ABSTRACT
Ludvig Holberg stands in the common mind primarily as an author of comedies. His plays have obtained a remarkable dissemination; a handful of them maintain a lasting popularity in the Scandinavian countries, meaning that although they are not necessarily being read any more, they still remain in the theatres' repertoires. Professional theatre in the vernacular was a new phenomenon in Denmark-Norway in the first part of the eighteenth century. German pietism had a significant impact on Danish theology, and Philipp Jacob Spener's rejection of the art of theatre played an important role both in German and Danish contexts. To Holberg comedy was a powerful forum for discussions of civil and social customs, for satire against superstition and self-sufficiency and particularly against theatricality in human behaviour. The comedies of Holberg should be read as interwoven with ancient comedy, Moliere and commedia dell'arte. The Italian inspiration can be traced in his stagings.
