Everything about Chronicle Of Lejre totally explained
Chronicon Lethrense (
Danish:
Lejrekrøniken English:
Chronicle of Lejre/Leire) is a small
Danish medieval work from the
12th century, written in
Latin.
Themes
Unlike
Chronicon Roskildense, which deals primarily with information presented as real historical facts after the introduction of
Christianity in
Denmark,
Chronicon Lethrense is a recording of folklore about the old pre-Christian Danish kings and the adventure stories that were eventually associated with them. In that sense it isn't much different from the first part of
Sven Aggesøn's
Brevis Historia Regum Dacie or
Saxo's
Gesta Danorum, though considerably smaller and of much lesser quality. It is sometimes referred to as the "Chronicle of the Kings of Lejre."
One of the noted aspects of
Chronicon Lethrense is the writer's deep hatred of all things German, which at times takes on epic proportions. This German hatred can also be traced, although to a lesser degree, in Sven Aggesøn's
Brevis Historia Regum Dacie, and to a much lesser degree in Saxo's
Gesta Danorum.
The original version of
Chronicon Lethrense is certainly a work of its own. Its stories are interesting and over time copies found its way to other places; there was a copy in the
fourteenth century Latin Annals of the
Cathedral of
Lund. Because of this,
Chronicon Lethrense is often connected to
Annales Lundenses, of which it's now a part, but it's unlikely the chronicle was originally included in this anthology.
History
The chronicle is believed to have been composed in the second half of the 12th century, probably around
1170, and preceded the writing of the far more famous and verbose
Gesta Danorum by
Saxo, with which it shares many traditions not found in other sources. Either
Chronicon Lethrense or a closely allied tradition appears to have been one of Saxo's many sources.
Authorship
Although the author is unknown, there's some conjecture that he may have been a
clerk tightly linked to the Church of
Roskilde. This is based on the great interest the author has in Roskilde City, which he describes in vivid detail, chronicling how it got its name and promising immortality to the city through his writing.
References and external links
- "Chronicon Lethrense," in Scriptores Minores Historiæ Danicæ, Vol. I, M. CL. Gertz, 1917-18, Copenhagen.
- "Gesta Danorum." (An excerpt from Codex Holm. B 77 collated with Codex Holm. C 67 from Gammeldanske Krøniker [Samfundg. n. Lit.], ed. M. Lorenzen [1887- 1913]. Copenhagen.) Included in Gordon, E. V. and Taylor, A. R. (1957), An Introduction to Old Norse, 2nd edition. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Trans. Peter Tunstall (2003). Available here
and translated at Peter Tunstall: The Chronicle of the Kings of Lejre and Northvegr: The Saga of Hrolf Kraki: The Chronicle of the Kings of Lejre.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Chronicle Of Lejre'.
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