Scandinavism (; ; ), also called Scandinavianism or pan-Scandinavianism,"Pan-Scandinavianism"
. (2007). In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved April 29, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. is an ideology that supports various degrees of cooperation among the

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n countries. Scandinavism comprises the literary, linguistic and cultural movement that focuses on promoting a shared Scandinavian past, a shared cultural heritage, a common

Scandinavian mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

and a common language or dialect continuum (from the common ancestor language of

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

) and which led to the formation of joint periodicals and societies in support of Scandinavian literature and languages. The movement was most popular among

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

and

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

History

According to historian Sverre Bagge, prior to the formation of state-like kingdoms, Scandinavia was culturally and linguistically homogeneous. Pan-Scandinavianism as a modern movement originated in the 19th century, but the movement had already begun spreading a century earlier in circles of literature and science. The Pan-Scandinavian movement paralleled the unification movements of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Ola Tunander Göran Ola Tunander (born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1948) is a research professor emeritus at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO, Norway). He worked as a researcher at PRIO in the period 1987-2016. He is the son of Museum Director Ingemar Tuna ...

(1999)
"Nordic cooperation"
UDA085ENG. In ''Nytt fra Norge, ODIN – Information from the government and the ministries'', Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway. See also Tunander, Ola (1999). "Norway, Sweden and Nordic cooperation". In ''The European North – Hard, soft and civic security''. Eds. Lassi Heininen and Gunnar Lassinantti. The Olof Palme International Center/Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, 1999. pp. 39–48. . As opposed to the German and Italian counterparts, the Scandinavian state-building project was not successful and is no longer pursued. It was at its height in the mid-19th century and supported the idea of

n unity. The movement was initiated by Danish and Swedish university students in the 1840s, with a base in

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

. In the beginning, the political establishments in the two countries, including the absolute monarch

Christian VIII Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Fred ...

and Charles XIV John with his "one man government", were suspicious of the movement.The Students
. Øresundstid, 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2007. The movement was a significant force from 1846 to 1864, however the movement eventually dwindled and only had strong support among the

Swedish-speaking population of Finland The Swedish-speaking population of Finland (whose members are called by many names—see below; ; ) is a linguistic minority in Finland. They maintain a strong identity and are seen either as a separate cultural, ethnic or linguistic group or ...

. The collapse of Pan-Scandinavianism came in 1864 when the

Second Schleswig-Holstein War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

broke out. King Charles XV of Sweden (who was also King Charles IV of Norway), who reigned from 1859 until his death in 1872, in spite of championing Pan-Scandinivianism, failed to help

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in the war. Author

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

became an adherent of Scandinavism after a visit to Sweden in 1837, and committed himself to writing a poem that would convey the relatedness of Swedes, Danes and

Norwegians Norwegians () are an 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 Norsemen, Norse of the Early ...

. It was in July 1839, during a visit to the island of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

in Denmark, that Andersen first wrote the text of his poem, ''Jeg er en Skandinav'' ("I am a Scandinavian"). Andersen composed the poem to capture "the beauty of the Nordic spirit, the way the three sister nations have gradually grown together", as part of a Scandinavian national anthem. Composer

Otto Lindblad Otto Jonas Lindblad (31 March 1809 – 26 January 1864), was a Swedish composer. He is most famous for the musical score of '' Kungssången'', the Swedish royal anthem. Otto Lindblad was the son of a clergyman. He was born in Karlstorp and a ...

set the poem to music, and the composition was published in January 1840. Its popularity peaked in 1845, after which it was seldom sung. In 1923, the

Clara Lachmann Clara Lachmann (; 10 April 1864 – 10 August 1920) was a Danish and Swedish patron of the arts. After coming into immense wealth following her marriage to one of the richest men in Sweden, Lachmann became a prominent sponsor of musical events, ...

Foundation was established with the goal of promoting Scandinavian unity through culture.

References

External links

The Helsinki Treaty of 1962
Nicknamed as constitution of the Nordic Countries.
Jeg er en Skandinav
A rendition of H. C. Andersen's poem, set to Otto Lindblad's music. {{Pan-nationalist concepts Scandinavia Pan-nationalism Political theories Nordic politics

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links