TheJutland Chronicle gives evidence that Saxo was born inZealand. It is unlikely he was born before 1150 and it is supposed that his death could have occurred around 1220. His name Saxo was a common name in medieval Denmark. The nameGrammaticus ("the learned") was first given to him in theJutland Chronicle and theSjælland Chronicle makes reference to Saxocognomine Longus ("with thebyname 'the tall'").
He lived in a period of warfare and Danish expansion, led by Archbishop Absalon and the Valdemars. TheDanes were also being threatened by theWends who were making raids across the border and by sea.[1]Valdemar I had also just won a civil war and laterValdemar II led an expedition across theElbe to invadeHolstein.[2]
Sven Aggesen, a Danish nobleman and author of a slightly earlier history of Denmark than Saxo's, describes his contemporary, Saxo, as hiscontubernalis, meaningtent-comrade. This gives evidence that Saxo and Sven might have soldiered in theHird or royal guard, since Sven used the wordcontubernium in reference to them. There is also a Saxo to be found on a list ofclergy atLund, where there was a Sven recorded as Archdeacon. Likewise there is Dean Saxo who died in 1190; however, the date does not match what is known about Saxo.
Both arguments, for a secular or religious Saxo, would confirm that he was well educated; as clergy, he would have received training inLatin and sons of great men were often sent toParis.[3] Saxo comes from a warrior family and writes that he is himself committed to being a soldier. He tells us that he follows "the ancient right of hereditary service", and that his father and grandfather "were recognized frequenters of your renowned sire's (Valdemar I) war camp".[4]
Saxo's education and ability support the idea that he was educated outside Denmark. Some suggest the title "Grammaticus" refers not to his education but rather his elaborate Latin style.[5] We know from his writing that he was in the retinue and received the patronage of Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, who was the foremost adviser to King Valdemar I. In his will Absalon forgives his clerk Saxo a small debt of two and a half marks of silver and tells him to return two borrowed books to the monastery ofSorø.[6] The legacy of Saxo Grammaticus is the sixteen-book heroic history of theDanes calledGesta Danorum.
In the preface to the work, Saxo writes that his patronAbsalon (c. 1128 – 21 March 1201),[7] Archbishop of Lund, had encouraged him to write a heroic history of theDanes. The history is thought to have been started about 1185, after Sven Aggesen wrote his history.[8] The goal ofGesta Danorum was, as Saxo writes, "to glorify our fatherland", which he accomplishes on the model of Virgil'sAeneid.[9] Saxo also may have owed much toPlato andCicero, as well as to more contemporary writers likeGeoffrey of Monmouth.[10]
Saxo's history of theDanes was compiled from sources that are of questionable historical value but were to him the only ones extant. He drew on oral tales of the Icelanders, ancient volumes, letters carved on rocks and stone, and the statements of his patronAbsalon concerning the history of which the Archbishop had been a part. Saxo's work was not strictly a history or a simple record of old tales, but rather, as Friis-Jensen puts it, "a product of Saxo's own mind and times".[11] Westergaard writes that Saxo combines the history and mythology of the heroic age of Denmark, and reworks it into his own story that exemplifies the past of the Danes.[12]
The history is composed of sixteen books, and extends from the time of the founders of theDanish people,Dan I of Denmark and Angul, into about the year 1187. The first four books are concerned with the history of theDanes beforeChrist, the next four books with their history after Christ, and books 9–12 with Christian Denmark, and books 13–16 promote Lund and exploits before and during Saxo's own lifetime.[13] It is assumed that the last eight books were written first, as Saxo drew heavily on the work ofAbsalon (who died in 1201,[7] before the work was completed) for evidence of the age ofSaint Canute and Valdemar I.[citation needed]
The first eight volumes share a likeness with the works of Saxo's contemporarySnorri Sturluson. They deal with mythical elements such as giants and the Scandinavian pantheon of gods.[14] Saxo tells of Dan the first king of Denmark, who had a brother named Angul who gave his name to theAngles.[8] He also tells the stories of various otherDanish heroes, many of whom interact with the Scandinavian gods. Saxo's "heathen" gods, however, are not always good characters. They are sometimes treacherous, such as in the story of Harald, legendary king of theDanes, who was taught the ways of warfare byOdin and then was betrayed and killed by the god, who then brought him toValhalla.[15]
Saxo's world is seen to have had very warlike values. He glorifies the heroes that made their names in battle far more than those who made peace. His view of the period of peace under KingFrode is very low and is only satisfied when King Knut brings back the ancestral customs.[16] Saxo's chronology of kings extends up to Saint Canute and his son Valdemar I. Saxo finished the history with the Preface, which he wrote last, inc. 1216[17] under the patronage ofAnders Sunesen, who replaced Absalon as Archbishop of Lund. Saxo included in the preface warm appreciation of both Archbishops and of the reigning King Valdemar II.[18]
Of particular interest forShakespeare scholars is the story ofAmleth, the first instance of the playwright'sHamlet. Saxo based the story on an oral tale[19] of a son taking revenge for his murdered father. Christiern Pedersen, a Canon of Lund, collaborated withJodocus Badius Ascensius, a fellow enthusiast, to print the work of Saxo Grammaticus early in the sixteenth century. This was the first major step toward securing the historical significance ofGesta Danorum. Starting from that point, the knowledge of it began to spread within the academic community.[20]Oliver Elton, who was the first to translate the first nine books ofGesta Danorum intoEnglish, wrote that Saxo was the first writer produced by Denmark.
