Since the time of Saxo Grammaticus and his monumental Gesta Danorum, Danish royal lineage was traced back to the legendary ruler named Dan. This changed, however, in the middle of the seventeenth century, when Thormodus Torfæus, royal antiquarian at the court of Frederik III, composed his controversial treatise Series dynastarum et regum Daniæ and replaced Dan with Skjöld at the beginning of the dynasty. Read the full article here.
