Canon and archive in messages from Oslo Cathedral Square in the aftermath of July 22nd 2011

Abstract

In this article we ask if central values which people were in dialogue with in the memorial messages from Oslo Cathedral Square in the aftermath of July 22nd 2011, may be seen as a part of Norwegian cultural memory, and if so, how. We answer this question in the affirmative, by elaborating on presentations of the Norwegian flag as a symbol of the values unity and solidarity, and on presentations of love and roses as weapons promoting the values love, humanity and calmness. In our discussion we have drawn on theory of cultural memory and suggested that the use of the Norwegian flag in the messages may be understood in the frame of Assmann’s term “canon”, representing the active part of cultural remembrance, and that the message from the use of roses and hearts may be understood in the frame of the term “archive”, representing the passive part of remembrance.