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Philology. Theory & Practice
  • Original research article
  • October 29, 2026
  • Open access

The functions of peritexts in Danish-Norwegian news ballads of the 17th-19th centuries

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Abstract

The article analyzes the peritext of Danish-Norwegian news street ballads of the 17th-19th centuries – a genre of popular literature that combined printed text, illustrations, and sung performance. The purpose of the study is to identify the functions of the peritexts of Danish-Norwegian street ballads of the 17th-19th centuries in the context of the development of print media. The material consists of approximately 200 digitized pamphlets from the open corpus skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no. The scientific novelty lies in introducing a number of previously unstudied historical texts into literary scholarship. In addition, the article is the first in international Scandinavian studies to trace the evolution of the peritexts of Norwegian-Danish news ballads over two centuries and to identify and describe the patterns of genre development. The findings show that peritext performed advertising and meaning-generating functions, guiding the perception of news. Significant diachronic changes were identified: titles became shorter and increasingly resembled newspaper headlines; genre clichés became standardized and were sometimes even parodied. The data indicate a gradual separation of oral and written traditions and the transformation of the street ballad from a news medium into an entertainment genre under the influence of the developing newspaper culture.

Research materials

  1. Den i Livet Velærværdige og Vellærde HERR Antonius Ulrich Hagerup <...> . Trondheim, 1750. URL: https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/48341#?c=&m=&s=&cv=1&xywh=1997%2C2428%2C4502%2C2445
  2. Den Kongl. Residence og Hoved-Stad i Portugal Lissabons forhen haste Herlighed og Anseelse <...> . Uten sted, 1755. https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/48920#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-2234%2C-286%2C10515%2C5711
  3. Døds Tanker over den hastige Døds Tilfælde Som skeede paa Bye-Diorden den 7 Octobris Ao. 1750 <...> . Trondheim, 1751. https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/48142#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3601%2C-286%2C10529%2C5718
  4. Emigrantdampskibet “Atlantics” Undergang. Kristiania. 1873. https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/48099
  5. En kort Poetiske Aftegning Paa Den Bedrøvelige Tilstand Udi Den Ulykkelige Ilde-Brand Som Den 20de Octobr. 1728 Blev optændt udi den Kongl. Residentz-Stad Kiøbenhavn. Kjøbenhavn, 1728. https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/47688#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3540%2C-286%2C10529%2C5718
  6. En Nye Viise om De forundrings-værdige Himmel-Tegn, som har ladet sig see paa Himmelen i Tyrkiet i Sarda <...> . Trondheim, 1771. https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/48273#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3679%2C-292%2C10734%2C5830
  7. En Bedrøvet Synderindes navnlig Margretha Nielsdatter Halstads veemodige Klage-Sang <...>. Trondheim, 1775. https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/48338#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3420%2C-275%2C10101%2C5486
  8. En ny Sang om den sørgelige Tildragelse, som hendte paa Røra Sagbrug i Eidanger Præstegjeld den 2den Oktober 1869 <...>. Uten sted, 1869. https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/47957#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3054%2C-266%2C9764%2C5303
  9. Den Danske Ordbog. https://ordnet.dk/ddo/
  10. Holbergordbog. ordnet.dk/ho/
  11. Lasson Chr. En ny og ualmindelig sørgmodig Vise om den jernspisende Hallændings Liv og Død. Kristiania, 1855. https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/46228#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-2061%2C1953%2C7782%2C4226
  12. Mogensen M. Lamentatio Nidrosiensis 1635, Det er Een liden Dict og Klagemaal om det gruelige Jordefald som skeede ved Trondhiem <...>. København, 1635. https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/48605#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-998%2C1835%2C7421%2C4030
  13. Moths Ordbog. ordnet.dk/mo/
  14. Nielsen B. En Israelitis Røg- og Tak-Altere I Bøn og Taksigelse, Som Hekklen og Epha Med Indtægt fra GUD Og Dugift til GUD. Uten sted, 1730. https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/48902#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-2198%2C-276%2C10144%2C5510
  15. Ny Vise Mordersken Randine Grimsrud. Kristiania, 1880. https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/47604#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3670%2C-306%2C11263%2C6117
  16. Tiendeboen Chr. O. En Nye Viise om Det som har tildraget sig i Ørelands Præstegield den 15de October 1766. Uten sted, 1767. https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/48915#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-2199%2C-285%2C10480%2C5692

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Author information

Olga Sergeevna Ermakova

PhD

St. Petersburg State University

Irina Mikhailovna Michajlova

Dr

St. Petersburg State University

About this article

Publication history

  • Received: September 28, 2026.
  • Published: October 29, 2026.

Keywords

  • перитекст
  • массовая литература Скандинавии Нового времени
  • новостные баллады Дании-Норвегии
  • уличные баллады
  • устная и письменная традиции
  • peritext
  • popular literature of early modern Scandinavia
  • Danish-Norwegian news ballads
  • street ballads
  • oral and written traditions

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© 2026 The Author(s)
© 2026 Gramota Publishing, LLC

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)