On a Future Library

Scandinavians are deliberate.

They tend to see themselves as part and parcel of what was, is, and will be, in a view that examines life on a continuum. Taking the best from the past and with an eye towards the future, they seem to always be making plans that have an impact on the present world and also on the generations to come. So, it’s not surprising that its the Norwegians who are planning on a library for the future. Here’s the idea.

Beginning in 2014, a public trust organization, in collaboration with the city of Oslo, Norway’s capital city, started collecting the a book of the year as chosen by a select committee. The project is almost as much art project as it is library. But the organization wishes to preserve modern literature for the future. They will collect a book a year for the next 100 years.

The Future Library Project, or Framtidsbiblioteket in Norwegian, has several disparate parts happening at the same time to bring this library to fruition. It will actually be a large room built inside a new library that was recently constructed in Oslo. A large swath of Norwegian forest was harvested for the wood used to build this special room that will house the future library. That choice of medium for the room is intentional, of course, because, after all, books are made out of paper that comes from wood.

Oh, and the books chosen? They are unpublished as of now. The authors submitted manuscripts to the organization, but the public hasn’t seen them yet. Some of the writers whose works will be a part of the future library include Han Kang, Margaret Atwood, and Karl Ove Knausgård. We know the names of the books, of course, but not the content. At least, not yet. And, since 2014, we have only 9 books of the eventual 100. When each chosen author presents the book to the organization, they meet in the place where the Norwegian forest where the trees were harvested to build the library room to partake in the handing over ceremony. This ceremony will be done only 91 other times.

Are you starting to see how all this is interconnected, how the collective community is being incorporated to produce this library for tomorrow? Everything has been thought out, everything has been planned–for the now and for the future. And, speaking of the future, let’s jump 91 years from now, to 2114, when the library is finally ready. Let’s listen in on a description of the library given by a docent to a group of visitors in the year 2114.

“There are now 100 books available to be read in this library, 100 books stretching back to the 21st Century. They have never been read by the public. In fact, they have only recently been printed. However, you can purchase copies of these books if you wish. In fact, people were buying these books back in 2014 before they were available. Again, with an eye towards the future, people back then bought the books for their grand children and great grandchildren to read in this, the future. And the pages of the books are made of special paper. The room you’re in was made 100 years ago of trees felled for this reason. In their place in the forest, new trees were planted that are now 100 years old. Those trees, those trees planted back in 2014, they are the ones now being harvested to use as paper for the 100 books you see before you.”

I told you Scandinavians are deliberate.

On Finding a Knife

Osoyro, Norway, lies on the western edge of the Scandinavian nation, on the water, and is one of hundreds of little, picturesque villages that dot the inlets and bays of the coast. It boasts a population of around 1,500 hardy and healthy and happy souls.

Elise is an 8 year old student at the local elementary school. She’s really a typical kid; she loves horses and flowers and her friends. She’s a decent student, and she loves her pets. But something happened to Elise this year in school that doesn’t happen too often these days.

We have all heard the stories about school violence, especially in the United States. Outbreaks of attacks have been increasing in occurrence across the globe, sadly. In nations where guns are as readily available as they are in the US, even knife attacks have seen a rise in many schools. In an effort to combat this rise in violence, some schools have been encouraging kids to report incidences where they witness a classmate with a potential weapon. This preventative measure has met with a mixed reaction. Kids are not eager to be seen as tattle-tales, squealers, or rats. They want to be liked. On the other hand, if one attack is thwarted because some brave child reported a potential threat, then the program is worth it in my eyes.

Anyway, Elise and her friends were on the playground one day (yes, kids go outside for play even in winter in Scandinavian countries). While running and playing with her chums, Elise spotted something reflecting in the low hanging sunshine of the winter’s day. At first she thought it was a piece of glass. She reached down for it…and realized that it had a sharp edge. This, even to her 8 year old eyes, was obviously a weapon.

Elise showed it to her friends. They crowded around her as she held the blade in her hand. It was only slightly larger than her palm, the edge of the weapon still sharp. She looked around at the faces of the circle around her. All of them were looking at her hand. “We should tell teacher,” she said. The circle of friends all agreed. And so, the little group of girls made their way to Ms. Drange, the class teacher.

Ms. Drange was taken aback at first. How could such a thing find its way to the school’s playground? She quizzed Elise gently, knowing the girl enough to know that she herself didn’t bring the item from home or elsewhere. Elise then led Ms. Drange outside to the pile of stones where she first spied the sharp object shining in the winter sun. Ms. Drange assured Elise that she’d done the right thing to turn it in and to make her teacher aware of the situation. She carefully took the sharp object from Elise and wrapped it in a cloth.

The next day, Ms. Drange contacted the authorities. She told them about Elise and how the object came to be discovered. Soon, a team of experts swarmed the village schoolyard. The area was roped off as the specialists began looking for clues as to the origins of the blade. For the children, the day was wonderful because they could see the investigation for themselves. Elise was both a little confused and happy. She was proud to have done the right thing, but she didn’t fully understand what her discovery meant. The local press asked Elise what she felt when she found it. She shyly said, “It was nice.”

Come to find out, Elise did indeed discover a knife that day, but wasn’t a knife that someone was going to use to harm someone these days. The knife’s material didn’t even come from Norway at all; the nearest place it could have been created was Denmark, several hundred miles away. That’s not to say that it wasn’t used some time in the past, however.

In fact, when Elise’s particular and extremely rare flint knife was made, it has been determined that it had most likely been used in a sacrificial ritual.

Some 3,700 years ago.

On a Nordic Legend

Scandinavia is an area filled with lore and legends. The Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian languages–and, by extension, the Icelandic language as well–boast a varied and fascinating mythology. Many of the stories from Scandinavian legends have been created from actual historical characters. These real people have had their lives changed, magnified, and transmogrified over time by singers, painters, and writers for reasons that range from the political to simply for fun.

One such legend that most likely has historical origins is the story of a Scandinavian lord named Amloda or Amleth (depending on the language used). In Old Norse, the name might have meant trickster, prankster, or even fool. Scholars aren’t sure if this was the lord’s name or if it more described his personality. Similar words/names such as amhlair can be found in old Gaelic and can mean stupid or mad–as in crazy.

12th Century Latin versions of Old Norse poems from two centuries earlier are among the first to mention this man. In these early stories, the lord was reported to be the grandson of the governor of Jutland. He was seen for some unknown reason to be a threat to the king, and his life was threatened. The story goes on to say that it was his madness or foolishness that ultimately saved him from the king’s paranoia. If he was this silly, this stupid-crazy, how much of a threat could he really be? This may be why scholars are confused about the name–was it actually the young man’s name or was it merely a description of his personality?

At any rate, the tale continues and includes murders, a love interest, faithful and faithless men and women, and all the swordplay that should be included in any good medieval legend. After he survives the jealousy of the king, the story ends with the lord marrying a nice princess and then dying heroically in battle. Was any of it true? Did this young lord actually live? Scholars believe so. The story is found across several cultures in Scandinavia, far too many for the tale to not have had its origins in truth.

By the 1500s, the popular story had made its way to France and then to England. A writer in Elizabethan times in England knew about this story, and he decided to use it as an inspiration for a new play he was working on. It’s a story that the world today knows well.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.