NorwegieKnights History of NFC

The Wegie has been well documented throughout Norse mythology and legend, passed down through the sands of time by spoken word from stories, songs and folklore. The legends whisper enchanted tales of mythical beings such as frost giants, trolls, night and thunder gods and even dwarfs and serpents.

One might expect the Wegie to feature in these tales as a fierce and threatening character. In contrast, they were talked of as loving and faithful companions to the Gods! The sagas tell of the God Thor, who was struck down in total awe because of his great strength, who on a visit to Jotunheim, encountered a cat so large and robust he was unable to lift it off the ground. This should have been no surprise to Thor, as his mother, God Freyja, was well known for her golden chariot, pulled by two large longhaired Norwegian cats. It might seem absurd to imagine a cart drawn by cats, until one realizes that Viking cats are not your standard Felis domesticus.

It was common place for the Norse to offer kittens to new brides. This is especially appropriate as cats were associated with Freya - the Norse Goddess of Love and Fertility.

Interestingly, though Freyja's cats certainly catch our imagination and hearts, there is no record in Old Norse literature of the cat's names. One author, Diana Paxson, in the her book "Brisingamen" used the names Tregul ("tree-gold", or amber) and Bygul ("bee-gold", or honey) as names for Freyja's cats.. There is no evidence at all in Norse literature for these names, of course, but they certainly have the flavour of Old Norse literature to them!

Many artists both past and present have shown their love and interest in Freya and her team of cats!

For centuries, nobody even thought to write these stories down, but they were continually passed on by oral tradition, shortening the long winter nights around the fire and keeping the gods and their "fairy cats" alive. As much of folklore is passed down through oral tradition it is difficult to pinpoint exact dates. However, sometime between 800 and 1100 C.E, these narratives were put in writing in the Edda, collections of Norse mythology set down in poetry and prose The first writers to make a systematic collection and transcription of the old legends were folklorist Peter Christian Asbjørnsen and poet Jørgen Moe. In 1835 they published a collection of Norwegian folk tales and songs that has made them famous as "the Norwegian Brothers Grimm."

The other most famous literary description of the Wegie comes from a Danish clergyman, Peter Clausson Friis, who lived the greater part of his life in Norway. In 1559, Friis described three types of "lynx": the wolf lynx, the fox lynx, and the cat lynx. It is believed that the animal which Peter Clausson Friis called the "cat lynx" was in fact the Norwegian Forest Cat. This theory seems to be made more likely due to the similarities between the Wegie and the Norwegian lynx. The most apparent being that both are big, long-legged cats with large ruffs, and tufts at the tips of their ears. Furthermore, they both love water, and the countless stories of swimming Wegies who catch their own fish in lakes and rivers are innumerable. The Forest Cat evidently utilizes the same methods as the Norwegian lynx when it goes fishing.

It is easy to see the similarities of the Wegie to the Norwegian Lynx.

When looking at the origin and history of the Wegie, we cannot help but look at their connection to the Vikings!

The Viking exploration was vast, stretching from Newfoundland in the west, Reykjavik in the North, Russia and Constantinople in the east, and even reaching Baghdad, Jerusalem and North Africa in the south.

It is a well known fact that voyagers often took cats aboard their ships to control the rat population. With all this travelling, it is likely cats left the ships to explore and new breeds of cats indigenous to faraway lands boarded the Vikings ships. In fact, many of the various colours of the Norwegian Forest cat do relate to colours of cats found in other countries that the Vikings did visit. For example, pure white forest cats are similar to the silky white Angoras from Turkey, Russian blue type animals with their beautiful grey/blue coats, and even ordinary European moggies contributing their shades of brown tabby or black and white.

Whatever their exact origin, when these cats were brought home to Scandinavia, they had the harshest climate to contend with. Fashioned by nature, and not by man, wegies had to develop and evolve into large boned and heavy coated creatures with long dense water resistant coats, vigorous constitutions and capable of withstanding the unforgiving environment. They also acquired quick wits and even quicker reflexes, since well-honed survival instincts were essential in Norway’s frigid forests.

It soon became apparent to the Norwegian cat lovers that the Wegie, (their precious National cat) should be formally recognised as a pedigree breed. In fact, it was deemed as a necessity to protect the breed and ensure its survival!

In the 1930s, the first efforts were made to bring the Norwegian Forest Cat into the cat fancy. In 1934, the first Norwegian cat club was formed, and in 1938 the first Norwegian Forest Cat was exhibited at a show in Oslo, Norway. However, World War II interrupted cat breeding and showing, and after the war the breed came close to disappearing—as did many breeds during that time. During the 1970's Norway's beloved National Cat was in serious danger of becoming extinct and it was at this point that the Norwegians placed down strict measures to protect their national treasure. Conservation and special breeding programs were put into action in an attempt to save and protect the old bloodlines, original characteristics and beauty of the Wegie. Through much hard work and dedication the Norwegian Forest Cat was recognised as a pedigree cat in 1977.

It was not, however, until the early 1970s that Norwegian fanciers started a serious breeding program to save the original characteristics and beauty of the Norsk Skogkatt. The president of the Norwegian National Association of Pedigree Cats, Carl-Fredrik Nordane pioneered this program and stated that the Norwegian Forest Cat would have to be recognised for it's own survival. It was then that things got interesting, as members of the Breeding Council began their hunt and search to find good examples of the breed. And of course it was not long until they found what they had been searching for! On a visit to Else and Egil Nylund's home in Oslo, they found Pans Truls, who was such a typical specimen that they chose him as the definitive prototype to represent the breed - In fact, he set a standard in which all other cats would be measured against. Click here to see Pans Truls and the Breed Standard!

In 1975, the first Norwegian Forest Cat club was formed to increase, promote and protect the breed. In 1977, FIFE accepted the Wegie for championship. The breed’s popularity slowly spread throughout Europe, although it took until 1997 for the GCCF, here in Great Britain, to accept the breed for championship. Today, the Norsk Skogkatt is recognized in many countries around the world.