While parallel to such bigotry elsewhere in Western Europe in
Norway, antisemitism in Norway has had a distinct history, reaching
its apex during the Holocaust in Norway and with continued
relevance to the public debate about the Arab-Israeli
conflict.Norwegian kings, Vikings, and others who traveled in
Europe in the Middle Ages undoubtedly encountered Jews and
attitudes toward them during their travels, but the first mention
of Jews in Norse literature is found in Postola sögur in Iceland in
the 1200s, where they are mentioned along with the more general
pagans. The literature of this time referred to Jews as
"gyðingar," "juði," or in the Latin form
"judeus." Jews were also mentioned in unfavorable terms
in subsequent literary Icelandic sagas, such as Gyðinga saga (Saga
of the Jews).
