The most ancient literary remains to be found in Norway are runic inscriptions dating from the early years of the first millennium CE. However, the country is perhaps best known for the powerful heroic and mythological tales and kingly sagas of the Old Norse Period (750-1300 CE). By 900 CE Norway had become a homeland to many Icelandic people, giving rise to a unique literary community of Icelandic skalds and poets. Many of these were subsequently commissioned to write histories of the Norwegian kings, and as a result the best known of the saga series date from this era, notably Heimskringla ('The Orb of the World') by Snorri Sturlasson. King Håkon Håkonson (Håkon IV, 1217-1263), perhaps the greatest of Norway’s medieval monarchs, is believed to have been the role model for the first pure literary Norwegian work, Kongsspeilet ('The King’s Mirror'). Norway may also have been a gateway to the Nordic countries for the continental epic ballads, many of which were translated into Old Norse.

During the union with Denmark, Old Norse gradually disappeared from Norwegian literature, eventually being supplanted by Danish. Whilst Norwegian Danish poetry and prose of the late medieval and early modern era was invariably peppered with Norwegian dialect, it is difficult to classify the literary output of this period as Norwegian national literature.

However, an unofficial national language was developing in rural areas, where the strong tradition of folk tales passed from generation to generation emerged as a most precious heritage. This included various folkloric genres including songs, fairy tales, myths, legends, jingles, rhymes and the traditional Norwegian stev. Most were written down during the 19th century, when researchers documented 3,000-4,000 registered folk tales with up to 300 different variations, 5,000-6,000 folk songs, notably Draumkvedet ('The Dream Song'), 10,000 legends and more than 80,000 old sayings. However, only with the secession from Denmark would the rural dialects be considered as part of the Norwegian language.