Wergeland had a hot temper and fought willingly for social justice.
At the time, poverty was normal in the rural areas, and serfdom was common.
He was generally suspicious of lawyers because of their attitude towards farmers, especially poor ones, and often fought in the courts greedy lawyers, who could legally take hold of small homesteads.
Wergeland made great enemies for this, and in one case, the judicial problem lasted for years and nearly left him bankrupt.
The quarrel had started at Gardermoen, at the time a drill field for a section of the Norwegian army.
In his plays, his nemesis, the procurator Jens Obel Praëm, would be cast as the devil himself.

Wergeland was tall, reckoned by the average Norwegian height at the time.
He stood a head taller than most of his contemporaries (about 1m and 80 cm).
Often, he could be seen gazing upwards, especially when he rode his horse through town.
The horse, Veslebrunen (little brown), is reckoned to be a small Norwegian breed (but not a pony).
Thus, when Wergeland rode his horse, his feet dragged after him.
Wergeland had a hot temper and fought willingly for social justice. At the time, poverty was normal in the rural areas, and serfdom was common. He was generally suspicious of lawyers because of their attitude towards farmers, especially poor ones, and often fought in the courts greedy lawyers, who could legally take hold of small homesteads. Wergeland made great enemies for this, and in one case, the judicial problem lasted for years and nearly left him bankrupt. The quarrel had started at Gardermoen, at the time a drill field for a section of the Norwegian army. In his plays, his nemesis, the procurator Jens Obel Praëm, would be cast as the devil himself.
Wergeland was tall, reckoned by the average Norwegian height at the time. He stood a head taller than most of his contemporaries (about 1m and 80 cm). Often, he could be seen gazing upwards, especially when he rode his horse through town. The horse, Veslebrunen (little brown), is reckoned to be a small Norwegian breed (but not a pony). Thus, when Wergeland rode his horse, his feet dragged after him.
Henrik Wergeland