Saxo Grammaticus - Revision history

Sthop9388 at 11:31, 29 October 2025

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			[This article was published in 2012. A new synthesis and updated bibliography can now be found in: T. Heebøll-Holm & L. B. Mortensen: A Companion to Saxo Grammaticus, Brill 2024.]

	by Karsten Friis-Jensen		by Karsten Friis-Jensen

Hkllm at 08:55, 18 March 2012

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	===Medieval reception and transmission===		===Medieval reception and transmission===
	Despite its length and difficult language, Saxo's Gesta Danorum clearly had a wide impact on Danish historical writing during the Middle Ages. However, apart from the presence of a medieval manuscript in Northern Germany, probably Hamburg, that was used c. 1500 by Albert Krantz, and of a manuscript in Sweden, Saxo never seems to have obtained the international public which he surely wanted, at least not until the publication of the editio princeps in 1514 in Paris.		Despite its length and difficult language, Saxo's Gesta Danorum clearly had a wide impact on Danish historical writing during the Middle Ages. However, apart from the presence of a medieval manuscript in Northern Germany, probably Hamburg, that was used c. 1500 by Albert Krantz, and of a manuscript in Sweden, Saxo never seems to have obtained the international public which he surely wanted, at least not until the publication of the editio princeps in 1514 in Paris.
	The medieval Danish interest in Saxo's Gesta Danorum can be measured in various ways, for example through those who use him or through the evidence of the manuscripts of the work. As already mentioned (-> Author and -> Title above) the -> Vetus Chronicon Sialandie from c. 1300 is the first text to mention Saxo's name and his work with the title Gesta Danorum, as an introduction to four substantial quotations from Saxo. Two of the most influential Danish historical texts from the later Middle Ages are based on excerpts from the Gesta Danorum, namely the -> Annales Ryenses from c. 1300, and the -> Compendium Saxonis from c. 1345; the latter is a systematic paraphrase of Saxo, in which his text has been condensed to about a quarter of its original size, the poems omitted, and his language re-phrased in standard medieval Latin. The popularity of the Compendium Saxonis may well be a sign of reduced interest in the original Saxo. However, the original was still read, as we may for instance deduce from a passage in the first grammar printed in Denmark (1493): its metrical rules are recommended, because without them Boethius's and Saxo Grammaticus's poems cannot be understood (DAL/PINBORG 1979 176 & 245f.)
	There are only preserved fragments of medieval manuscripts of the Gesta Danorum, but we have evidence of other manuscripts which are now completely lost (cp. FRIIS-JENSEN/ZEEBERG 2005 16, BOSERUP 1981, OLRIK/RÆDER 1931 XXXIV). Three manuscripts are attested by physical fragments, one of which probably belonged to Saxo's own working copy, whereas the other fragments are remnants of two large parchment manuscripts from c. 1300. Besides there is certain evidence of four other medieval manuscripts, supplemented by three mentioned in documents, of which at least one may refer to a manuscript already counted. This total of at least seven to eight manuscripts also points to a substantial medieval interest in the Gesta Danorum, considering the length of the work.
	The Hamburg humanist Albert -> Krantz wrote a History of the nordic kingdoms c. 1500, in which he used Saxo as his main source for the period before 1185. His quotations and paraphrases are very substantial, and show that he had access to a manuscript, and one that was different from the exemplar of the editio princeps from 1514. Krantz's manuscript has disappeared, but it contributes to the number of lost manuscripts counted above. Morever, since the editio princeps is the only complete copy of the Gesta Danorum, and like all copies of long texts contains accumulated errors and misprints, Krantz's extracts from Saxo become important for the editors of Saxo, who have used them to emend some of the errors and misprints of the editio princeps. The paraphrases of Saxo in the Compendium Saxonis have a similar and equally important status in Saxonian textual criticism.
	Krantz himself is a figure of transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. He is enough of a Renaissance humanist to appreciate and praise Saxo's classicising Latin, but at the same time enough of a medieval historiographer to accept large parts of Saxo's legendary history as historical truth. Krantz's younger contemporary, the famous humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam, likewise praises Saxo's style in his dialogue the Ciceronianus (1528). Erasmus's eulogy is quoted on the title page of the 1534 Basel edition of Saxo, and surely helped to establish a modest fame for Saxo's history of Denmark in sixteenth-century Europe.

