The Jante Law (Danish: Janteloven Swedish: Jantelagen) is a concept created by the Danish/Norwegian author Aksel Sandemose in his novel "En flygtning krysser sitt spor" ("A refugee crosses his tracks") (1933), where he portrays his native town Nykøbing Mors as it was in the beginning of the 20th century.

Although there actually are 10 different rules in the law, they are usually referred to as a singular homogenous unit. The Danish word loven means "The law", like in all scandinavian languages, -en is a definite article suffix.

1. You shall not think that you are special.
2. You shall not think that you are of the same standing as us.
3. You shall not think that you are smarter than us.
4. Don't fancy yourself as being better than us.
5. You shall not think that you know more than us.
6. You shall not think that you are more important than us.
7. You shall not think that you are good at anything.
8. You shall not laugh at us.
9. You shall not think that anyone cares about you.
10. You shall not think that you can teach us anything.

This "law" so permeates Danish culture, Norwegian culture and Swedish culture that it is frowned upon to appear to elevate oneself or claim to be better or smarter than others.

Those who transgress this unwritten 'law' are regarded with suspicion and some hostility, as it goes against the Danish desire to stress social equality and their emphasis on fairness for all.

This phenomenon is not unique to Scandinavia, and can be observed in many areas of the world. It has echoes in the attitude towards others of some of the inhabitants of north-east England, especially in Yorkshire, where it is exemplified in sayings such as "Just who does he think he is?". This was one of the parts of Great Britain where the Danish Vikings settled from the 8th century onwards and it is possible that similar cultural attitudes remain. The "tall poppy syndrome" is another expression of the idea, and is a prominent phenomenon in Australia and New Zealand.

The topic of the Jante Law is quite controversial in Denmark and there is some controversy to its purported permeation of the modern Danish character. Its influence is viewed as quite overstated in today's Denmark, which has moved from rural communities where such views are more easily maintained to a number of urban communities where the influence of the Jante Law is smaller.

See also

• Lagom
• Tall poppy syndrome

External links

• Definition of Janteloven