{"id":7027,"date":"2021-01-15T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-15T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/?p=7027"},"modified":"2021-12-30T09:37:50","modified_gmt":"2021-12-30T14:37:50","slug":"marauders-in-the-capitol-alt-right-viking-wannabes-weaponized-medievalism-in-american-white-nationalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/2021\/01\/15\/marauders-in-the-capitol-alt-right-viking-wannabes-weaponized-medievalism-in-american-white-nationalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Marauders in the US Capitol: Alt-right Viking Wannabes & Weaponized Medievalism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vikings are a very hot topic right now; there’s no question. Within the thriving genre of medievalism, Vikings have recently proven an especially sexy and profitable subject for contemporary pseudo-historical fiction, particularly in television series like the History Channel’s Vikings<\/em> (2013) and Netflix’s The Last Kingdom<\/em> (2015). Both these series are fundamentally anachronistic and closer in many ways to medieval fantasy than an accurate historical representation of the early medieval period known as the Viking Age (793\u20131066 CE). Inaccuracies are, of course, not unique to medievalism involving Vikings, and historical liberties are more abundant in historical fiction set in ancient and medieval times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bj\u01ebrn “Ironsides” son of Ragnarr Lo\u00f0br\u00f3k<\/em> from the final season of the History Channel’s Vikings (2019).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Still, these television shows are very popular and therefore highly influential. Even the anachronisms and inaccuracies in popular medievalism provide effective conversation starters when teaching the subject by offering both a hook into the material and a chance to separate fact from fiction. But, in today’s world by far the most important reason for medievalists to know the trends in popular medievalism and engage with this media directly is white nationalism. As scholars of the period, we must be aware of information, misinformation and disinformation that is being widely disseminated if we are to have any hope of using our voices to help debunk, nuance and contextualize shows like Vikings<\/em> and The Last Kingdom<\/em> with a watchful eye toward white supremacist interpretations and appropriations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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King Haraldr <\/em>“Fairhair” leads his army in the final season of History Channel’s Vikings (2019).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many medievalists of color have sounded the alarm\u2014again and again\u2014warning that this monster lurked in the shadows. Over five years ago, Sierra Lomuto stressed<\/a> how “When white nationalists turn to the Middle Ages to find a heritage for whiteness\u2014to seek validation for their claims of white supremacy\u2014and they do not find resistance from the scholars of that past; when this quest is celebrated and given space within our academic community, our complacency becomes complicity” (2016). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the wake of the riotous “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville in 2017, where some alt-right protesters donned crusader and Viking garb, scholars such as Dorothy Kim, Mary Rambaran-Olm and others have repeatedly warned the field of the dangerous appropriations<\/a> of the medieval by white supremacists. Immediately following Charlottesville, Kim insightfully cautioned<\/a> her fellow medievalists that “The medieval western European Christian past is being weaponized by white supremacist\/white nationalist\/KKK\/nazi extremist groups who also frequently happen to be college students” (2017). More recently, Rambaran-Olm has pointed out<\/a> that “far-right identitarian groups [are] seeking to prove their superior ancestry by portraying the \u2018Anglo-Saxons\u2019 in ways that both promote English identity and national sociopolitical progress” (2019). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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James Alex Fields Jr., who has been convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for killing an anti-racist protester in Charlottesville VA, is pictured in the group (second from the left, wearing dark glasses), holding a round shield with white supremacist symbolism. Photo credit: Lidia Jean Kott (August 12th, 2017).