Norske folkeeventyr  Norske folkeeventyr, (1841–44; Eng. trans.
Norwegian Folktales), collections of folktales and legends, by
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe, that had
survived and developed from Old Norse pagan mythology in the
mountain and fjord dialects of Norway. The authors, stimulated
by a revival of interest in Norway’s past, gathered the tales of
ghosts, fairies, gods, and mountain trolls and compiled them
into a brilliant narration that preserved the oral feeling and
distinctively Norwegian characteristics of the tales. In wisely
choosing a linguistic middle ground against the largely imported
Dano-Norwegian written language and the oral Norwegian dialects,
Asbjørnsen and Moe came to set the standard for the Norwegian
language known as Nynorsk (“new Norwegian”) in contradistinction
to the more formal Bokmål (“book Norwegian”), though they also
influenced the latter to some degree.  Asbjørnsen’s vivid prose
sketches of folklife and Moe’s poems recaptured the folk
heritage of Norw