Geatish Society

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Illustration from "The Geatish Society and its Leaders", written by Rudolf Hjärne [sv]

The Geatish Society (Götiska Förbundet, also Gothic Union, Gothic League) was created by a number of Swedish poets and authors in 1811, as a social club for literary studies among academics in Sweden,[1] with a view to raising the moral tone of society through contemplating Scandinavian antiquity. The society was formally dissolved in 1844, being dormant for more than 10 years.[2]

History

In the context of contentious debate over the suitability of

Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger expressed himself in favor of Norse mythology. Not only was it native, but because it had not become hackneyed and characteristically for the direction Northern European Romanticism nationalism was to take, because it was considered morally superior to Greek mythology
. In 1817 Förbundet announced a competition for sculpture on Nordic themes.

The club published a magazine, Iduna, in which it printed a great deal of poetry, and expounded its views, particularly as regards the study of old Icelandic literature and history.[1] Swedish antiquarian Jakob Adlerbeth (1785–1844) was a leader in this organization and one of its most active members. He wrote several essays which were published in Iduna including translations of Edda and Vaulundurs saga.[3]

The members wrote extensively on the

Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age
elements in order to create a modern mythology of the past.

Among the most famous members were

Frithiofs saga i form of epic verse and the shorter poem Skidbladner by Tegnér, as well as Geijer's poems Vikingen and Odalbonden. All were at least in part published in Iduna. Other well-known members were Arvid Afzelius, an editor of the ground-breaking anthology of Swedish folksong, Svenska visor från forntiden, the lyric poet Karl August Nicander, Swedish teacher Pehr Henrik Ling and Gustaf Vilhelm Gumaelius (1789–1877) author of the historical novel, Tord Bonde
.

Members of the society would write extensively on the

myth
that Vikings would have worn such helmets. In actuality, there is not evidence to suggest they ever did.

In 1844, following the death of Jakob Adlerbeth and the dissolution of the Society, part of the library accumulated by the Götiska förbundet, together with its archive, was given to the library of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities (Vitterhetsakademiens bibliotek); there the materials are maintained among the special collections.[4]

The mythology and imagery of this movement was also very popular in the

Judaeo-Christianity. It thus provides an artistic ideal that was easily interpreted in terms of Nazi biological, cultural and political ideals. The idealized Vikings were associated with a warrior manliness that is transgressive of modern values; thus the imagery alludes to radical Nazi or pan-Germanic militarism.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Gosse, Edmund (1911). "Tegnér, Esaias" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 505.
  2. ^ Göthiska förbundet (Nordisk familjebok)
  3. ^ Benson, Adolph Burnett (1914) The Old Norse element in Swedish romanticism (Columbia University Press)
  4. ^ Special collections at Riksantikvarieaembetet Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ISBN 978-952-222-603-7
    .

Sources

  • This article is fully or partially based on material from Nordisk familjebok, Adlerbeth, 2. Jakob 1904–1926.

Other sources

External links
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