The legend about Amled by Saxo Grammaticus

The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, tells the legend about Amled, a Prince of Jutland, in his “Danish Chronicles” that were written just before year 1200.

Around year 1590 the legend was used by William Shakespeare as raw material for the tragedy "Hamlet”. Even through Shakespeare rewrote the legend and moves it from Jutland to Ellsinore, the outline is still recognizable.

In the legend a Denmark (or maybe just a Jutland) ruled by a lot of minor kings is described. This probably means that Amled lived around year 400 - or maybe a bit earlier.

The resume of the legend that follows is translated more or less directly from "Danmarks Historie", Book II, (Normanertiden).

The Chieftain-son Ørvendel was chosen by King Rørik as "landværns-mand" (Leader of the Territorial Forces)" in Jutland together with his brother Fenge. Some years later, Ørvendel married the Kings daughter and they got the son Amled.

Ørvendels marriage and the high esteem he was held in, made Fenge envious. He murdered Ørvendel and forced his widow to marry him. Since the murder could not be kept secret, Fenge spread the rumour, that he could not stand his brothers cruelty against his wife.

The son, Amled, knew that his life would be in danger if Fenge suspected, that he would seek revenge. Amled decided to act mad. He lay by the fireplace, played with the ashes and smeared himself with dirt and trash. He cut some wooden hooks, tempered them in fire and told that the hooks where weapons for revenge.

Fenge was not completely taken in, and tried several times to blow Amleds cover. Since Fenge assumed that Amleds mother was one person Amled would be honest with, he once arranged that a spy should watch a meeting between Amled and his mother while he, Fenge, was on a trip.

The spy hid under a pile of hay in the hall, but Amled became suspicious when he saw the hay. He started crowing like a cock, jumping the hay until he was sure where the spy hid. Then he stabbed through the hay with his sword, killing the spy. He then butchered the body, boiling each piece and fed the pigs with them.

After this his mother came into the hall. She exclaimed how stupid he acted, but Amled was now able to answer back: "Disgraceful Woman! You took your husbands murderer in marriage and threw yourself lustful into the arms of your son’s father’s killer. It is with good reason I act mad, the one who killed his brother may also want the life of his brother’s son. The cloak of stupidity hides me till the times come. You, my mother, should cry. Not for my madness, but for your own disgrace".

The words impressed Amleds mother a great deal, and se started to regard her relationship with Fenge as a disgrace.

When Fenge returned, he asked for his spy, but nobody knew where he was. When Amled was asked, he answered that he had seen the pigs eat him. Everyone laughed at the fool.

Fenge became more fearful of his stepson, and decided to send him to England to visit the King. Fenge planed to instruct the King to kill Amled when he arrived. Amled agreed to travel to England, but told his mother that, after one year, she should make a funeral feast as if he was dead, and, that the walls on that occasion should be covered with blankets.

Fenge chose to trusted men to accompany Amled. The message to the English King had form of a rune-staff. Amled was able to find and change the message while the two companions slept so that the message read that the companions should be killed and that Amled should have the Kings daughter in marriage.

Amled was made welcome in England. He stopped playing dumb and acted so wise, that the King had no second thoughts about letting him marry his daughter. Fenges two men were hanged. While Amled in no way regretted it, he asked his father-in-law to pay gild for their dead. The gold he was paid, he melted into two hollowed-out staffs.

After almost a year Amled spread the rumour in Denmark that he had died. But exactly one year after he left, he was home in Jutland. As agreed upon, the funeral feast was going on - he entered the hall alone just carrying his two staffs.

He acted dump again, and whenever anybody asked him where the companions were, he pointed at his staffs and said "One is here, the other there".

While drinking he fumbled his sword and cut a finger. To ensure that it did not happen again, his sword was nailed to the sheath.

At last everybody was drunk and went to sleep on the floor. Amled found his old wooden hooks, pulled the blankets from the walls and used the hooks to fasten them around the sleepers. Then he put the hall on fire.

King Fenge had gone to his own champers earlier. Amled had switched their swords during the funeral feast and came now to the Kings champers. He told his stepfather, that he had returned with his wooden hooks and that the king’s men were being burned. Fenge tried to draw the sword, but it was stuck and was instead killed by Amled.

Next morning people were milling around the burned-down chieftain castle where the bodies of Fenge and his men were found. Amled announced what had happened and how he had to act mad for years to get his revenge. The people found that Amled had acted rightly and chose him as Fenges successor.

Later on, when King Rørik died and was succeeded by King Viglek, Amled fought him. In one of the battles Amled was killed and Saxo tells us, that "his barrow was set on the heath in Jutland that bears his name". Saxo was probably thinking of Ammelhede, southeast of Randers.