The theory on immigration to Norway ( no, innvandringsteorien) refers to a theory on the origin of the

Norwegian people Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the ...

. The theory is mainly associated with

Rudolf Keyser Rudolf Keyser (1 January 1803 – 9 October 1864) was a Norwegian historian, archaeologist and educator. Biography Jakob Rudolf Keyser was born in Christiania, now Oslo, Norway. He was the son of Bishop Johan Michael Keyser ( 1749–1810) an ...

, and developed by

Peter Andreas Munch Peter Andreas Munch (15 December 1810 – 25 May 1863), usually known as P. A. Munch, was a Norwegian historian, known for his work on the medieval history of Norway. Munch's scholarship included Norwegian archaeology, geography, ethnography, ...

Theory

Following studies in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

from 1825 to 1827, Rudolf Keyser was appointed as a docent at the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

in Christiania,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in 1828. From the same year he worked with, and held lectures on, his theory on immigration to Norway. This theory was inspired by the works of

Gerhard Schøning Gerhard Schøning (2 May 1722 – 18 July 1780) was a Norwegian historian. His ''Reise som giennem en Deel af Norge i de Aar 1773, 1774, 1775 paa Hans Majestets Kongens Bekostning'' documenting travel through Trondheim, Gudbrandsdal and Hedmark, N ...

, who had released ''Afhandling om de Norskes og endeel andre Nordiske Folkes Oprindelse'' in 1769, and was first published in 1839 under the name ''Om Nordmændenes Herkomst og Folke-Slægtskab''. In short, his theory stated that Norway as well as Northern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

had been populated by indigenous people from the north, whereas

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and Southern Sweden (south of

Götaland Götaland (; also '' Geatland'', '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, wit ...

) had been populated from the south. In other words, Norway was especially influenced by " Norse" people and culture, whereas parts of Sweden and particularly Denmark were influenced by "

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

" peoples and culture. Norse people had, according to Keyser, drifted south towards Denmark as well, but here they had been mixed with Goths. He later supplemented the theory with a series of lectures in literary studies, printed posthumously, under the name ''Nordmændenes Videnskabelighed og Literatur i Middelalderen''. Here, he stated that

Norse literature Old Norse literature refers to the vernacular literature of the Scandinavian peoples up to c. 1350. It chiefly consists of Icelandic writings. In Britain From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Vikings and Norse settlers and their descendants colon ...

was not Nordic, but Norwegian. Both the Norse and Gothic groups were taken to be

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

, having migrated from somewhere in the region of

Ural Ural may refer to: *Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan * Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India *Ural Federal District, in Russia *Ural econ ...

and the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

was a student of Keyser, and fellow proponent of the theory. He remarked that Gothic people inhabited some of

South Norway South Norway (, ) is the southern and by far most populous half of Norway, consisting of the regions of Western Norway, Eastern Norway, Southern Norway (Agder) and Trøndelag (Central Norway). In English, South Norway was historically also known ...

as well. He too based the theory partly on

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

traits, and also stated that the two groups had different approaches to liberty versus hierarchy.

Reaction

The theory was ill-received by many historians, especially those who did not subscribe to any form of Norwegian nationalistic agenda. The Danish historian

Christian Molbech Christian Molbech (8 October 1783 – 23 June 1857) was a Danish historian, literary critic, writer, and theater director. He was a professor of literature at the University of Copenhagen and was the founding editor of ''Historisk Tidsskrift ...

dubbed Keyser and Munch's viewpoint as "The Norwegian Historical School". The theory was also denounced by Norwegian historians. A lecture held by Ludvig Kristensen Daa on a Scandinavian conference in 1868 has been called "the graveside speech for the immigration theory". He released the work ''Have Germanerne indvandret til Skandinavien fra nord eller syd?'' in 1869.

References

{{Reflist Historiography of Norway Immigration to Norway Norwegian nationalism