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1/24/10
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Terrorists,Roman3csandSupermen
TheImageoftheViking
TheMiddleAges:VikingraidsontheBri3shIslesandEuropeanCoast
TheVikings,primarilyfromNorwayandDenmark(andlaterIceland)beganraidingthewealthymonasteriesalongthecoastsoftheBri3shIsles.Manymedievalwri3ngsportraythemasevil,bloodthirstyheathens.
However,Vikingsdidn’tjustmakeofftotheNorthwithgoodsandslaves,theyalsoseSledintheBri3shIslesandintegratedwiththepopula3ons,formingapowerfulkingdominEastAngliaandfoundingtheci3esofDublinandWaterfordinIreland.
A19thcenturyinterpreta3onofVikingac3vityintheMiddleAges
«PiratesnormandsauIXèmesiècle>>
VikingsintheEast
Inthe9thand10thcenturies,ScandinaviansprimarilyfromSweden,calledtheVarangiansorRus,saileddowntheriversystemsofEasternEurope,raiding,tradingandseSling.TheVarangiannobilityruledfromKievduringitsheyday.
TheVikingssailedfurthersouth,reachingasfarasConstan3nople(presentdayIstanbul).TheByzan3neemperorkeptaspecialguardcomprisedoftheseNorsemen,calledtheVarangianguard.SeveralIcelandicsagas,notablyGre$r’sSaga,contain(o]enfanciful)accountsofadventuresinConstan3nople.
“Ihaveneverseenmoreperfectphysiquesthantheirs—theyarelikepalmtrees,arefairandreddish…TheyarethefilthiestofallAllāh’screatures:theydonotcleanthemselvesa]erexcre3ngorurina3ngorwashthemselveswheninastateofritualimpurity(i.e.,a]ercoitus)anddonot<even>washtheirhandsa]erfood.Indeedtheyarelikeassesthatroam<inthefields>.”–IbnFadlan,describingtheRus
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A19thcenturyRussianar3st’sdepic3onoftheVikings
ThebeginningsofVikingRoman3cism
• VikingRoman3cismwasstrongestinthe19thcentury,butarguablyhasitsrootsinthestudiesofSwissPaulHenriMalletandJohanGokriedHerder(atright)inGermany.
• Herderbelievedapoet“isthecreatorofthena3onaroundhim,hegivesthemaworldtoseeandhastheirsoulsinhishandtoleadthemtothatworld”.Hebelievedthatana3on’spoetrywastruestandmostpowerfulbeforeana3onbecame“civilized”.HeexploredthispowerinNorseandGermanpoetry,rejec3ngtheLa3nate,classicizingtendenciesofhiscontemporaryGermancultureandencouragedGermanstobeproudoftheirna3onalheritage.Thisshowsanimportantstrainofna3onalismattherootsofViking“revival”.
TheNa3onalistViking:ThecaseofNorway
• Bythe18thand19thcenturies,Norway,havingbeenunderDanish,thenSwedish,ruleforthebeSerpartofhalfacenturystroveinbothartandliterature(relyingpar3cularlyuponSnorriSturluson’sHeimskringla)tocreateaunique,dis3nctlyNorwegianiden3ty,basedlargelyonitsgloriousVikingpast.ArchaeologicaldiscoveriesofshipburialsandVikingar3factshelpedtobolsterna3onalsen3ment.
Norwegianar3stOscarWergeland’spain3ngofNorwegianVikingslandinginIceland
…andinSweden• TheSwedestoo,smar3ngfrom
thelossofFinlandtoRussiaintheearly19thcentury,wholeheartedlyembracedthenewRoman3cViking.Ofpar3cularnoteareEricGustafGeijer’spoem“TheViking”andEsaiasTegner’s“Frithjofssaga”,thelaSerofwhichwasaroman3cretellingofamedievalsagaandwhichwassuchasmashingsuccessthroughoutEuropethatevenGoethepraisedits“mighty,barbaricstyleofverse”.BothGeijerandTegnerbelongedtothe“Gea3shSociety”(Gö4skaFörbundet),alitera3dedicatedtothepromulga3onofScandinavianan3quity.
