Mysteries - Knut Hamsun [154]
37 Caiaphas, the high priest, was in charge of the trial of Jesus (Mt. 26:57-68). Pontius Pilate, Roman procurator of Judea, “delivered Jesus ... to be crucified” (Mark 15:15).
37 The expression “universal spirits on horseback” no doubt derives from Georg F. W. Hegel (1770-1831), who used it to describe the world-historical individuals, specifically Napoleon. In a letter to F. I. Niethammer of October 13, 1806, the day before Napoleon’s victory at Jena, Hegel writes, “I saw the Emperor—this world soul—riding through the city to a review of his troops.” According to Walter Kaufmann, the statement has often been misquoted to imply “Hegel ... said that he had met the Weltgeist zu Pferde”—literally, “the world spirit on horseback” (Hegel: A Reinterpretation [Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1978], pp. 318-19). In this translation the word verdensdnd (Weltgeist, Weltseele) has been translated as “universal spirit.”
38 The inclusion of the emperor of Brazil in the “worthless majority” may be due to the fact that the last emperor, Pedro II (b. 1825), had been deposed in 1889 and died in 1891, at the time when Hamsun was writing Mysteries.
38 The view of Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) expressed by Nagel is strongly influenced by the Russian writer’s development after 1876, when he underwent a spiritual crisis. Turning religious thinker and moral teacher, Tolstoy preached Christian love, nonviolence, and renunciation of wealth. He devoted much time to pedagogy, writing textbooks intended for the peasants in an attempt to combat illiteracy. His works from the mid-1880s are permeated with moral didacticism.
38 Hamsun shows an awareness, both in Hunger and Mysteries, of the philosophy of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), epochal German philosopher who revolutionized the conception of time and space, viewed by him as “perceptual forms” rather than as objective realities.
39 Nagel is referring to the dramatic poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) published in two parts, in 1808 and after Goethe’s death, respectively. Faust is considered to be one of the greatest literary works of all time.
39 Ola Upnorth (Ola Nordistuen) denotes the typical or average Norwegian, also called “Ola Nordmann.”
39 Hallingdal, one of Norway’s long East Country valleys, is known for its crafts, with rich traditions in woodworking, knitting, and weaving.
39 Trondelag, the area around the Trondheim Fjord, comprising the counties of South and North Trondelag, was in ancient times briefly the center of the Norwegian kingdom. Its inhabitants, the Trønders, are thought of as a staunch, no-nonsense, down-to-earth lot.
46 Finnmark is Norway’s northernmost county.
47 Helsingfors is the Swedish name of Helsinki, the capital of Finland.
47 The county of Buskerud extends northwest from the Oslo Fjord to the watershed. Smalenene was the former name (until 1919) of Østfold County, southeast of Oslo.
52 The people of Setesdal, a rather isolated valley in East Agder County, are popularly known for their adherence to tradition and the preservation of regional arts and crafts.
52 Vetle Vetlesen is a made-up name. It is intended to connote an ultraconservative cultural policy.
52 Johann Arendt (1555-1621), a German Lutheran pastor, was widely known for his edifying religious writings. His books were translated into many languages and had a decisive influence on pietism.
64 After the Turks granted Serbia autonomy under a hereditary prince in 1829, it was torn by a feud between two rival clans for over fifty years. It gained full independence in 1878 and was proclaimed a kingdom in 1882. Six years prior to Hamsun’s writing of Mysteries, in 1885, it engaged in an unsuccessful war with Bulgaria.
64 Kristiania was the official name of Oslo until 1924. The ritzy Grand Hotel, located not far from the Royal Palace, is known for its rather exclusive café, with a long history as a gathering place for artists and other intellectuals.
66 Belgrade