The way early Europeans were conditioned to view mountains had been ingrained in both their literary and religious heritage. Mountains were viewed as being ominous and foreboding, while still have a religious significance. In Mountain Gloom and Mountain Glory, the history behind the cultural significance of the geological structures was explained through the use of early European poets and biblical interpretation. From a mere fundamental perspective, the way in which mountains were viewed in the past has been shaped by the way they had been described, by sheer word choice, which lead to the depiction of mountains in art work.

In the literary context, the differences between how mountains were viewed between groups of people residing in Europe at the time, and how each groups’ view of mountains changed due to cultural influences is fascinating. The early English poets seemed to prefer to pay homage to more idyllic settings, rather than the foreboding hills. According to Nicolson (p. 38), the English were disinterested mountains. In comparison, the Greeks have the reputation of possessing some sort of deep respect for the mountains, implied by their god and goddess myths featuring mountains. However, many Greeks viewed the mountains in a negative light, whereas the Greeks who lived within the mountains regarded the structures as an everyday part of life. Mountains were an essential part of the nature that they loved and wrote about (Nicolson, p. 38). On the flip side, Latin and Italian people viewed them as hostile lands. The Latin poets found lovely adjectives to describe the geological structures such as horridus and arduus (Nicolson, p. 39).

Over time as the Bible gained popularity, the general attitude towards mountains seemed to change. The idea that they could be cultural symbolic, as well as places of peace became possible through the reverence of the sacred Mount Sinai and Ararat (Nicolson, p. 42).  According to the Old Testament, mountains were to be places of peace where the righteous walked. Within the New Testament, a more social philosophy to mountains and their meaning in life was introduced in Luke (Nicolson, p. 43). However, an obvious dualism aspect emerged not only between the movements in thought throughout history regarding mountains but also in the ideas scripture was promoting. Author William Prynne, wrote in 1640 that “rocks are like ungodly men… yet rocks and mountains are not wholly evil” (Nicolson, p. 45).

The shift from mountains being desolate places to places deemed holy, eventually leading to places that demand respect occurred during and after the renaissance period. In the account of Petrarch, the idea that one could climb the mountain on their own accord, in a sense conquer the mountain appears shockingly. Once summiting he claims to have felt the “glory” of the mountain before his gaze was clouded by the history and heritage surrounding him (Nicolson, p. 50). Conversely, others who had similar exposures to the same biblical teachings as well as the negative cultural beliefs, constructed a different view than Petrarch even though their heritage inferred otherwise. Poet Henry Vaughan wrote positively about mountains while making the connection to the bible by how he viewed the structures in the life of his savior Jesus Christ (Nicolson, p. 58). The religious and literary history that creates a sense that mountains are places of peace while still be enveloped in hostility creates a very dualistic nature that still does not make any sense to me.