Ingibjorg,theheroineofFrithjofssaga
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TheEnglishfinallygetoverit…• NolongerembiSered
aboutalltheraidsinthemiddleages,butrathercaughtupinthewaveofVikingenthusiasm,EnglandbeginstoexploretheScandinavianaspectsofitsiden3ty.Archaeologicalremnantsalsoencouragethis,andmanyEnglishpoetsareinspiredbythewildmys3cismtheyseeinoldScandinavianculture.
“TheRavager”byEnglishpainterJohnCharlesDollman
TheRoman3cViking
PillageandplunderareSO500yearsago.ThenewRoman3cVikingembodiescourage,loyalty,strength,simplicityandasortofprimalmys3cism.
TheApotheosisoftheViking:RichardWagnerandTheRing
GermancomposerRichardWagner(1813‐1883)wasoneofthemostinfluen3alcomposers‐andthinkers‐ofthe19thcentury.Hismusicalinnova3onwasnothingshortofrevolu3onaryandhewasvirtuallyworshippedbythinkersofthe3merangingfromFriedrichNietzschetoCharlesBaudelairetoGeorgeBernardShaw.
Wagnerwasdeeplyinterestedinanideal“German‐ness”andseveralofhisoperastreatonthisidealcharacter.O]enWagnerlookedbacktotheMiddleAges,andsomeofhismostfamousworksincludeTristanandIsolde,Tannhauser,Lohengrin,andParsifal.
TheRingCycle
Ragner’smonumentalworkisthefouroperacycleTheRingoftheNiebelung(1869‐1876).WagnerbasedhisworkonmedievalGermanandScandinavianpoetryandprose,especiallytheIcelandicPoe4cEddaandSagaoftheVolsungs.ThePoe4cEddaisacollec3onofOldNorsepoemsofgodsandheroesandtheSagaoftheVolsungsdealspar3cularlywiththeheroiclineoftheVolsungs,culmina3nginthedisastrousrela3onshipbetweentheheroSigurdandthevalkyrieBrunnhilde.
Thefouroperasare:TheRhinegold,TheValkyrie,Siegfried,andtheTwilightoftheGods
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Athoroughlymodernideal
WhileWagner’soperalooksbackwardandidealizestheheroicliteratureofScandinaviaandGermany,italsoportraysthoroughlymodernideals.ThegodWotanreveals,forexample,thatintheheroSiegfried,hehasaSemptedtocreatetheidealman,amanwhoisfreeofthegodsandwilltranscendthem‐thisisverymuchliketheideaofthe“Superman”thatbecamepresentinthelate19thcentury(andislargelyassociatedwithNietzsche,whowasinfluencedbyWagner).Inthefinalopera,thegodsdie,indica3ngman’sspiritualandar3s3cfreedomfrommoribundtradi3onalism.
Candoeskilldragonz?
Islayzyourdragonz!!
WagnerandRacism
• RichardWagner,despitehavingmanycloseJewishfriends,isalsoknownforhis“an3‐Semi3sm”,largelyduetoanessayhepublishedrailingagainstwhathecalled“Jewishness”andJewishcomposersinGermanmusic.Severalofhisvillainshavestereotypical“Jewish”traits,ascomparedtohisvirileGermanicsupermen.
• Muchlaterinhislife(a]erhislastoperawascompleted)Wagnerwasalsoknowntobeinterestedinracialisttheoryposi3ngthesupremacyof“Aryan”racesoverthe“Semi3c”and“African”.
• RegardlessofWagner’spersonalviews,hislaterappropria3onbytheNazipartyshouldprobablycomeasunsurprising.
ComparetheportrayalofthevillainandherofromArthurRackham’sillustra3onsfortheRingCycle
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TheThuleSocietyFormedinGermanyintheearly20thcentury,theThuleSocietywasafolkloreandoccultgroupinterestedlargelyinGermanicandScandinavianan3quity.However,racism(par3cularlyan3‐Semi3sm)andan3‐Communismwerepartofitsideology.TheThuleSocietyisalsoknownforitssponsorshipoftheDeutscheArbeitspar3,whichwaslaterturnedbyHitlerintotheNaziparty.
