We see Scandinavian culture almost every day in Minnesota, especially during those cold winters when we crave some good old comedy drama like Church Basement Ladies. These women are some of the craziest people you'll ever see and boy, do they appreciate their Scandinavian heritage! The very first meal they prepare in the musical is a Lutefisk dinner since for modern drama it doesn't get more Scandinavian than that, folks. I've often wondered, though, how our Scandinavian ancestors came across theater and drama. Our Scandinavian ancestors blazed a trail rich in history and culture, but little is known about their attention to drama. My personal goal is to shed light on the early history of Scandinavian drama. “Rich in history and tradition…Scandinavian theatre, however, has remained relatively unexplored” (Mark ix). Scandinavia is best known for its Norman culture (Northmen) which was most important during the Dark Ages and includes the following countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark (Bates prologue). The Normans were “nothing more than rude barbarians” who had inhabited the northern Europe we now call Scandinavia, the landscape was as distinct as the culture. A Viking was the favorite occupation of Norse men, and because of this barbaric and uncouth culture little is known about the drama in the specific time era that ran from 874 to 934 (Bates' prologue). Due to the influences of the Normans' pagan religious beliefs, it is best expected that they participated in ritual dramas and story re-enactments (Gunnell 15). These ritual dramas were produced as worship for the Norse gods, this mythology gives insight into the intelligence and morality of their culture rather than... middle of paper... magi walking down the central nave. Once they walked along the central nave, they knelt in front of the altar and the nativity scene, then the wise men took the newborn baby and sacrificed him. Works Cited Bates, Alfred, James Penny Boyd and John Porter Lamberton. The drama; its history, literature and influence on civilization. vol. 21. The Athenian Society, 1903.Gunnell, Terry. Origins of theater in Scandinavia. Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 1995.Marker, Frederick J. The Scandinavian Theatre: A Brief History. Totowwa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield, Print.Pascal, Roy. "On the origins of the liturgical drama of the Middle Ages". The revision of the modern language 36.3 (1941): 369-387.