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, alt-right activists have postured as pseudo-medievalists in order to further these white supremacist narratives and misappropriations of the Middle Ages. For example, Milo Yiannopoulos is known for his ad hominem editorial “The Middle Rages<\/a>” that targets numerous medievalists of color. Still somehow, the “jousting<\/a>” between medievalists of color and the alt-right was not enough to shake many white medievalists<\/a> into action, despite the very real threat posed by white supremacist weaponization of the medieval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the Nazi appropriation and sacralization of the “Germanic” in the service of white supremacy, medieval literature\u2014especially Scandinavian myth and legend\u2014has been rhetorically mobilized as an imagined “pure white” era in Northern Europe prior to encountering and intermingling with nonwhite peoples, despite clear historical evidence of multi-cultural trade interactions between ancient and medieval peoples. This ideology has infiltrated the neopagan religion known as “Odinism,” which varies widely and spans the political spectrum<\/a>, but harbors a perverse, neo-Nazi strain (sometimes called Wotansvolk meaning “Odin’s Folk”) that has long haunted the movement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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O\u00f0<\/em>inn wandering after the battle from first season of History Channel’s Vikings (2013).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Odinism\u2014named for the chief Scandinavian god of war, Odin<\/a>\u2014refers to modern New Age interpretations of indigenous religion in pre-Christian Scandinavian, and The Southern Poverty Law Center reported<\/a> that “A neo-Pagan religion drawing on images of fiercely proud, boar-hunting Norsemen and their white-skinned Aryan womenfolk is increasingly taking root among Skinheads, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists across the nation” more than twenty years ago. More recently, “Anglo-Saxon” neopaganism, sometimes called “Heathenry<\/a>” to further ground their practice in the language of the culture they idolize, has grown and frequently provides a haven for white supremacist rhetoric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jacob Anthony Chansley, a.k.a. Jake Angeli, the “Q Shaman,” was one of several protesters to storm the US Capitol. Photo credit: Win McNamee<\/em>, Getty Images (January 6th,<\/em> 2021).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The alt-right has mobilized medievalism toward nefarious ends, fashioning harmful narratives of white supremacy, which have been rhetorically weaponized by domestic terrorists such as the “Q Shaman<\/a>” also known as Jake Angeli, but whose real name is Jacob Anthony Chansley. As a QAnon promoter and influencer, Chansley<\/a> is described as a pseudo-celebrity at alt-right rallies, flashing his tattoos, including three prominent Norse symbols: Thor’s Hammer [Mj\u01ebllnir], the Valknut and the World Tree [Yggdrasil]. All three were proudly displayed as he sat in Vice President Mike Pence<\/a>‘s seat in the Senate, after the Pence was forced to retreat from the angry mob calling for his head. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The pro-Trump mob breeched security, and demonstrators entered the Capitol as Congress debated the 2020 electoral vote certification. Photo credit: Saul Loeb (AFP), Getty Images (January 6th,<\/em> 2021).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, Chansley’s horned helmet (while almost certainly referencing other traditions as well) represents a continuation of the Victorian anachronistic introduction of horned helms on Vikings and Valkyries, drawn from classical depictions of Roman Victories. Chansley’s flag-spear may be intended as a reference to Odin’s spear, Gungnir, which further points to white nationalist medievalism<\/a>. In the case of his horned helmet, Chansley’s ignorance is on full display, as his caricature more closely resembles the ahistorical symbol of the Minnesota Vikings’ football team than anything remotely resembling what a medieval Viking<\/a> might have looked like. Chansley joined with other pro-Trump supporters to form a violent mob which stormed the United States Capitol on January 6th, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A man shouts and brandishes his shield as pro-Trump mob gathers in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington. Photo credit: Leah Millis, Reuters (January 6th,<\/em> 2021).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Of course, it must be emphasized that this insurrection was perpetrated specifically by a pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” MAGA mob, there in support of the president’s blatantly false and dangerous claims that there was election-altering voter fraud during the recent 2020 presidential election (which he soundly lost to Democratic rival Joe Biden). This mob, incited by the president, sought to disrupt the lawful process outlined in the US Constitution by any means necessary in order to overturn a free and fair election. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donald Trump’s boasting, belligerence and greed does link him with warrior ethics which sustain predatory economies and the Viking activities of marauding, feuding and plundering. The ironic Twitter account, “Beowulf Trump<\/a>” (discontinued after Trump’s election in 2016), highlights this rhetorical connection by comparing the president’s macho posturing and self-aggrandizing campaign promises to hyperbolic boasts and egoistic attitudes in Beowulf<\/em>. There were indeed marauders in the Capitol Building on January 6th, and alongside Trump’s red hats, outfitted in army camouflage and waving Trump or Confederate flags, were alt-right Viking wannabes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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