| Summary: | This article focuses on the ambivalent theme of Viking heritage, myth, and image deriving from the Old North within modern Icelandic society and its effect on Icelandic national image and identity. It sheds light on its development and use in social, cultural, and historical context and questions why this particular element has constantly been used as a recurrent theme in the identity and image construction of the Icelandic nation. It concludes that capitalism, tourism, and globalization can be seen as major factors as shown in the variety of ways in which the cultural heritage of the Vikings has been used, whether it is within museums and heritage sites or in presidential speeches. For decades capitalism and neoliberalism have been the main driving forces in Icelandic society that undoubtedly have affected its cultural policy and social discourse, a social discourse that for instance connected risky investments abroad with highly obscure theories of Viking lineage. This can be seen as an example of how a small nation-state uses its cultural heritage to strengthen its national cohesion: the link between the state and the nation, past and present, politics and culture.
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