Editing Saxo Grammaticus (section)

== Gesta Danorum ==
{{Main|Gesta Danorum}}

In the preface to the work, Saxo writes that his patron [[Absalon]] ({{Circa|1128}} – 21 March 1201),<ref name="geografi">{{cite web|url =  http://denstoredanske.dk/Danmarks_geografi_og_historie/Danmarks_historie/Danmark_f%C3%B8r_Reformationen/Skjalm_Hvide
|title=  Skjalm Hvide|publisher =  Den Store Danske, Gyldendal|access-date=July 16, 2019}}</ref> Archbishop of Lund, had encouraged him to write a heroic history of the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]]. The history is thought to have been started about 1185, after Sven Aggesen wrote his history.{{sfn|Jones|1968|p=44}} The goal of {{Lang|la|[[Gesta Danorum]]}} was, as Saxo writes, "to glorify our fatherland", which he accomplishes on the model of Virgil's ''[[Aeneid]]''.{{sfn|Davidson|1979|pp= 2–4}} Saxo also may have owed much to [[Plato]] and [[Cicero]], as well as to more contemporary writers like [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]].{{sfn|Davidson|1980|pp= 6–9}}

Saxo's history of the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]] 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 patron [[Absalon]] 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".{{sfn|Friis-Jensen|2006|p= 198}} 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.{{sfn|Westergaard|1952|p= 168}}

The history is composed of sixteen books, and extends from the time of the founders of the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish]] people, [[Dan I of Denmark]] and Angul, into about the year 1187. The first four books are concerned with the history of the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]] before [[Christ]], 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.{{sfn|Christiansen|1981|p= 383}} It is assumed that the last eight books were written first, as Saxo drew heavily on the work of [[Absalon]] (who died in 1201,<ref name="geografi" /> before the work was completed) for evidence of the age of [[Saint Canute]] and Valdemar I.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

The first eight volumes share a likeness with the works of Saxo's contemporary [[Snorri Sturluson]]. They deal with mythical elements such as giants and the Scandinavian pantheon of gods.{{sfn|Dumézil|1973|p= 78–79}} Saxo tells of Dan the first king of Denmark, who had a brother named Angul who gave his name to the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]].{{sfn|Jones|1968|p=44}} He also tells the stories of various other [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish]] 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 the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]], who was taught the ways of warfare by [[Odin]] and then was betrayed and killed by the god, who then brought him to [[Valhalla]].{{sfn|Jones|1968|p= 53}}

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 King [[Frotho III|Frode]] is very low and is only satisfied when King Knut brings back the ancestral customs.{{sfn|Malone|1958|p= 96}} 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, in {{Circa|1216}}{{sfn|Davidson|1980|p=12}} under the patronage of [[Anders 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.{{sfn|Davidson|1979|p= 1}}