HAMLET

 

Origins of Hamlet

The poem of Hamlet is based off of the Norse series of books written by Saxo Grammaticus in Latin around 1200 AD. The series is comprised of 16 books in which describe the rise and the fall of Denmark rulers. In books three and four, Saxo tells the story of Amleth, which is the character of “Hamlet” in the books. The king of the Danes, Rorik, appoints his two brothers to be the rulers of Jutland. The two brothers, Orvendil and Fengi have the trust of King Rorik so, Orvendil marries Rorik’s daughter, Geruth. Orvendil and Geruth have a son who is Hamlet and Fengi becomes extremely jealous. Fengi kills Orvendil, marries Geruth, and becomes the new ruler over Jutland. Amleth gets revenge on Fengi for killing his father and becomes the rightful ruler of Jutland.