Vis-Knut: Marginality in Folklore and Folk Religion (original) (raw)

In 1878, the Norwegian 'national poet' Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson published a peculiar biography about a peasant with miraculous abilities. Vis-Knut (Wise-Knut) was the story of a social misfit who challenged the religious, political and scientific authorities of his time and whose memory would continue to do so for many years to come. Bjørnson introduced the protagonist by making social, economic, and cultural marginality his defining trait: Knut was not like other children. Far from it. He was often very sick, and suffered intensely from the falling-sickness (epilepsy) and for that reason was unable to take part in the hard farm work or in fact do anything at all. Nor could he be taught to read except by listening to the other children. But the teacher soon took a liking to this strange ailing boy, with big' sparkling and strongly squinted eyes, a defect, however, which only gave an added impression of something strange and absent. […] He was born and brought up in a poor mountain district and on one of its very poorest farms at that. […] Knut's mother was a sincere Christian and so was his teacher, and this influence, as well as the boy's delicate health, made him trust in God and lean upon Him as his only support. […] Poor lad! There he lay in his bed disabled and dreaming, oppressed by poverty, shut in by mountains and ever yearning. 1