Brief description
In April 1850 Ibsen left Grimstad for Christiania to study for «examen artium» (the Norwegian examination required for university entrance) with the idea of entering the university there. He was accepted by Henrik Heltberg's «student factory». The Burial Mound is thought to have been written during Whitsuntide 1850, when Ibsen was having a holiday from his studies.
However, the idea and the first draft of the play came into being in Grimstad during the winter of 1849/50. The title was then «Normannerne» («The Normans»). At that point Ibsen was engaged in a number of literary projects in the genres of drama, poetry and prose. In a letter of 5 January 1850 to his friend Ole C. Schulerud, Ibsen mentions these one after the other. Of what later became The Burial Mound he writes:
«the little one-acter 'Normannerne' has been re-written, or rather is to be re-written, and I am busying myself with it at present. In its new form it will be seen to be clothing a more extended idea than the one for which it was originally intended.» [read the letter in HISe]
As soon as it was finished, the play was handed in to Christiania Theater – under the pseudonym Brynjolf Bjarme. Contrary to Catiline, The Burial Mound was immediately accepted. This time Ibsen had hit upon the prevailing taste of the time, the national-romantic trend. This was not the case with Catiline.
The first night – of the first-ever Ibsen production – was at Christiania Theater on 26 September 1850. Ibsen was present himself. He is said to have been extremely nervous and to have hidden himself away in the darkest corner of the theatre. The interest surrounding this perfomance was great. The number of tickets sold for the premiere was 557. A new drama by a Norwegian author was at that time an event in itself. The reception was mixed. The theatre critics were not particularly merciful in their reviews. Nevertheless the performance must have made some appeal to the public; it was repeated on 29 September and 24 October the same year, and three performances of a play did not represent a particularly low figure at that time. Altogether for the three performances 1171 tickets were sold.
The cast consisted of Danish actors, but with one exception: Laura Svendsen (later known as Laura Gundersen) played the part of Blanka. The director, who was also cast in the role of Bernhard, was Christian Jørgensen.
The Burial Mound was never published in the 1850 version in Ibsen's life-time. It is true that Ole Schulerud signed a contract with the bookseller P. A. Steensballe in Christiania regarding the purchase and printing of the manuscript, but nothing ever came of its publication.
The first time this version was published was in Scandinavian Studies and Notes, vol. 4, 1917, but this was not based on Ibsen's own manuscript – that has not been preserved – but on a prompter`s script from Christiania Theater.
In the autumn of 1853 Ibsen re-worked The Burial Mound. He had moved to Bergen in 1851 and been appointed to Det norske Theater as author and director. This new version differs radically from the old one in form. It was basically nothing more than the title and a rough outline of the plot that were left unchanged. For one thing the scene of the action was moved from «The coast of Normandy» to «a small island off Sicily». In addition, Bernhard, Blanka's foster parent, was re-named Roderik.
Ibsen had this version produced at Det norske Theater in Bergen, with its first night on 2 January 1854. He directed it himself. Not long afterwards the version was published as a serial in four parts in the Bergen newspaper Bergenske Blade in the period between 29 January and 8 February 1854.
(From ibsen.net)
Read The Burial Mound (in Norwegian)
In the online version of the official Ibsen edition (HISe) you can read The Burial Mound in various formats. This content is currently only available in Norwegian. Follow the links below to read the play:
Introduction to The Burial Mound (in Norwegian)
The online version of the official Ibsen edition (HISe) offers exstensive information about The Burial Mound in Norwegian. Follow the links below to read about various aspects connected to the play.
The modified version of The Burial Mound (1854)
In this re-written version of The Burial Mound, various changes are made. Amongst other, the story does not take place in Valland in the North-West of France but on the Italian island Sicily.
Read the modified version (in Norwegian)
In the online version of the official Ibsen edition (HISe) you can read The Burial Mound (1854) in various formats. This content is currently only available in Norwegian. Follow the links below to read the play:
Introduction to the modified version (in Norwegian)
The online version of the official Ibsen edition (HISe) offers extensive information about The Burial Mound (1854) in Norwegian. Follow the links below to read about various aspects connected to the play.
- Background
- Creative process
- Stagings in Ibsen's lifetime
- About the publication
- Translations in Ibsen's life time
- More information
Reviews
Here you can find reviews in full text and an overview of registered reviews in various languages.