Saxo's skill as aLatinist was praised byErasmus, who wondered how "a Dane of that age got so great power of eloquence".[20] LaterR. W. Chambers would call Saxo's writings "difficult and bombastic, but always amusing Latin".[21] There have been many attempts to understand the type of Latin language used by Saxo, and to juxtapose it in history, to provide more information on where he was educated. Some have considered his Latin to have more in common with legal than with ecclesiastical training,[6] and his poetry is thought to have traces ofparallelism.[22]
Saxo's works were received enthusiastically byRenaissance era scholars, who were curious about the pre-Christian history and legends. Saxo's portrayals of history have been seen to differ greatly from those of his contemporaries, especiallyNorwegian andIcelandic, including portrayals of various historical characters as either heroes or villains. There are also differences between Saxo's work and that of the fellow Danish historianSven Aggesen from the same era.
These differences have to do with Saxo's elaboration andeuhemerism in his descriptions of mainlyScandinavian history and mythology,[27][28] Saxo's account on the tale of Thyri, for instance, is considered to be far more fantastic than the same tale presented bySven. Saxo's work has been criticized for this reason.[29] Kurt Johannesson's studies[30] expanded greatly on the comprehension ofGesta Danorum, deviating from the approach that focuses mostly on mythology, and allowing the development of a wider understanding of Saxo's works.
Recently some scholars, such as Sigurd Kværndrup,[31] inspired by Johannesson's study of the fourcardinal virtues inGesta Danorum, have studied other elaborations and schemes in the writings of Saxo. Some of them have concluded that Saxo, instead of simply distorting allegedly trueNordic andBaltic traditions and/or beliefs, was creating something new, attuned to the approaching13th centuryDanish race to strengthen institutions and engage in theNorthern Crusades.[32]
Importantly, Saxo Grammaticus appears to have changed his agenda after the death of his patronAbsalon in 1202. What eventually came to be the first nine books ofGesta Danorum, were actually written after the death ofAbsalon, and they focus largely on mythology, for which Saxo has been criticized.[29] The contrast to the seven books written during the lifetime ofAbsalon is "'enormous,' leading the main core of scholars to divide the two parts into mythical (books I–IX) and historical (books X–XVI), the last of the historical books being based onAbsalon's memories. "Therefore, we prefer to support the composition order ofGesta Danorum as X–XVI, followed by I–IX, and ending with the preface", says historian André Muceniecks.[33]
Davidson, Hilda Ellis, ed. (1979),Saxo Grammaticus: The History of the Danes, Book I-IX, vol. I: Text, translated by Fisher, Peter, Cambridge: D. S. Brewer
Davidson, Hilda Ellis, ed. (1980),Saxo Grammaticus: The History of the Danes, Book I-IX, vol. II: Commentary, translated by Fisher, Peter, Cambridge: D. S. Brewer
Christiansen, Eric, ed. (1980–81),Danorum Regum Heroumque Historia, Books X-XVI. The Text of the first edition with translation and commentary in three volumes, Oxford: British Archaeological Reports{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
Friis-Jensen, Karsten, ed. (2015),Saxo Grammaticus: The History of the Danes, vol. 1: Books I-X, translated by Fisher, Peter, Oxford: Clarendon Press{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
Friis-Jensen, Karsten, ed. (2015),Saxo Grammaticus: The History of the Danes, vol. 2: Books XI-XVI, translated by Fisher, Peter, Oxford: Clarendon Press{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
Amory, Frederic (July 1989), "Saxo Grammaticus as Latin Poet: studies in the Verse Passages of the 'Gesta Danorum' by Karsten Friis-Jensen",Speculum (review),64 (3):701–706,doi:10.2307/2854215,JSTOR2854215
Christiansen, Eric (April 1981), "Saxo Grammaticus, The History of the Danes, Vol. I by Peter Fisher, Hilda Ellis Davidson",The English Historical Review (review),96 (379):382–385,doi:10.1093/ehr/XCVI.CCCLXXIX.382,JSTOR568298
Dumézil, Georges (1973), Coltman, Derek (ed.),From Myth to Fiction: The Saga of Hadingus, Chicago: University of Chicago Press{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
Friis-Jensen, Karsten (2006), Mortensen, Lars Boje (ed.), "In the Presence of the Dead. Saint Canute the Duke in Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum",The Making of Christian Myths in the Periphery of Latin Christendom (c. 1000–1300), Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, pp. 195–216
Johannesson, Kurt (1978),Saxo Grammaticus: Komposition och världsbild i Gesta Danorum, Stockholm: Lychnos-Bibliotek
Jones, Gwyn (1968),A History of the Vikings, London: Oxford University Press{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
Kværndrup, Sigurd (1999),Tolv principper hos Saxo: En tolkning af danernes bedrifter (in Danish), Copenhagen: Multivers Aps Forlag{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
Malone, Kemp (January 1958), "Primitivism in Saxo Grammaticus",Journal of the History of Ideas,19 (1):94–104,doi:10.2307/2707955,JSTOR2707955
Muceniecks, Andre (2017),Saxo Grammaticus: Hierocratical Conceptions and Danish Hegemony in the Thirteenth Century, Kalamazoo & Bradford: ARC Humanities Press
Muir, Kenneth (Autumn 1984), "Saxo Grammaticus and the Life of Hamlet: A Translation, History and Commentary. By William F. Hansen",Shakespeare Quarterly (review),35 (3):370–372,doi:10.2307/2870387,JSTOR2870387
