Call for
papers: Dossier: Vikings and Norse Myths in Post-Medieval Reception. Scandia 9, 2026. Deadline: September 15,
2026. Editors: Dr. Susan
Filoche-Rommé, Dr. Alberto Robles Delgado, Dr. Johnni Langer.
Editing support: Reception Research
Group (University of Alcalá).
“Viking! There are few words whose
radiance is as magical as this one. Barely uttered, it evokes a legendary aura
and a body of imagery that is more or less conventional” (Régis Boyer, Le
mythe viking dans les lettres françaises, 1986, p. 9). Reception studies regarding
the Vikings is essential for an in-depth understanding not only of art,
literature, and the media, but also of the historiography of the Viking Age, as
it has been constructed since the nineteenth century. Initially
shaped by nationalist and Romantic idealisations — particularly through the
rediscovery and reinterpretation of the Icelandic sagas — the image of the
Viking gradually consolidated into a set of powerful stereotypes, many of which
continue to inform cultural production and even academic discourse today.
A similar process can be observed in
the reception of Norse mythology. Since the so-called Nordic Renaissance
inaugurated by the work of Paul-Henri Mallet in the mid-eighteenth century,
Norse myths have become one of the central symbolic repertoires mobilised by
Romantic artists and political thinkers to construct, negotiate, or contest
national identities in contexts such as Germany, England, France, and the
Scandinavian countries. During the twentieth century, Norse mythology increasingly
intersected with what has been described as “Vikingmania”, acquiring a
pronounced dimension of popular entertainment while retaining strong
ideological and idealised connotations, particularly in North-American popular
culture, as well as forms of social validation within contemporary movements of
Nordic paganism. As Christopher Abram has noted, “Norse myths make up one of
the world’s great mythologies, and their popularity shows no sign of
diminishing in the twenty-first century” (Myths of the Pagan North,
2011).
This dossier aims to bring together
studies on the post-medieval reception of Vikings and Norse myths in the
Western world, from the late Middle Ages to the present. It welcomes
contributions addressing their representation and reinterpretation in the arts
(including theatre, opera, visual arts, and music), in literature, in academic
research (archaeology, history, literary studies), and in popular and mass
media such as comics, cinema, television, and digital culture. Contributors are
invited to examine a wide range of written, visual, musical, architectural, and
monumental sources.
Methodologically, the dossier is
grounded in reception studies and related approaches such as Neomedievalism,
the uses of the past, and the invention of tradition. Particular attention is
given to how different recipients — artists, politicians, scholars, and diverse
publics — have interpreted, appropriated, and repurposed figures and narratives
associated with the Viking world and Norse mythology. Rather than treating
myths and historical images as static survivals, the contributions should
approach them in terms of dynamic cultural artefacts, shaped by the social,
ideological, and belief systems of each historical context. In this sense,
reception is understood as an active and historically situated process of
appropriation, through which the past is continuously reimagined and
resignified.
Contributions should be sent in
English, Spanish, French, Italian or Portuguese. Submissions must be sent no
later than September 15, 2026, only through the website.
Scandia Journal may also accept papers whose subject is not related to
this dossier. In this case, the approved papers may be included in
the free article section, and the deadline is the same. The free article
section accepts papers regarding any area or field of Scandinavian Studies related
to the Viking Age and Medieval Scandinavia.
Scandia Journal of Medieval Norse
Studies (ISSN: 2595-9107, Qualis-Capes A4).
Contact and information: scandiajournalneve@gmail.com
Reception Research Group.
Poster/photography credit: Viking
monument, Reykjavik (Photo by Jose Moreira); Leif Erikson Discovers
America, oil on canvas, Hans Dahl, 1915; To my hammer's swing,
illust., Arthur Rackham, 1910.
