The Norse Hamlet

Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is not a wholly original story, but is the greatest retelling of the legend of Amleth, recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus four centuries before Shakespeare. Saxo's tale is a highly entertaining adventure in its own right and provides insights into the creative processes by which the old, pagan legend evolved to strike fire in the Christian age of Elizabethan theater. This accurate new translation of "The Revenge of Amleth" by Søren Filipski gives a complete selection of the Amleth legend, including Amleth's often-omitted adventures in Britain. Filipski also provides an historical introduction that traces Saxo's influence on Shakespeare's contemporaries, with exhaustive citations of every Elizabethan reference to earlier versions of "Hamlet." Also included is the full text of François de Belleforest's "Hystorie of Hamblet," an influential pre-Shakespearean adaptation of the same story.