History Literature / GestaDanorum

* DirtyCop: After Starkad has been wounded in a duel, a passer-by asks him how he will reward him if he will patch up his wounds. Starka, who does not want to accept help from "those in low walks of life", asks him what his social position is, and learns that the man is a bailiff. Upon this revelation Starkad at once showers him with abuse for disregarding his "honourable duties", talking sneeringly about everone, launching wrongful charges against innocents, snooping around in other people's business, and harassing "harmless characters" at every opportunity. The passage not only makes clear that Starkad considers bailiffs lowlifes, but the fact that the bailiff would only help if promised a reward first also suggests Starkad's accusations are not far from the truth.

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]]

* DoingInTheWizard: A variation on the trope anyway. As a Christian writer, Saxo was compelled to distance himself and his fellow Danes from the old Norse religion their ancestors adhered to, so he describes Odin (along with several other of the old Norse gods) as if he was an actual historical person, and explains that he tricked people into worshipping him by being a skilled illusionist.

''Gesta Danorum'' is a monumental medieval history of UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}}, written by a certain Saxo between c. 1185 and 1210 AD. The name that Saxo gave to his work is not known, and it has been referred to with a variety of names. In recent times, ''Gesta Danorum'' has emerged as the most frequently used title. This literally translates to ''Deeds of the Danes'', but may more idiomatically but more boring be rendered as ''Danish History''.

* AfterlifeTour: At King Hading's marriage with a Norwegian princess (which is held in winter), a mysterious old woman shows Hading fresh stalks of hemlock and asks him whether he would like to see the place where hemlock grows in winter, to which Hading agrees. The mystery woman wraps him into her cloak and thus takes him to {{the underworld}}, where they travel through thick fog and darkness to a sunny meadow where hemlock grows. Afterwards they cross a river bearing weapons in its water to a field where two armies are fighting, and the woman explains both armies are of men who were killed in battle. Finally they stop at an unsurmountable wall; the woman kills a rooster and throws it over the wall, and immediately it is heard crowing on the other side. Then they return.

* {{Fainting}}: When Odin makes snakes appear on the eyes of the boy Sigurd Ragnarsson, Sigurd's nurse faints in terror at the sight.

* GoodStepmother: Kraka the Sorceress cooks meals for her stepson Erik and her own son Roller, but prepares Roller's share with the slaver of a magical snake, which will make him smarter and luckier. When Erik and Roller swap plates, the spell is upon Erik instead, but rather than being angry at Erik, Kraka decides Erik should be the leader of the brothers. She promises her magic will aid Erik when he calls her name, and helps him outwit King Gotar of Norway. When Gotar's assassins attack him in bed, he calls out his stepmother's name, whereupon a shield falls from the rafters, covering his body and saving his life.

* DyingDealUpgrade: Sigurd, son of Ragnar Lodbrog, is severely wounded in the first battle he fights in, and it looks like he is going to die. A strange, very tall man who calls himself Rostar appears and promises Sigurd that he will cure him, if Sigurd in turn agrees to "consecrate unto him [Rostar] the souls of all whom he [Sigurd] should overcome in battle". When Sigurd agrees, Rostar instantly heals his wound by a touch of his hand, and at the same time makes little snakes appear in Sigurd's eyes. Sigurd, now called Sigurd Snake-Eye, later becomes a great warrior-king. We are expected to understand that "Rostar" was Odin.

* HealingHands: Odin (in the shape of Rostar) offers to heal the wounds of Sigurd Ragnarsson if Sigurd will promise to dedicate all men he is going to kill in his life to Odin. When Sigurd agrees, Rostar touches him with his hand, causing the wound to close and scar over at once.

* 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''. Another high point are the adventures of Thorkill, a seafarer who sails to Jotunheim and to Utgard.

[[caption-width-right:330: [- First page of the 1514 print. -] ]]

* 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 with a baby to feed 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.

* DeathByDespair: The aged king Gorm the Old dies from grief the day after he has heard that his son Knut has been killed.

* ShootTheMessenger: King Gorm vows he will kill anyone who should ever bring him the message that his favourite son Knut is dead. When Knut is killed, nobody dares to tell Gorm. Queen Thyra has the royal hall hung with black cloth and when the king is surprised at these preparations tells him that his favourite falcon has died. Gorm immediately understands the true sense of her words, without anyone having to tell him.

* TheUnfavourite: King Gorm vows that he will put to death whoever should bring him the message that his son Knut is dead; when Knut is killed (though he does not make good on his vow) Gorm dies from grief, and Knut's younger brother Harald Bluetooth becomes king. Gorm's vow and his reaction to the death of Knut strongly imply that he does not particularly care for Harald, and that he considers him an unworthy son compared to Knut.

* ShootTheMessenger: King Gorm vows he will kill anyone who should ever bring him the message that his favourite son Knut is dead. When Knut is killed, nobody dares to tell Gorm. The queen then drops hints until Gorm understands by himself what has happened.

* UndignifiedDeath: King Harald Blåtand is relieving himself in a bush when he is ambushed by Toke, the chieftain of Fyn. The King is then slain by Toke by getting ShotInTheAss with an arrow as he tries to flee.

* UndignifiedDeath: King Harald Blåtand is relieving himself in a bush when he is ambushed by Toke, the chieftain of Fyn. The King is slain by Toke by getting ShotInTheAss with an arrow as he tries to flee.

* UndignifiedDeath: King Harald Blåtand is relieving himself in a bush when he is ambushed by the chieftain of Fyn, Palnatoke. The King is then slain by Palnatoke by getting ShotInTheAss with an arrow as he tries to flee.

* WilliamTelling: In Book 10, the archer Toki (Toco) is forced by Harald Bluetooth to shoot an apple from his own son's head. This is the earliest known instance of this trope. Toki later uses his bow and arrow to kill Harald in vengeance.

* UndignifiedDeath: How the worky depicts the death of King Harald Blåtand qualifies as such. King Harald is described as while reliving himself in a bush, when he was ambushed by the chieftain of Fyn, Palnatoke. The King was then slain by Palnatoke by getting ShotInTheAss with an arrow as he tried to flee.

* UndignifiedDeath: The death of King Harald Blåtand qualifies as such. He is described as while reliving himself in a bush, when he was ambushed by the chieftain of Fyn, Palnatoke. Harald was then slain by Palnatoke by getting ShotInTheAss with an arrow as he tried to flee.

* DefiantToTheEnd: The FamousLastWords of Ragnar Lodbrok to King Ella: "How the little pigs would grunt if they knew how the old boar suffers!"