on June 15, 1219. This legend is often combined with
another, according to which the Danish fl ag, Dannebrog,
was sent from heaven during the battle.
Anders produced no literary works in Danish, as far
as is known. Apart from administrative documents, the
following Latin works have been attributed to Anders:
(1) Hexaemeron, a theological poem in 8,040 hexam-
eters, extant. (2) De vii ecclesiae sacramentis, also
in hexameters, now lost. (3) Two sequences, “Missus
Gabriel de celis” and “Stella solem preter morem”;
“Missus,” however, seems to predate Anders, and his
authorship of “Stella” is also doubtful. (4) A Latin ver-
sion of the Law of Scania, extant; the attribution rests
on slender evidence, but is generally accepted.
The Hexaemeron is preserved in one medieval MS
(Copenhagen, Royal Library, E don. var. 155 4to) from
the second half of the 13th century, originally in the
cathedral library at Roskilde. Anders probably com-
posed the work in Paris in the early 1190s. It consists of
twelve books and combines a commentary on Genesis
1–3 (Books 1–4) with an exposition of the main points
of systematic theology, excluding the sacraments (5–12
plus a digression on divine names in 2–3). Main sources
include, for the commentary on Genesis, Peter Come-
sior’s Historia scholastica and Richard of St. Victor’s
Allegorie, and for the remaining part of the work, Ste-
phen Langton’s Summa and Quaestiones. As a whole,
the Hexaemeron takes the reader from the Creation (1)
to the Day of Judgment (12). A second proemium in
Book 10 marks off two main parts: creation and fall
(1–9), recreation in Christ (10–12). Anders shows great
skill as a poet of hexameters. In his handling of the Latin
language and of verse technique, he dissociates himself
from the classicizing school represented by Saxo. The
poem seems to have had a very limited diffusion, prob-
ably because so much learning is packed into it that it
makes for very diffi cult reading.
See also Peter Comestor; Philip II Augustus;
Richard of Saint-Victor
Further Reading
Editions
Leges Provinciales Terrae Scaniae ante annos 400 Latinæ
redditae per Andream Suonis F. Ed. Amoldus Hvitfeldius.
Copenhagen, 1590.
Andreae Sunonis fi lii archiepiscopi Lundensis Hexa meron libri
duodecim. Ed. M. Cl. Genz. Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1892
[includes edition of the sequences].
Skånske lov. Anders Sunesøns parafrase. Aakjær, S. and E. Kro-
man, eds. In Danmarks gamle Landskabslovemed Kirkelovene
1.2. Ed. Johs. Brøandum-Nielsen and Poul Johs. Jørgensen.
Danish Society of Language and Literature. Copenhagen:
Gyldendal, 1933.
Andreae Sunonis Filii Hexaemeron Post M. Cl. Gertz. Ed. Sten
Ebbesen and L. B. Mortensen. Corpus Philosophorum Dani-
corum Medii Aevi, 11.1–2. Danish Society of Language and
Literature. Copenhagen: Gad, 1985–88 [contains English
introduction in part 1 and extensive bibliography in part 2].
Literature
Kabell, Aage. “Ueber die dem dánischen Erzbischof Anders
Sunesen zugeschriebenen Sequenzen.” Archivum latinitatis
medii aevi 28 (1958), 19–30.
Christensen, A. E. “Sunesen, Anders.” Dansk Biografi sk Leksikon- Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1983, pp. 208–11.
Mortensen, Lars Boje. “The Sources of Andrew Sunesen’s Hexae-
meron.” Université de Copenhague, Cahiers de l’Institut du
moyen âge grec et latin 50 (1985), 113–216.
Ebbesen, Sten, ed. Anders Sunesen, stormand—teolog—admin-
istrator—digter. Copenhagen: Gad, 1985 [contains fi fteen
studies on Sunesen, with English summaries and extensive
bibliography].
Ebbesen, S. “Corpus Philosophorum Danicorum Medii Aevi,
Archbishop Andrew (+1228), and Twelfth-Century Tech-
niques of Argumentation.” In The Editing of Theological
and Philosophical Texts from the Middle Ages. Ed. Monika
Asztalos. Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis, Studia Latina
Stockholmiensia, 30. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wikselt, 1986,
pp. 267–80.
Sten Ebbesen
SVEN HARALDSSON (FORKBEARD)
(r. 987–1014)
Sven Haraldsson was king of Denmark 987–1014. Sven
seized power through a revolt against his father, Harald
Gormsson (Bluetooth), who fl ed to the Wends and died
of his wounds on November 1, 987. That Sven was
captured and ransomed from the Wends following this
revolt is highly dubious. According to Adam of Bremen,
Sven’s revolt was a pagan reaction, but its motives were
more likely political; there is no other indication that
Sven was a pagan. In Sven’s time, Viking raids against
England were resumed, and in 994 he led a raid together
with Óláfr Tryggvason. He probably also took part in
the raid in 991 and the battle of Maldon, but apparently
not in the great raids of 997–1002 and 1009–1012. In
1003–1004, however, he conducted a raid, possibly to
avenge the death of his sister Gunnhild and her hus-
band, Pallig, in Æthelred’s massacre of the Danes on
November 13, 1002. In 1013, he led a raid that, in a
strikingly short time, achieved the conquest of England,
when Æthelred gave up resistance and left the country
at Christmas, his subjects having acknowledged Sven as
king. Sven’s English reign was brief, however; he died
on February 3, 1014, in Gainsborough and was buried
fi rst in England, then in Roskilde.
Sven also reasserted his father’s claim to Norway,
which had been seized, possibly with the help of Æthel-
red, by Óláfr Tryggvason around 995. Sven supported
the sons of Earl Hákon, and, having married the widow
of the Swedish king Erik Bjarnarson and thereby gaining
infl uence in Sweden, he also supported his young step-
son Olav (Skötkonung) Eriksson. Together with these
allies, he won a decisive victory over Óláfr TryggvasonSVEN HARALDSSON (FORKBEARD)