Finnish history has been the subject of numerous
studies, but none of these have really considered the
nationalist essence of the integral, underlying
historical culture of the nation. Even quite
obvious political interpretations and visions of an
ancient Golden Age have all too easily been dismissed
as the consequences of mere patriotism or Kalevala
enthusiasm. 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...