Амлет: Скандинавская легенда и прототип шекспировского героя

Figure in medieval Scandinavian romance

Amleth (; Latinized as Amlethus) is a figure in a medieval Scandinavian legend, the direct inspiration of the character of Prince Hamlet, the hero of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The chief authority for the legend of Amleth is Saxo Grammaticus, who devotes to it parts of the third and fourth books of his Gesta Danorum, completed at the beginning of the 13th century. Saxo's version is supplemented by Latin and vernacular compilations from a much later date. In all versions, prince Amleth (Amblothæ) is the son of Horvendill (Orwendel), king of the Jutes. It has often been assumed that the story is ultimately derived from an Old Icelandic poem, but no such poem has been found; the extant Icelandic versions, known as the Ambales saga, or Amloda saga are considerably later than Saxo. Amleth's name is not mentioned in Old Icelandic regnal lists before Saxo. Only the 15th century Sagnkrønike from Stockholm may contain some older elements.

The Old Icelandic form Amlóði is recorded twice in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. According to the section Skaldskaparmal, the expression Amlóða mólu ('Amlóði's quern stone') is a kenning for the sea, grinding the skerries to sand. In a poem by the 10th century skald Snæbjörn the name of the legendary hero Amlóði is intrinsically connected to the word líðmeldr ('ale flower'), leading to the conclusion that the nine mermaids, who operated the "hand mill of the sea", "long ago ground the ale flour of Amlóði". The association with flour milling and beer brewing, the gold carried around, the net used to catch people and the association with the nine female waves place Amleth on a par with the deity Aegir and his wife Rán. The late 12th century Amlethus, Amblothæ may easily be latinizations of the Old Norse name. The etymology of the name is unknown, but there are various suggestions. Icelandic Amlóði is recorded as a term for a fool or simpleton in reference to the character of the early modern Icelandic romance or folk tale. One suggestion is based on the "fool" or "trickster" interpretation of the name, composing the name from Old Norse ama "to vex, annoy, molest" and óðr "fierceness, madness" (also in the theonym Odin). The Irish and Scottish word amhlair, which in contemporary vernacular denotes a dull, stupid person, is handed down from the ancient name for a court jester or fool, who entertained the king but also surreptitiously advised him through riddles and antics. A more recent suggestion is based on the Eddaic kenning associating Amlóði with the mythological mill grótti, and derives it from the Old Irish name Admlithi "great grinding", attested in Togail Bruidne Dá Derga. Attention has also been drawn to the similarity of Amleth to the Irish name Amhladh (variously Amhlaidh, Amhlaigh, Amhlaide), itself a Gaelic adaptation of the Norse name Olaf. In a controversial suggestion going back to 1937, the sequence æmluþ contained in the 8th century Old Frisian runic inscription on the Westeremden yew stick has been interpreted as a reference to "Amleth". Contemporary runic research does not support this conclusion.

It has frequently been assumed that the Scandinavian legend ultimately goes back to an Old Norse (Old Icelandic) poem of about the 10th century. References can also be found in the Annales Ryenses, the Annales Slesvicensis, and several runic manuscripts summarizing the Danish kings. None of these, however, precedes Saxo Grammaticus. According to Marijane Osborn the 15th century Sagnkrønike from Stockholm contains several elements that may have been derived from an older story. Much confusion has arisen as Eric V. Gordon (1927) incorrectly interpreted the Gesta as an adaptation of the 12th century Chronicle of the Kings of Lejre. This claim, however, is not supported by modern historiography. According to the Danish Gesta the legendary King Rorik Slengeborre of Denmark made Orwendel and Feng rulers in Jutland, and gave his daughter to Orwendel as a reward for his good service. Orwendel and the daughter had a son, Amblothæ. The jealous Feng killed Orwendel and took his wife. Amblothæ understood that his life was in danger and tried to survive by pretending to be insane. Feng sent Amblothæ to the king of Britain with two servants, who carried a message directing the British king to kill Amblothæ. While the servants slept, Amblothæ carved off the (probably runic) message and wrote that the servants were to be killed and that he should be married to the king's daughter. The British king did what the message said. Exactly one year later, Feng drank to the memory of Amblothæ, but Amblothæ appeared and killed him, burnt Feng's men to death in a tent, and became the ruler of Jutland. Then he went back to Britain to kill the British king, who wanted to avenge Feng's death and marry Scotland's queen. Amblothæ went back to Jutland and was killed in battle upon arrival. According to the Sagnkrønike Amlæd was killed by his brother in law, the King of Norway (Shakespeare’s Fortinbras) in a sea battle on the Øresund, as he tried to gain control over the neighbouring territory. His death was avenged, however, by his widow queen Yngafred, who slew the Norwegian king and many of his men.

In Iceland, the early modern Ambale's Saga is a romantic tale (the earliest manuscript dates from the 17th century). Thormodus Torfæus recorded in 1702 that he "often heard the story of Amlod related in Iceland by old women" in his youth. The folk tale of Brjam was put in writing in 1707. In the Ambale's Saga, besides romantic additions, some traits point to an earlier version of the tale. Also comparable is the medieval Hrólfs saga kraka, where the brothers Helgi (known as Halga in Beowulf) and Hroar (Hroðgar) take the place of the hero (corresponding to the tale of Harald and Halfdan in the seventh book of Saxo Grammaticus); Helgi and Hroar, like Harald and Halfdan, avenge their father's murder by their uncle by burning the uncle in his palace. Harald and Halfdan escape after their father's death by being brought up with dogs' names in a hollow oak, and subsequently by feigning madness. In the case of the other brothers, there are traces of a similar motive since the boys are called by dogs' names. Thomas Spray has shown that many of the Icelandic sagas are clearly structured similarly to the Hamlet narrative.

Outside Scandinavia, the story of Amleth or Hamlet was popularized through François de Belleforest's French Histoires tragiques (Paris, Chez Jean Hupeau, 1572, Fueil 149), where it appears as the fifth story of the fifth volume. An English version, The Hystorie of Hamblet, was published in 1608. An English stage version, conventionally known as the Ur Hamlet, appeared by 1589. The play is lost but is mentioned in a few other sources, the first being Thomas Nashe's 1589 preface to Robert Greene's Menaphon. William Shakespeare wrote his play Hamlet sometime between 1599 and 1602. The Ur Hamlet is thought to be his primary source; his version owes but the outline of the story to Saxo. In character, Shakespeare's Prince Hamlet is diametrically opposed to his prototype. Amleth's madness was certainly altogether feigned; he prepared his vengeance a year beforehand and carried it out deliberately and ruthlessly at every point. His riddling speech has little more than an outward similarity to the words of Hamlet. However, he resembles him in his disconcerting penetration into his enemies' plans.

Henry Treece adapted the story of Amleth from Saxo for his 1966 novel The Green Man. The legend was taken as the basis of a 1994 film by Gabriel Axel, Prince of Jutland (also known as Royal Deceit), with Gabriel Byrne as Fenge, Helen Mirren as Geruth and Christian Bale as Amled. The Amleth story was also the basis for the 1994 Disney film The Lion King. The legend, woven together with Shakespeare's play, forms the basis for Alan Gordon's novel An Antic Disposition (2004), the fifth novel in Gordon's "Fools' Guild" series. Amleth's story was also adapted into the 2022 film The Northman, directed by the American director Robert Eggers who also co wrote the script with Icelandic author Sjón, with Alexander Skarsgård as Amleth.