DuringWWII,GermanicandScandinavianRoman3cismbecametoomuchassociatedwiththeenemytoremainfashionable.J.R.R.Tolkeinrailedagainstthat“ruddyliSleignoramus”AdolfHitler"for"ruining,perver3ng,misapplying,andmakingforeveraccursed,thatnoblenorthernspirit,asupremecontribu3ontoEurope,whichIhaveeverloved,andtriedtopresentinitstruelight."
VikingMetal:BringingBombastBack
GrowingoutofblackmetalinScandinaviainthelate1980sandearly1990s,“VikingMetal”bandsfocusedtheircontentonNorseMythology,par3cularlythedarkermoreviolentaspects.Thesoundtendstobe“epic”withbothconven3onalandgrowlingvocalsandoccasionallyfusesfolkmusic.NotableVikingmetalbandsareBathory(arguablythepioneersofthegenre),Enslaved(below)andEinherjar.
PeterNicolaiArbo’sAsgardreidwasusedonthealbumcoverofBathory’s“BloodFireDeath”
Viking2.0
Havingbeenmostlyrehabilitatedfromsomeofitsmoreunfortunateassocia3onsinthelastcentury,theimageoftheVikingiss3llpopularintothe21stcenturyinfic3on,film,andevenasacommerciallogo.Filmssuchas“TheVikings”(1958),“The13thWarrior”(1999)andtheupcomingfilmofthecomicbookThoraswellasvideogames,novelsandTVcommercialsshowthepopularitytheVikings3llenjoysasaculturalsymbol.Themodern‐dayVikingcanberoman3cized,idealized,andlampooned(e.g.thecomicstrip“HagartheHorrible”).Vikingiden3tyandheritageiss3llveryimportantinScandinaviancountries(aswellasBritainandtheUS)andhasprovenaSrac3vetotouristsaswell.
LookingForward
• In2000theSmithsonianmuseumgreetedthenewmillenniumwithanexhibitontheVikingdiscoveryofAmerica.TheVikingsservedasmodelofenterprise,ingenuity,
resolveandcourage(pillageand
plunderweredownplayedhere)andas
theidealrepresenta3onofthespiritofthenewmillennium.
StatueoutsidethecapitolbuildinginMinnesota,wheremanyScandinavianimmigrantstoAmericaseSled.
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Linkstoimages1. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Viking_funeral.jpg2. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikinger.jpg
3. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evariste‐Vital_Luminais_‐_Pirates_normands_au_IXe_si%C3%A8cle.jpg
4. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prizvanievaryagov.jpg
5. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nicholas_Roerich,_Guests_from_Overseas.jpg
6. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johann_gokried_herder.jpg7. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Norsemen_Landing_in_Iceland.jpg
8. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ingeborg,_peter_nicolai_arbo.jpg
9. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Ravager.jpg
10. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hjalmars_avsked_av_Orvar_Odd_e]er_striden_p%C3%A5_Sams%C3%B6.jpg
11. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Richard_Wagner_2.jpg
12. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SchoS%27s_1899_Walkure_3tle.jpg13. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ring16.jpg,hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ring63.jpg
14. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ring44.jpg
15. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ring11.jpg
16. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ring43.jpg
17. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walhall_by_Emil_Doepler.jpg
18. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EnslavedWOA2007‐1.jpg,hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%85sg%C3%A5rdsreien.jpg
19. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SeSles_IV_‐_Viking.gif
20. hSp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Viking_at_MN_Capitol.jpg
AfewViking‐themedvideos• Clipfromthe13thWarrior:hSp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN‐no1Ka7yU&feature=related
• CapitalOnecommercials:hSp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7‐V9DVAPnQ,hSp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhomaIqoiL0&feature=related,hSp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el0RFkSPk‐o&feature=related
• StephenColbert’sVikingEconomicshSp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZeQiJIvejg
• Hail,Odin!Enslaved’s“PathtoVanir”hSp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf6Dyqojv9sYoucanfindalotmoreVikingmetalonYoutube.
• ‘RideoftheValkyries’fromWagner’sRingCyclehSp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aKAH_t0aXA&feature=related
• KilldaWabbit!ww.youtube.com/watch?v=wGhQ2BDt4VE&feature=related