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Holberg

Holberg is a surname and place name most commonly associated with Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754), a Danish-Norwegian writer and scholar who is widely regarded as a foundational figure of Danish and Norwegian literature. Living in the Enlightenment era, Holberg produced a prolific body of work in drama, prose, and philosophy, blending classical form with contemporary satire and rational inquiry. His comedies Jeppe on the Hill (Jeppe på bjerget) and Erasmus Montanus are among the most enduring in Danish and Norwegian theater, while Niels Klim’s Underground Travels is celebrated as an early science-fiction novel that satirizes scholasticism and authority. Beyond theater, he wrote political and moral essays, histories, and lectures that helped introduce Enlightenment ideas to Nordic audiences and influenced the development of modern Danish and Norwegian prose.

The surname Holberg is also borne by other individuals and appears in toponyms and institutions named in

In scholarship, Ludvig Holberg’s legacy is studied within the history of literature and rhetoric, the Scandinavian

his
honor,
particularly
in
the
Nordic
countries.
Because
of
this
association,
the
name
can
refer
to
places,
awards,
or
organizations,
depending
on
context.
Enlightenment,
and
the
evolution
of
Danish
and
Norwegian
language
standards.
His
work
remains
part
of
the
national
literary
canon
in
Denmark
and
Norway
and
continues
to
be
translated
and
staged
around
the
world.