Amleth legend
E494605
The Amleth legend is a medieval Scandinavian tale of a prince who feigns madness to avenge his father’s murder, serving as a key source for Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Observed surface forms (2)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Amleth | 2 |
| Scandinavian legend of Amleth | 1 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
medieval Scandinavian legend
ⓘ
prose narrative ⓘ revenge tale ⓘ |
| adaptedIn |
early modern English literary tradition via Hamlet
ⓘ
various later Scandinavian retellings ⓘ |
| centralTheme |
deception and dissimulation
ⓘ
feigned madness ⓘ revenge for a murdered father ⓘ usurpation of the throne ⓘ |
| culturalContext |
Norse-influenced Scandinavian culture
ⓘ
medieval Danish tradition ⓘ |
| firstWrittenLanguage | Latin NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre |
court intrigue narrative
ⓘ
legend ⓘ |
| hasAntagonist | Amleth’s uncle ⓘ |
| hasCharacter |
Amleth’s father
ⓘ
Amleth’s mother ⓘ Amleth’s uncle ⓘ foreign king to whom Amleth is sent ⓘ |
| hasCharacterRole | Amleth is a Danish prince ⓘ |
| hasMainCharacter | Amleth NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasOutcome | Amleth eventually takes power ⓘ |
| hasSourceText | Gesta Danorum NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| influencedAuthor | William Shakespeare NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| influencedWork | Hamlet NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| literaryRelation | principal narrative source for Shakespeare’s Hamlet ⓘ |
| moralTheme |
cunning as a means of survival
ⓘ
retributive justice ⓘ |
| motif |
alteration of a death message
ⓘ
feigned insanity to avoid suspicion ⓘ killing of a hidden eavesdropper ⓘ revenge at a banquet ⓘ testing of madness by others ⓘ |
| narrativeDevice |
use of apparent foolishness as disguise
ⓘ
use of riddling and double meanings ⓘ |
| narrativeStructure | murder of king, feigned madness, exile, return, revenge, accession to throne ⓘ |
| placeOfOrigin | Denmark NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| plotSummary | A prince pretends to be mad to survive his uncle’s usurpation and later avenges his father’s murder ⓘ |
| preservedIn | medieval manuscript tradition of Gesta Danorum ⓘ |
| recordedBy | Saxo Grammaticus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedLegend | other Danish royal legends in Gesta Danorum ⓘ |
| scholarlyTopic |
comparative medieval literature
ⓘ
source studies of Shakespeare ⓘ |
| subject |
familial betrayal
ⓘ
political violence ⓘ royal succession ⓘ |
| timePeriod | medieval era ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Amleth
this entity surface form:
Scandinavian legend of Amleth
this entity surface form:
Amleth