Nordic terrors : Scandinavian superstition in British Gothic literature / Robert W. Rix.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rix, Robert, 1970- author.

Series:

Anthem studies in gothic literature (Anthem Press) ; Volume 1.

Anthem Studies in Gothic Literature Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gothic literature--Great Britain--18th century--History and criticism.

Gothic literature.

Gothic literature--Great Britain--19th century--History and criticism.

Superstition in literature.

Scandinavia--In literature.

Scandinavia.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (102 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

London : Anthem Press, 2025.

Summary:

In late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century British literature, Scandinavia emerged as a setting for Gothic terror. This book explores the extensive use of Nordic superstition as it provided a vocabulary for Gothic texts, examining the cultural significance these references held for writers exploring Britain's northern heritage. In Gothic publications, Nordic superstition sometimes parallels the representations of Catholicism, allowing writers to gloat at its phantasms and delusions. Thus, runic spells, incantations, and necromantic communications (of which Norse tradition afforded many examples) could replace practices usually assigned to Catholic superstition. Yet Nordic lore did more than merely supplant hackneyed Gothic formulas; it presented readers with an alternative conception of 'Otherness'. Nordic texts - chiefly based on the Edda and the supernatural Scandinavian ballad tradition - were seen as pre-Christian beliefs of the Gothic (i.e., Germanic) peoples, including the Anglo-Saxons. The book traces the development of this Nordic Gothic, situating it within wider literary, historical, political, and cultural contexts.

Contents:

Cover

Halftitle Page

Series Page

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Introduction

1. Norse Gothic

2. Ballads across Borders – Terrors, Translations and Travesties

3. The Danish Woods and Their Demons

4. Scandinavian Britain

Postscript

Bibliography

Index Generated by AI.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 13 Jun 2025).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part of the metadata in this record was created by AI, based on the text of the resource.

ISBN:

9781839990472

1839990473

9781839990465

1839990465

OCLC:

1450836960