Saxo Grammaticus
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"Saxo" redirects here. For the car, see Citroën Saxo. |
Saxo, etching by the Danish-Norwegian illustrator Louis Moe (1857 – 1945) |
Saxo Grammaticus (estimated.
1150 -
1220) was a
Danish medieval historian of whose life practically nothing is known. The sixteen books of Danish history of this time, known as the
Gesta Danorum, are attributed to him, and also contribute our principal evidence of his own existence.
We know he was a "follower" of
Archbishop Absalon, which probably means he worked in the Archbishop's administration; his exact status is not determined. He might have been a
clerk.
In Absalon's will, one
clericus named Saxo is forgiven a debt of two and a half silver marks and is enjoined to return two handwritten manuscripts he has borrowed to
Sorø monastery. From a dozen Saxos or comments on Saxo, found in Danish sources from this timeframe or later, this is the only Saxo comment to be generally accepted to be about
the Saxo Grammaticus. However there is no evidence that definitely proves that this comment in Absalon's will is about our
Saxo Grammaticus.
We read in the preface of
Gesta Danorum Saxo's own words that his father and grandfather both served under King
Valdemar I as warriors and that he himself would like to serve King
Valdemar II, though in a more spiritual way. These few lines just listed are the only concrete information that exists about Saxo Grammaticus.
It is thought he was born on
Zealand, as later sources claim. His elegant
Latin and
Roman knowledge, used in
Gesta Danorum, makes it nearly certain that he was educated outside of
Denmark, maybe in one of the big church-schools in
France.
Saxo Grammaticus was not his real name. He received the appellation
Grammaticus, the Latin word for a teacher of letters, in the
Compendium Saxonis of
Chronica Jutensis, around
1342, to express delight in his use of words. With the printed press publication of
Christiern Pedersen's version of
Gesta Danorum, the term
Grammaticus has stuck to Saxo as being part of his name.
The only name given to him is found in the
Chronica Sialandie (
Danish:
Ældre Sjællandske Krønike), under the year
1103 (see the chronicle for details why this year), which names him
Saxo, cognomine Longus, translating roughly to something like
Saxo, named (or called) the long.
Saxo is the source for the semi-legendary
Hamlet, whose tale has been adapted by several playwriters, most notably
William Shakespeare.
*
Saxo Grammaticus Danmarks krønike from «Kulturformidlingen norrøne tekster og kvad» Norway.
*
Project Runeberg on Saxo Grammaticus and Gesta Danorum:
Saxo Grammaticus* Gesta Danorum, English Book I-IX:
Online Medieval and Classical Library* Gesta Danorum, Latin version Book I-XVI:
The Royal Danish Library*
Free ebook of Saxo Grammaticus at
Project Gutenberg* Gesta Danorum, Latin and English side by side:
