This statement is freely taken for granted three centuries afterwards by Urne in the first edition of the book (1514), but is not traced further back than an epitomator, who wrote more than 200 years after Saxo's death.

Saxo tells us that his father and grandfather fought for Waldemar the First of Denmark, who reigned from 1157 to 1182.

Of these men we know nothing further, unless the Saxo whom he names as one of Waldemar's admirals be his grandfather, in which case his family was one of some distinction and his father and grandfather probably "King's men".

But Saxo was a very common name, and we shall see the licence of hypothesis to which this fact has given rise.

The notice, however, helps us approximately towards Saxo's birth-year.