What exactly was the nature of the thirty-year old “seald compact” between Kings Hamlet and Fortinbras that Horatio mentions in Act 1, Scene 1?
Fortinbras the Elder had brought a war (presumably of conquest) on Denmark, which the two Kings eventually agreed to resolve in single combat; the winner of which, in turn, was not only to stay alive and save the lives of all of his men, but also to make substantial territorial gains at the expense of his vanquished opponent. King Hamlet won and killed the Norwegian; a fact that didn’t go down well with the latter’s hotspur of a son, any more than Denmark’s territorial enrichment did. This, then, is what – despite the “seal’d compact” ratifying the events – Fortinbras Junior has set out to rectify “by strong hand and terms compulsatory” at the beginning of the play, until his uncle (“Old Norway,” who for the time being governs in his slain brother’s stead) diverts his nephew’s warlike attentions to Poland.