	~~Bibliografi~~		The medieval Danish interest in Saxo's Gesta Danorum can be measured in various ways, for example through those who use him or through the evidence of the manuscripts of the work. As already mentioned (see Biography and Title above) the old part of [[Chronica Sialandie]] from c. 1300 is the first text to mention Saxo's name and his work with the title Gesta Danorum, as an introduction to four substantial quotations from Saxo. Two of the most influential Danish historical texts from the later Middle Ages are based on excerpts from the Gesta Danorum, namely the [[Annales Ryenses]] from c. 1300, and the [[Compendium Saxonis & Chronica Jutensis]] from c. 1345; the latter is a systematic paraphrase of Saxo, in which his text has been condensed to about a quarter of its original size, the poems omitted, and his language re-phrased in standard medieval Latin. The popularity of the Compendium Saxonis may well be a sign of reduced interest in the original Saxo. However, the original was still read, as we may for instance deduce from a passage in the first grammar printed in Denmark (1493): its metrical rules are recommended, because without them Boethius's and Saxo Grammaticus's poems cannot be understood (DAL/PINBORG 1979 176 & 245f.)
	AXELSON, B. 1936: "Satsrytm hos Saxo", Scandia 9 204-27.
	BENDZ, G. 1975: "Saxos stilistiska förebilder, metrik och prosarytm", pp. 95-103 in BOSERUP 1975.		There are only preserved fragments of medieval manuscripts of the Gesta Danorum, but we have evidence of other manuscripts which are now completely lost (cp. FRIIS-JENSEN/ZEEBERG 2005 16, BOSERUP 1981, OLRIK/RÆDER 1931 XXXIV). Three manuscripts are attested by physical fragments, one of which probably belonged to Saxo's own working copy, whereas the other fragments are remnants of two large parchment manuscripts from c. 1300. Besides there is certain evidence of four other medieval manuscripts, supplemented by three mentioned in documents, of which at least one may refer to a manuscript already counted. This total of at least seven to eight manuscripts also points to a substantial medieval interest in the Gesta Danorum, considering the length of the work.
	BOSERUP, I. (ed.) 1975: Saxostudier (Opuscula Graecolatina, 2), Copenhagen.
	id. 1981: "The Angers fragment and the archetype of Gesta Danorum", pp. 9-26 in K. Friis-Jensen (ed.), Saxo Grammaticus. A medieval author between Norse and Latin culture, Copenhagen.		The Hamburg humanist Albert Krantz wrote a History of the nordic kingdoms c. 1500, in which he used Saxo as his main source for the period before 1185. His quotations and paraphrases are very substantial, and show that he had access to a manuscript, and one that was different from the exemplar of the editio princeps from 1514. Krantz's manuscript has disappeared, but it contributes to the number of lost manuscripts counted above. Morever, since the editio princeps is the only complete copy of the Gesta Danorum, and like all copies of long texts contains accumulated errors and misprints, Krantz's extracts from Saxo become important for the editors of Saxo, who have used them to emend some of the errors and misprints of the editio princeps. The paraphrases of Saxo in the Compendium Saxonis have a similar and equally important status in Saxonian textual criticism.
	CHRISTENSEN, C.A. 1952: "Saxo og Roskilde Domkirke", pp. 151-60 in Runer og rids. Festskrift til Lis Jacobsen, Copenhagen.
	DAL, E. & PINBORG, J. (eds.) 1979: Tre latinske Grammatikker ... udgivet i Facsimile, Copenhagen.		Krantz himself is a figure of transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. He is enough of a Renaissance humanist to appreciate and praise Saxo's classicising Latin, but at the same time enough of a medieval historiographer to accept large parts of Saxo's legendary history as historical truth. Krantz's younger contemporary, the famous humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam, likewise praises Saxo's style in his dialogue the Ciceronianus (1528). Erasmus's eulogy is quoted on the title page of the 1534 Basel edition of Saxo, and surely helped to establish a modest fame for Saxo's history of Denmark in sixteenth-century Europe.
