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:''Main article: [[Romantic nationalism]]''
One of the major themes of the Romantics was [[Romantic nationalism]], and the image of the Middle Ages was closely tied with its rise and dominance. Theorist [[Johann Gottfried von Herder]], an important Romantic leader, defined nationalism in [[Ethnic nationalism|ethnic terms]] as communities of common language. He said "Language is the principal sign of a nation [it is] the true national history of a people". To that end [[national epic]]s such as ''[[The Song of Roland]]'', ''[[Beowulf]]'' and ''[[Nibelungenlied]]'' were published for the first time and were widely read and influential. For example at one point during Germanys so-called "War of Liberation" against [[Napoleon]] in 1813-1814, at the "[[Battle of the Nations]]", the German army handed out copies of ''Nibelungenlied'' to its troops as a
By the late 19th century pseudo-medieval symbols were the currency of European [[Enlightened absolutism|monarchal state]] propaganda. German emperors dressed up in and proudly displayed medieval costumes in public, and they rebuilt the great medieval castle and spiritual home of the [[Malbork|Teutonic Order at Marienburg]]. Mad King [[Ludwig II]] of Bavaria built a fairy-tale castle at [[Neuschwanstein]] and decorated it with scenes from [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s operas, another major Romantic image maker of the Middle Ages. In England, the Middle Ages were trumpeted as the birthplace of Nations because of the [[Magna Carta]] of 1215.
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