Gesta Danorum

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Gesta Danorum

Gesta Danorum ("Deeds of the Danes") is a work of Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
history, by the 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus

Saxo Grammaticus

Saxo Grammaticus also known as Saxo cognomine Longus is thought to have been a secular clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund....
("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nation's early history.

Consisting of sixteen books written in Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
on the invitation of Archbishop

Archbishop

In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and others, this means that they lead a diocese of particular importance called an archdiocese, or in the Anglican Communion an Ecclesiastical Province, but this is not always the case....
Absalon

Absalon

Absalon was a Denmark archbishop and statesman. He was the son of Asser Rig of Fjenneslev , at whose castle he and his brother Esbj?rn were brought up along with the young prince Valdemar, afterwards King Valdemar I of Denmark....
, Gesta Danorum describes Danish history and to some degree Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
n history in general, from prehistory to the late 12th century.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Gesta Danorum'

Start a new discussion about 'Gesta Danorum'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Gesta Danorum ("Deeds of the Danes") is a work of Danish

Denmark

Saxo Grammaticus

Latin

Archbishop

Absalon

Scandinavia

High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages was the periodization of history of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
from a unique Scandinavian perspective, supplementing what has been handed down by historians from Western

Western Europe

Western Europe refers to the countries in the western most half of Europe. This concept has had different meanings, political and cultural as well as geographical issues have influenced the area....
and Southern Europe

Southern Europe

The term Southern Europe, at its most general definition, is used to mean 'all countries in the south of Europe'. However, the concept, at different times, has had different meanings, providing additional Policy, Linguistics and Culture context to the definition in addition to the typical Geography, Phytogeography or Clime approach....
.

Books

The sixteen books, in prose with an occasional excursions into poetry, can be categorized into two parts, book 1-9 dealing with Norse mythology

Norse mythology

Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the beliefs, myths and legends of the Norse paganism of the North Germanic language people, including those who settled on Faroe Islands and Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled....
part and Book 10-16 handling medieval history. Book 9 ends with Gorm the Old

Gorm the Old

Gorm the Old , also called Gorm the Sleepy , was King of Denmark from c.900- c.940.The son of Danish king Harthacnut of Denmark, Gorm was born in the late 9th century and died in 958, according to dendrochronology studies of the wood in his burial chamber....
, the first factual documented King of Denmark. The last three books (14-16), describe Danish conquests on the south shore of the Baltic Sea and wars against Slavic peoples

Slavic peoples

The Slavic Peoples are a linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in eastern Europe. From the early 6th century they spread from their original homeland to inhabit most of eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans....
(the Northern Crusades

Northern Crusades

The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were crusades undertaken by the Roman Catholic Church kings of Denmark and Sweden, the German Livonian Brothers of the Sword and Teutonic Knights military orders, and their allies against the paganism peoples of Northern Europe around the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic Sea....
), are very valuable for the history of West Slavic tribes (Polabian Slavs

Polabian Slavs

Polabian Slavs is a collective term applied to a number of largely extinct West Slavs tribes who lived along the Elbe, between the Baltic Sea to the north, the Saale and Limes Saxonicus to the west, the Sudetes and Franconia to the south, and History of Poland to the east....
, Pomeranians

Pomeranians

The Pomeranians were a group of West Slavs tribes who lived along the shore of the Baltic Sea between Oder and Vistula Rivers . They spoke the Pomeranian language belonging to the Lechitic languages branch of the West Slavic languages....
) and Slavic paganism

Slavic mythology

Slavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheism that was practised by the Slavs prior to Christianisation.The religion possesses numerous common traits with other religions descended from the Proto-Indo-European religion....
. Book 14 contains a unique description of the temple at Rügen

Rügen

R?gen or Rugia is Germany's largest island. It is located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. R?gen makes up the vast part of the R?gen , which also includes the neighboring islands Hiddensee and Ummanz, as well as several small islands....
Island.

Chronology

When exactly Gesta Danorum was written is the subject of numerous works; however, it is generally agreed that Gesta Danorum was not finished before 1208. The last event described in the last book (Book 16) is King Canute VI of Denmark subduing Pomerania

Pomerania

Pomerania is a historical region on the south coast of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdansk in the East....
under Duke Bogislaw I, in 1186. However the preface of the work, dictated to Archbishop Anders Sunesen

Anders Sunesen

Anders Sunesen was a Denmark archbishop of Lund, Scanian lands, from March 21, 1201, at the death of Absalon, to his own death in 1228. He is the author of the Latin translation of the Scanian Law and was throughout his life engaged in integrating a Christian worldview into the old legislature....
, mentions the Danish conquest of the areas north of the Elbe river

Elbe

The River Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It originates in the Krkonose Mountains of northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Germany and flowing into the North Sea....
in 1208.

