Ossian and National Epic

Ossian's poetry was rediscovered in the eighteenth century; an example of "folk poetry," it became part of the "national epic" movement, an effort in Europe to establish roots for largely rootless locales seeking to become states. Here are twenty essays that trace the influence of Ossian and Ossian-like works and their influence, including why Ossian, regardless of his real existence, is important, why Ossian is no laughing matter, Homer's Iliad, the subversive potential for European culture found in "pseudotranslations" before and after Ossian, the need for epics in European national literature, reflections on poetic change, the rise of German nationalism, Kleist's drama Die Hermannsschlacht, epics and the failed anti-fascist resistance, rewriting history in Southey's "Fabulous History [of Portugal],"the Lusiads as global epic, translating nationalism, shadows of the past, the Italian epic from primativism to realism, the Poema de Mo Cid as a vehicle of political ideas, recitation of ancient deeds, the epics of Alencar in cartoon form, literature and myth, Ossian's dress sense, and Ossian as an epic visual journey. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Gerald Bar is Assistant Professor at the Universidade Aberta (Portugal). He teaches German Studies and Comparative Literature. His publications include various articles on the reception of Ossian, an anthology of Portuguese Ossian-translations and several studies on the motif of the double.
Howard Gaskill taught German language and literature from 1969 to 2001 at the University of Edinburgh where he is now Honorary Fellow. His research interests have focused on German poets of the Romantic era, in particular Holderlin, and Scottish-German literary relations, notably German Ossianism.