Bruket av Haslisägnen : i svensk och schweizisk historieskrivning under 1800-talet

Sammanfattning: The aim of this thesis was to compare the use of the Hasli legend in Sweden and Switzerland during the 19th century. The Hasli legend, which derives from the middle ages, talks about Swedes and Frisians that emigrated to the central part of Switzerland. By comparing the use of the myth in the two nations I wanted to analyze how it was used for shaping identities and how the use varied with, and was affected by, the social context. I have studied historians work about the national Swedish and Swiss history, published during the 19th century. I chose the comparative method and have taken the social context and transnational aspects into consideration. The use of the myth was more uniform in Sweden than in Switzerland, but in both countries the myth was related to the nation and its origin. The national identity is emphasized, but is overlapping other identities. In both countries the use of the myth originates from the ideas of nationalism and national romanticism, but while the use of the myth in Sweden can be explained by the Gothicism and the idea of a Scandinavian nation, the use of the myth in Switzerland was a result of the creation of the Swiss nation in the 19th century.