ABSTRACT
The term ‘charismatic’ is widely used nowadays to signify exceptional leadership or celebrity. In this respect, it follows the usage of the German sociologist, Max Weber (1864–1920), for whom charisma and charismatic authority pertained principally to outstanding individuals. This contrasts with the original utilization of the concept by its inventor, Paul of Tarsus, in the first century ad, who drew on earlier Greek and Jewish beliefs and ideas. This chapter aims to combine the insights of Weber and Paul in order to apply the concept to the community of the nation and the movement of nationalism. After a brief introduction on the concept of the nation, it outlines the respective usages of charisma in the writings of Weber and Paul, and then seeks to apply them to earlier communities that were later thought to prefigure the idea of the nation. The chapter then goes on to explore the various levels at which charisma might be attributed to the nation. Finally, it describes some cases in France, England, Russia and Greece of different, and often competing, ethno-historical narratives of heroic ancestors that were thought to embody the charisma of the nation in their persons and their particular virtues.
