Valkyries and Danish national symbolism in the 19th century

Scandinavian goddesses, gods, and supernatural deities: nowadays it is common to encounter the Norse myths being popularized in the mass media, in electronic games, in cinema and art in general. But in past contexts, they also had a different status, used as elements in the history of nations, in public monuments, in political speeches and in other spheres of society. Adam Fabricius' "Illustreret Danmarkshistorie for folket" (Illustrated History of Denmark for the People) from 1854 was an exhaustive work intended to cover all of Denmark’s history in two volumes. It reflects the concern over the unification of the Kingdom of Denmark and the return of the Duchy of Schleswig to the ‘Fatherland’, which was the main political and national concern of Danish intellectuals and artists at the time; ancestors and myths were used to evoke national romanticism and to underline Denmark’s claim to the Duchy of Schleswig as legitimate.