Sources of Hamlet

332 Pages·1967·5.135 MB·English

by  Israel Gollancz

THE SOURCES OF HAMLET
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Ï tíik \uu Gfcai. lioCkaror guc ftiSyeiduupfw4iC oplMn.
5 &, i, va <j fin ax (kvUf. ^ott^frW aW j W^Wa^sia Qub \&t
«fcÉ$ï at WAttwfA») % !§?**A
Portion of page from Codex Regius 2367 (Copenhagen), containing
Snsebjorn’s lines, with reference to “ Amlotii" (*.*. Hamlet).
THE SOURCES OF
Hamlet
WITH AN ESSAY ON THE LEGEND
SIR ISRAEL GOLLANCZ
o
1967
O C T A G O N B O O K S. IN C .
New York
Published by
FRANK CASS AND COMPANY LIMITED
67 Great Russell Street, London WC1
by arrangement with Oxford University Press.
Published in the United States of America
1967 by Octagon Books, Inc.
First edition 1926
New impression 1967
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 67-20207
Printed in Great Britain
TO
MY FRIEND AND HELPER
IN MANY GOOD CAUSES,
SIR CHARLES WAKEFIELD, Bart.,
LORD MAYOR OF LONDON IN THE YEAR OF THE
SHAKESPEARE TERCENTENARY, I916,
WHOSE ZEAL FOR SHAKESPEARE IS BUT ONE ASPECT
OF HIS MANY-SIDED ACTIVITIES IN FURTHERING
ALL THAT IS TO THE WELFARE AND HONOUR
of Shakespeare’s England ;
I. G.
“ London, thou art the Flower of Cities all.
Thy famous Mayor. . .
Principal Patron, • .
Above all Mayors, as Master most worthy !

PREFACE
In 1898 I published a volume of strange lore, printed
for the first time, entitled u Hamlet in Iceland”—the
sequelae, as it were, of the Morbus Hamit tic us from
which few young scholars are able to escape. In an
introductory essay I attempted to throw new light upon
the development of the Hamlet legend. The reception of
the book, here and abroad, compensated for long years of
labour and research, and valuable discussion ensued on
certain debatable points affecting the genesis of the barbaric
tale, which, though wondrously transformed by the genius
of Shakespeare, is, nevertheless, the very fibre of the play.
During the past quarter of a century much has been
written on the subject, from many different points of view,
and I have given long and careful consideration to opinions
opposed to my own. Absolute agreement is hardly to be
expected on such questions as the origin of the name
Hamlet, and the development of the story as given by
Saxo Grammaticus. Notwithstanding high authority, I am
convinced it will ultimately be conceded that the story
developed (as I attempted to show) under Celtic influences,
and that the very name of the hero may thus be accounted
for as a transformation of the common Scandinavian Aleifr,
the equivalent of Olaf. I see no reason for withdrawing
from this position.
ix
X PREFACE
I am frequently asked by students and others to reprint
Hamlet in Iceland in a cheap and accessible form ; but it has
seemed to me more advisable to revise the Introductory
Essay, and, in lieu of the Icelandic texts, to add thereto the
main sources of Shakespeare’s play, from Saxo Grammaticus,
Belleforest, and The Hystorie of Hamblet. It is remarkable
that the 1582 text of Belleforest’s version of the tragical
story—the most interesting for the purposes of Shakespearian
study—has not hitherto been reprinted.
By the kindness of Professor Oliver Elton I am enabled
to give his translation of Saxo’s Latin, opposite the
original ; and I desire to express my grateful acknowledg­
ment of his readiness in granting my request.
In preparing this volume for press I have had the valued
help of my colleague, Dr. Mabel Day, and I wish again to
record my best thanks for her unfailing assistance and good
offices.
I. G.
King’* College, London,
I October, 1925.
CONTENTS
PAO B
FRONTISPIECE Facing tide
PREFACE ix
E88AY ON THE LEGEND . I
PEDIGREE OF FAMILY OF SNÆBJÖRN OF VATNSFJORD Facing 56
SAXO GRAMMATICUS :
LATIN AND ENGLISH 94
BELLEPORBST :
HISTOIRES TRAGIQUES AND THE HISTORIE OF HAMLET 166
NOTES 3*3