	DUMÉZIL, G. 1970: Du mythe au roman. La Saga de Hadingus, Paris [English translation 1973].
	FRIIS-JENSEN, K. 1987: Saxo Grammaticus as Latin poet. Studies in the verse passages of the Gesta Danorum (Analecta Romana Instituti Danici. Supplementa, 14), Rome.		==Bibliography==
	id. 1989a: "Maximus Pontifex in Saxo Grammaticus. The textual fidelity of the editio princeps", Cahiers de l'Institut du moyen-âge grec et latin (Université de Copenhague) 59 323-30.		* AXELSON, B. 1936: "Satsrytm hos Saxo", Scandia 9 204-27.
	id. 1989b: "Was Saxo Grammaticus a canon of Lund?", Cahiers de l'Institut du moyen-âge grec et latin (Université de Copenhague) 59 331-57.		* BENDZ, G. 1975: "Saxos stilistiska förebilder, metrik och prosarytm", pp. 95-103 in BOSERUP 1975.
	id. 1992: "Saxo Grammaticus's study of the Roman historiographers and his vision of history", pp. 61-81 in C. Santini (ed.), Saxo Grammaticus. Tra storiografia e letteratura (I convegni di Classiconorroena, 1), Rome.		* BOSERUP, I. (ed.) 1975: Saxostudier (Opuscula Graecolatina, 2), Copenhagen.
	id. 1993: "Middelalderens Danmark og det Romerske Imperium", pp. 187-203 in O.S. Due & J. Isager (eds.), Imperium Romanum. Realitet, idé, ideal, vol. 2, Aarhus.		* id. 1981: "The Angers fragment and the archetype of Gesta Danorum", pp. 9-26 in K. Friis-Jensen (ed.), Saxo Grammaticus. A medieval author between Norse and Latin culture, Copenhagen.
	id. 1995: "Dudo of St. Quentin and Saxo Grammaticus", pp. 11-28 in P. Gatti & A. Degl'Innocenti (eds.), Dudone di San Quintino (Labirinti, 16), Trento.		* CHRISTENSEN, C.A. 1952: "Saxo og Roskilde Domkirke", pp. 151-60 in Runer og rids. Festskrift til Lis Jacobsen, Copenhagen.
	GERTZ, M.C. 1917-22: Scriptores minores historiæ Danicæ medii ævi, vols. 1-2, Copenhagen.		* DAL, E. & PINBORG, J. (eds.) 1979: Tre latinske Grammatikker ... udgivet i Facsimile, Copenhagen.
	HUISMAN, G.C. 1983: "Notes on the manuscript tradition of Dudo of St Quentin's Gesta Normannorum", Anglo-Norman Studies 6 122-35.		* DUMÉZIL, G. 1970: Du mythe au roman. La Saga de Hadingus, Paris [English translation 1973].
	KNABE, C. 1901: "Sprachliche Zusammenstellungen", pp. 444-92 in HERRMANN 1901.		* FRIIS-JENSEN, K. 1987: Saxo Grammaticus as Latin poet. Studies in the verse passages of the Gesta Danorum (Analecta Romana Instituti Danici. Supplementa, 14), Rome.
	id. 1912: Einleitung zu einer neuen Ausgabe der dänischen Geschichte des Saxo, Torgau.		* id. 1989a: "Maximus Pontifex in Saxo Grammaticus. The textual fidelity of the editio princeps", Cahiers de l'Institut du moyen-âge grec et latin (Université de Copenhague) 59 323-30.
	KNUDSEN, A.L. 1994: Saxostudier og rigshistorie på Valdemar Atterdags tid (Skrifter udgivet af Institut for Historie ved Københavns Universitet, 17), Copenhagen.		* id. 1989b: "Was Saxo Grammaticus a canon of Lund?", Cahiers de l'Institut du moyen-âge grec et latin (Université de Copenhague) 59 331-57.
	id. 2006: "Law and legislation in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum", pp. 105-121 in H. Vogt & M. Münster-Swendsen (eds.), Law and learning in the Middle Ages, Copenhagen.		* id. 1992: "Saxo Grammaticus's study of the Roman historiographers and his vision of history", pp. 61-81 in C. Santini (ed.), Saxo Grammaticus. Tra storiografia e letteratura (I convegni di Classiconorroena, 1), Rome.
	KRISTENSEN, A.K.G. 1975: "Ældre Sjællandske Krønikes Saxoudtog", pp. 46-9 in BOSERUP 1975.		* id. 1993: "Middelalderens Danmark og det Romerske Imperium", pp. 187-203 in O.S. Due & J. Isager (eds.), Imperium Romanum. Realitet, idé, ideal, vol. 2, Aarhus.
	KROMAN, E. 1971: Saxo og Overleveringen af hans Værk (Studier fra Sprog- og Oldtidsforskning, 278), Copenhagen.		* id. 1995: "Dudo of St. Quentin and Saxo Grammaticus", pp. 11-28 in P. Gatti & A. Degl'Innocenti (eds.), Dudone di San Quintino (Labirinti, 16), Trento.
