Symbolism, Banal Nationalism, and Asatru: Far-Right Heathen Heraldry as a Legitimizing Effort
Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) kindred banners, hof district banners, and crests/coats of arms strategically combine Germanic symbolism with medieval heraldic tradition and motifs to assert an ideological narrative that presents and claims: (1) cultural legitimacy; (2) historical continuity to European...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2026
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| In: |
The journal of religion & society
Year: 2026, Volume: 28, Pages: 89-109 |
| Further subjects: | B
Religious Material Culture
B Ásatrú B Banal Nationalism B Identity Politics B Race |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) kindred banners, hof district banners, and crests/coats of arms strategically combine Germanic symbolism with medieval heraldic tradition and motifs to assert an ideological narrative that presents and claims: (1) cultural legitimacy; (2) historical continuity to European history and mythology; and (3) a distinct ethnic identity. This effort at visual piety is not mindless but deliberate collective memory construction imbued with political identity meaning(s). Heraldic symbolism in this case: (1) attempts to legitimize AFA mythic conceptualizations of ancestral bloodline and claims to an Aryan identity; (2) represents a form of banal nationalism; (3) signals white European identity to others; and (4) functions as a tool for collective organization and community building and formation. |
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| ISSN: | 1522-5658 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of religion & society
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| Persistent identifiers: | HDL: 10504/164429 |
