Daniae regni typum potentissimo Invictissimoque D. Christiano, Daniae, Norvegiae, Gotthorum Vandalorum Regi lubens offert

Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, was based on a 12th-century tale. The story tells of a prince who seeks revenge for his father's murder by his uncle, and in doing so delves into deep psychological territory. This negativity is echoed in Marcellus' line "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," and in Hamlet's own words as he states "The time is out of joint" in another scene. During Shakespeare's era, Denmark's class structure had extreme differences between nobility and peasantry. Such disparity is demonstrated in this 1629 map, where men and women from differing social groups are illustrated in characteristic dress.
Courtesy of Boston Public Library