Kuršiai Sakso Gramatiko duomenimis

LTDaug yra parašyta apie iškiliausią ankstyvųjų viduramžių šiaurės literatūros paminklą "Gesta Danorum" ir jo autorių Saksą Gramatiką (Saxo Grammaticus). Ši, apie 1200 m. parašyta kronika tapo ne vieno vėlesnių autorių darbo pagrindu arba bent jau buvo gerai jiems žinoma. Ir nors Curt Weibull iškėlė nemažai abejonių dėl ankstyvųjų rašytinių šaltinių, taip pat ir dėl "Gesta Danorum" patikimumo, tačiau vėlesni istorikų darbai apskritai Saksą "reabilitavo". Nėra būtinybės pakartotinai apžvelgti plačią ir išsamią "Gesta Danorum" istoriografiją (paminėtini C. Dollerup; K. Johannesson; K. Friis-Jensen; B. Strand ir kt.) Išsamūs komentarai pateikti "Forfatterlexikon" (H. Ehrencron-Muller) bei 1931 m. Jorgen'o Olrik'o paruoštame kronikos leidime (Saxonis, XI-XXVIII). Platūs ir argumentuoti komentarai ir anglų kalba paruoštuose "Gesta Danorum" leidimuose (Saxo. 1979-1980; Saxo. 1980­ 1981). Kaip Sakso pripažinimas laikytinas ir 1979 m. Kopenhagos universitete vykęs simpoziumas. Labai įdomios hipotezės ir diskusijos pateikiamos taip pat Kopenhagos universitete vykusio kolokviumo publikacijoje (Saxostudier). Savo pranešime apsiribosiu bandymu pažvelgti, ką žymusis danų kronikininkas žinojo apie kuršius - vakarų baltų gentį, gana aktyvią Baltijos jūroje Vikingų epochoje [p. 160].

ENOn the basis of data supplied by Saxo Gramaticus we able to make a series of suppositions about the Kurs /Curonian/. Firstly, Saxo was familiar with the Kurs as some of the most active pirates in the Eastern Baltic. The Curonian fleet was strong enough at that time to represent a real power in the baltic region. The significance of the Kurs for the political life of Scandinavia lies especially in their domination of the routes which led eastwards. Saxo perceives Kurland as an integral part of those routes and as a component part of the eastern political scene. The consolidation of the eastern Baltic littoral was not the final aim of Scandinavian policy. Kurland or a part of it at least formed a fulcrum essential for the further penetration of the eastern regions on the other side of the Sea. Although Saxo provides no details of the internal social structure of Kurland, we may, even so, suppose that at the time which concerns us, the Kurs did not enjoy a united political power structure. The kings of whom we read are merely military chiefs and the leaders of separate, smaller territorial entities. These entities were not combined into any greater political unit. Saxo's relatively abundant information about the Kurs not only confirms once again the versatility of his "Gesta Danorum", but also highlights the importance of the role of Kurs in /at least/ the eastern part of the Baltic Region. This region and the part of it controlled by the Kurs were important in eastern Scandinavian politics. Hence it is no accident but even a matter of some urgency, that Saxo should assert that Kurland was a Danish dependency. Clearly this reflects thirteenth-century Danish political interest, of which the chronicler could scarcely be unaware. Really we can only maintain the brief and rather nominal nature of such dependency.From Saxo we may purpose only that at some time between 830 and 960, the Kurs were compelled on a few occasions to acknowledge Danish sovereignty. We cannot conform Saxo's data concerning any actual earlier dependency. Thus only a deeper analysis of additional sources and the more detailed contents of the "Gesta Danorum" could provide a more precise answer to the very complicated question of Curonian "dependency".