Denmark of the twelfth to thirteenth centuries was a place of transitions, and this volume analyzes that period through the lens of the <i>Gesta Danorum </i>of Saxo Grammaticus and other sources. The <i>Gesta</i> defends not only hierocratic conceptions but the Danish hegemonic project in the Baltic - which was grounded in the crusade movements. Such movements are presented through complex language and imagery about a glorious past brought to bear on the projects in the thirteenth century while internal tensions strengthen the monarchic and ecclesiastical institutions.
- Cover
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Preface
- Chapter 1 — Denmark and the Baltic in the Thirteenth Century
- Chapter 2 — The Work
- Chapter 3 — Political Conceptions
- Chapter 4 — Euhemerism and the East in Saxo Grammaticus
- Chapter 5 — Virtues and Values in Saxo Grammaticus: The Four Cardinal Virtues
- Chapter 6 — The Thematic of the Counsellor
- Conclusion
- Appendix 1 — List of the Kings in Books I–VIII of the Gesta Danorum
- Appendix 2 — Rulers and Archbishops of Denmark in Relation to Events in the Baltic, the Empire, and the Papacy
- Appendix 3 — Genealogy of the Valdemarian Kings
- Bibliography
- Index of Persons
- Index of Places and Peoples
- Index of Authors and Primary Sources