萨克索·格拉玛提库斯

title: 生平.
content: 根据《日德兰半岛编年史》("Jutland Chronicle")的记载,萨克索出生在西兰岛(丹麦语: "Sjælland"  萨克索•格拉玛提库斯生活在战乱年代,那时大主教阿布萨隆和瓦尔德马国王正指挥着他的军队四处征战。丹麦人民同时还要抵御温兹(西斯拉夫)人的海上威胁。 在瓦尔德马一世取得国民战争的胜利后不久,瓦尔德马二世又派出远征队入侵易北河对岸的荷尔斯泰因.  丹麦贵族斯汶·奥吉森编撰了比萨克索稍早一些的丹麦历史。当他描写他所处的年代时,曾提及到萨克索,并称他为"contubernalis,"意为一起住帐篷的同伴。这表明萨克索和斯汶有可能一起在Hird或者皇家守卫里当过兵。人们在隆德大教堂的神职人员的名单里也发现了一个名叫萨克索的副主教(Archdeacon),但他于1190年逝世,与我们熟知的萨克索不符。  不论哪种观点,认为他是俗家的萨克索或者修道的萨克索,都证实了他是一个受过良好教育的人。身为神职人员要接受拉丁语的训练,且表现优异的子弟时常要被派往巴黎。萨克索生于一个军人家庭所以他自己也对军人这个身份表示认同。他告诉我们他
title: "丹麦人的事迹".
content: In the preface to the work, Saxo writes that his patron Absalon, Archbishop of Lund had encouraged him to write a heroic history of the Danes. The history is thought to have been started about 1185, after Sven Aggesen wrote his history. The goal of "Gesta Danorum" was as Saxo writes "to glorify our fatherland," which he accomplishes on the model of the "埃涅阿斯纪" by 维吉尔. Saxo also may have owed much to 柏拉图, 西塞罗 and also to more contemporary writers like Geoffrey of Monmouth.  Saxo's history of the Danes was compiled from sources that are of questionable historical value. 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, rather it was "a product of Saxo's own mind and times," he 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.  The history is composed of sixteen books and extends from the time of the founders of the Danish people, Dan I of Denmark and Angul into about the year 1187. The first four are concerned with the history of the Danes before Christ, the next four with the history after Christ, books 9-12 Christian Denmark and 13-16 promote Lund and the exploits early before and during Saxo's own lifetime. It is assumed that the last eight books were written first, as Saxo drew heavily on Absalon's testament for evidence of the age of Saint Canute and Valdemar I and Archbishop Absalon died in 1202, before the work was completed.  Of particular interest for Shakespeare scholars is the story of Amleth, the first instance of Hamlet. Saxo based the story on an oral tale of a son taking revenge for his murdered father. Saxo finished the history with the Preface, which he wrote last, about 1216 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.
title: 历史贡献.
content: Christiern Pedersen, a Canon of Lund, collaborated with Jodocus Badius Ascendius, a fellow enthusiast, to print the work of Saxo Grammaticus early in the sixteenth century. This was the first major step toward securing historical significance for "Gesta Danorum." It was from that point that it began to spread amongst the academic community. Oliver Elton who was the first to translate the first nine books of "Gesta Danorum" into English wrote that Saxo was the first writer produced by Denmark.  He is also seen by modern Danes as their first national historian. His works were received enthusiastically by Renaissance scholars who were curious about pre-Christian history and legends. Saxo's account of history has been seen to differ greatly from that of his contemporaries, especially between his account and those of Norwegians and Icelanders in that the titles of hero and villain switch between the characters of the various nationalities. There are even differences between Saxo's work, and that of fellow Danish historian Sven Aggesen.  These differences often are the result of elaboration on the part of Saxo. His account of the tale of Thyri for example is far more fantastic and blown up than the tale that Sven presents and for this stylization and elaboration of the facts Saxo's history has often been criticized. Saxo's inclusion of Amleth is the most significant part of the "Gesta Danorum", however the work also has value in its description of the canonization of Canute and further in comparison to Snorri, whose work shares many characters and stories, creating a better understanding of pre-Christian Scandinavia.

Summary: 萨克索•格拉玛提库斯 (c. 1150 – c. 1220), 又称Saxo cognomine Longus, 是丹麦史学家,神学家和作家。据说他曾任职过阿布萨隆大主教的神职人员或秘书,也是瓦尔德马一世最看重的谋臣。丹麦的第一部通史《丹麦人的事迹》(Gesta Danorum)就是他的著作。

Saxo Grammaticus: Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1160 – 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.