Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift

Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift, commonly abbreviated NST, is a Norwegian-language academic journal devoted to genealogy, family history, and related historical research. Published by the Norwegian Genealogical Society, it is one of Norway’s established specialist publications in the field and has appeared since 1927. The journal succeeded earlier Norwegian periodicals concerned with genealogy and personal history, including Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift, which began in 1880, and Norsk Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift, published in three volumes in 1910, 1920, and 1926. NST therefore represents a continuation of a longer Norwegian tradition of publishing documented research into ancestry, historical families, and local and regional records. The journal’s principal subject areas include the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the eighteenth century. These periods are frequently among the most difficult stages of genealogical research because surviving documentation can be incomplete, inconsistent, or difficult to connect across generations. NST addresses these challenges through scholarly articles and source-based investigations. Its coverage extends across Norwegian parishes, regions, and cities rather than focusing on a single locality or family. This broad geographical scope makes the publication useful both to professional and serious amateur researchers. NST is written primarily for readers who require more than basic family-tree information. Its role is to examine evidence, interpret historical records, establish relationships between individuals and families, and clarify disputed or uncertain genealogical connections. The journal’s academic orientation places emphasis on research and documentation, distinguishing it from general-interest family-history magazines. In format and editorial purpose, it has been compared with specialist genealogical periodicals such as the National Genealogical Society Quarterly in the United States and the Genealogists’ Magazine in the United Kingdom. The publication also has an international readership. Norwegian migration created substantial communities of people with Norwegian ancestry in other Scandinavian countries, continental Europe, Canada, and the United States. As a result, the journal’s audience is not limited to residents of Norway; it also serves descendants of Norwegian emigrants seeking to understand family origins and historical connections. Its Norwegian-language format reflects its national scholarly base, while the subject matter gives it relevance to researchers outside Norway. Since its establishment, NST has followed a regular publication pattern of two issues per year. The issues are organized into volumes that cover two years, with four issues making up each volume. Reference material identifies more than forty volumes as available, with the earliest thirty-nine volumes bound. The journal’s recognizable vermilion cover has become part of its visual identity. Its enduring value lies less in mass-market reach than in continuity, specialist authority, and the accumulation of documented genealogical research over many decades.

Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift emerged from an established Norwegian publishing tradition centered on genealogy and personal history. The earliest predecessor identified in the available reference material is Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift, first published in 1880. A later successor, Norsk Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift, appeared in three volumes issued in 1910, 1920, and 1926. NST began publication in 1927, continuing and consolidating this line of specialist genealogical and historical periodicals under the auspices of the Norwegian Genealogical Society. From its beginning, the journal has served as a research publication rather than a general family-history magazine. Its articles investigate Norwegian ancestry and historical relationships through documentary evidence, with coverage extending across parishes, regions, and cities. Particular attention is given to periods that present substantial challenges for genealogists: the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the eighteenth century. These subjects require careful interpretation of fragmented records and often involve resolving identities, kinship links, inheritance questions, and regional histories. The journal’s focus has consequently made it a reference point for researchers working beyond readily documented nineteenth- and twentieth-century family records. NST developed a recognizable editorial and physical identity. Reference descriptions associate it with a vermilion cover and compare its format and content with major specialist genealogy journals in other countries, including the National Genealogical Society Quarterly in the United States and the Genealogists’ Magazine in the United Kingdom. These comparisons place NST within an international tradition of scholarly genealogical publishing while preserving its specifically Norwegian language and subject focus. The journal has maintained a regular publication schedule of two issues per year. Its issue structure groups four issues into a volume spanning two years, giving the publication a sustained serial format. Over time, the journal has accumulated a substantial body of research, with reference material recording at least forty-three available volumes and noting that the first thirty-nine volumes had been bound. Indexes covering articles, authors, and personal names further extend the journal’s usefulness as a research tool, allowing readers to locate material across its long publication history. Although its primary audience is in Norway, NST’s subject matter has given it a wider geographic reach. Norwegian emigration to Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Canada, the United States, and other countries created communities whose descendants may need Norwegian sources to reconstruct their ancestry. The journal therefore functions both as a national scholarly publication and as an international resource for people researching Norwegian roots. Its continuing identity is based on editorial continuity, specialized historical-genealogical content, and the preservation and dissemination of documented research rather than on commercial mass circulation.

• 1927

  Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift begins publication

  [1]Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskriften.wikipedia.org

  NST was launched as the successor to earlier Norwegian genealogical and personal-history periodicals.

• 1926

  Third volume of Norsk Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift

  [1]Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskriften.wikipedia.org

  The third recorded volume of the predecessor publication appeared shortly before NST was established.

• 1920

  Second volume of Norsk Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift

  [1]Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskriften.wikipedia.org

  The second recorded volume of Norsk Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift was published.

• 1910

  First volume of Norsk Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift

  [1]Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskriften.wikipedia.org

  Norsk Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift, one of NST’s immediate predecessors, published its first of three recorded volumes.

• 1880

  Publication of Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift

  [1]Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskriften.wikipedia.org

  Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift, an earlier Norwegian periodical devoted to personal history, began publication and later formed part of the journal’s publishing lineage.

A specialist, scholarly genealogy journal focused on source-based research into Norwegian families, places, and historical periods, particularly the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and eighteenth century.

• Academic genealogy journal · 1927

  Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift

  The core NST publication is a Norwegian-language scholarly journal covering genealogy, family history, and related historical research. Its articles address Norwegian parishes, regions, cities, and families, with particular emphasis on the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and eighteenth century. The journal is issued serially, with two issues published per year and four issues grouped into a volume covering two years. Its documentary and analytical orientation serves researchers investigating difficult or disputed genealogical connections.

• Research reference tools

  NST indexes

  Indexes associated with the journal provide access to its accumulated scholarship. The available reference material identifies indexes of articles and authors, as well as personal-name indexes covering groups of volumes. These tools help readers locate research across the publication’s long run and support genealogical investigation by connecting names and subjects with the relevant journal material.

1. 1Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskriften.wikipedia.org
2. 2Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift — Norwegian Genealogical Societygenealogi.no