83-670: Gesta Danorum ("Deeds of the Danes ") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nation's early history. It is also one of the oldest known written documents about the history of Estonia and Latvia . Consisting of sixteen books written in Latin on
166-513: A Saxone Grammatico natione Zialandico necnon Roskildensis ecclesiae praeposito, abhinc supra trecentos annos conscriptae et nunc primum literaria serie illustratae tersissimeque impressae. English language: Histories of the Kings and heroes of the Danes, composed in elegant style by Saxo Grammaticus, a Zealander and also provost of the church of Roskilde , over three hundred years ago, and now for
249-527: A Viking expedition to England and killed its king, Hama, before killing the earls of Scotland and installing Sigurd Snake-in-the Eye and Radbard as governors. Norway was also subjugated, and Fridleif was made ruler there and in Orkney . Later on, Ragnar with three sons invaded Sweden where a new king called Sörle had appeared and withheld the heritage of Thora's sons. Sörle and his army were massacred, and Björn Ironside
332-698: A daughter of the Swedish king Herrauðr, after killing two venomous giant snakes that guard Thora's residence. His sons with Thora are Radbard, Dunvat, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye , Björn Ironside, Agnar and Ivar the Boneless. From a non-marital relationship with an unnamed woman (described only as the daughter of a man named Esbjørn), Ragnar fathered Ubbe . Another, final marriage to Svanlaug (possibly another name for Aslaug) produces another three sons: Ragnvald, Eric Weatherhat and Hvitserk . The sons were installed as sub-kings in various conquered territories. Ragnar led
415-542: A father to the utterly cruel Norse King Ywar (rex crudelissimus Normannorum Ywar) and his brothers, Inguar (a double of Ywar), Ubbi, Byorn and Ulf, who rule the northern peoples. They call on the various Danish petty kings to help them ruin the realm of the Franks . Ywar successfully attacks the kingdoms of Britain, though not as an act of revenge as in the Icelandic sagas. The chronicle of Sven Aggesen ( c. 1190 )
498-509: A grandson of a Danish king, whose father was murdered by his uncle, the governor of Jylland . Amleth pretends to be a fool in fear of his uncle who has married his mother. Deals with Amleth securing his place as the king of the Danes, and return to Britain where he ends up marrying a Britanian princess, whose father plots the demise of Amleth, and the queen of Scotland who is famous for murdering all her suitors. Focused on empire-building of Frotho III and his brilliant Norwegian advisor, Erick
581-538: A historical context; the historic German-Danish struggle regarding the status of the Duchy of Schleswig vis-à-vis a Danish nation-state . It describes people of Danish nationality , both in Denmark and elsewhere–most importantly, ethnic Danes in both Denmark proper and the former Danish Duchy of Schleswig . Excluded from this definition are people from the formerly Norway, Faroe Islands , and Greenland ; members of
664-455: A modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard themselves as a nationality and reserve the word "ethnic" for the description of recent immigrants , sometimes referred to as "new Danes". The contemporary Danish national identity is based on the idea of "Danishness", which is founded on principles formed through historical cultural connections and
747-499: A prominent part in the process. Two defining cultural criteria of being Danish were speaking the Danish language and identifying Denmark as a homeland. The ideology of Danishness has been politically important in the formulation of Danish political relations with the EU , which has been met with considerable resistance in the Danish population, and in recent reactions in the Danish public to
830-456: A share in government, and in an attempt to avert the sort of bloody revolution occurring elsewhere in Europe, Frederick VII gave in to the demands of the citizens. A new constitution emerged, separating the powers and granting the franchise to all adult males, as well as freedom of the press, religion, and association. The king became head of the executive branch . Danishness ( danskhed )
913-640: A son of Lodbrok (Inguar, filius Lodparchi). According to the contemporary Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Asser 's Life of Alfred , in 878 the "brother of Hingwar and Healfden", with a naval fleet, a contingent of the Great Heathen Army invaded Devon in England and fought the Battle of Cynwit . There the Vikings lost, their king slain and many dead, with few escaping to their ships. After the battle
