alric; vEscwulf; Eardred; Ealdbeorht I; Eardwulf; Cuthwine; Ealdbeorht II; Ecglaf; Heardred; .Elfhun, 790; Tidfrith, 798; Waer- mund; Wilred, 825. Elmham: Beaduwine, 673; Nothbeorht; Heathulac; ^thelfrith, 736; Eanfrith; vEthclwulf; Ealhheard; Si_bba; Hunfrith; St. Hun- beorht; Cunda (there is some doubt as to whether Cimda was Bishop of Ehnham or Dunwich).
