How did Johan Sebastian Welhaven defend the Danish element in Norwegian culture?

Johan Sebastian Welhaven defended the Danish element in Norwegian culture by advocating for a conservative, intellectual approach to national development that prioritized artistic refinement and continuity.12

Following Norway’s separation from Denmark in 1814, a significant ideological divide emerged regarding the country's cultural path. While some contemporaries, most notably Henrik Wergeland, demanded a complete break with Danish influence to foster total independence, Welhaven argued that culture was indivisible. He insisted that valuable aspects of the existing Danish tradition should be retained rather than discarded.12

Welhaven’s defense was rooted in his belief in "conscious artistry," restraint, and control. He promoted national progress through education and sought to maintain high standards of form and unity in literature. Consequently, he was highly critical of the "crudity" he perceived in the extreme nationalism of his peers, famously opposing Wergeland’s inclusion of Norwegian dialect words within Danish-language texts. His position as a leader of the "intelligentsia" faction defined a major ideological conflict in 19th-century Norwegian literature, emphasizing a measured, intellectual evolution over a radical rupture with the past.213