Abstract
This book discusses the way in which modern European culture has drawn inspiration from medieval Scandinavian writing and provides several examples from literary and theatrical adaptations, spanning from the middle of the 18th century until the first third of the 20th century. In addition to the Scandinavian countries - Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland - the book focuses on the Anglophone environment, especially England.
The chapter dealing with fantasy adaptations of Old Norse motifs makes a short excursion to North America as well. The next object of our research is Germany, where Old Norse culture is deeply ingrained; the reception of its literature has a very rich, although somewhat controversial, history.
It may come as a surprise to readers that Old Norse motifs inspired many Czech writers as well, including Karel Hynek Mácha, Jaroslav Vrchlický and Julius Zeyer. Therefore, our expedition continues into Czech lands, with a small digression into Slovakia.