Northern Myths, Modern Identities : The Nationalisation of Northern Mythologies Since 1800

This anthology of essays, Northern Myths, Modern Identities, explores the various ways in which northern mythologies have been employed in the cultural construction of ethnic, national and supra-national identities from 1800 to the present. Contents 6 List of Figures and Tables 8 About the Authors 9 Northern Myths, Modern Identities: An Introduction • Simon Halink 14 Part 1: Imagining the North 24 1 The North: A Cultural Stereotype between Metaphor and Racial Essentialism • Joep Leerssen 26 2 Within or Outside Europe? Modernists and Anti-modernists Visiting Iceland in the Mid-Nineteenth Century • Sumarliði R. Ísleifsson 46 3 Is Nordic Mythology Nordic or National, or Both? Competing National Appropriations of Nordic Mythology in Early Nineteenth-Century Scandinavia • Tim van Gerven 62 Part 2: Ancient Heritage, New Meaning 84 4 Norse Myths, Nordic Identities: The Divergent Case of Icelandic Romanticism • Gylfi Gunnlaugsson 86 5 Redbad, the Once and Future King of the Frisians • Han Nijdam and Otto S. Knottnerus 100 6 Norse Mythology in Icelandic Fiction about the Second World War • Daisy L. Neijmann 128 7 Of Gods and Men: Uses and Abuses of Neo-Paganism by Nationalist Movements in the “North” • Robert A. Saunders 140 Part 3: Travelling Ideas and Artistic Expressions 170 8 Heirs of Lönnrot: From Longfellow to Tolkien • Tom Shippey 172 9 Kalevala in International Masks: A Japanese Aino and Kalevala dell’Arte • Kendra Willson 192 10 The Quest of Gangleri: Theosophy and Old Norse Mythology in Iceland • Simon Halink 205 Part 4: Beyond the Nation? 228 11 Crossing the Borders: Loki and the Decline of the Nation State • Katja Schulz 230 12 Apocalypse Now: Norse Gods and the End of the Nation • Carline Tromp 244 Index of Names and Subjects 266 "This anthology of essays, Northern Myths, Modern Identities, explores the various ways in which ancient mythologies have been cultivated in the cultural construction of ethnic, national and supra-national identities from 1800 to the present. How were Old Norse, Finno-Ugric and Frisian myths employed as rhetorical devices in national narratives? And how did (and do) these new interpretations convey a sense of 'northernness'? This volume approaches these issues from an interdisciplinary and international perspective, and brings together case studies from Scandinavia, the Baltic region, Friesland, Britain, the United States and even Japan. Thus, it provides a unique insight into the reception history and uses of northern myths in the present, and their role in the creation of modern identities. Contributors are: Tim van Gerven, Gylfi Gunnlaugsson, Simon Halink, Sumarliði R. Ísleifsson, Otto S. Knottnerus, Joep Leerssen, Daisy Neijmann, Han Nijdam, Robert A. Saunders, Katja Schulz, Tom Shippey, Carline Tromp, and Kendra Willson"-- Provided by publisher "This anthology of essays, Northern Myths, Modern Identities, explores the various ways in which ancient mythologies have been cultivated in the cultural construction of ethnic, national and supra-national identities from 1800 to the present. How were Old Norse, Finno-Ugric and Frisian myths employed as rhetorical devices in national narratives? And how did (and do) these new interpretations convey a sense of 'northernness'? This volume approaches these issues from an interdisciplinary and international perspective, and brings together case studies from Scandinavia, the Baltic region, Friesland, Britain, the United States and even Japan. Thus, it provides a unique insight into the reception history and uses of northern myths in the present, and their role in the creation of modern identities. Contributors are: Tim van Gerven, Gylfi Gunnlaugsson, Simon Halink, Sumarliði R. Ísleifsson, Otto S. Knottnerus, Joep Leerssen, Daisy Neijmann, Han Nijdam, Robert A. Saunders, Katja Schulz, Tom Shippey, Carline Tromp, and Kendra Willson"-- Contracoberta