Book 14, comprising nearly one-quarter of the text of the entire work, ends with Absalon

Absalon

Absalon was a Denmark archbishop and statesman. He was the son of Asser Rig of Fjenneslev , at whose castle he and his brother Esbj?rn were brought up along with the young prince Valdemar, afterwards King Valdemar I of Denmark....
's appointment to Archbishop in 1178. Since this book is so large and Absalon has greater importance than King Valdemar I

Valdemar I

Valdemar I may refer to:* Valdemar I of Denmark * Valdemar of Sweden * Vladimir I of Kiev ...
, this book may have been written first and comprised a work on its own. It is possible that Saxo then enlarged it with Books 15 and 16, telling the story of King Valdemar I

Valdemar I

Valdemar I may refer to:* Valdemar I of Denmark * Valdemar of Sweden * Vladimir I of Kiev ...
's last years and King Canute VI's first years.

It is believed that Saxo then wrote Books 11, 12, and 13. Svend Aagesen

Svend Aagesen

Svend Aggesen is most famous, in Denmark at least, as the author of one of the first attempts to write a coherent history of Denmark. Only the Chronicon Roskildense may precede Aggesen's efforts....
's history of Denmark, Brevis Historia Regum Dacie (circa 1186), states that Saxo had decided to write about "The king-father and his sons," which would be King Sweyn Estridson, in Books 11, 12, and 13. He would later add the first ten books. This would also explain the 22 years between the last event described in the last book (Book 16) and the 1208 event described in the preface.

Manuscripts

The original manuscripts of the work are lost, except for four fragments: the Angers Fragment

Angers Fragment

Lassen Fragment

Lassen Fragment. A parchment page from ca. 1275. One of the four fragments remaining of the original, or early copy of, Saxo's Gesta Danorum....
, Kall-Rasmussen Fragment

Kall-Rasmussen Fragment

Kall-Rasmussen Fragment, a parchment page from Circa 1275. One of the four fragments remaining, or early copy of, of the original Saxo's Gesta Danorum....
and Plesner Fragment

Plesner Fragment

Plesner Fragment, a parchment page from ca. 1275. One of the 4 fragments remaining, or early copy of, of the original Saxo Gesta Danorum. Ca....
. The Angers Fragment

Angers Fragment

The Angers Fragment is four parchment pages from ca. 1200. It is one of the four fragments remaining of the original Saxo Gesta Danorum. This fragment is the only fragment attested to be of Saxo's own handwriting....
is the biggest fragment, and the only one attested to be in Saxo’s own handwriting. The other ones are copies from ca. 1275. All four fragments are in the collection of the Danish Royal Library

Danish Royal Library

The Royal Library in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and the largest library in Scandinavia.It contains numerous historical treasures; all works that have been printed in Denmark since the 17th century are deposited there....
in Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban area with a population of 1,153,615 . Copenhagen is situated on the Islands of Zealand and Amager....
, Denmark.

The text has, however, survived. In 1510-1512, Christiern Pedersen

Christiern Pedersen

Christiern Pedersen was a canon , Humanism scholar, writer, printer and publisher....
, a Danish translator working in Paris, searched Denmark high and low for an existing copy of Saxo’s works, which by that time was nearly all but lost. By that time most knowledge of Saxo’s work came from a summary located in Chronica Jutensis
Chronica Jutensis

Chronica Jutensis also known as Continuatio compendii Saxonis or Chronica Danorum, is a small Danish historical work from the middle of the 14th century, written in Latin....
, from around 1342, called Compendium Saxonis
Compendium Saxonis

Compendium Saxonis is a summary located in Chronica Jutensis. It contains a summary of Saxo?s Gesta Danorum, about one-fourth the size of the original....
. It is also in this summary that the name Gesta Danorum is found. The title Saxo himself used for his work is unknown.

