Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (1812) and
Jørgen Moe (1813) were
Norwegian fairy tale writers. They went around the Norwegian countryside, collecting and recording tales from "the common man". Old fairy tales were plentiful, but serious writers and "literate people" had little interest in them until the
national romantic period in the first half of the
19th century.
Asbjørnsen and Moe put much emphasis on recording Norwegian tales, which is important, because Norway was under Danish rule until 1814, and then under Swedish rule until 1905. Thus, they wanted to find the "Norwegian people's spirit", whatever that is. :) This is why they would use a lot of old Norwegian words and phrases in their writing. (The official written language in Norway at the time was Danish).
Asbjørnsen and Moe's fairy tale collection ("Norwegian Folk Tales" Norwegian: "Norske Folkeeventyr") was published in 1841, and gained much popularity both inside and outside Norway, and they were said at the time to be the best fairy tales in the world. Later, both Asbjørnsen and Moe continued their work separately.
Later works by Asbjørnsen:
Norske Huldreeventyr og Folkesagn, 1845-48 ("Norwegian Troll Tales and Folk Myths")
Norske Folkeeventyr, ny samling, 1871 ("Norwegian Folk Tales, new collection")
Later works by Moe:
Digte, 1849 ("Poems")
I Brønden og i Tjernet, 1851 ("In the Well and in the Pond")
At Hænge på Juletreet, 1855 ("To Hang on the Christmas Tree")
En Liten Julegave, 1860 ("A Little Christmas Present")
Samlede Skrifter, 1877 ("Gathered Writings")
It should also be mentioned that a certain amount of tales were considered too sordid at the time, and were not published until 1977 together with similar tales from other writers from the time. This book was compiled by Oddbjørg Høgset and called "Erotic Folk Tales" ("Erotiske Folkeeventyr").
Notes:
1. Actually, DejaMorgana tells me that the Grimm brothers also collected their stories.
I am working on noding Asbjørnsen and Moe's fairy tales.
These fairy tales are in the public domain, and they are mostly translated by me (except where otherwise stated).
CST Approved
The Fox Widow (Reveenka)
Tom Thumb (Tommeliten)
The Boy and The Devil (Gutten og fanden)
Pål Andrestua
The Young Boys Who Met Trolls in Hedal Forest (Småguttene som traff trollene på Hedalsskogen)
The Man who Stayed to Tend the House (Mannen som skulle stelle hjemme)
The Box with Strange Content (Skrinet med det rare i)
Woman Against the Flow (Kjerringa mot strømmen)
"Hello, Man!" - "Axe Handle" ("Goddag, mann!" - "Økseskaft")
The Cock and the Fox (Hanen og reven)
The Devil and the Bailiff (Fanden of futen)
The Billy Goats Gruff, noded by vagabond. (De tre bukkene Bruse)
Stupid Men and Trolls for Wives (Dumme menn og troll til kjerringer)
The Gertrude Bird (Gjertrudsfuglen)
The Seventh Father of the House (Den syvende far i huset)
A Story of a Priest (En prestehistorie)
Bamse Brakar
The Boy who Went to the North Wind and Demanded the Flour Back (Gutten som gikk til nordenvinden og krevde igjen melet)
The Priest and the Bell Ringer (Presten og klokkeren)
The Pig and His Way of Life (Grisen og levemåten hans)
The Lord and St. Peter Wandering (Vårherre og St. Peter på vandring)
When Askeladden Made the Princess Give Up (Askeladden som fikk prinsessen til å løgste seg)
The Jutul and Johannes Blessom (Jutulen og Johannes Blessom)
The Lord's Bride (Herremannsbruden)
When Askeladden and the Troll had an Eating Competition (Askeladden som kappåt med trollet)
When the Ram and the Pig Went to the Forest to Live on Their Own (Væren og grisen som skulle til skogs og bo for seg selv)
The Princess No-one Could Silence (Prinsessen som ingen kunne målbinde)
The Fox as a Shepherd (Reven som gjeter)
The Hare Who Got Married (Haren som hadde vært gift)
The Doll in the Grass (Dukken i gresset)
The Cock and the Hen (Hanen og hønen)
Everyone Thinks The Best About Their Own Children (Hver synes best om sine barn)
Let Go of the Spruce Root And Grab the Fox's Foot! (Slipp granrot og ta i revefot!)
When the Bear And the Fox Shared a Field (Bjørnen og reven skulle ha åker i sameie)
Mikkel Wants to Taste Horse Meat (Mikkel vil smake hestekjøtt)
The Key in the Rock Head (Stabbursnøkkelen i rokkehodet)
The Father of the House (Han far sjøl i stua)
Well Done and Badly Rewarded (Vel gjort og ille lønnet)
Not Driving and Not Riding (Ikke kjørende og ikke ridende)
Seven Year Old Porridge, noded by epli_ellifu (Sju år gammal graut)
The Skipper and Old Eric (Skipperen og Gamle-Erik)
Friends in Life and Death (Venner i liv og død)
Shoo Cat, Go down from the Table! (Tsju pus, vil du ned av bordet!)
The Cock and the Hen in the Nut Forest (Hanen og høna i nøtteskogen)
Why the Bear Has No Tail (Hvorfor bjørnen er stubbrumpet)
The Fox Takes the Bear's Christmas Meal (Reven snyter bjørnen for julekosten)
The Cat at Dovre (Kjetta på Dovre)
A Story of a Suitor (En frierhistorie)
Peik
Little Åse Goosegirl (Vesle Åse Gåsepike)
The Three Aunts (De tre mostrene)
Please let me know if you find/node others!