The Cult of the Romantic Hero: Literature and Memorials

Abstract

: In the West the cult of the remains and relics of heroes is a tradition that can essentially be traced back to Ancient Greece. Nevertheless, when analyzing the re-emergence of the hero cult during a period as decisive in modern European history as the nineteenth century we should not restrict ourselves to the study of ancient tombs and memorials as archaeological artefacts alone. This paper will thus approach the cult of the Romantic hero from the perspective of cultural history, drawing on the literature and art inspired by historical figures that were the object of this new veneration. Taking Pierre Nora’s characterization of places of memory or lieux de mémoire as a starting point, this paper will reveal some of the links, from the literary to the artistic, that were used to encapsulate and project the glorification of Romantic heroes. An obsession with building tombs and memorials took root in the Romantic age, becoming the most visible manifestation of political strategies designed to convert memory into history. In examining the cases of Horatio Nelson, Antoine de Guillaume-Lagrange, John Moore and Napoleon, this paper underscores the value of focusing on the glorification of the figures being remembered – of their lives and actions – through literature and the first funeral rites, and on the structures and artworks that housed their remains and preserved their memories

Keywords

• Romanticism, nineteenth century, heroes, cult, tombs, memorials