	LUKMAN, N. 1942-44: "Saxos Kendskab til Galfred af Monmouth", (Dansk) Historisk Tidsskrift 10. Rk. 6 593-607.		* GERTZ, M.C. 1917-22: Scriptores minores historiæ Danicæ medii ævi, vols. 1-2, Copenhagen.
	MORTENSEN, L.B. 1987: "Saxo Grammaticus' view of the origin of the Danes and his historiographical models", Cahiers de l'Institut du moyen-âge grec et latin (Université de Copenhague) 55 169-83.		* HUISMAN, G.C. 1983: "Notes on the manuscript tradition of Dudo of St Quentin's Gesta Normannorum", Anglo-Norman Studies 6 122-35.
	NIELSEN, L. 1919-33: Dansk Bibliografi 1482-1550, vols. 1-2, Copenhagen [reprint 1996, abbreviated LN].		* KNABE, C. 1901: "Sprachliche Zusammenstellungen", pp. 444-92 in HERRMANN 1901.
	OLRIK, A. 1892-94: Kilderne til Sakses oldhistorie, vols. 1-2, Copenhagen.		* id. 1912: Einleitung zu einer neuen Ausgabe der dänischen Geschichte des Saxo, Torgau.
	id. 1894: "Bråvallakvadets kæmperække. Tekst og oplysninger", Arkiv för nordisk filologi 10 223-87.		* KNUDSEN, A.L. 1994: Saxostudier og rigshistorie på Valdemar Atterdags tid (Skrifter udgivet af Institut for Historie ved Københavns Universitet, 17), Copenhagen.
	PABST, B. 1994: Prosimetrum. Tradition und Wandel einer Literaturform zwischen Spätantike und Spätmittelalter (Ordo, 4:1-2), vol. 1-2, Köln [pp. 924-38 on Saxo Grammaticus].		* id. 2006: "Law and legislation in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum", pp. 105-121 in H. Vogt & M. Münster-Swendsen (eds.), Law and learning in the Middle Ages, Copenhagen.
	RIIS, T. 1977: Les institutions politiques centrales du Danemark 1100-1332 (Odense University Studies in History and Social Sciences, 46), Odense.		* KRISTENSEN, A.K.G. 1975: "Ældre Sjællandske Krønikes Saxoudtog", pp. 46-9 in BOSERUP 1975.
	SEIP, D.A. 1929: "Det norske grunnlag for Bråvallakvadet hos Saxo", Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap 3 5-20.		* KROMAN, E. 1971: Saxo og Overleveringen af hans Værk (Studier fra Sprog- og Oldtidsforskning, 278), Copenhagen.
	SKOVGAARD-PETERSEN, I. 1969: "Saxo, historian of the Patria", Mediaeval Scandina¬via, 2 54-77.		* LUKMAN, N. 1942-44: "Saxos Kendskab til Galfred af Monmouth", (Dansk) Historisk Tidsskrift 10. Rk. 6 593-607.
	ead. 1987: Da Tidernes Herre var nær. Studier i Saxos historiesyn, Copenhagen.		* MORTENSEN, L.B. 1987: "Saxo Grammaticus' view of the origin of the Danes and his historiographical models", Cahiers de l'Institut du moyen-âge grec et latin (Université de Copenhague) 55 169-83.
	SOUTHERN, R.W. 1970: "Aspects of the European tradition of historical writing: 1. The classical tradition from Einhard to Geoffrey of Monmouth", Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5. Series 20 173-96.		* NIELSEN, L. 1919-33: Dansk Bibliografi 1482-1550, vols. 1-2, Copenhagen [reprint 1996, abbreviated LN].
	WEIBULL, C. 1915: Saxo. Kritiska undersökningar i Danmarks historia från Sven Estridsens död till Knut VI, Lund.		* OLRIK, A. 1892-94: Kilderne til Sakses oldhistorie, vols. 1-2, Copenhagen.
			* id. 1894: "Bråvallakvadets kæmperække. Tekst og oplysninger", Arkiv för nordisk filologi 10 223-87.
			* PABST, B. 1994: Prosimetrum. Tradition und Wandel einer Literaturform zwischen Spätantike und Spätmittelalter (Ordo, 4:1-2), vol. 1-2, Köln [pp. 924-38 on Saxo Grammaticus].
			* RIIS, T. 1977: Les institutions politiques centrales du Danemark 1100-1332 (Odense University Studies in History and Social Sciences, 46), Odense.
			* SEIP, D.A. 1929: "Det norske grunnlag for Bråvallakvadet hos Saxo", Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap 3 5-20.
			* SKOVGAARD-PETERSEN, I. 1969: "Saxo, historian of the Patria", Mediaeval Scandina¬via, 2 54-77.
			* ead. 1987: Da Tidernes Herre var nær. Studier i Saxos historiesyn, Copenhagen.
			* SOUTHERN, R.W. 1970: "Aspects of the European tradition of historical writing: 1. The classical tradition from Einhard to Geoffrey of Monmouth", Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5. Series 20 173-96.
			* WEIBULL, C. 1915: Saxo. Kritiska undersökningar i Danmarks historia från Sven Estridsens död till Knut VI, Lund.

