Gothic Society

Swedish literary society

Also known as: Götiska Förbundet

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June 29, 2026

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The Gothic Society (Götiska förbundet) was a Swedish literary society founded in 1811. It was part of the broader Romantic movement in Sweden, which emphasized nationalism and a return to historical and mythological themes. The society aimed to foster national pride through the study of Sweden's past, particularly its "Gothic" heritage. Key figures associated with the Gothic Society include Erik Gustaf Geijer, a poet and historian, and Esaias Tegnér, known for his epic poem Frithiofs saga. The society's influence contributed to a revival of interest in Old Norse mythology and history within Swedish literature.12

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Erik Gustaf Geijer
…founders, in 1811, of the Götiska Förbundet (“Gothic Society”), which aimed at furthering national feeling through historical study. In 1817 Geijer became professor of history at Uppsala University where he was in close contact with the New Romantic Group, which briefly led him into a political conservatism. His main historical…
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…founders, in 1811, of the Götiska Förbundet (“Gothic Society”), which aimed at furthering national feeling through historical study. In 1817 Geijer became professor of history at Uppsala University where he was in close contact with the New Romantic Group, which briefly led him into a political conservatism. His main historical…
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Swedish literature
Romanticism
…another society, Götiska Förbundet (Gothic Society), advocated, from its start in 1811, that study of the “Gothic” past could morally improve society. One of its members, Esaias Tegnér, wrote a popular verse epic, Frithiofs saga (1825), based on an Old Norse theme. Tegnér valued old Northern mythology for the…
Read More
…another society, Götiska Förbundet (Gothic Society), advocated, from its start in 1811, that study of the “Gothic” past could morally improve society. One of its members, Esaias Tegnér, wrote a popular verse epic, Frithiofs saga (1825), based on an Old Norse theme. Tegnér valued old Northern mythology for the…
Read More