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#1732765488606996-529: A son with the princess Alfhild of the petty kingdom of Álfheimr , Ragnar Lodbrok, who succeeded him. Eysteinn Beli , who according to the Hervarar Saga was Harald Wartooth's son, ruled Sweden sometime after Sigurd until he was slain by the sons of Ragnar and Aslaug . In their accounts of his reign, the fornaldarsǫgur (Legendary sagas, or sagas of Scandinavian prehistory), tell more about Ragnar's marriages than about feats of warfare. According to
1079-692: A very brief period of mourning, Fengi marries Geruth, and declares himself sole leader of Jutland. Eventually, Amleth avenges his father's murder and plans the murder of his uncle, making him the new and rightful King of Jutland. However, while Hamlet dies in Shakespeare's version just after his uncle's death, in Saxo's version Amleth survives and begins ruling his kingdom, going on to other adventures. Danes Danes ( Danish : danskere , pronounced [ˈtænskɐɐ] ), or Danish people , are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and
1162-583: A woman of outstanding beauty and wisdom living with a poor peasant couple in Norway, and married her. This marriage resulted in the sons Ivar the Boneless , Björn Ironside , Hvitserk , Ragnvald, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye . Kráka was later revealed to actually be Aslaug, a secret daughter of the renowned hero Sigurd Fafnesbane . As the sons grew up to become renowned warriors, Ragnar, not wishing to be outdone, resolved to conquer England with merely two ships. He was, however, defeated by superior English forces and
1245-461: Is also in this summary that the name Gesta Danorum is found. The title Saxo himself used for his work is unknown. Christiern Pedersen finally found a copy in the collection of Archbishop Birger Gunnersen of Lund , Skåne (Skåne is now part of Sweden , but at the time was still part of Denmark), which he gladly lent him. With the help of printer Jodocus Badius , Gesta Danorum was refined and printed. The first printed press publication and
1328-532: Is now northern Germany . The political and economic defeat ironically sparked what is known as the Danish Golden Age during which a Danish national identity first came to be fully formed. The Danish liberal and national movements gained momentum in the 1830s, and after the European revolutions of 1848 Denmark became a constitutional monarchy on 5 June 1849. The growing bourgeoisie had demanded
1411-401: Is the concept on which contemporary Danish national and ethnic identity is based. It is a set of values formed through the historic trajectory of the formation of the Danish nation. The ideology of Danishness emphasizes the notion of historical connection between the population and the territory of Denmark and the relation between the thousand-year-old Danish monarchy and the modern Danish state,
1494-485: Is the first Danish text that mentions the full name, Regnerus Lothbrogh. His son Sigurd invades Denmark and kills its king, whose daughter he marries as he takes over the throne. Their son in turn is Knut , ancestor of the later Danish kings. Neither of these sources mentions Ragnar Lodbrok as a Danish ruler. The first to do so is Saxo Grammaticus in his work Gesta Danorum ( c. 1200 ). This work mixes Norse legend with data about Danish history derived from
1577-591: Is typically not based on ethnic heritage. Denmark has been inhabited by various Germanic peoples since ancient times, including the Angles , Cimbri , Jutes , Herules , Teutones and others. The first mention of Danes within Denmark is on the Jelling Rune Stone , which mentions the conversion of the Danes to Christianity by Harald Bluetooth in the 10th century. Between c. 960 and
1660-505: The Gesta appears to be an attempt to consolidate many of the confusing and contradictory events and stories known to the chronicler into the reign of one king, Ragnar. That is why many acts ascribed to Ragnar in the Gesta can be associated, through other sources, with various figures, some of whom are more historically tenable. The candidates scholars like to associate with the "historical Ragnar" include: Attempts to reliably associate
1743-627: The British Isles , one of which cost the lives of Dunvat and Radbard. Ælla, son of Hama, with the help of allies known collectively as the Galli – possibly a group of Norse-Gaels (who were known in Old Irish as Gall-Goídil ), expelled Ragnar's sub-ruler Ivar the Boneless from England and remained a persistent enemy. Finally, the Scythians were forced to accept Hvitserk as their ruler. In
