Visions of Past Glory

This study presents the case for how the conceptions of a distant, glorious past have been advanced and actively developed within the national project of constructing a modern ethnicity of Finnishness. Accordingly, a conception of an original ancient greatness was paramount for the nationalist movements in both the Grand Duchy and the early Republic of Finland. The author traces the construction of a Finnish Great Myth of National Origins from the 16th century until the end of the Second World War, and provides richly illustrated examples of how the process of nation-building influenced and amplified the deep historical core of the emerging Finnish national consciousness.