History Literature / GestaDanorum

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* The historical part covers the period from kings Harald Bluetooth (succeeded c. 958 AD) to Canute VI (died 1202), with a focus on the careers of Bishop Absalon and King Valdemar (1157-1182) and their campaigns of conquest against the pagans around the southern shores of the Baltic Sea, part of the series of Northern European wars also known as the [[TheCrusades Northern Crusades]].

* BewareTheQuietOnes: The story of Uffe the Meek. People were very sceptical when the titular prince, know for his withdrawn and quiet manners and slender build, volunteers to defend Denmark's territory and honor against two Saxon nobles. Uffe, however, expertly slays them both and goes on to become an renowned king after his father's death.

* BewareTheQuietOnes: The story of Uffe the Meek. People where very sceptical when the titular prince, know for his withdrawn and quiet manners and slender build, volenteers to defend Denmark's terrory and honor against two Saxon nobles. Uffe, however, expertly slays them both and goes on to become an renowned king after his father's death.
* BreakingTheBonds: During his imprisonment for rebellion Ubbe, son of Ragnar Lodbrok, tears his chains "by immense violence". He is then shackled with stronger chains which he is not able to break.

%%* ActionGirl: Lathgertha

* AttendingYourOwnFuneral: After Fengo has sent Amleth to England to be killed with a PleaseShootTheMessenger plot, the Danes thinks that Amleth is dead. Just the day they hold a memorial feast for him, Amleth returns to the royal palace. Later in the same night, he finally exexutes his vengeance.

* ActionGirl: Lagertha

As a source on Myth/NorseMythology, ''Gesta Danorum'' has been in the shadow of the Icelandic Literature/{{Edda}}s and Sagas since the 19th century, although before it, the opposite was the case. Thanks to its use of Latin rather than Old Norse, ''Gesta Danorum'' appealed to Renaissance scholars and was first printed in Paris in 1514, which is why the story of Amleth could find its way to Elizabethan England to serve as the basis of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's play ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''.[[note]]Though Shakespeare got it via François de Belleforest's French ''Histoires Tragiques'' (1570).[[/note]] Today it is not as high regarded as the Icelandic sources on mythology due to it's obvious bias.

As a source on Myth/NorseMythology, ''Gesta Danorum'' has been in the shadow of the Icelandic Literature/{{Edda}}s and Sagas since the 19th century, although before it, the opposite was the case. Thanks to its use of Latin rather than Old Norse, ''Gesta Danorum'' appealed to Renaissance scholars and was first printed in Paris in 1514, which is why the story of Amleth could find its way to Elizabethan England to serve as the basis of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's play ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''.[[note]]Though Shakespeare got it via François de Belleforest's French ''Histoires Tragiques'' (1570).[[/note]]

%%* ActionGirl: several shieldmaidens %% Zero Context Example. Please provide context

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: In Book 6, Starkad agrees to help Helge in a single combat against nine brothers. On the appointed day, Helge oversleeps and Starkad is too proud to wake him, so he goes to the combat alone. His nine opponents offer Starkad to attack him one by one, but he rudely tells them to come at him all at once. Starkad kills all nine, but is severely wounded so he is forced to wait for random passersby to help him. One by one, a sheriff, a free man married to another man's slave, and a slave woman offer to bandage his wounds, but are refused because Starkad considers it beneath him to get his life saved by any of them. Finally there comes a peasant laborer, son of a laborer, whom Starkad considers worthy to be his rescuer.

* MadeOfIron: Bjorn "Ironside" Ragnarsson receives his nickname after fighting in a single combat against a superior number of Swedish champions, and coming out both victorious and unhurt, which is attributed to the "strength of his sides" (which are supposedly hard as iron).

