«Langfredagen vilde dei ‘li’e med Jesus’»: – en studie i langfredagens folkereligiøse fromhetspraksiser på 1800-tallet

Sammendrag

The theme of this article is popular religious practices on Good Friday in the 19th century. In particular, fasting and work are studied as devotional practices. The study takes a long-term perspective, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages in order to discuss the status of Good Friday as a holy day throughout the centuries and to uncover the ecclesiastical and cultural-historical background for the popular religious devotional practices. The article demonstrates that devotional practices involving self-mortification, mainly motivated by a desire to ‘suffer with Jesus’, have their origins in the Imitatio Christi ideal, which in Norway can be traced back to around 1200. A central point of the article is to discuss the interaction between church preaching and devotional practices. The discussion demonstrates that the Imitatio Christi ideal and the main justification for the practices of ‘suffering with Jesus’ were conveyed in the 18th and 19th centuries through the Bible, sermons and edifying literature. Edifying literature seems to have been of particular importance for the devotional practices of the common people on Good Friday. In the writings of Johann Arndt and Hans Nielsen Hauge, the story of Jesus’ suffering is linked to the rationale of ‘suffering with Jesus’. The Pietist demand for a Christian life and the Haugean emphasis on worldly work probably also had an influence.    Good Friday fasting and Good Friday work are both popular religious expressions of the Imitatio Christi ideal. However, while fasting has its origins in the fasting requirements of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages, Good Friday work as an expression, probably came about because work on Good Friday was given religious significance after Good Friday became a statutory holy day in 1685.