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Amleth
Amleth (; Latinized as ''Amlethus'') is a figure in a medieval Scandinavian legend, the direct inspiration of the character of Prince Hamlet, the hero of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet, Prince of Denmark''. The chief authority for the legend of Amleth is Saxo Grammaticus, who devotes to it parts of the third and fourth books of his ''Gesta Danorum'', completed at the beginning of the 13th century. Saxo's version is similar to the one in the 12th-century ''Chronicon Lethrense''. In both versions, prince Amleth (''Amblothæ'') is the son of Horvendill (''Orwendel''), king of the Jutes. It has often been assumed that the story is ultimately derived from an Old Icelandic poem, but no such poem has been found; the extant Icelandic versions, known as the ''Ambales-saga'', or ''Amloda-saga'' are considerably later than Saxo. Name The Old Icelandic form ''Amlóði'' is recorded once in the Prose Edda. The 12th-century ''Amlethus'', ''Amblothæ'' may easily be latinizations of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gesta Danorum
''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nation's early history. It is also one of the oldest known written documents about the history of Estonia and Latvia. Consisting of sixteen books written in Latin on the invitation of Archbishop Absalon, ''Gesta Danorum'' describes Danish history and to some degree Scandinavian history in general, from prehistory to the late 12th century. In addition, ''Gesta Danorum'' offers singular reflections on European affairs in the High Middle Ages from a unique Scandinavian perspective, supplementing what has been handed down by historians from Western and Southern Europe. Books The sixteen books, in prose with an occasional excursion into poetry, can be categorized into two parts: Books 1–9, which deal with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horvendill
Aurvandill (Old Norse) is a figure in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the god Thor tosses Aurvandill's toe – which had frozen while the thunder god was carrying him in a basket across the Élivágar rivers – into the sky to form a star called ' ('Aurvandill's toe'). In wider medieval Germanic-speaking cultures, he was known as ' in Old English, ' in Old High German, ' in Lombardic, and possibly as ' in Gothic. An Old Danish Latinized version, ''Horwendillus'' (Ørvendil), is also the name given to the father of ''Amlethus'' (Amleth) in Saxo Grammaticus' ''Gesta Danorum''. Comparative studies of the various myths where the figure is involved have led scholars to reconstruct a Common Germanic mythical figure named ', which seems to have personified the 'rising light' of the morning, possibly the Morning Star (Venus). However, the German and – to a lesser extent – the Old Danish evidence remain difficult to interpret in this model. Name and origin Etymology The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother. ''Hamlet'' is considered among the "most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language", with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others". There are many works that have been pointed to as possible sources for Shakespeare's play—from ancient Greek tragedies to Elizabethan plays. The editors of the Arden Shakespeare question the idea of "source hunting", pointing out that it presupposes that authors always require ideas from other works for their own, and suggests that no author can have an original idea or be an originator. When S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saxo Grammaticus
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. Life The '' Jutland Chronicle'' gives evidence that Saxo was born in Zealand. It is unlikely he was born before 1150 and it is supposed that his death could have occurred around 1220. His name Saxo was a common name in medieval Denmark. The name ''Grammaticus'' ("the learned") was first given to him in the ''Jutland Chronicle'' and the ''Sjælland Chronicle'' makes reference to Saxo ''cognomine Longus'' ("with the byname 'the tall'"). He lived in a period of warfare and Danish expansion, led by Archbishop Absalon and the Valdemars. The Danes were also being threatened ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westeremden Yew-stick
The Westeremden yew-stick is a yew-wood stick found in Westeremden in the Groningen province of the Netherlands in 1917. It bears an Old Frisian runic inscription, dated to the second half of the 8th century. With a total of 41 letters, this is the longest of the extant Frisian runic inscriptions. Transliteration The inscription is divided into three lines, as follows: :ᚩᛈᚻᚳᛗᚢᛡᛁᛅᛞᚪᚳᛗᛚᚢᚦ: :ᚹᛁᛗᛟᚳᚻᚦᚢᚴᛅ :ᛁᚹᛁᚩᚢᛞᚢᚿᚩᛚᛖ: Runes with unfamiliar shapes or uncertain values are: * , a '' Spiegelrune'' of ᛒ, similar to a variant of ᛥ ''stan'', transliterated as ''B'' below * , a ''Spiegelrune'' of ᛈ, similar to a variant of ᛥ ''stan'', transliterated as ''P'' below * , like Younger Futhark ''kaun'', transliterated as ''K'' below *ᚳ (like Anglo-Saxon ''cen'', occurring three times); it apparently represents a vowel, likely ''æ'', replacing absent ᚫ ''æsc'' *ᛅ (like Younger Futhark ''ar''), transliterate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amhladh
