Sven Aggesen

Sven Aggesen (first name also Svend , family name also Aagesen , Aggesøn , Aggessøn ; Latin Sveno Aggonis filius ; * around 1140 to 1150; † after 1186) was one of the oldest Danish historians. He was probably a little older than the better-known Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus .

Lineage and Life

Sven Aggesen came from the noble Jutland family Trugotsen. His oldest known ancestor, Trugot, was already one of Denmark's leading men at the time . Another of his ancestors was the Archbishop Asser von Lund (1104–1137), who had two brothers, Sven and Christian. Of these, Sven became Bishop of Viborg in 1132 , while Christian's son, Eskil , was also Archbishop of Lund (1137–1177) and Christian's other son, Agge, was the father of the historian Sven Aggesen discussed here.

Due to the knowledge of classical antiquity that Sven Aggesen shows in his works, he must have studied at a foreign, possibly French university. It is uncertain whether he knew Saxo Grammaticus personally. He probably served as a follower of the Danish kings Waldemar I and Canute VI. and accompanied them on their campaigns. In the latest research, however, the thesis came up that he could have been a clergyman. He personally experienced the subjugation of Pomerania by Denmark. His works were written in the years after 1180. The year of his death is unknown.

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Sven Aggesen wrote solid, medieval Latin with poetic and prosaic quotations, also from the Vulgate . According to his own admission, Saxo Grammaticus had a more refined style than himself. In the prefaces to his books he emphasized the importance of writing down historical events. He had no clients for his works and, unlike Saxo Grammaticus, did not dedicate them to any patron. Nonetheless, he assumed it would continue after his death.

Aggesen's Latin translation of Vitherlag ( Lex castrensis ), which was traced back to Canute the Great and which laid down the rules at court and the legal relationships between the royal followers ( Thinglith ), was probably created around 1181–1182 . In particular, they should learn to cultivate more cultivated manners with one another. However, just 100 years later, under King Niels, the penalties for misconduct were significantly reduced. Archbishop Absalon von Lund and Knut VI. then ensured a firm practice under the written law. Saxo Grammaticus also wrote about the law, and there is also a third contemporary Danish version on the subject, but the relationship between these three writings and their sources (perhaps oral tradition) are disputed.

After the preface to the Lex castrensis , Aggeson intended to create a genealogy of the Danish kings as a further work of his own, of which only the introduction has survived.

Aggesen also wrote under the title Brevis historia regum Dacie an outline of the Danish imperial history, possibly completed around 1187, ranging from the legendary Danish king Skjold , who ruled around 300 AD, to 1185. In the preface, the author complains about the poor material available to him and asserts that he wants to write as truthfully as possible. The story that begins with Skjold is continued by listing long rows of kings. Aggesen comes, among other things, to talk in more detail about the legendary Uffe who did not speak until he was 30 years old. When the German emperor urged Uffe's old, half-blind father, King Wermund , to renounce the throne in favor of Germany or to fight, Uffe overcame his lethargy and defeated the strongest warrior and the challenger's son. Another longer story deals with King Gorm the Elder , who lived in the first half of the 10th century, and his beautiful wife Thyra Danebod , who had been tried in vain by the German Emperor to leave her husband and surrender Denmark to Germany. Thyra's son Harald Blauzahn and his son Sven Gabelbart are also given a more detailed account. Aggeson then continues the Danish story into his own time. In the final part of his work he devotes himself, among other things, to the report on the heroic deeds of Waldemar the Great , such as his Christianization of Rügen ; Waldemar's wife, Queen Sophia , is also especially honored.

Aggesen says practically nothing about his sources. When describing Uffe, he probably used the English biography Vitae duorum Offarum , for that by Sven Gabelbart the brief oldest account of Danish history, Chronicon Roskildense, and perhaps Adam von Bremen's historical work Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum . Other sources that can be considered include the lives of saints, written lists of kings, folk tales, family traditions and, for contemporary history, own experiences.

The tradition of Aggesen's works is based only on two textually very different written sources from the 17th century: on the one hand, there is a manuscript (AM 33, 4) ascribed to the Danish royal historiographer Claus Christoffersen Lyschander († 1624), and on the other, the manuscript (AM 33, 4) printed in 1642 Edition by the Danish philologist and historian Stephan Hansen Stephanius ( Suenonis Aggonis filii. Christierni nepotis, primi Danicae historici, quae extant opusculae ). Lyschander's version is difficult to understand due to the numerous abbreviations that are difficult to resolve. The classical philologist Martin Clarentius Gertz published an adjusted text version of Lyschander's manuscript ( En ny Text af Sven Aggessøns Værker ) in 1915 , but it has also met with criticism in recent times. According to Inge Skovgaard-Petersen, “there is no secure basis for a scientific discussion with Sven Aggesen”.

literature

• Inge Skovgaard-Petersen: Sven Aggesen . In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA), Vol. 30 (2005), pp. 173–178.
• R. Volz: Sven 4) Aggesen . In: Lexikon des Mittelalters , Vol. 8 (1997), Col. 343f.

Remarks

1. ↑ Inge Skovgaard-Petersen, RGA, Vol. 30 (2005), p. 178.