New grant for research into Danish drama before Holberg

Professor Sofie Kluge from the Department of Culture and Language receives DKK 6 million from the Independent Research Fund Denmark for a project, which explores early modern Danish drama in a European framework.

Danish drama from the period 1500–1700 has long been overshadowed by the later emergence of Ludvig Holberg as a dramatist. The project Before Holberg: Re-Discovering Early Modern Danish Drama in its European Context, investigates these early dramatic works as a vital yet overlooked source for understanding Denmark’s cultural and intellectual history prior to Holberg.

Danish drama in a European context

Focusing primarily on comic plays rich in philosophical and moral reflection, the project places Danish drama in dialogue with European counterparts. This approach uncovers shared dramaturgical strategies and transnational patterns in genre, character typology and moral inquiry, demonstrating how Danish drama participated in broader European debates on ethics, education and social order.

Through a combination of literary analysis and digital humanities methods, the project examines drama as both imaginative literature and a pedagogical tool. The outcome will be the first interdisciplinary, transnational account of Danish drama before Holberg, challenging established literary historiography and repositioning pre-Holberg drama within early modern European cultural exchange.