The Gesta Danorum (Books I-IX) on Skiold

The Danish History, > Book One.

• attestation: Skiold, son of Lother, avoided his father's perversity and displayed his grandfather's virtues.

  "SKIOLD, his son, inherited his natural bent, but not his behaviour; avoiding his inborn perversity by great discretion in his tender years"

• attestation: At fifteen, Skiold was of unusual bodily size with mortal strength in perfection, and all subsequent Danish kings were called Skioldungs after him.

  "While but fifteen years of age he was of unusual bodily size and displayed mortal strength in its perfection, and so mighty were the proofs of his powers that the rest of the kings of the Danes were called after him by a common title, the SKIOLDUNG'S"

• attestation: Skiold fought and slew Skat, governor of Allemannia, to win the hand of Alfhild, daughter of the King of the Saxons.

  "challenged and fought with Skat, governor of Allemannia, and a suitor for the same maiden; whom he slew, afterwards crushing the whole nation of the Allemannians"

• attestation: Skiold was the first to proclaim the law abolishing manumissions, after a freed slave attempted his life.

  "He was the first to proclaim the law abolishing manumissions. A slave, to whom he had chanced to grant his freedom, had attempted his life by stealthy treachery"

• attestation: As a youth Skiold bound a bear of extraordinary size with his girdle and gave it to his escort to kill.

  "A bear of extraordinary size met him; he had no spear, but with the girdle that he commonly wore he contrived to bind it, and gave it to his escort to kill"

• attestation: Skiold enriched his nobles with taxes and war plunder, declaring that prize-money should flow to soldiers and glory to the general.

  "He used to enrich his nobles not only with home taxes, but also with plunder taken in war; being wont to aver that the prize-money should flow to the soldiers, and the glory to the general"

• attestation: Skiold and Alfhild had a son named Gram, whose greatness led to royal dignity being implied in his very name.

  "he had by her a son, GRAM, whose wondrous parts savoured so strongly of his father's virtues that he was deemed to tread in their very footsteps"