Saxo Grammaticus wrote Gesta Danorum, a medieval Latin history containing Danish legends and the earliest surviving literary version of the Hamlet story.
Saxo was probably born in the mid-12th century and served as a cleric associated with the Danish archbishop Absalon. Gesta Danorum presents the history of Denmark from legendary origins through the late 12th century, mixing historical material with heroic narratives.
Its story of Amleth, a prince who pretends to be mad while plotting revenge, later influenced William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Saxo’s account also preserves material about figures and traditions connected with the wider Germanic and Norse legendary world.
The work was written in Latin, not Old Norse. This distinction matters because medieval Scandinavian literature survives in several languages and genres, including Latin chronicles, Icelandic sagas, skaldic poetry, and Eddic verse. Saxo’s elegant Latin style earned him the byname Grammaticus, meaning “the learned” or “the grammarian.”