Origin stories and the Norwegian radesyge

SummaryThe Norwegian radesyge, a mysterious and crippling skin disease, was regarded as one of Norway's most serious health problems in the latter part of the eighteenth century and the first part of the nineteenth century. The epidemic has been regarded as the key catalyst for the development of a public health system in Norway, including the first hospitals with a therapeutic intention (the so-called radesyge hospitals). It is generally believed that radesyge had its origin in the coastal town of Egersund, Norway, in the beginning of the eighteenth century. This article investigates how such a theory of origin arose, explicates what it has meant to the historiography, and illuminates the host of other origin stories existing in the eighteenth century, now largely forgotten. The article also attempts to make certain observations that pertain to origin stories in general.