Nelson and the bear: the making of an Arctic myth
Recent biographers of Horatio Nelson (1758–1805) have begun the job of attempting to differentiate the man from the ‘myth.’ A necessary stage in the assessment of any historical figure is the identification of the legendary aspects that make up that figure's reputation. The tale of the young Ne...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2005
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247405004675 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247405004675 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247405004675 2024-03-03T08:42:03+00:00 Nelson and the bear: the making of an Arctic myth Lewis-Jones, Huw W.G. 2005 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247405004675 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247405004675 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 41, issue 4, page 335-353 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development journal-article 2005 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247405004675 2024-02-08T08:37:22Z Recent biographers of Horatio Nelson (1758–1805) have begun the job of attempting to differentiate the man from the ‘myth.’ A necessary stage in the assessment of any historical figure is the identification of the legendary aspects that make up that figure's reputation. The tale of the young Nelson engaging a huge polar bear on an ice floe off Spitsbergen in 1773 has been met with varying degrees of delight and dismissal through the years, and is one of the events an examination of which could improve an understanding of Nelson and his reputation. This paper draws upon a study of primary and secondary materials: original manuscripts and correspondence, early nineteenth-century popular biographies, souvenirs and pamphlets, periodical reviews, and a wide selection of adult and juvenile literature. This paper examines the developments of Nelsonian biography and hagiography. In a broader sense, an extended examination of the literary and visual manifestations of Nelson's encounter with the bear becomes a useful historiographical exercise into the genesis of a myth. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Polar Record Spitsbergen Cambridge University Press Arctic Polar Record 41 4 335 353 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development Lewis-Jones, Huw W.G. Nelson and the bear: the making of an Arctic myth |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
description |
Recent biographers of Horatio Nelson (1758–1805) have begun the job of attempting to differentiate the man from the ‘myth.’ A necessary stage in the assessment of any historical figure is the identification of the legendary aspects that make up that figure's reputation. The tale of the young Nelson engaging a huge polar bear on an ice floe off Spitsbergen in 1773 has been met with varying degrees of delight and dismissal through the years, and is one of the events an examination of which could improve an understanding of Nelson and his reputation. This paper draws upon a study of primary and secondary materials: original manuscripts and correspondence, early nineteenth-century popular biographies, souvenirs and pamphlets, periodical reviews, and a wide selection of adult and juvenile literature. This paper examines the developments of Nelsonian biography and hagiography. In a broader sense, an extended examination of the literary and visual manifestations of Nelson's encounter with the bear becomes a useful historiographical exercise into the genesis of a myth. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lewis-Jones, Huw W.G. |
author_facet |
Lewis-Jones, Huw W.G. |
author_sort |
Lewis-Jones, Huw W.G. |
title |
Nelson and the bear: the making of an Arctic myth |
title_short |
Nelson and the bear: the making of an Arctic myth |
title_full |
Nelson and the bear: the making of an Arctic myth |
title_fullStr |
Nelson and the bear: the making of an Arctic myth |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nelson and the bear: the making of an Arctic myth |
title_sort |
nelson and the bear: the making of an arctic myth |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247405004675 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247405004675 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Polar Record Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
Arctic Polar Record Spitsbergen |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 41, issue 4, page 335-353 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247405004675 |
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Polar Record |
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41 |
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4 |
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335 |
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353 |
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1792497554645057536 |