Preliminary Programme

The Danish monarchy of the 18th century was a composite state and mich larger than the present-day state Denmark. It consisted of the kingdom of Denmark, the kingdom of Norway, the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, the latter being part of the German Empire, and of a few small oversea colonies. This composite state was extremely heterogeneous - geographically, economically, socially, culturally, politically, administratively, and judicially seen. There was, however, one common factor where no heterogenity within this composite state was accepted (with a few exceptions perhaps)and that was the Lutheran religion and state church. Nobody within the territories of the Danish composite state was entitled to stay outside. Still, the late 18th century was am age of transition within the Lutheran church itself within the Danish state. The Englightenment thinking and the French Revolution posed a challenge to church, clergy and society. Furthermore, growing national and ethnical consciousness within different parts of the monarchy, first and foremost Denmark, Schleswig, Holstein and Norway can be observed but it may be too hastened and simplified to consider these phenomena nationalism. Within the kingdom of Denmark internally which had a significant German-speaking proportion of the population, growing antagonism between Danish and German can be observed. Where did the Lutheran state chuch and its clergy - one of the few common denominators within the state - stand within all this upheaval? Which strategies did it pursue to meet these challenges? As for the growing national and ethnical tensions and antagonisms: how did it respond? Did it try to function as an integrative force of the composite state or did it show sympathy and understanding for the growing national and ethnical identities? (Show less)

This paper reconstructs meanings attached to the concepts of nation and fatherland in late-eighteenth-century English, Dutch, French, Prussian and Swedish political preaching, the emphasis being on the definition of the national community in Anglican, Dutch Reformed and Swedish Lutheran sermons. After discussing sermons as a medium of national ideology, it analyses the decline of the Israelite prototype of nation, changing relationship between religious and national communities, varieties of international Protestantism, the weakening stereotype of popery, redefinitions of the Protestant monarchy, and the diversification of the vocabulary of nation. It also compares the rise of non-theological languages of classical patriotism, freedom, economy and nature in three ’Protestant’ political cultures, revealing how a secular worship of nation rose even within public religion.

After summarizing the major findings of Ihalainen’s previous work on the linguistic construction of national communities within public churches before the 1770s, the paper proceeds to analyse conceptual changes that took place in the (mainly Protestant) understanding of the nation and fatherland in the Age of Revolutions, focusing on language use in parliamentary and other state-related sermons and ending up with an analysis of some French revolutionary sermons. (Show less)

At each turn of the year, since the middle of the sixteenth century until the late twentieth century, the Swedish kings wrote a letter to be read out loud by the parish priest in front of his congregation. Until the middle of the nineteenth century everybody was to attend this ceremony, and the letters were also translated into the different languages spoken in the provinces of the realm. Consequently this was for a long period of time the most effective medium in which the king communicated as the “Father of the Country” in front of his subjects. In the letters the sovereign often referred to the need of reflecting on the state of the realm and customarily begun the address by looking back on the events of the previous year. A common theme was how to deal with different sorts of crisis, such as war, famine, moral deprivation and political upheaval. In this paper I will discuss how the absolute monarchs Gustav III (1771-1792) and Gustav IV Adolf (1792-1809) tried to generate legitimacy and maintain a sense of community. Compared to earlier periods, this period shows a fundamental change in the rhetoric of the nation in mainly three ways: in the concept of a fatherland, in the meaning of war, and in the concept of religion and its function in society. (Show less)

In the Dutch Republic, days of prayer were called for by the States-General. In the 16th and 17th century, they were reactions to particular events - wars, floods, pestilences, economic depressions. In the 18th century, they became institutionalised, and took place yearly. Almost all letters of the States-General calling for a day of prayer have been preserved. Hundreds of printed day-of-prayer sermons by ministers of the public church and by disssenters have been preserved as well.
An analysis of these sermons and letters makes clear that a fundamental change in the social imaginaries (Charles Taylor) of religion and the body politic took place in the second half of the 18th century. Both moved from hierarchy to moral community. The change appeared first in the letters of the States-General.
This discursive shift can be linked to fundamental changes in social practices in the Dutch Republic, from poor relief to the recrutement and training of ministers. (Show less)