Saxo Grammaticus

          Huggery-muggery           Saxo Grammaticus           - James Michie Scholars dealing with Old Norse subjects rarely have kind words to spare for Saxo Grammaticus. Supposedly enigmatic, hateful and confused, Latinate, lengthy and ecclesiastical, he is in essence the evil version Snorri Sturluson. Unfamiliar with secondary literature and even unfamiliar with the work itself, much scholarly discourse often results in predictable absurdities and bad takes. Haki Antonsson's 2010 article "Traditions of Conversion in Medieval Scandinavia: A Synthetis" from Saga-Book XXXIV , goes the extra mile:           The notion that apostates deserve harsh punishment is naturally not confined to the West Norse           textual corpus. For example, Saxo Grammaticus, in his famous description of the conquest of           Rügen in the late 1140s, maintains that King Sven Forkbeard had donated an exquisite cup to           Arcona’s pagan temple, ‘preferring to cultivate an alien relig

After the fall of Lethra recounted in Saxo's version of Bjarkamál , Hiarthwarus sits triumphant at the victory feast. Reflecting on the loyalty of Roluo's warriors who all chose to die for their lord, he remarks that it is a shame that none of Roluo's retainers remained whose allegiance could be directed to Hiarthwarus. He is overjoyed when Wiggo, one of Roluo's retainers, presents himself to him. This Wiggo had earlier vowed to exact vengeance on the murderers if Roluo should ever be slain. Chekhov's Gun fires, and Wiggo slays Hiarthwarus, turning the banquet into a funeral, before being immediately cut down by Hiarthwarus' men. Thus, Saxo concludes, Fortune takes revenge savagely like this for cunning, underhand achievements. It is a dramatic and well crafted story, widely regarded as a high point of Gesta Danorum . However, some feel that the ending ruins the story and shows Saxo to be a naive and uncritical admirer of the royalty:         "In this way S