| Lotherus | |
|---|---|
| King of the Danes | |
| Predecessor | Humble |
| Successor | Skiod |
| Issue | Skiod |
| House | Scylding |
| Father | Dan I |
| Mother | Grytha |
| Religion | Pagan |
| Characters of Gesta Danorum |
|---|
 |
| Danish kings |
| Foreign rulers |
| Other men |
| Women |
Lotherus (Lother) was one of the earliest kings of Denmark according to Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum .
| Gesta Danorum, 1.1–1.2 [1] | The Danish History, Book One [2] |
|---|---|
| Verum a Dan (ut fert antiquitas) regum nostrorum stemmata, ceu quodam derivata principio, splendido successionis ordine profluxerunt. Huic filii Humblus et Lotherus fuere, ex Grytha summae inter Theutones dignitatis matrona suscepti. Lecturi regem veteres affixis humo saxis insistere suffragiaque promere consueverant, subiectorum lapidum firmitate facti constantiam ominaturi. Quo ritu Humblus, decedente patre, novo patriae beneficio rex creatus sequentis fortunae malignitate ex rege privatus evasit. Bello siquidem a Lothero captus regni depositione spiritum mercatus est; haec sola quippe victo salutis condicio reddebatur. Ita fraternis iniuriis imperium abdicare coactus documentum hominibus praebuit, ut plus splendoris, ita minus securitatis aulis quam tuguriis inesse. Ceterum iniuriae tam patiens fuit, ut honoris damno tamquam beneficio gratulari crederetur, sagaciter, ut puto, regiae condicionis habitum contemplatus. Sed nec Lotherus tolerabiliorem regem quam militem egit, ut prorsus insolentia ac scelere regnum auspicari videretur; siquidem illustrissimum quemque vita aut opibus spoliare patriamque bonis civibus vacuefacere probitatis loco duxit, regni aemulos ratus quos nobilitate pares habuerat. Nec diu scelerum impunitus patriae consternatione perimitur, eadem spiritum eripiente, quae regnum largita fuerat. | From Dan, however, so saith antiquity; the pedigrees of our kings have flowed in glorious series, like channels from some parent spring. Grytha, a matron most highly revered among the Teutons, bore him two sons, HUMBLE and LOTHER. The ancients, when they were to choose a king, were wont to stand on stones planted in the ground, and to proclaim their votes, in order to foreshadow from the steadfastness of the stones that the deed would be lasting. By this ceremony Humble was elected king at his father's death, thus winning a novel favour from his country; but by the malice of ensuing fate he fell from a king into a common man. For he was taken by Lother in war, and bought his life by yielding up his crown; such, in truth, were the only terms of escape offered him in his defeat. Forced, therefore, by the injustice of a brother to lay down his sovereignty, he furnished the lesson to mankind, that there is less safety, though more pomp, in the palace than in the cottage. Also, he bore his wrong so meekly that he seemed to rejoice at his loss of title as though it were a blessing; and I think he had a shrewd sense of the quality of a king's estate. But Lother played the king as insupportably as he had played the soldier, inaugurating his reign straightway with arrogance and crime; for he counted it uprightness to strip all the most eminent of life or goods, and to clear his country of its loyal citizens, thinking all his equals in birth his rivals for the crown. He was soon chastised for his wickedness; for he met his end in an insurrection of his country; which had once bestowed on him his kingdom, and now bereft him of his life. |
Gesta Danorum is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus. 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.
Saxo Grammaticus, 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.
Axel Olrik was a Danish folklorist and scholar of mediaeval historiography, and a pioneer in the methodical study of oral narrative.
Chronicon Lethrense is a small Danish medieval work from the 12th century, written in Latin.
Palnatoke or Palnatoki, sometimes written Palna-Toki or Palna Toki, was a legendary Danish hero and chieftain of the island of Fyn. According to the Jómsvíkinga saga, Palnatoki founded the brotherhood of Jomsvikings and established its laws.
The Angers Fragment (Angersfragmentet) are four parchment pages from dating from the 12th-century. They are one of the four fragments remaining of the original Gesta Danorum written by Saxo Grammaticus. This the only fragment attested to be of Saxo's own handwriting. It consists of four pages with 8 written sides.
Bjarkamál is an Old Norse poem from around the year 1000. Only a few lines have survived in the Icelandic version, the rest is known from Saxo's version in Latin. The latter consists of 298 hexameters, and tells the tale of Rolf Krake's downfall at Lejre on the isle of Sjælland, described in a dialogue between two of Rolf Krake's twelve berserkers, Bodvar Bjarke, the most famous warrior at the court of the legendary Danish king Rolf Krake, and Hjalte. The poem opens with Hjalte waking up his fellow berserkers, having realized they are under attack. In 1030, King Olav had the bard Tormod Kolbrunarskald recite the Bjarkamál to rouse his outnumbered army in the morning before the start of the Battle of Stiklestad, according to Fóstbrœðra saga.
Dan I was the progenitor of the Danish royal house according to Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum. He supposedly held the lordship of Denmark along with his brother Angul, the father of the Angles in Angeln, which later formed the Anglo-Saxons in England.
Humblus was one of the earliest kings of Denmark according to Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum.
Skjöldr was among the first legendary Danish kings. He is mentioned in the Prose Edda, in Ynglinga saga, in Chronicon Lethrense, in Sven Aggesen's history, in Arngrímur Jónsson's Latin abstract of the lost Skjöldunga saga and in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. Under the name Scyld he also appears in the Old English poem Beowulf. The various accounts have little in common.
Gram was one of the earliest legendary Danish kings according to Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. His history is given in more detail than those of his predecessors. Georges Dumézil argued that Gram was partially modelled on the god Thor, in particular his defeat of Hrungnir and subsequent encounter with Gróa.
Dan II is one of the legendary Danish kings, the son of Offa of Angel, described in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum.
Dan III is one of the legendary Danish kings described in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum.
Frotho II is one of the legendary Danish kings described in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum.
Frotho I is one of the legendary Danish kings in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum, where he has a substantial biography. He succeeds his father Hadingus to the throne and replenishes the war-drained treasury by slaying a dragon and winning its treasure. He uses the money to finance expeditions into the Baltic, where he wins victories with clever strategems. After some trouble at home he campaigns successfully in Britain and captures London. He finally dies in a war against the king of Sweden.
Hadingus was one of the earliest legendary Danish kings according to Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum, where he has a detailed biography. Georges Dumézil and others have argued that Hadingus was partially modelled on the god Njörðr.
Fridlevus I is one of the legendary Danish kings described in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum.
Harðgreipr is a jötunn in Norse mythology. In Gesta Danorum, she is the daughter of the jötunn Vagnophtus and the nurse of the Danish hero Hadingus.
Webiorg, Wigbiorg or Veborg, was a legendary Scandinavian shieldmaiden who, according to the sagas, participated in the Battle of Bråvalla, which occurred in Sweden in approximately 750. She was of Swedish or Danish origin.
Rusla, also known as the "Red Woman" from Middle Irish Ingean Ruagh, was a legendary Norwegian shield-maiden mentioned in the Gesta Danorum or "History of the Danes" of Saxo Grammaticus and in the Irish annals. According to Saxo, Rusla was the daughter of a 5th or 6th century king of Telemark called Rieg, and sister of Tesandus (Thrond), who was dispossessed of his throne by a Danish king named Omund. Rusla formed a pirate fleet to attack all Danish ships as revenge for the affront to her brother. Rusla was always accompanied by another woman Stikla, who was her deputy in all raids. Stikla turned to piracy to avoid marriage, and her name is the origin of the Norwegian city Stiklestad.