The journal takes its name from the
Norwegian word
Vaganterne, which comes from the
Latin clerici vagantes which describes a group of wandering students from the
middle ages, who performed under the patronage of a wealthy
nobleman or woman, and often their poems provoked the strict moral system of the church. With its first publication in 1988,
Vagant established itself as an independent journal in
Oslo. Among the editors of the first couple of volumes were
Torunn Borge,
Alf van der Hagen,
Henning Hagerup,
Pål Norheim, and
Linn Ullmann. In 1999 a parallel editorial group was established in
Bergen, and each of the two editorial groups published two editions a year. In 2002 the
Oslo office was shut down and for the next ten years the editorial office was located in
Bergen. In 2013 the editorial office moved to
Berlin. Since 2007
Audun Lindholm has been the chief editor of
Vagant. From 1996 to 2005
Vagant received economical support from the Norwegian publishing house
Aschehoug. In 2005
Aschehoug terminated the collaboration and the journal found a new sponsor in
N.W. Damm & Søn. A few years later
Vagant was integrated into the new publishing house
Cappelen Damm. In October 2016 it was announced that
Vagant would become its own publisher from January 2017 on. In 2009 the Internet initiative “Vagant Europa” was established, with an intention to publish and translate significant articles from the European literary and cultural debate. In 2013
Vagant was chosen as the Norwegian journal of the year by
Norsk Tidsskriftforening and in 2014 the magazine received the language prize
Språkprisen from the national institution
Norsk Språkråd, for having been a central force in
Norwegian literature for the past 26 years, and, as the jury described it, for "its exemplary use of the Norwegian language". In April 2017
Vagant merged with the
Danish journal
Salon 55, which then became a part of
Vagant, and the editorial staff announced a further commitment to connect the public spheres of the
Nordic countries. ==Selected previous members of the editorial staff==