Deathly Hallows Swedish-style : The gloves of Charles XII

[Extract] Can objects touch us in the classroom without being touched? How can we learn from the way that they touched others in the past as they were handled, visualized, and displayed? How do the haptic and the affective come together in teaching about emotions in history through material culture? In recent years, a new approach, ‘history of emotions,’ has shaped historical analysis. Although there are many differences among the humanities and social science scholars who explore this field, broadly speaking they share an understanding that emotions, as they are conceptualised, expressed and performed, are culturally, socially and historically-specific.26 That means that what we think an emotion is, what name we give the physical and intellectual experience we have, and how we give voice or action to it is shaped by the cultures we live in and has changed over time, sometimes in very obvious ways and others more subtle. Extending from this, some scholars consider how emotions are conveyed or expressed through objects, and as objects move across time and space.27 We can explore this last point in more detail through a pair of gloves that once were worn by the King of Sweden. Charles XII (1682-1718) was an eccentric and divisive monarch who ruled through much of the Great Northern War (1700-21) (Figure 1). On 11 December 1718 (new style), he was inspecting siege fortifications at a fortress, Fredriksten, on the border with Denmark when he was shot through the head and killed instantly. Who was responsible for this dramatic regicide remains a dynamic, popular talking point today.28