Gesta Danorum (Books 1-9)
by Saxo Grammaticus
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Description
In the early years of the thirteenth century the Danish writer Saxo Grammaticus provided his people with a History of the Danes, an account of their glorious past from the legendary kings and heroes of Denmark to the historical present. It is one of the major sources for the heroic and mythological traditions of northern Europe, though the complex Latin style and the wide range of material brought together from different sources have limited its use. Here Hilda Ellis Davidson, a specialist show more in Scandinavian mythology, together with the translator Peter Fisher, provides a full English edition; each of the first nine books is preceded by an introductory summary, and a detailed commentary follows on the folklore and life and customs of twelfth-century Denmark - including the sources of Hamlet, of which Saxo gives the earliest known account. HILDA ELLIS DAVIDSON's other books include The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England; PETER FISHER is also the translator of Olaus Magnus: A Description of the Northern Peoples. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This is not an exciting read, but has a couple of things to recommend it. The first is that there isn't a lot of material on the Norse people from close to the time itself, so we'll take whatever we can get, warts and all. Second, it contains the original material upon which Shakespeare based his play [Hamlet].
2 v.Copy 1 of 350 printed for the Imperial Edition
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Author Information
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Some Editions
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Gesta Danorum (Books 1-9) (Books 1-9)
- Original title
- Gesta Danorum
- Original publication date
- c. 1190
- People/Characters
- Alfhild, daughter of Siward; Alf
- Important places*
- Dänemark
- First words*
- Wer war Saxo Grammaticus?
- Disambiguation notice
- This work consists only of books 1 through 9 of the Gesta Danorum.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 948.901 — History & geography History of Europe Scandinavia and Finland Denmark and Finland Danish History by Period Early History to 1387
- LCC
- DL147 .S2413 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Northern Europe. Scandinavia History of Northern Europe. Scandinavia Denmark History General
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 179
- Popularity
- 180,025
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.15)
- Languages
- English, French, German, Japanese
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 24
- ASINs
- 5
