Old Norse Myths as Political Ideologies
Critical Studies in the Appropriation of Medieval Narratives
Edited by Nicolas Meylan Edited by Lukas Rosli
The mythology of the Norse world has long been a source of fascination, from the first written texts of thirteenth-century Iceland up to the modern period. Most studies, however, have focused on the content of the narratives themselves, rather than the broader political contexts in which these myths have been explored. This volume offers a timely corrective to this broader trend by offering one of the first in-depth examinations of the political uses of Norse mythology within specific historical contexts. Tracing the changing interests and usages of Norse myths from the medieval period, via the nineteenth century and the importance of ancient Norse beliefs to both the Romantic and volkisch movements, up to the co-option of mythology and symbolism by political groups across the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the papers gathered here offer new and critical insights into the changing nature of historiography and the political agendas that Old Norse myths are made to serve, as well as shedding new light on the way in which ‘myths’ are conceptualized.
- Edited by Nicolas Meylan
- Edited by Lukas Rosli
Other Titles in this Series
Myth, Magic, and Memory in Early Scandinavian Narrative Culture
Studies in Honour of Stephen A. Mitchell
Volume 11
Studies in the Transmission and Reception of Old Norse Literature
The Hyperborean Muse in European Culture
Volume 6
The Cult of St Erik in Medieval Sweden
Veneration of a Royal Saint, Twelfth-Sixteenth Centuries
Volume 5
Sainthood, Scriptoria, and Secular Erudition in Medieval and Early Modern Scandinavia
Essays in Honour of Kirsten Wolf
Volume 13
Myths and Magic in the Medieval Far North
Realities and Representations of a Region on the Edge of Europe
Volume 10
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