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A 19th-century poster image of (from left to right) Norwegian, Danish and Swedish soldiers joining hands

A meeting of Scandinavian students in Uppsala, Sweden, 1856. Parade marching next to Svandammen.

Scandinavism, also called Scandinavianism^[1] or pan-Scandinavianism,^[2] is an ideology that support various degrees of cooperation among the Scandinavian Countries. Scandinavism and Nordism are interchangeable terms for the literary, linguistic and cultural movement that focuses on promoting a shared Nordic past, a shared cultural heritage, a common Scandinavian mythology and a common linguistic root in Old Norse, and which led to the formation of joint periodicals and societies in support of Scandinavian literature and languages.^{[3][dead link]}

History

Pan-Scandinavianism as a modern movement originated in the 19th-century.^[1] The Pan-Scandinavian movement paralleled the unification movements of Germany and Italy.^[4] As opposed to the German and Italian counterparts, the Scandinavian state-building project was not successful and is no longer pursued.^[2][4] It was at its height in the mid-19th century and supported the idea of Scandinavian unity. It was spurred on by philological and archaelogical discoveries of the 18th century and 19th centuries, the rise of Pan-Germanism (and Pan-Slavism^[5]) and a general fear of Russian expansionism.^[1]

The movement was initiated by Danish and Swedish university students in the 1840s, with a base in Scania.^[6] In the beginning, the political establishments in the two countries, including the absolute monarch Christian VIII and Charles XIV with his "one man government", were suspicious of the movement.^{[6][dead link]} 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.^[1][7]

The collapse of Pan-Scandinavianism came in 1864 when the Second Schleswig-Holstein War broke out. King Charles XV who was the King of Sweden-Norway from 1859 until his death in 1872 who in spite of championing Pan-Scandinivianism failed to help Denmark in the war.^[8]

Author Hans Christian Andersen 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.^[9] It was in July 1839, during a visit to the island of Funen in Denmark, that Andersen first wrote the text of his poem, Jeg er en Skandinav ("I am a Scandinavian").^[9] 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.^[9] Composer Otto Lindblad set the poem to music, and the composition was published in January 1840. Its popularity peaked in 1845, after which it was seldom sung.^[9]

Despite the movement severely dwindling there was a resurgence of Pan-Scandinavian sentiment in the latter part of the 20th century.^[1]

In literature

• The Sherlock Holmes story A Scandal in Bohemia mentions a fictional "King of Scandinavia" whose daughter is about to marry the (also fictional) King of Bohemia, a major protagonist in the story.

See also

• Viking revival


• Nordic student meeting


• Pan-nationalism

References

Further reading

• 'Denmark, Norway, and Sweden: Pan-Scandinavianism and Nationalism' by Mary Hilson^[1]

• 'Pan-Scandinavianism. Reference Points in the 19th Century (1815-1864)' by Mircea-Cristian Ghenghea

External links

• 
  The Helsinki Treaty of 1962 Nicknamed as constitution of the Nordic Countries.