The Pretenders

The Pretenders was written in bursts during 1863, but Ibsen claimed to have had sources and the idea in 1858. It is a five-act play in prose set in the thirteenth century. The play opened at the old Christiania Theatre on 19 January 1864. The plot revolves around the historical conflict between Norwegian King Håkon Håkonsson and his father-in-law, Earl Skule Bårdsson. It has been commonly ascribed to the rivalry between Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, who had succeeded Ibsen as director of the Norske Theater in 1857.