I. The first eight volumes share a likeness with the works of Saxo's contemporary Snorri Sturluson. They deal with mythical elements such as giants and the Scandinavian pantheon of gods. Saxo tells of Dan the first king of Denmark, who had a brother named Angul who gave his name to the Angles. He also tells the stories of various other Danish heroes, many of whom interact with the Scandinavian gods. Saxo's "heathen" gods, however, are not always good characters. They are sometimes treacherous, such as in the story of Harald, legendary king of the Danes, who was taught the ways of warfare by Odin and then was betrayed and killed by the god, who then brought him to Valhalla. Saxo's world is seen to have had very warlike values. He glorifies the heroes that made their names in battle far more than those who made peace. His view of the period of peace under King Frode is very low and is only satisfied when King Knut brings back the ancestral customs. Saxo's chronology of kings extends up to Saint Canute and his son Valdemar I. Saxo finished the history with the Preface, which he wrote last, in c. 1216 under the patronage of Anders Sunesen, who replaced Absalon as Archbishop of Lund. Saxo included in the preface warm appreciation of both Archbishops and of the reigning King Valdemar II. Historical contribution Of particular interest for Shakespeare scholars is the story of Amleth, the first instance of the playwright's Hamlet. Saxo based the story on an oral tale of a son taking revenge for his murdered father. Christiern Pedersen, a Canon of Lund, collaborated with Jodocus Badius Ascensius, a fellow enthusiast, to print the work of Saxo Grammaticus early in the sixteenth century. This was the first major step toward securing the historical significance of Gesta Danorum. Starting from that point, the knowledge of it began to spread within the academic community. Oliver Elton, who was the first to translate the first nine books of Gesta Danorum into English, wrote that Saxo was the first writer produced by Denmark. Saxo's skill as a Latinist was praised by Erasmus, who wondered how "a Dane of that age got so great power of eloquence". Later R. W. Chambers would call Saxo's writings "difficult and bombastic, but always amusing Latin". There have been many attempts to understand the type of Latin language used by