ssessed from the common
Scandinavian stock, often her only native record is in Saxo's Latin.
Thus, as a chronicler both of truth and fiction, he had in his own
land no predecessor, nor had he any literary tradition behind him.
Single-handed, therefore, he may be said to have lifted the dead-weight
against him, and given Denmark a writer. The nature of his work will be
discussed presently.

LIFE OF SAXO.

Of Saxo little is known but what he himself indicates, though much
doubtful supposition has gathered round his name.

That he was born a Dane his whole language implies; it is full of a glow
of aggressive patriotism. He also often praises the Zealanders at the
expense of other Danes, and Zealand as the centre of Denmark; but that
is the whole contemporary evidence for the statement that he was a
Zealander. This statement is freely taken for granted three centuries
afterwards by Urne in the first edition of the book (1514), but is not
traced further back than an epitomator, who wrote more than 200 years
after Saxo's death. Saxo tells us that his father and grandfather fought
for Waldemar the First of Denmark, who reigned from 1157 to 1182. Of
these men we know nothing further, unless the Saxo whom he names as one
of Waldemar's admirals be his grandfather, in which case his family was
one of some distinction and his father and grandfather probably "King's
men". But Saxo was a very common name, and we shall see the licence of
hypothesis to which this fact has given rise. The notice, however,
helps us approximately towards Saxo's birth-year. His grandfather, if
he fought for Waldemar, who began to reign in 1157, can hardly have been
born before 1100, nor can Saxo himself have been born before 1145 or
1150. But he was undoubtedly born before 1158, since he speaks of the
death of Bishop Asker, which took place in that year, as occurring "in
our time". His life therefore covers and overlaps the last half of the
twelfth century.

His calling and station in life are debated. Except by the anonymous
Zealand chronicler, who calls him Saxo "the Long", thus giving us the
one personal detail we have, he has been universally known as Saxo
"Grammaticus" ever since the epitomator of 1431 headed his compilation
with the words, "A certain notable man of letters ("grammaticus"), a
Zealander by birth, named Saxo, wrote," etc. It is almost certain that
this general term, given only to men of signal gifts and learning,
became thus