Excerpt from The Old Norse Element, in Swedish Romanticism
Enthusiasm for the Norse saga during the Swedish Romantic period was not confined to the members of the so-called Gothic School. The interest in the Viking age spread also to other groups of poets as well as to some individuals who, like Stagnelius, were not identified with any school. As we shall see, however, they were all, in the ordinary, broad sense, Romantic. This review, therefore, purports to deal with a number of heterogeneous writers, often belonging to entirely different literary confessions, but all bound together, for us, by a bond of common interest in Scandinavian antiquity.
The purpose of this study is fourfold: (1) to show clearly that a genuine interest in Scandinavian antiquity was present from the beginning in both the new literary tendencies of the time,(2) to characterize this interest,(3) to collect and examine all the important literary monuments from 1810 to about 1825 that make use of Scandinavian saga, and(4) to record conservative opposition to Norse mythology in Sweden during that period.
The well-known literary chiefs, Tegner, Geijer, and Ling, will be treated only incidentally in this study, in connection with specific problems. The present investigation intends to emphasize the work of the minor "Goths" and of such other Romanticists as are not ordinarily mentioned in connection with the Old Norse element. Among the latter are the Fosforists.
An appendix has been added, containing brief biographical data of the most important writers connected with Swedish Romanticism.
Lastly, I wish to express my gratitude to all those who have contributed in any way to make this investigation possible.
To Professor Calvin Thomas, first of all, I owe a deep debt for substantial encouragement and for ever-ready assistance, especially in connection with the final proof-reading.
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