Blostlandic Spring
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 Nationalist Float depicting King Aggie, 1878 | |
| Date | 1853-1920 |
|---|---|
| Location | Blostland |
| Participants | Various artists and social critics |
| Outcome | Resurgence in Blostlandic nationalism and ancient Blostladic traditions |
The Blostlandic Spring (Blostlandic: Blostska vår'), was a cultural and literary renaissance that followed the collapse of the Blostlandic Empire and the Vallmo Uprising in the late 1800s and early 1900s in Blostland. With the victory over the Azmarans in the Line Island War and the reforms of King Bo III the Spring was emblematic of a growing belief at the time that Blostland was returning to glory after years of stagnation.
Defined by nationalism the Spring saw the rise in popularity of pagan Blostlandic myth and the history of old Blostland, expressed through all forms of art but mainly literature the Spring inspired many to embrace nationalism and a new view of Blostland’s future. Many point to the radicalism of the 20s as a result of the Spring.
Background
Blostland had lost its colonies in the late 1700s and with them went the key source of Blostlands wealth, the island suffered mass shortages and many were driven to destitution. As a consequence the monarchy strengthened their grip over society and attempted to control any of the remaining colonial wealth which had been accumulated.
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As a result a nadir fell over Blostland in the times between then and the uprising in 1854, radical philosophies and ideologies grew in popularity with Republicanism and Nihilism becoming dominant in intellectual circles.
Authors such as Isac Palmcrantz and Gjur Ekström would be extremely influential to Christians and Anarchists with their Nihilist philosophy while authors like Lucas Augustsson would influence Republicans which would eventually lead to the National Union Movement.
Development
After the Vallmo Uprising and the Line Islands War the Blostlandic people enjoyed a new list of civil liberties and a rise in nationalism. This inspired a new generation of writers and artists to express themselves and their peers' new feelings. The first and arguably most significant of the generation would be Roland Hägglund, the author of Old Bones a collection of old pagan and folk myths from Blostlands past, his work would influence others to delve into Blostland’s history and even inspire people to participate in Korpfest more often.
After Old Bones was published Odert Gyllenhaal and Karl Blostberg would publish Iron Empire and Tale of 1,000 Soldiers around the same time, both would become popular and inspire even more nationalism and nostalgia among the public. Artists like Sven Palme would be heavily influenced by the books with many of his paintings around the time being romantic pieces centered around Blostlands past.
Characteristics
Core to the Spring was a revival of Nationalism and the idea that Blostland was returning to a Golden Age, this nationalistic boom inspired writers and artists to explore the old past of Blostland which many had considered taboo or backwards in years past.
The concept of race, the monarchy, and the colonies of Blostland were also often brought up in the Spring’s literature with some, such as Odert Gyllenhaal going as far as to create a new racial theory based purely on Blostlandic nationalism.
Influence
Järnflotten
The Spring was extremely influential to Järnflotten’s ideology with Åberg, the founder of Järnflotten going as far to say that Odert Gyllenhaal’s book, the Iron Empire was the second most important book ever published, after the Bible.
Åberg would put the theory of North Sea Blostism into practice with his racial policy of Ett lopp or “One Race”
The Kings Circle
The Kings Circle as the prominent Conservative organization of the time was very fond of the Spring with many of the Spring’s writers being platformed by the party and even eventually being invited into the party as members of the Rikstag. Karl Blostberg being the most famous of the authors to join.
Works Associated
Tale of 1,000 Soldiers
The most controversial of the major Spring literature the Tale of 1,000 Soldiers is a fictional retelling of the journal of Captain Olle Wahlgren, an officer who leads a group of reneged soldiers in Eldmark during the end of its war for independence. It is extremely biased towards Wahlgren and his men as they tear through the jungles of Eastern Eldmark, with no real objective they eventually decide to try and assassinate the King of Eldmark.
They manage to make it into Hammervik at night before being captured and killed in a boat style funnel pire. The account has no real historical backing even though its author, Karl Blostberg claimed it did, in the modern day it’s theorized that Blostberg was attempting to write his own version of a Blostlandic Pagan epic and just used the story as his vehicle.
The book is considered controversial because of it’s extremely racist interpretation of Eldmark and its people. The natives in the book are portrayed very negatively with Blostberg writing “God abandoned this land for a good reason, these creatures are the most hideous and satanic sort.” Multiple conspiracy theories would also be in the text with the most obvious being the implication natives are controlling the King of Eldmark with magic.
Old Bones
Written by Roland Hägglund, a respected anthropologist and children’s book writer, Old Bones is a collection of Pagan and Folk stories from old Blostland. Collected over his almost thirty years as an anthropologist Old Bones is considered the most impactful of all the literature written during the Spring as it would not only impact adults but a whole generation of children; an audience all the other major pieces of literature did not target.
Hägglund’s mention of Korpfest in the book would be particularly influential with the holiday which had nearly been eradicated years ago coming back into the mainstream in the matter of months, though Hägglund would hold his own Korpfest parties to help inspire the public interest alongside his book.
Commentary on the Iron Empire
Originally just an essay on Blostlandic history written by Odert Gyllenhaal for his colleges in university, it was never meant to be seen by the public. After meeting multiple nationalist writers however, Gyllenhaal would be convinced to fully publish his essay and even expand it with more radical and eye-catching ideas.
The book is well known in history circles albeit not for its record of Blostlandic history but for its usefulness as a perspective piece for the type of thinking popular during the times of the Spring. Gyllenhaal focuses heavily on his theory of “North Sea Blostism” which he describes in the first chapter of the book, the theory claims that the entire inhabitants of the North Sea islands were born of the Blost tribe which had left Werania in the beginning of ancient human history.
The book’s perspective is colored almost entirely by Gyllenhaal’s theory to the point where during the period of Functionalist Blostland the book was made into a justification of the new regime and its expansionist ideas. In the modern day large parts of the book are banned and can only be used for college lectures on history and racism.