Christiern Pedersen finally found a copy in the collection of Archbishop Birger Gunnersen of Lund

Lund

is a Urban areas in Sweden in the provinces of Sweden of Scania, southern Sweden. The town has 76,188 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 105,000....
, modern Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
, which he gladly lent him. With the help of printer Jodocus Badius

Jodocus Badius

Printing

The first printed press publication and the oldest known complete text of Saxo’s works is Christiern Pedersen's Latin edition, printed and published by Jodocus Badius

Jodocus Badius

Jodocus Badius was a pioneer of the printing industry.Sometimes called Badius Ascensius from the village of Asse, near Brussels, where he was born, he became an eminent printer at Paris....
in Paris, France, March 15, 1514 under the title of Danorum Regum heroumque Historiae ("History of the Kings and heroes of the Danes"). The edition features the following colophon

Colophon (publishing)

A colophon, in publishing can refer to:* A brief description usually located at the end of a book, describing production notes relevant to the edition...
: ...impressit in inclyta Parrhisorum academia Iodocus Badius Ascensius Idibus Martiis. MDXIIII. Supputatione Romana. (the Ides of March, 1514).

The full front page reads (with abbreviations expanded) in Latin:

Danorum Regum heroumque Historiae stilo eleganti a Saxone Grammatico natione Zialandico necnon Roskildensis ecclesiae praeposito, abhinc supra trecentos annos conscriptae et nunc primum literaria serie illustratae tersissimeque impressae.

Danish language

Danish is one of the North Germanic languages , a sub-group of the Germanic languages branch of the Indo-European languages. It is spoken by around 6 million people, mainly in Denmark; the language is also used by the 50,000 Danes in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany where it holds the status of minority language....
:

De danske Kongers og Heltes Historie, skrevet I pyntelig Stil for over 300 Aar siden af Saxo Grammaticus, en Sjællandsfar og Provst ved Kirken I Roskilde, og nu for første Gang oplyst ved et Register og omhyggeligt trykt.

English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
:

Histories of the Kings and heroes of the Danes, composed in elegant style by Saxo Grammaticus, a Sjællander and also provost of the church of Roskilde
Roskilde

Roskilde Roskilde train station is a major stop between Copenhagen and the region of Denmark located to its west. The city is an economic center for the region....
, over three hundred years ago, and now for the first time illustrated and printed correctly in a learned compilation.

Latin versions

The source of all existing translations and new editions is Christiern Pedersen's Latin Danorum Regum heroumque Historiae. There exist a number different translations today, some complete, some partial:

Christiern Pedersen
Christiern Pedersen

Christiern Pedersen was a canon , Humanism scholar, writer, printer and publisher....
, published 1514, title: Danorum Regum heroumque Historiae
Johannes Oporinus
Johannes Oporinus

Johannes Oporinus was a classics philologist from Basel, where, in 1537, he became Professor in Greek language.He made a Latin version of Gesta Danorum in 1534, titled Saxonis Grammatici Danorum Historiae Libri XVI....
, published 1534, title: Saxonis Grammatici Danorum Historiae Libri XVI
Philip Lonicer
Philip Lonicer

Philip Lonicer was a Germany historian.Lonicer produced a Latin version of the Gesta Danorum in 1576, entitled Danica Historia Libris XVI. He was also the rector of the Frankfurt Gymnasium ....
, published 1576, title: Danica Historia Libris XVI
Stephan Hansen Stephanius, published 1645, title: Saxonis Grammatici Historiæ Danicæ Libri XVI
Christian Adolph Klotz
Christian Adolph Klotz

Christian Adolph Klotz was a Germany philologist.Klotz was born in Bischofswerda. The son of a senior church official, Klotz attended the universities of University of Leipzig and University of Jena....
, published 1771, title: ?
Peter Erasmus Müller
Peter Erasmus Müller

Peter Erasmus M?ller , was a Denmark bishop, historian, linguistics and professor of theology....
, published 1839, title: Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica
Alfred Holder, published 1886, title: Saxonis Grammatici Gesta Danorum
Jørgen Olrik & Hans Ræder, published 1931, title: Saxonis Gesta Danorum
Karsten Friis-Jensen, published 2005, title: Gesta Danorum ISBN 978-87-12-04025-5 (ISBN-13) ISBN 87-12-04025-8

Danish translations

Christiern Pedersen
Christiern Pedersen

Christiern Pedersen was a canon , Humanism scholar, writer, printer and publisher....
, never published ca. 1540, Lost
Jon Tursons, never published ca. 1555, Lost
Anders Sørensen Vedel
Anders Sørensen Vedel

