Contents -- Introduction -- 1 Five Biographical Profiles -- Lelewel -- Daukantas -- Palacký -- Horváth -- Kogalniceanu -- 2 Romantic Historiography in the Service of Nation-Building -- The democratization of historical writing -- Commitment and impartiality -- Romantic progressivism -- Self-congratulation versus emancipation -- The blueprint of national historiography -- Consolation and encouragement -- Conclusion: desiderata and fulfilments -- 3 Institutionalization and Professionalization -- The transformation of historiographical standards -- Learned societies -- Universities -- Publication of primary sources -- Journals -- Auxiliary sciences -- Censorship -- Conclusion -- 4 Intellectual Background -- Enlightenment in national contexts -- Herder's legacy -- The impact of the Scottish Enlightenment -- The Spätaufklärung in Göttingen -- Encounters with Nikolai Karamzin -- Contemporary resonances: the French liberal school -- Conclusion -- 5 Language as Medium, Language as Message -- The fecundity of inferiority complexes -- Language as a bridge: in the service of unity -- Language as evergreen cowberry: representing continuity -- The unique language: antiquity and other virtues -- Enriching the national culture through translations -- The Lithuanian Robinson -- Promoting academic language in Hungary -- The birth of modern political language in Romania -- Towards creating 'original' scholarship -- Conclusion -- 6 National Antiquities -- The interest in origins and early societies -- The vantage point: Tacitus -- Nordic antiquity -- Indo-European antiquity -- Putative Czech antiquity -- Roman antiquity -- Semi-Nomadic antiquity -- Conclusion -- 7 Feudalism and the National Past -- The study of feudalism in historical scholarship -- Conquest and colonization -- The late arrival of feudalism and its illegitimate nature.

Humanitarianism, common sense and urban liberties -- Feudal institutions as national institutions -- Creating modern society: the emancipation of the peasantry -- Liberalism versus democracy -- Ways of change: reform versus revolution -- Conclusion -- 8 The Golden Age -- The evolution of master narratives -- Virtue in the forest: pagan Lithuania -- Poland: a true republic -- The Czechs: a small nation's contribution to liberty -- The Hungarian constitution and the spirit of liberalism -- Romania: united and independent -- Conclusion -- 9 Perceptions of Others and Attitudes to European Civilization -- Images of the self and others -- External others: the neighbours -- Internal others: the Jews -- Internal others: the Jesuits -- Internal others: women -- Symbolic geography: East, West and their alternatives -- The Cyrano de Bergerac effect -- Negation and analogy: the nation's mission -- Conclusion -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- V -- W -- Z.