Geatish Society
In 1811, a group of Swedish poets and authors gathered to form the Geatish Society. They created this social club for literary studies among academics in Sweden. Their goal was to raise the moral tone of society through contemplating Scandinavian antiquity. The members sought to revive Viking spirit and related matters during a time of contentious debate over Norse mythology as subjects of high art. Northern academies held strong neoclassical training that favored Biblical and Classical subjects. This academic prejudice made it difficult for new ideas about ancient Nordic themes to take root.
Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger expressed himself in favor of Norse mythology when the University of Copenhagen made the debate the subject of a competition in 1800. He argued that Norse myths were native and had not become hackneyed like Greek mythology. Northern European Romanticism nationalism took direction because these old stories were considered morally superior to Greek mythology. The Geatish Society challenged prevailing neoclassical academic prejudices that favored Biblical and Classical subjects over Norse mythology for high art. In 1817 the organization announced a competition for sculpture on Nordic themes to further their cause against established academic norms.
The club published a magazine called Iduna to disseminate poetry, translations of Edda sagas, and their views on old Icelandic literature. Jakob Adlerbeth wrote several essays which were published in Iduna including translations of Edda and Vaulundurs saga. Members wrote extensively on the Aesir and other parts of Norse mythology using this platform. The historical writings of Olaus Rudbeck were also revived and used for creating vivid imagery within the publication. Actual Norse elements would be mixed with Nordic Bronze Age, Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age elements to create a modern mythology of the past.
Esaias Tegnér and Erik Gustaf Geijer served as editors of Iduna while producing famous epic poems under the society's influence. Their most famous works included Frithiofs saga in the form of epic verse and the shorter poem Skidbladner by Tegnér. Geijer contributed poems named Vikingen and Odalbonden that appeared at least in part in Iduna. Other well-known members included Arvid Afzelius who edited the ground-breaking anthology of Swedish folksong titled Svenska visor från forntiden. Karl August Nicander was a lyric poet and Pehr Henrik Ling was a Swedish teacher involved with the group.
Members of the society would occasionally wear horned helmets during events which is the source of the myth that Vikings wore such headgear. In actuality there is not evidence to suggest they ever did wear these items historically. Members wrote extensively on the Vikings often in a romanticized manner describing them as a largely heroic and noble ancient people. The historical novel Tord Bonde by Gustaf Vilhelm Gumaelius (1789, 1877) reflected this romanticized view of the past. These visual choices created lasting misconceptions about actual Viking headgear despite lacking historical basis.
In 1844 following the death of Jakob Adlerbeth the Society formally dissolved after being dormant for more than ten years. Part of the library accumulated by the Götiska förbundet together with its archive was given to the library of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters History and Antiquities. There the materials are maintained among the special collections at the institution. The dissolution marked the end of an active period that had spanned over three decades of literary activity and cultural influence across Sweden.
The mythology and imagery of this movement became very popular in the German Empire where comparable societies were part of the Völkisch movement. Similar themes would be taken up in Nazi Germany during the next century. To some extent they remain popular among Neo-Nazis to this day regarding these specific historical interpretations. Ideologically there seems no obvious connection save common concerns with sentimental patriotic interest in ethnic folklore and local history. The idealized Vikings were associated with a warrior manliness that is transgressive of modern values thus alluding to radical Nazi or pan-Germanic militarism.
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Common questions
When was the Geatish Society founded and what was its primary goal?
The Geatish Society formed in 1811 to raise the moral tone of society through contemplating Scandinavian antiquity. Members sought to revive Viking spirit during a time of contentious debate over Norse mythology as subjects of high art.
Who were the editors of Iduna magazine published by the Geatish Society?
Esaias Tegnér and Erik Gustaf Geijer served as editors of Iduna while producing famous epic poems under the society's influence. The club used this platform to disseminate poetry, translations of Edda sagas, and their views on old Icelandic literature.
What is the origin of the myth that Vikings wore horned helmets according to the Geatish Society script?
Members of the Geatish Society would occasionally wear horned helmets during events which became the source of the myth that Vikings wore such headgear. There is no evidence to suggest they ever did wear these items historically despite the romanticized descriptions written by members.
When did the Geatish Society formally dissolve after being dormant for more than ten years?
In 1844 following the death of Jakob Adlerbeth the Society formally dissolved after being dormant for more than ten years. Part of the library accumulated by the Götiska förbundet together with its archive was given to the library of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters History and Antiquities.
How did the Geatish Society challenge prevailing neoclassical academic prejudices in Sweden?
The Geatish Society challenged prevailing neoclassical academic prejudices that favored Biblical and Classical subjects over Norse mythology for high art. In 1817 the organization announced a competition for sculpture on Nordic themes to further their cause against established academic norms.