Aulay is a Scottish masculine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic ''Amhladh'', ''Amhlaidh'', ''Amhlaigh'', and ''Amhlaibh''. The standard Irish Gaelic form of these names is ''Amhlaoibh'' (pronounced "ow-liv", and "owl-lee"); which can be Anglicised as ''Auliffe'' and ''Humphrey''. The Old Irish personal name ''Amlaíb'' is a Gaelicised form of the Old Norse '' Óláfr'', and is recorded in the Annals of Ulster as being introduced into Ulster by "Amlaíb, son of the king of Lochlann" In the 9th century, ''Óláfr'' may have been pronounced more like the Old Norse ''Áleifr''. A Classical Gaelic form of this Old Irish name is ''Amhlaíbh''. The older Irish Gaelic names ''Amalgaid'' and ''Amhalghaidh'' (pronounced "owl-ghee"), were borne by an early king of Munster, and an early king of Connacht. Even though these names were of a different origin than the above Gaelicised Norse names, they were "totally confused" in the later Middle Ages with them. In later time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Togail Bruidne Dá Derga
''Togail Bruidne Dá Derga'' (''The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel'') is an Irish tale belonging to the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. It survives in three Old and Middle Irish recensions, it is part of the Book of Dun Cow. It recounts the birth, life, and death of Conaire Mór son of Eterscél Mór, a legendary High King of Ireland, who is killed at Da Derga's hostel by his enemies when he breaks his ''geasa''. It is considered one of the finest Irish sagas of the early period, comparable to the better-known ''Táin Bó Cúailnge''. The theme of gathering doom, as the king is forced through circumstances to break one after another of his taboos, is non-Christian in essence, and no Christian interpretations are laid upon the marvels that it relates. In its repetitions and verbal formulas the poem retains the qualities of oral transmission. The tone of the work has been compared with Greek tragedy.Byrne, pp. 59–64. Summary After Conaire Mór has already broken several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quern-stone
Quern-stones are stone tools for hand-grinding a wide variety of materials. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a saddle quern, while the upper mobile stone is called a muller, rubber or handstone. The upper stone was moved in a back-and-forth motion across the saddle quern. Later querns are known as rotary querns. The central hole of a rotary quern is called the eye, and a dish in the upper surface is known as the hopper. A handle slot contained a handle which enabled the rotary quern to be rotated. They were first used in the Neolithic era to grind cereals into flour. Uses of quern-stones An old Gaelic proverb is "The quern performs best when the grindstone has been pitted." Design of quern-stones The upper stones were usually concave while the lower ones were convex. Quern-stones are frequently identifiable by their grooved working surfaces which enabled the movement of flour. Sometimes a millrind was present as a piece of wood (or o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skáldskaparmál
''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined. The origin of a number of ''kennings'' is given; then Bragi delivers a systematic list of ''kennings'' for various people, places and things. He then goes on to discuss poetic language in some detail, in particular ''heiti'', the concept of poetical words which are non-periphrastic (like ''steed'' for ''horse''), and again systematises these. This in a way forms an early form of poetic thesaurus. References Bibliography * Further reading * Anthony Faulkes"The sources of ''Skáldskaparmál'': Snorri’s intellectual background" in: Alois Wolf (ed.), ''Snorri Sturluson'', Volume 51 of ScriptOralia, Gunter Narr Verlag (1993), 59–76. External ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guðni Jónsson
Guðni Jónsson (22 July 1901 – 4 March 1974) was an Icelandic professor of history and editor of Old Norse texts. Life and career Guðni was born at Gamla-Hraun at EyrarbakkiPáll Lýðsson"GUÐNI JÓNSSON" Minningargreinar, ''Morgunblaðið'', 22 July 2001 into a poor family who had a total of 17 children. He was raised by relatives at Leirubakki until he was twelve, worked two seasons as a fisherman and then was taken in by his married sister in Reykjavík, enabling him to attend evening school there. He received a middle school certificate in Flensburg in 1921 and a school certificate from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1924. In 1923 he served as president of the student society ''Framtíðin''. He then attended the University of Iceland, first in theology and then in the faculty of Old Norse studies. He completed a master's degree in Icelandic studies in 1930 with a thesis on ''Landnámabók'', comparing the manuscripts with each other and with other texts. His doctor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olaf
Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" and ''laibaz'' "heirloom, descendant". Old English forms are attested as ''Ǣlāf'', ''Anlāf''. The corresponding Old Novgorod dialect form is ''Uleb''. A later English form of the name is ''Olave''. In the Norwegian language, ''Olav'' and ''Olaf'' are equally common, but Olav is traditionally used when referring to Norwegian royalty. The Swedish form is ''Olov'' or ''Olof'', and the Danish form is ''Oluf''. It was borrowed into Old Irish and Scots with the spellings ''Amlaíb'' and ''Amhlaoibh'', giving rise to modern version ''Aulay''. The name is Latinized as ''Olaus''. Notable people North Germanic ;Denmark *Olaf I of Denmark, king 1086–1095 * Olaf II of Denmark, also Olaf IV of Norway *Oluf Haraldsen (died c. 1143), Danish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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