Anders S?rensen Vedel was a priest and historian born in Vejle , Denmark. He translated the Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus into Danish in 1575....
, published 1575, title: Den Danske Krønicke
Sejer Schousbölle, published 1752, title: Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica
Nicolai Grundtvig, published 1818-1822, title: Danmarks Krønike af Saxo Grammaticus
Frederik Winkel Horn
Frederik Winkel Horn

Frederik Winkel Horn , was a Denmark historian and translator. Original archaeologist....
, published 1898, title: Saxo Grammaticus: Danmarks Krønike
Jørgen Olrik, published 1908-1912, title: Sakses Danesaga
Peter Zeeberg, published 2000, title: Saxos Danmarkshistorie ISBN 87-12-03496-7 (complete) ISBN 87-12-03534-3 (vol 1) ISBN 87-12-03535-1 (vol 2)

English translations

Oliver Elton
Oliver Elton

Oliver Elton was an English literary scholar whose works include A Survey of English Literature in six volumes, criticism, biography, and translations from several languages including Icelandic language and Russian language....
, published 1894, title: The First Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus
Peter Fisher and Hilda Ellis Davidson, published 1979-1980, title: Saxo Grammaticus: The History of the Danes
Eric Christiansen, published 1980-1981, title: Saxo Grammaticus: Danorum regum heroumque historia, books X-XVI
William F. Hansen, published 1983, title: Saxo Grammaticus and the life of Hamlet

Other translations

Hermann Jantzen
Hermann Jantzen

Hermann Jantzen was a Christian Mennonite missionary to Russian Turkestan. He is a main character in the documentary . His memoir is available in English under the title...
, published 1900, title: Saxo Grammaticus. Die ersten neun Bücher der dänischen Geschichte
Ludovica Koch & Maria Adele Cipolla, published 1993, title: Sassone Grammatico: Gesta dei re e degli eroi danesi
Yukio Taniguchi, published 1993, title: Sakuso Guramatikusu: Denmakujin no jiseki
Santiago Ibáñez Lluch, published 1999, title: Saxo Gramático: Historia Danesa

Gesta Danorum is also translated partially in other English

English language

French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
and German

German language

German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
releases.

Hamlet

Certain aspects of Gesta Danorum formed the basis for William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
's play, Hamlet
Hamlet

Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle King Claudius, who has murdered King Hamlet, the King, and then taken the throne and married Gertrude ....
. It is thought that Shakespeare never read Gesta Danorum, and instead had access to an auxiliary version of the tale

Ur-Hamlet

The Ur-Hamlet is the name given to a theoretical play, believed lost, that may have been extant before 1589, a decade before the earliest known version of Shakespeare's Hamlet....
describing the downfall of the Prince of Denmark, whose real name - Amleth - was used in anagram

Anagram

An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, Eleven plus two = Twelve plus one, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place....
by Shakespeare for Hamlet.

Saxo’s version, told of in Book 3 and 4, is very similar to that of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In Saxo's version, two brothers, Orvendil

Horwendill

Horwendill was a legendary Jutesish chieftain, who is the prototype for William Shakespeare's King Hamlet, Prince Hamlet's father. He appears in Chronicon Lethrense and in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum ....
and Fengi

Feng (Claudius)

Feng was a legendary Jutesish chieftain and the prototype for William Shakespeare's King Claudius. He appears in Chronicon Lethrense and in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum ....
are given the rule over Jutland

Jutland

File:Jutland peninsula 2.pngJutland , historically also called Cimbria, is a peninsula in Europe. Jutland forms the mainland part of Denmark as well as the northernmost part of Germany....
by King Rørik Slyngebond of the Danes. Soon after, Orvendil marries King Rørik’s daughter, Geruth (Gertrude in Hamlet). Amleth is their first and only child.

Fengi becomes resentful of his brother’s marriage, and also wants sole leadership of Jutland, so therefore murders Orvendil. After a very brief period of mourning, Fengi marries Geruth, and declares himself sole leader of Jutland. Eventually, Amleth avenges his father’s murder and plans the murder of his uncle, making him the new and rightful king of Jutland. However, while Hamlet dies in Shakespeare's version just after his uncle's death, in Saxo's version Amleth survives and begins ruling his kingdom, going on to other adventures.

External links

, translated by Oliver Elton (Norroena Society, New York, 1905)."His seven later books are the chief Danish authority for the times which they relate; his first nine, here translated, are a treasure of myth and folk-lore" (Elton, Introduction).
in Latin