National myth
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A national myth is an inspiring narrative or anecdote about a nation's past. Such myths often serve as an important national symbol and affirm a set of national values. A national myth may sometimes take the form of a 'national epic'. A considerable amount of related material is at civil religion.
A 'national myth' may be a legend or fictionalized narrative, but have been elevated to a serious mythological, symbolical and esteemed levels to be true by the nation (Renan 1882). It might simply over-dramatize true incidents, omit important historical details, or add details for which there is no evidence; or it might simply be a fictional story that no one takes to be true literally (see Abizadeh 2004), but contains a symbolic meaning for the nation. The national folklore of many nations includes a "founding myth", which may involve a struggle against colonialism or a war of independence. In some cases, the meaning of the national myth may become disputed among different parts of the population.
In some places, the national myth may be spiritual in tone, and refer to stories of the nation's founding at the hands of God, gods, leaders favored by gods, and other supernatural beings.
National myths serve many social and political purposes. In totalitarian dictatorships, national myths often exist only for the purpose of state-sponsored propaganda. The leader might be given, for example, a mythical supernatural life history in order to make himself or herself seem god-like and supra-powerful (see also cult of personality). However national myths exist in every society, in liberal regimes they can serve the purpose of inspiring civic virtue and self-sacrifice (see Miller 1995), or shoring up the power of dominant groups and legitimating their rule.
List
- Albania / Albanians: Skanderbeg (historical leader)
- Armenia: Hayk, Urartu
- Belgium: Battle of the Golden Spurs
- Britain: Britannia (allegory), Matter of Britain (literary topos)
- England: Sir Francis Drake (historical leader)
- Scotland: William Wallace, King Robert I (historical leaders); The Brus (national epic)
- Wales: Y Ddraig Goch (national symbol)
- Canada: War of 1812 (independence struggle), In Flanders' Fields (patriotic poem)
- Croatia: Illyrian movement
- China: Yellow Emperor, Zhonghua Minzu
- Estonia: Kalevipoeg (epic poem)
- Ethiopia: Kebra Nagast
- Finland: Kalevala (national epic)
- France: Vercingétorix, the Matter of France, the French Revolution
- Germany: the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, the Battle of Lechfeld
- East Germany: the Liberation of Germany, the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War, <ref>The Cult of the Spanish Civil War in East Germany (abstract) - Krammer, Arnold, Texas A&M University. Accessed 2008-05-14.)</ref>
- Federal Republic of Germany: German Resistance
- Greece: Battle of Thermopylae, Age of Pericles, Alexander the Great, Hellenistic civilization
- Hungary: the Magyar tribes, Árpád, Saint Stephen, Saint Ladislaus, Matthias the Just, Francis II Rákóczi and Lajos Kossuth.
- India: Template:IAST and Template:IAST (Sanskrit epics), Indian freedom struggle
- Iran: Shahnameh (national epic)
- Ireland: St Patrick
- Israel: Exodus, the Kingdom of Israel, see Zionism
- Italy: the Roman Empire, Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Garibaldi
- Japan: Emperor Jimmu
- Korea: Hwanin, Dangun, see Korean nationalism
- Kurds: Guti, Hurrians, Carduchi, see Kurdish nationalism
- Republic of Macedonia: Macedonism, Alexander the Great
- Mexico: Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Netherlands: Revolt of the Batavi, Dutch Revolt/Geuzen, Dutch Golden Age
- Norway: Harald Fairhair, Olav Tryggvason, Constitution of Norway
- Philippines: Bathala, Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Philippine revolution
- Portugal Afonso Henriques, Afonso Henriques, Os Lusíadas (epic poem)
- Poland: Sarmatism, Lech, Czech and Rus, Battle of Grunwald
- Serbia: Battle of Kosovo
- Slovenia: Venetic theory, see Slovenian nationalism
- Soviet Union: Russian Revolution, Great Patriotic War
- Syriac Christians
- Sweden: Eric's Chronicle, Gustav Vasa, Swedish Empire (Battle of Lützen (1632), March across the Belts)
- Switzerland: William Tell, Rütlischwur, see 19th century historiography of Switzerland
- Turkey / Turks: Pan-Turkism, Turkic migration, see Turkish nationalism
- United States: Pocahontas, Mayflower, the American Revolution, the American Old West, the American Civil War
See also
- Civil religion
- List of world folk-epics
- Mythomoteur
- National epic
- Founding myth
- Nationalism and ancient history