Nordic Terrors

In late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century British literature, Scandinavia emerged as a place where Gothic terror took place. This book explores the extensive use of Nordic superstition in providing a vocabulary for Gothic texts as well as the cultural significance it had for writers attempting to understand Britain's northern roots. In Gothic publications, Nordic superstition sometimes parallels the representations of Catholicism, allowing writers to gloat at its phantasms and delusions. Thus, the casting of runes, runic spells and incantations, and necromantic communications (of which Norse tradition afforded many examples) could replace practices usually assigned to Catholic superstition. On terms of its cultural importance, however, Nordic lore did more than just fill in for hackneyed Gothic formulas. It is a key argument in the book that Nordic superstition presented less of an abject 'Other'. Nordic texts (primarily excerpts from the Edda and supernatural Scandinavian ballads) were seen as examples of the pre-Christian beliefs of what was known as the 'Gothic' (i.e., Germanic) peoples, which included the Anglo-Saxons. The book will trace the development of what can be called 'Gothic Gothicism' and situate this mode of writing in its wider literary, historical, political, and cultural contexts.

Ancillary Review of Books

A masterpiece of academic scholarship, informed and informative, deftly organized and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in presentation, "Nordic Terrors" is especially and unreservedly recommended for college/university library Gothic Literary Criticism collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.—Midwest

“Nordic Terrors challenges conventional notions of the Gothic ‘Other’ by exploring how British writers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries embraced Nordic traditions as integral to their own historical and cultural heritage. Showcasing a matchless knowledge of the Nordic pagan religion, folklore and the Norse presence in Britain, Rix’s economical and nuanced study illuminates Scandinavia’s role in shaping the British literary imagination. An accomplished and essential book for anyone interested in the Gothic tradition.” —Jonathan Sachs, Professor of English, Concordia University, Montréal, Canada.

“This fascinating book throws welcome new light on how much the dark horrors of British gothic literature owe to Nordic – Norse and Scandinavian – myths, legends and folklore. Rix demonstrates how the celebrated ‘Otherness’ of gothic fiction was countered and enriched by a sense of the shared Nordic past amongst English-speaking authors and readers.” —Heather O’Donoghue, Oxford University, UK.

“This is an interesting and meticulously researched study that combines a discussion of tales of terror set in Nordic lands with an examination of the infl uence of Nordic superstition on the British Gothic, and, more extensively, on the negotiation of British identity and culture. Hence, it offers not only a fascinating critical ramble in cold and strange Northern lands but also a sombre stroll in the familiar drizzle of British identity, making us experience both differently in the process.” —Tabish Khair, Aarhus University, Denmark.

“Nordic Terrors delves into the literary entanglements surrounding Gothic writing in Britain. Robert Rix shows how Old Norse poetry and Danish balladry infuse what ends up as British Gothic literature with heroic masculinity, evil elves, ghosts, hags, and frost giants, creating scenes of terror while also negotiating notions of British cultural heritage and national identity.” —Elisabeth Oxfeldt, University of Oslo, Norway

Rix adeptly shows how complicated, contested, and contradictory the process of ethnic and national identity formation is, and how central a role the speculative imagination plays.[...] Nordic Terrors is especially compelling in describing how the British Gothic defined and wrestled with “the Other .—Ancillary Review of Books

Robert W. Rix is Director of Research at the University of Copenhagen. He is widely known for his prolific publication profile in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century studies.

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