Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus | |
|---|---|
Saxo by the Norwegian illustrator Louis Moe | |
| Born | c. 1150 |
| Died | c. 1220 (aged around 70) |
| Occupations | Historian and scholar of Absalon |
| Academic background | |
| Influences | Renaissance scholars William Shakespeare |
| Academic work | |
| Main interests | Danish history, theology |
| Notable works | Gesta Danorum |
Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian, and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author of the Gesta Danorum, the first full history of Denmark, from which the legend of Amleth would come to inspire the story of Hamlet by Shakespeare.