Edmund Gosse, King Erik: A Tragedy

Kathy Rees (Independent Scholar - Europe)

Ed. by Jessica E. Gossling, Goldsmiths College, University of London
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica E. Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Grace Moore (University of Otago)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1876

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

King Erik (1876) is a play based on the life of Erik I of Denmark (1056–1103), also known as Erik Evergood (Danish: Erik Ejegod) and his queen, Lady Bothild, sister of the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrek IV, whose lives are recorded in the Knythinga Saga (c 1250) by Óláfr Þórðarson, nephew of Snorri Sturluson. Gosse’s engagement with Danish culture had blossomed during his visits to the country in 1872 and 1874 (described in Two Visits to Denmark, 1911), and by 1876 he was sufficiently familiar with the language to be able to romanticise the historical annals into a five-act blank-verse tragedy.

As recorded in the Knythinga Saga, King Erik “laid great emphasis on the government of the land, and on its laws” as well as promoting the Christian faith, and, having decided to make a pilgrimage...

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1301 words

Citation: Rees, Kathy. "King Erik: A Tragedy". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 April 2026 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=27865, accessed 09 June 2026.]

Edmund Gosse, King Erik: A Tragedy

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

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