Gram of Denmark

Gram kills king Henry, illustration by Louis Moe

Gram was one of the earliest legendary Danish kings according to Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. His history is given in more detail than those of his predecessors. Georges Dumézil argued that Gram was partially modelled on the god Thor, in particular his defeat of Hrungnir and subsequent encounter with Gróa.

The Old Norse word gramr means "king" and is probably the source of Gram's name, possibly through a misunderstanding of Saxo's. No other ancient source mentions a king named Gram.

References

Legendary titles
Preceded by
Skioldus
King of Denmark Succeeded by
Svipdagr
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