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Hkllm at 08:50, 18 March 2012

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Hkllm at 15:00, 17 March 2012

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	==Biography==		==Biography==

	Although the narrator of the Gesta Danorum regularly uses the first person singular about himself, he does not mention his name in the text of the work. The author's name was no doubt mentioned in the incipit and explicit formulae of the medieval manuscripts, as in those of the editio princeps. Unfortunately the latter have clearly been revised by the editor, Christiern Pedersøn (-> Title below). However, the unanimous traditional ascription of the work to Saxo begins with the Vetus Chronicon Sialandie of c. 1300 (see Title below), and it allows us to identify the author of the Gesta Danorum with the Saxo mentioned c. 1190 by the historiographer Sven Aggesøn (hist. 10): Quorum [i. Suenonis filiorum] gesta plenarie superfluum duxi recolere, ... cum illustri archipresule Absolone referente contubernalis meus Saxo elegantiori stilo omnium gesta executus prolixius insudabat, "Their [i. Sven Estridsøn's sons'] achievements I have found it superfluous to treat fully, ... for, according to the illustrious Archbishop Absalon, my colleague Saxo exerted himself for a long time writing a history of all those in an elegant style". Saxo's traditional surname Grammaticus is not known until the late fifteenth century, but it may owe its origin to the characterisation in the Compendium Saxonis (c. 1345) of Saxo as quidam egregius grammaticus, "an excellent Latin scholar".		Although the narrator of the Gesta Danorum regularly uses the first person singular about himself, he does not mention his name in the text of the work. The author's name was no doubt mentioned in the incipit and explicit formulae of the medieval manuscripts, as in those of the editio princeps. Unfortunately the latter have clearly been revised by the editor, Christiern Pedersøn (Title below). However, the unanimous traditional ascription of the work to Saxo begins with the Vetus Chronicon Sialandie of c. 1300 (see Title below), and it allows us to identify the author of the Gesta Danorum with the Saxo mentioned c. 1190 by the historiographer Sven Aggesøn (hist. 10): Quorum [i. Suenonis filiorum] gesta plenarie superfluum duxi recolere, ... cum illustri archipresule Absolone referente contubernalis meus Saxo elegantiori stilo omnium gesta executus prolixius insudabat, "Their [i. Sven Estridsøn's sons'] achievements I have found it superfluous to treat fully, ... for, according to the illustrious Archbishop Absalon, my colleague Saxo exerted himself for a long time writing a history of all those in an elegant style". Saxo's traditional surname Grammaticus is not known until the late fifteenth century, but it may owe its origin to the characterisation in the Compendium Saxonis (c. 1345) of Saxo as quidam egregius grammaticus, "an excellent Latin scholar".

	No sources shed light on the years of Saxo's birth and death, whereas the Gesta Danorum can be approximately dated by circumstantial evidence to a period from before 1190 to not long after 1208 (see Date and place below). That would date Saxo's birth to c. 1160 or earlier, and his death to after 1208.		No sources shed light on the years of Saxo's birth and death, whereas the Gesta Danorum can be approximately dated by circumstantial evidence to a period from before 1190 to not long after 1208 (see Date and place below). That would date Saxo's birth to c. 1160 or earlier, and his death to after 1208.

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