Wondering if anyone here knows much about Norwegian chanties, or, perhaps Norwegian literature and language that would touch upon them.

I recently learned a short shanty from Stan Hugill's _Shanties from the Seven Seas_, "Go Rowing," whose verses are in Norwegian and written by Henrik Wergeland.
Go Rowing

Hugill got the sjantie from a collection called _Opsang fra Seilskibstiden_ from 1916 by Brochmann. Hugill's description makes it sound like Wergeland was a turn of the 20th century revisionist, who "cleaned up" schanties to make them "respectable" and/or nationalistic.

So it was my great surprise to discover after searching that Wergeland died in 1847. Most of his szanty-like songs were written in the late 1830s. They can be found in Wergeland's Complete Works, published in 1853.

Not having read it, I don't know whence the 1916 Brochmann collection got this "Go Rowing" -- an obvious take on "A-Roving." But the 1853 publication of Wergeland's works has the song with a different chorus:

"Nu muntres op saa mangt et Sind.
      Singsallijo!
Paketten er nu halet ind.
    Singsallijo!
Hurra! Hurra! for Singsallijo! "

It is a Norsk-ization of English "Sing Sally-O!" What strikes me is that I wasn't aware such songs, in English, were so known at that time as to spawn Norwegian derivatives. And what I am thinking is that these Norwegian texts could tell us a load about English-language chanties prior to that time. I don't know Norwegian, could struggle through some, but if anyone has more expertise so as to expedient the discovery process, let 'er rip!

The sailor songs begin on pg. 69 at this link:

http://books.google.com/books?id=uWYCAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA79&dq=henrik+wergeland+%22nu+