* ActionGirl: several shieldmaidens

* The mythological part starts with Dan, mythic progenitor of the Danish people, and goes through many generations of legendary kings and heroes. The plot is too massive for any short summary, but among the figures of this part that deserve some highlighting are prince Amleth, who hatches a plan of revenge against his brother-killing uncle while [[ObfuscatingStupidity playing a retard]]; King Harald Wartooth, who arranges the greatest battle ever fought in the Northlands to serve as a worthy end to his own life; and the cursed hero Starkad, a giant warrior who is fated to live three human lifespans and to commit one nefarious act of betrayal in each of them. Other chapters offer Saxo's take on heroic kings also known from Literature/{{the Icelandic Sagas}}, such as [[Literature/TheSagaOfHrolfKraki Hrolf Kraki]] and [[Literature/TheSagaOfRagnarLothbrok Ragnar Lothbrog]], as well as an account of the death of Baldur that is quite different from the one in ''Literature/ProseEdda''.

* ALightInTheDistance: On their voyage to Utgard-Loki, Thorkill and his crew are lost in a sea of eternal darkness, when they spot "a twinkle of a fire at no great distance". Thorkill goes after the fire and finds two giants who eventually direct him to Utgard-Loki.

As a source on NorseMythology, ''Gesta Danorum'' has been in the shadow of the Icelandic Literature/{{Edda}}s and Sagas since the 19th century, although before it, the opposite was the case. Thanks to its use of Latin rather than Old Norse, ''Gesta Danorum'' appealed to Renaissance scholars and was first printed in Paris in 1514, which is why the story of Amleth could find its way to Elizabethan England to serve as the basis of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's play ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''.[[note]]Though Shakespeare got it via François de Belleforest's French ''Histoires Tragiques'' (1570).[[/note]]

* CulturalTranslation: Writing in Latin, Saxo takes the trouble to describe NorseMythology and society with a [[ClassicalMythology Classical vocabulary]]. Thus, his mythic Scandinavia is filled with amazons (shieldmaidens), satyrs (dwarfs), nymphs (valkyries?), and fauns (?). People exlaim "by Hercules!", Asgard is Byzantium, jarls are satraps, the underworld is ruled by Proserpina (Hel), and there are references to the rivers Phlegethon and Styx. In one thing Saxo is adamant, though: Odin and Thor are not Mercury and Jupiter, because Odin is Thor's father while Mercury is Jupiter's son.

* BreakingTheChains: During his imprisonment for rebellion Ubbe, son of Ragnar Lodbrok, tears his chains "by immense violence". He is then shackled with stronger chains which he is not able to break.

* HonorBeforeReason: In Book 6, Starkad agrees to help Helge in a single combat against nine brothers. On the appointed day, Helge oversleeps and Starkad is too proud to wake him, so he goes to the combat alone. The nine brothers offer Starkad to attack him one by one, but Starkad rudely tells them to come at him all at once. Starkad kills all nine opponents, but is heavily wounded so he can only wait for random passersby to help him. One by one, a sergeant, a free man married to another man's slave, and a slave woman offer to bandage his wounds but are refused because Starkad would rather bleed to death than owe his life to someone whose honor he considers compromised. Finally Starkad allows himself to be saved by a peasant laborer who is poor but free.

* HonorBeforeReason: In Book 6, Starkad agrees to help Helge in a single combat against nine brothers. On the appointed day, Helge oversleeps and Starkad is too proud to wake him, so he goes to the combat alone. The nine brothers offer Starkad to attack him one by one, but Starkad rudely tells them to come at him all at once. Starkad kills all nine opponents, but is heavily wounded so he can only wait for random passersby to help him. One by one, a sergeant, a free man married to another man's slave, and a slave woman offer to bandage his wounds but are refused because Starkad would rather bleed to death than owe his life to someone whose honor he considers compromised. Finally there comes peasant labourer whom Starkad considers worthy to save his life.

* DeathSeeker: Starkad, some 200 years and half-blind, feels he is getting too old for combat and, wishing to die by the sword, travels the road searching for somebody worthy to kill him.

* DeathSeeker: Starkad, some 200 years and half-blind, feels he is getting too old for combat and, wishing to die by the sword, travels the road searching for somebody worthy to kill him.

* TakingYouWithMe: When Starkad offers Hather a pouch of gold as a prize for killing him, and holding out his neck so Hather can decapitate him, Starkad also promises that jumping between his severed head and the trunk before they can fall to the ground will protect him against being wounded in battle. Hather strikes Starkad's head off, but realizes at the last moment that Starkad intends to crush him with the weight of his falling body.