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Dublin in 888, the relations between the tales of Havelok and Hamlet are readily explicable, since nothing was more likely than that the exploits of father and son should be confounded (see HAVELOK). But, whoever the historic Hamlet may have been, it is quite certain that much was added that was extraneous to Scandinavian tradition. Later in the loth century there is See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence of the existence of an Icelandic saga of Amlocii or Amleth in a passage from the poet Snaebjorn in the second See also:

PART

part of the See also:

PROSE

prose See also:

EDDA

Edda.' According to Saxo,2 Hamlet's See also:

HISTORY

history is briefly as follows.

In the days of Rorik, See also:

king of See also:

Denmark, Gervendill was See also:

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

governor of See also:

JUTLAND (Danish Jylland)

Jutland, and was succeeded by his sons Horvendill and Feng. Horvendill, on his return from a See also:

VIKING

Viking expedition in which he had slain Koll, king of See also:

Norway, married' Gerutha, Rorik's daughter, who See also:

BORE

bore him a son Amleth. But Feng, out of See also:

JEALOUSY (adapted from Fr. jalousie, formed from jaloux, jealous, Low Lat. zelosus, Gr. j'i os, ardour, zeal, from the root seen in '&u', to boil, ferment; cf. " yeast ")

jealousy, murdered Horvendill, and persuaded Gerutha to become his wife, on the plea that he had committed the See also:

CRIME (Lat. crimen, accusation)

crime for no other See also:

REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason than to avenge her of a husband by whom she had been hated. Amleth, afraid of sharing his father's See also:

FATE

fate, pretended to be imbecile, but the suspicion of Feng put him to various tests which are related in detail. Among other things they sought to entangle him with a See also:

young girl, his See also:

foster-See also:

SISTER

sister, but his cunning saved him. When, however, Amleth slew the See also:

EAVES (not a plural form as is sometimes supposed, but singular; O. Eng. efes, in Mid. High Ger. obse, Gothic ubizwa, a porch; connected with " over ")

eaves-dropper hidden, like Polonius, in his See also:

MOTHER

mother's See also:

ROOM

room, and destroyed all trace of the See also:

DEED (in O. Eng. dead, from the stem of the verb " to do ")

deed, Feng was assured that the young See also:

man's madness was feigned. Accordingly he despatched him to See also:

England in See also:

COMPANY

company with two attendants, who bore a See also:

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter enjoining the king of the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country to put him to death. Amleth surmised the purport of their instructions, and secretly altered the See also:

MESSAGE (a word occurring in slightly different forms in several languages, e.g. Fr. message, Span. mensaje, Ital. messagio; adapted from the Low Lat. missaticum, from mittere)

message on their wooden tablets to the effect that the king should put the attendants to death and give Amleth his daughter in See also:

MARRIAGE

marriage. After marrying the princess Amleth returned at the end of a See also:

YEAR

year to Denmark. Of the See also:

WEALTH

wealth he had accumulated he took with him only certain hollow sticks filled with See also:

gold. He arrived in See also:

time for a funeral feast, held to celebrate his supposed death. During the feast he plied the courtiers with See also:

WINE (Lat. vinum, Gr. oivos)

wine, and executed his vengeance during their drunken See also:

SLEEP (0. Eng. slcepan; Ger. schlafen; cf. Lat. labi, to glide, and " slip ")

sleep by fastening down over them the woollen hangings of the See also:

hall with pegs he had sharpened during his feigned madness, and then setting See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire to the See also:

PALACE (Lat. Palatium, the name given by Augustus to his residence on the Palatine Hill)

palace.

Feng he slew with his own See also:

SWORD (0. Eng. sweord; ultimately from an Indo-European root meaning to wound)

sword. After a See also:

long harangue to the See also:

PEOPLE

people he was proclaimed king. Returning to England for his wife he found that his father-in-See also:

law and Feng had been pledged each to avenge the other's death. The English king, unwilling personally to carry out his See also:

PLEDGE

pledge, sent Amleth as See also:

PROXY (short for " procuracy ")

proxy wooer for the See also:

hand of a terrible Scottish queen Hermuthruda, who had put all former wooers to death, but See also:

fell in love with Amleth. On his return to England his first wife, whose love proved stronger than her resentment, told him of her father's intended revenge. In the battle which followed Amleth won the See also:

day by setting up ' " 'Tis said that far out, off yonder ness, the Nine Maids of the See also:

ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

Island See also:

Mill stir amain the See also:

HOST

host—cruel skerry-See also:

QUERN

quern--they who in ages past ground Hamlet's See also:

MEAL

meal. The See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good Chieftain furrows the See also:

hull's lair with his See also:

SHIP

ship's beaked See also:

PROW

prow." This passage may be compared with some examples of Hamlet's cryptic sayings quoted by Saxo: " Again, as he passed along the See also:

