Hans Tausen, a Danish monk, had studied at Wittenberg and heard Luther.
On his return to Denmark he preached the Evangelical doctrine, and it
was adopted in 1536 as the religion of the country.
In about the same manner it went in Sweden. Two brothers, Olaf and Lars
Pehrson, had studied in Wittenberg, and brought the Evangelical faith
home on their return. It was in 1544 adopted as the religion of the
country.
Norway was but poorly prepared for the Reformation. Education was poor.
A German monk named Anton preached the Evangelical doctrine in Bergen in
1528. His preaching found favor with the citizens, and the bishop, an
indolent man, moved to his residence outside of the city; but we find no
account of any general awakening. Anton afterwards became priest in the
city.
Norway was at that time united to Denmark. When the Reformation,
therefore, was introduced into that country, it was as a natural
consequence established in Norway, in 1537. At first it found small
favor with the people, who remained Roman Catholic, and in several
places even used violence against the Evangelical clergy. Little by
little, however, the Evangelical doctrine became better known and found
more favor with the people. This was owing more to the bishops Geble
Pedersen in Bergen, Jens Nilsen in Oslo and Jørgen Eriksen in Stavanger
than to anybody else. Eriksen has been called “the Luther of Norway.”