T H E V I K I N G S 2 Goose) and other early sources. In his prologue to Heimskringla (Disc of the World), Snorri Sturluson (1178/1179–1241) states: “In this book I have written down old accounts about the chieftains who had dominion in the North and were speakers of the Danish tongue” (Snorri Sturluson 1964, 3). The idea of the Vikings as one distinct, unified culture appears to have gained further ground or maybe even been promoted by later centuries’ imaginations of the past, when in Scandinavia the Vikings became a pow- erful symbol of national identity. How the Story Became Popular In the 19th century, Vikings and Old Norse-Icelandic literature became a popular subject of study and obsession in Europe. This interest has its origin in the Romantic Nationalism movement, when Europeans became fascinated with their Germanic past, which in their minds was wild and irrational compared to the classical values of order and rationalism. The Germanic tribes came to be regarded no longer as destructive barbarians but rather as noble savages possessing valu- able cultural traits. The Goths—the Germanic tribe known for con- tributing to the downfall of the Western Roman Empire—became a kind of umbrella term used for the bearers of Germanic culture. The Scottish historian John Pinkerton emphasized the newfound interest in the Goths and Germanic culture in his dissertation: “We, misled by a puerile love of the Romans, revile the ruder Goths, our fathers, as despisers of learning and the arts . . . the Goths were the friends of every elegant art, and useful science” (Pinkerton 1798, I 4). Prior to the 19th century, there had already been interest in the Germanic past in 17th-century Sweden, when the movement known as Gothicism glo- rified the Swedish tribe of the Geats, who were held to be of the same origin as the Goths. The movement rose and fell, but reemerged in the 19th century. In 1811, Götiska Förbundet (The Geatish Society) was founded, which, incidentally, helped spread the image of the horn- helmeted Viking (see chapter 9). Inspired by this enthusiasm about the ancient Germanic past, the Eng- lish began to investigate their own identity with their Anglo-Saxon and, by extension, Norse roots. Fascination with the Vikings spread like wild- fire, and Viking novels began to appear by the dozen in the mid-19th cen- tury, with titles such as The Viking (1849), The Northmen: The Sea-Kings and Vikings (1852), The Champion of Odin: Or Viking Life in Days of Old
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