BEACH

beach, his See also:

COMPANION (through the O. Fr. compaignon or compagnon, from the Late Lat. companio,—cum, with, and panis, bread,—one who shares meals with another; the word has been wrongly derived from the Late Lat. compagnus, one of the same pages or district)

companion's found the See also:

RUDDER (O.E. Rather, i.e. rower)

rudder of a ship which had been wrecked, and said they had discovered a huge See also:

KNIFE (0. E. cuff, a word appearing in different forms in many Teutonic languages, cf. Du. knijf, Ger. Kneif, a shoe-maker's knife, Swed. knif; the ultimate origin is unknown; Skeat finds the origin in the root of " nip," formerly " knip "; Fr. canif is a

knife. ' This,' said he, ' was the right thing to carve such a huge See also:

ham . . . . ' Also, as they passed the See also:

sand-hills, and bade him look at the meal, meaning the sand, he replied that it had been ground small by the hoary tempests of the ocean." 2 Books iii. and iv., chaps. 86-1o6, Eng. trans. by O. See also:

ELTON, CHARLES ISAAC (1839–1900)

Elton (See also:

LONDON

London, 1894).

895 See also:

TALE (O.Eng. talu, number, account, story; the word is common to many Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Zahl, number, Erzahlung, narrative, Du. taal, speech, language)

tale of Hamlet and the English romances of Havelok, See also:

Horn and the dead men of the day before with stakes, and thus terrifying the enemy. He then returned with his two wives to Jutland, where he had to encounter the enmity of Wiglek, Rorik's successor. He was slain in a battle against Wiglek, and Hermuthruda, although she had engaged to See also:

die with him, married the See also:

victor. The other Scandinavian versions of the tale are: the Hrolfssaga Kraka,' where the See also:

BROTHERS, RICHARD (1757-1824)

brothers Helgi and Hroar take the See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of the hero; the tale of See also:

HARALD

Harald and Halfdan, as related in the 7th See also:

BOOK

book of Saxo Grammaticus; the modern Icelandic Ambales Saga,' a romantic tale the earliest MS. of which See also:

DATES

dates from the 17th century; and the folk-tale of Brjam5 which was put in See also:

writing in 1707. Helgi and Hroar, like Harald and Halfdan, avenge their father's death on their See also:

UNCLE

uncle by burning him in his palace. Harald and Halfdan See also:

ESCAPE (in mid. Eng. eschape or escape, from the O. Fr. eschapper, modern echapper, and escaper, low Lat. escapium, from ex, out of, and cappa, cape, cloak; cf. for the sense development the Gr. iichueoOat, literally to put off one's clothes, hence to sli

escape after their father's death by being brought up, with See also:

DOGS, ISLE OF

dogs' names, in a hollow See also:

OAK (O. Eng., (lc)

oak, and subsequently by feigned madness; and in the case of the other brothers there are traces of a similar See also:

MOTIVE (from Lat. movere, to move)

motive, since the boys are called by dogs' names. The methods of Hamlet's madness, as related by Saxo, seem to point to cynanthropy. In the Ambales Saga, which perhaps is See also:

COLLATERAL (from Med. Lat. collateralis,—cum, with, and latus, lateris, side,—side by side, hence parallel or additional)

collateral to, rather than derived from, Saxo's version, there are, besides romantic additions, some traits which point to an earlier version of the tale. Saxo Grammaticus was certainly See also:

FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar with the Latin historians, and it is most probable that, recognizing the similarity between the See also:

NORTHERN

northern Hamlet legend and the classical tale of See also:

LUCIUS

Lucius See also:

Junius See also:

BRUTUS (originally an adjective meaning " heavy," "stupid," kindred with Gr. aap(s, cf. Eng. " brute," " brutal")

Brutus as told by See also:

LIVY [Thus L1v1us] (59 B.C.—A.D: 17)

Livy, by See also:

VALERIUS, PUBLIUS

Valerius See also:

Maximus, and by See also:

Dionysius of See also:

HALICARNASSUS (mod. Budrum)

Halicarnassus (with which he was probably acquainted through a Latin See also:

epitome), he deliberately added circumstances from the classical story. The incident of the gold-filled sticks could hardly appear fortuitously in both, and a comparison of the harangues of Amleth (Saxo, Book iv.) and of Brutus (Dionysius iv. 77) shows marked similarities. In both tales the usurping uncle is ultimately succeeded by the See also:

NEPHEW

nephew who has escaped See also:

NOTICE

notice during his youth by a feigned madness.

