Literature as a performative act: Erikskrönikan and the making of a nation

The paper aims at understanding in which social and political context, to which audience and to which purpose the Old Swedish Erikskrönikan was composed. By analyzing the ideological content of the chronicle and the implicit and explicit references to the audience, the paper demonstrates that the text was composed at the Swedish court shortly after King Magnus Eriksson’s election as king of Sweden, and that its purpose was to celebrate the heroism of the whole Swedish aristocracy after the civil war between the former king’s and Duke Erik’s supporters. By so doing, the chronicle contributed to strengthen the young Swedish state and the power of the aristocratic elite.