Whose Tordenskjold? The Fluctuating Identities of an Eighteenth-Century Naval Hero in Nineteenth-Century Cultural Nationalisms

Abstract

The naval hero Peter We ssel To rdenskjold (1690-1720) waso ne of the most celebrated historical figures in both nineteenth-century Norway and Denmark. This double national cultivation gavec ause for an ongoing feud between Danish and Norwegian historians concerningh is true fatherland.A tt he same time, the uncertaintys urrounding his exact nationality offered aw ealth of material for narratives of Dano-Norwegian, and even pan-Scandinavian rapprochement. This article explores To rdenskjold'strack record as afigure of nationalcultivation by treating him as adynamic and transnationalmemory site (lieu de mémoire).I tw ill be demonstrated that the contestation surrounding the ownership of his memory formed an importantmotivation for the rich artistic cultivation of this national hero, while the symbolic meaning attributedtohim wassubjected to the ideological needs of the individuals and groupsa ppropriatingh im. As such, To rdenskjold came to be alternately ingrained in Danish, Norwegian, Dano-Norwegian,a nd Scandinavian frameworks according to the relevant political and social circumstances.