Martyr, hykler eller kritiker?

Om Christian Lollikes Erasmus Montanus (2017)

Resumé

Christian Lollike’s reworked and popular version of Erasmus Montanus, which premiered at Aarhus Theater in 2017, is not based on a neutral interpretation of Holberg’s classic. Lollike’s version supports three different scholarly traditions, which for the past several decades have been regarded as opposites. The various reworkings thus reflect three completely different notions of how Erasmus should be understood as a character. I argue, that while the reworkings that point to Erasmus as either martyr or hypocrite are based on two traditions that, despite disagreement, are based on the historical context of Holberg’s plays, the understanding of Erasmus as a critic of the contemporary worldview is based on a scholarly tradition that for several decades has reproduced an incorrect historical context regarding scientific discussions in eighteenth-century Denmark-Norway. The problem with partially basing reworkings on this latter scholarly tradition is the risk of giving a wrong picture of Holberg’s intention in using comedies to criticize contemporary knowledge practice and culture.