Myth of Skanderbeg

Skanderbeg's monument in Tirana

The Myth of Skanderbeg is one of the main constitutive myths of Albanian nationalism.[1][2][3] In the late nineteenth century during the Albanian struggle and the Albanian National Awakening, Skanderbeg became a symbol for the Albanians and he was turned into a national Albanian hero and myth.[4][5][6]

After the death of Skanderbeg, the Arbëresh (Albanians) migrated from the Balkans to southern Italy. There his memory and exploits survived and were maintained among them in their musical repertoire.[7] Skanderbeg was transformed into a nation building myth by Albanian nationalist writers and thus his deeds were transformed into a mixture of facts, half truths and folklore.[8] The Myth of Skanderbeg is the only myth of Albanian nationalism that is based on a person; the others are based on ideas, abstract concepts, and collectivism.[9] The myth of Skanderbeg was not created by Albanian intellectuals but was already part of the Arbereshe folklore and collective memory.[10] According to Oliver Jens Schmitt, "there are two different Skanderbegs today: the historic Skanderbeg, and a mythic national hero as presented in Albanian schools and nationalist intellectuals in Tirana and Pristina."[11]

  1. ^ King, Russell; Nicola Mai (2008), "Social Exclusion and Integration", Out of Albania: From Crisis Migration to Social Inclusion in Italy, Berghahn Books, p. 212, ISBN 978-1-84545-544-6, ...three main constitutive myths at work within Albanian nationalism ...Secondly, the myth of Skanderbeg, ...
  2. ^ Steinke, Klaus. "Recension of the living Skanderbeg: the Albanian hero between myth and history / Monica Genesin ... (eds.) Hamburg : Kovač, 2010 Schriftenreihe Orbis; Bd. 16" (in German). Quelle Informationsmittel (IFB) : digitales Rezensionsorgan für Bibliothek und Wissenschaft. Retrieved March 24, 2011. Im nationalen Mythus der Albaner nimmt er den zentralen Platz ein,...
  3. ^ Nixon, N. (2010), Always already European: The figure of Skënderbeg in contemporary Albanian nationalism, National Identities, vol. 12, March 2010, Routledge, pp. 1–20, Bibcode:2010NatId..12....1N, doi:10.1080/14608940903542540, S2CID 144772370, (From abstract) … Through the figure of Skënderbeg, Albanian nationalism produces an image of the nation as a seamless continuity of 'Europeanness' from the fifteenth century to the present. … It constitutes, it is argued in this article, a misdirected appeal to Europe - driven by a desire for future European Union membership - to recognise Albania as always already European. …
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ragaru532 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference BartlWiedergeburt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference KraftNationalbewegung was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Skendi8384 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie; Bernd Jürgen Fischer; Roderick Bailey; Isa Blumi; Nathalie Clayer; Ger Dujizings; Denisa Costovicova; Annie Lafontaine; Fatos Lubonja; Nicola Mai; Noel Malcolm; Piro Misha; Mariella Pandolfi; Gilles de Rapper; Fabian Schmidt; George Shopflin; Elias G. Skoulidas; Alex Standish; Galia Vatchinova (2002), Albanian identities: myth and history, USA: Indiana University Press, p. 43, ISBN 0-253-34189-2, retrieved March 24, 2011, The nationalist writers... transform history into myth ... As with most myths his figure and deeds became a mixture of historical facts, truths, half-truths, inventions and folklore.
  9. ^ Free, Jan, "Skanderbeg als historisher Mythos" (PDF), Von den Schwierigkeiten historischer Bezugnahme: Der albanische Nationalheld Skanderbeg (in German), Düsseldorf: Mythos-Magazin, p. 14, retrieved March 25, 2011, Betrachtet man die Gesamtheit der albanischen Nationalmythen, so ist offensichtlich, dass es fur Albaner mehr als nur den Skanderbeg-Mythos gibt und dass nicht nur auf diesem Mythos die albanische Identitat beruht. Es gibt noch weitere wichtige Mythenfiguren, doch diese beziehen sich auf Vorstellungen, abstrakte Konzepte und Kollektive, aber nicht auf Personen.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Demiraj2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Jens Schmitt, Oliver. "Skanderbeg Ein Winterkönig an der Zeitenwende" (in German). Retrieved 7 April 2011. Heute gibt es zwei Skanderbegs - den historischen und den zum Nationalhelden erhobenen Mythos, wie er in albanischen Schulen und von nationalistischen Intellektuellen in Tirana oder Prishtina dargestellt wird. Beide haben weniger miteinander zu tun als entfernte Verwandte.