But the parts played by the personages who in Shakespeare became Ophelia and Polonius, the method of revenge, and the whole narrative of Amleth's See also:

ADVENTURE (from Lat. res adventura, a thing about to happen)

adventure in England, have no parallels in the Latin story. Dr. O. L. Jiriczeks first pointed out the striking similarities existing between the story of Amleth in Saxo and the other northern versions, and that of Kei Chosro in the Shahnameh (Book of the King) of the See also:

Persian poet Firdausi. The comparison was carried farther by R. Zenker (Boeve Amlethus, pp. 207-268, See also:

Berlin and See also:

LEIPZIG

Leipzig, 1904), who even concluded that the northern saga rested on an earlier version of Firdausi's story, in which indeed nearly all the individual elements of the various northern versions are to be found. Further resemblances exist in the Ambales Saga with the tales of See also:

BELLEROPHON, or BELLEROPHONTES

Bellerophon, of Heracles, and of Servius Tullius. That See also:

ORIENTAL

Oriental tales through See also:

BYZANTINE

Byzantine and Arabian channels did find their way to the See also:

west is well known, and there is nothing very surprising in their being attached to a See also:

LOCAL

local hero. The tale of Hamlet's adventures in See also:

BRITAIN (Gr. Hperavuml vi7vot, Bperravia; Lat. Britannia, rarely Britannia)

Britain forms an See also:

EPISODE

episode so distinct that it was at one time referred to a See also:

SEPARATE

separate hero. The traitorous letter, the purport of which is changed by Hermuthruda, occurs in the popular Dit de l'empereur See also:

CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

Constant,' and in Arabian and See also:

INDIAN

Indian tales.

Hermuthruda's See also:

CRUELTY (through the O. Fr. crualte, mod. cruaute, from the Lat. crudelitas)

cruelty to her wooers is See also:

COMMON

common in northern and See also:

German See also:

MYTHOLOGY

mythology, and close ' Printed in Fornaldar Sogur Nor5trlanda (vol. i. See also:

COPENHAGEN (Danish Kjobenhavn)

Copenhagen, 1829), analysed by F. Detter in Zeitschr. See also:

FUR (connected with O. Fr. forre, a sheath or case; so " an outer covering ")

fur deutsches Altertum (vol. 36, Berlin, 1892). Printed with English See also:

TRANSLATION

translation and with other texts germane to the subject by I. Gollancz (Hamlet in See also:

ICELAND (Dan. Island)

Iceland, London, 1898). See also:

PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

Professor I. Gollancz points out (p. 1xix.) that Brjam is a variation of the Irish See also:

BRIAN (926-1014)

Brian, that the relations between See also:

Ireland and the Norsemen were very close, and that, curiously enough, Brian Boroimhe was the hero of that very battle of Clontarf (1014) where the See also:

DEVICE

device (which occurs in Havelok and Hamlet) of bluffing the enemy by tying the wounded to stakes to represent active soldiers was used. e " Hamlet in See also:

IRAN

Iran," in Zeitschrift See also:

des Vereins fur Volkskunde, x. (Berlin, 1900). See A.

B. See also:

Gough, The See also:

Constance Saga (Berlin, 1902). parallels are afforded by Thrytho, the terrible See also:

BRIDE (a common Teutonic word, e.g..Goth. bruths, O. Eng. bryd, O. H. Ger. prs2t, Mod. Ger. Bract, Dut. bruid, possibly derived from the root bru-, cook, brew; from the med. latinized form bruta, in the sense of daughter-in-law, is derived the Fr. bru)

bride of See also:

Offa I., who figures in See also:

BEOWULF

Beowulf, and by See also:

BRUNHILDA (Brunechildis)

Brunhilda in the See also:

NIBELUNGENLIED, or DER NIBELUNGE NOT

Nibelungenlied. The story of Hamlet was known to the Elizabethans in See also:

FRANCOIS (1558-1614)

Francois de Belleforest's Histoires tragiques (1559), and found its supreme expression in Shakespeare's tragedy. That as See also:

early as 1587 or 1589 Hamlet had appeared on the English See also:

STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage is shown by See also:

NASH, RICHARD (1674-1762)

Nash's See also:

PREFACE (Med. Lat. prefatia, for classical praefatio, praefari, to speak beforehand)

preface to See also:

Greene's Menaphon: " He will afford you whole Hamlets, I should say, handfulls of tragical speeches." The Shakespearian Hamlet owes, however, little but the outline of his story to Saxo. In See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character he is diametrically opposed to his prototype. Amleth's madness was certainly altogether feigned; he prepared his vengeance a year beforehand, and carried it out deliberately and ruthlessly at every point. His riddling speech has little more than an outward similarity to the words of Hamlet, who resembles him, however, in his disconcerting penetration into his enemies' plans. For a discussion of Shakespeare's See also:

PLAY

play and its immediate sources see SHAKESPEARE. See an appendix to Elton's trans. of Saxo Grammaticus; I. Gollancz, Hamlet in Iceland (London, 1898) ; H. L.

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