The Vikings at Helgeland
Ibsen noted down some ideas for The Vikings at Helgeland after completing Lady Inger of Østråt in the second half of 1854. In the preface to the second edition of The Feast at Solhoug, written in April 1883, Ibsen describes how the idea of The Vikings at Helgeland was born:
"On the other hand it was in the Icelandic family sagas that I found, in full measure, what I needed of human covering for the moods, ideas and thoughts of which I was full at that time, or of which I had at any rate a more or less clear idea. Up till then I had been ignorant, indeed hardly heard of, these ancient Nordic literary contributions to the history of the people of our saga times. By chance I got hold of N. M. Petersen's excellent translation – excellent at least as regards the tone of the language. In these family chronicles with their various relationships and episodes between man and woman, woman and woman, altogether between human being and human being, I was met by lives of personal, rich, living content; and it was in living together with all these single, individual, personal women and men that the first raw, vague draft of «The Vikings at Helgeland» arose.
As we know, Ibsen wrote The Feast at Solhoug and after that Olaf Liljekrans before starting to work seriously on the idea of The Vikings at Helgeland. This must have taken place some time after the staging of Olaf Liljekrans at Det Norske Theater in Bergen in January 1857. However the play was completed in Christiania in the autumn of the same year.
In the middle of July 1857 Ibsen went to Christiania for the purpose of more carefully investigating a possible offer of a post as "artistic Director" at Kristiania Norske Theater. On July 23rd he sent a letter to the management of Det norske Theater in Bergen, in which he confirmed that he had received the offer, and asked to be released from his contract with the theatre. This was agreed to, and on September 3rd 1857, Ibsen took up his new position at Kristiania Norske Theater.
At about the same time The Vikings at Helgeland was completed. Ibsen handed the play in to Christiania Theater, not his own theatre as yet. He believed the play was too demanding for the staff of Kristiania Norske Theater.
First edition
The Vikings at Helgeland was published as a supplement to the literary weekly Illustreret Nyhedsblad in Christiania on April 25th 1858, in an issue of 2 200 copies. The number of subscribers was about 1 700 at that time, so the owner of the weekly, H. J. Jensen, was left with a number of copies which he offered for sale in the bookshops. The publication was fairly well received, though the reviews were mixed.
Second edition
In 1871 H. J. Jensen announced a "second edition" of The Vikings at Helgeland. As the play had been published in his magazine, he claimed the right to re-publish it. When Ibsen was told of this, he was furiously angry, and on September 17th 1871 he sent the following strongly worded letter to Jensen from Dresden:
"With the greatest amazement I have today received your impudent and shameless letter, in which I see you are proposing to publish a new edition of my dramatic works «Lady Inger of Østråt» and «The Vikings at Helgeland». It goes without saying that I am most vehemently opposed to your projected attack on my purse. You have not the slightest right to the ownership of the above-mentioned works, which I sold at one time for the exclusive use of «Illustreret Nyhedsblad». I must further inform you that both books are to be published by Gyldendalske Boghandel in a completely revised form, and that the public will be informed of this immediately, so that your intended swindle will bring you nothing but shame and harm. Furthermore, I have today placed the matter in the hands of a lawyer, and if you dare to carry on with your intention, I shall show you, both in the press and in the courts, what this kind of villainy leads to.
Jensen did not give way, however, and published the book. The case ended in court, and Ibsen won. Jensen had to pay compensation and costs; the edition was confiscated and destroyed.
The "legal" second edition was published by Gyldendalske Boghandel (F. Hegel) in Copenhagen in 1873. Ibsen made some changes in the play, but these were mainly of an orthographical nature.
First performance
The first performance of The Vikings at Helgeland was at Kristiania Norske Theater, Ibsen's own theatre, on November 24th 1858.
As mentioned above, Ibsen handed in the play to Christiania Theater first. It was accepted for staging in March 1858. Nothing came of this production, however. Ibsen was informed by the management that the financial situation of the theatre did not allow for fees to be paid for original work, and therefore the play could not be staged at the time. Ibsen was provoked, believing that this was an excuse for shelving the production, and in Aftenbladet of March 10th 1858 he published an article with the title "Et Træk af Christiania danske Theaters Bestyrelse" (A Feature of Christiania Danish Theatre's Management). He accused the theatre of failing to promote the interests of Norwegian dramatic literature. This gave rise to a heated debate in the press, in which Paul Botten-Hansen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson took part.
As mentioned above, Ibsen felt that his own Norwegian theatre lacked the competence to put on a large-scale production of The Vikings at Helgeland. Shocked by Christiania Theater's weakness, he decided to take over himself. The newspaper debate helped to inspire public interest in the play, and there was a full house. The play was well received by both audiences and critics, but was given only a few performances.
By Jens-Morten Hanssen / ibsen.net