Saxo Grammaticus

Denmark of the twelfth to thirteenth centuries was a place of transitions, and this volume analyzes that period through the lens of the Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus and other sources. The Gesta 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.