Per Gynt

Not to be confused with Peer Gynt.

Per Gynt (Norwegian pronunciation: [per ɡʏnt]) is a Norwegian fairy tale from Gudbrandsdal. It is the loose basis for Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt.

Per Gynt tells the story of the eponymous Per Gynt (Peter Gynt), a hunter from Kvam, and his various exploits. Gynt rescues three dairy-maids from trolls and shoots the Bøyg, a gigantic, worm-shaped troll-being.[1] The fairy tale is most famously recorded by Asbjørnsen and Moe in Norwegian Folktales. Ibsen believed that the legend of Per Gynt was rooted in fact.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Meyer, Michael. 1974. Ibsen: A Biography. Abridged edition. Pelican Biographies ser. Harmondsworth: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-021772-X.