Interactions between Classical and Northern Antiquity in European Culture (1756–ca. 1820)

The early stage of European rediscovery of the Old Norse culture in the second half of the 18^th century has been repeatedly surveyed, especially in the last decades. There is, however, one aspect of the process that has received only modest attention, namely the role of classical education and classicizing cultural models that may have considerably shaped the horizon of expectation of the 18^th century recipients of texts mediating mythology, history and literature of various "non-classical" cultures. The aim of this project is, therefore, to identify and analyse various forms of interplay between the classical and Norse element in the scholarly and artistic discourses in the examined period and their reflection in particular literary adaptations with focus on the Scandinavian countries, England and Germany.  

In the presentation, I will take a closer look at a specific case, namely aesthetical debates concerning use of classical and/or Old Norse myth in modern literature that took place at the turn of the 19th century in Germany, with Herder as the initiator, and in Denmark where the topic was discussed in an essay contest organised by the University of Copenhagen. 

Magda Králová, PhD candidate at the Institute of Greek and Latin Studies, Charles University in Prague, is presently a guest researcher at UiB where she is working on her project from October to November. 

Due to measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic, this lecture will take place via Zoom. A link will be sent to all research group members. Those not on the mailing list who would like to attend can contact Aidan Conti for details.