The Gesta Danorum (Books I-IX) on Gorm
The Danish History, > Book Eight.
attestation: Gorm preferred exploring nature's secrets and marvels to warfare, unlike other kings
"he ventured into fresh fields, preferring to practise his inherited valour, not in war, but in searching the secrets of nature"
attestation: Men of Thule told Gorm about the abode of Geirrod with mighty treasures, but the way required sailing beyond the sun and stars into darkness
"he had heard from the men of Thule concerning the abode of a certain Geirrod. For they boasted past belief of the mighty piles of treasure in that country"
attestation: The journey was undertaken at King Gorm's command to explore the farthest reaches of the world
"chosen to guide them on the journey, as he knew the ground and was versed in the approaches to that country."
attestation: After returning home from his perilous voyages, Gorm felt his spirit was weary from calamities and decided to rest
"Coming home, and feeling that he had passed through all these seas and toils, he thought it was time for his spirit, wearied with calamities, to withdraw from his labours"
attestation: Gorm took a queen from Sweden after his travels
"he took a queen from Sweden"
attestation: Gorm was persuaded to undertake another expedition despite his desire for rest
"to the end of his days, certain men persuaded him by likely arguments that souls were immortal; so that he was constantly turning over in his mind the questions, to what abode he was to fare when the breath left his limbs, or what reward was earned by zealous adoration of the gods."
attestation: King Gorm was so horrified by Thorkill's account of Utgarda-Loki that he died from shock
"the king would die suddenly if he learnt Thorkill's tidings."
The Danish History, > Book Nine.
attestation: Gorm obtained the throne and was hostile to religion, trying to erase all regard for Christianity
"the throne was obtained by GORM, a man whose soul was ever hostile to religion, and who tried to efface all regard for Christ's worshippers, as though they were the most abominable of men"
attestation: Gorm persecuted Christians, treating them as the most abominable of men
"tried to efface all regard for Christ's worshippers, as though they were the most abominable of men"
attestation: Gorm razed a temple in Sleswik to its foundations in order to restore the old pagan worship to the shrines
"in order to restore the old worship to the shrines, he razed to its lowest foundations, as though it were some unholy abode of impiety, a temple which religious men had founded in a stead in Sleswik"
attestation: The elders counseled Gorm to marry, and he wooed Thyra, daughter of Ethelred king of the English
"This man was counselled by the elders to celebrate the rites of marriage, and he wooed Thyra, the daughter of Ethelred, the king of the English, for his wife"
attestation: Gorm accepted Thyra's conditions, demonstrating his desire for the match
"to regard the continence of another more than his own desires, and thought it nobler to control the impulses of the night than to rebuff the prayers of his weeping mistress; for he thought that her beseechings, really coming from calculation, had to do with modesty."
relationship: The marriage between Gorm and Thyra united Danish and English royal bloodlines
"marriage, and he wooed Thyra, the daughter of Ethelred, the king of the English, for his wife."
attestation: Gorm had reached extreme old age, blind for many years, having prolonged his life to the utmost bounds
"Germ had now reached the extremity of his days, having been blind for many years, and had prolonged his old age to the utmost bounds of the human lot"
attestation: Gorm was more anxious for the life and prosperity of his sons than for his own
"human lot, being more anxious for the life and prosperity of his sons"
attestation: Gorm had been blind for many years before his death, a detail echoing Harald War-Tooth's blindness
"having been blind for many years"
attestation: Gorm died of grief upon hearing of his son's death, unable to bear the news
"husband, she united them in death, and followed the obsequies of both with equal mourning; shedding the tears of a wife upon the one and of a mother upon the other; though at that moment she ought to have been cheered with comfort rather than crushed with disasters."