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#17327654886061826-588: The German minority; and members of other ethnic minorities. Importantly, since its formulation, Danish identity has not been linked to a particular racial or biological heritage, as many other ethno-national identities have. N. F. S. Grundtvig , for example, emphasized the Danish language and the emotional relation to and identification with the nation of Denmark as the defining criteria of Danishness. This cultural definition of ethnicity has been suggested to be one of
1909-741: The Hjaðningavíg tale, the ploughing of Gefjon , and Thor 's struggle with the Midgard Serpent . Recent scholarship has suggested that the poem is in fact from c. 1000 and celebrates the Norse reconquest of England. The four tales depicted on the shield would then symbolize four aspects of the Lodbrok saga (the initial defeat of the sons of Lodbrok in England due to recklessness, Ivar the Boneless's deceitful approach to King Ælla, Ivar's cunning snatching of land from Ælla, Ragnar's struggle against
1992-608: The Jutes and Scanians to rebel, but was regularly defeated. After the last victory over Harald, Ragnar learned that King Ælla had massacred Ragnar's men on Ireland . Incensed, he attacked the English king with his fleet but was captured and thrown to his death in the snake pit - the fate ascribed by tradition to the early Burgundian king Gunnar , as recounted in the Icelandic sagas. In spite of all his praise for Ragnar Lodbrok, Saxo also considers his fate as God's rightful vengeance for
2075-666: The Kingdom of Norway , which included the territories of Norway , Iceland and the Faroese Islands . Olaf's mother, Margrethe I , united Norway, Sweden and Denmark into the Kalmar Union . In 1523, Sweden won its independence, leading to the dismantling of the Kalmar Union and the establishment of Denmark–Norway . Denmark–Norway grew wealthy during the 16th century, largely because of the increased traffic through
2158-597: The Mediterranean . Roughly contemporary with William is Adam of Bremen whose history of the Archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen contains many traditions about Viking Age Scandinavia. In a passage referring to the Viking raids of the late 9th century, he mentions the Danish or Norse pirates Horich, Orwig, Gotafrid, Rudolf, and Inguar (Ivar). This Ivar is, in particular, seen as a cruel persecutor of Christians, and
2241-702: The New Testament into Danish ; it became an instant best-seller. Those who had traveled to Wittenberg in Saxony and come under the influence of the teachings of Luther and his associates included Hans Tausen , a Danish monk in the Order of St John Hospitallers . In the 17th century Denmark–Norway colonized Greenland . After a failed war with the Swedish Empire , the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658 removed
2324-568: The Saxon wars against Charlemagne , voyages to Biarmia , and the death of Starkad. The book deals with Ragnar Lothbrok and his rising empire, he appoints many of his sons to govern parts of his empire all the way from Scotland to Scythia . Kings of the Danes are in bold and marked with an asterisk (*). Kings of the Swedes are marked with a dagger (†). Name spellings are derived from Oliver Elton 's 1905 translation, The First Nine Books of
2407-480: The Saxons took great plunder, and among other things the banner called "Raven". The early 12th century Annals of St Neots further state that "they say that the three sisters of Hingwar and Hubba, daughters of Lodebroch (Lodbrok), wove that flag and got it ready in one day. They say, moreover, that in every battle, wherever the flag went before them, if they were to gain the victory, a live crow would appear flying on
2490-600: The Sögubrot , "he was the biggest and fairest of men that human eyes have seen, and he was like his mother in appearance and took after her kin". He first killed a giant snake that guarded the abode of the Geatish jarl Herrauð 's daughter Thora Borgarhjort , thereby winning her as his wife. The unusual protective clothes that Ragnar wore when attacking the serpent earned him the nickname Lodbrok. His sons with Thora were Erik and Agnar. After Thora died, he discovered Kráka ,
2573-672: The Viking Age , Icelandic sagas , and near-contemporary chronicles. According to traditional literature, Ragnar distinguished himself by conducting many raids against the British Isles and the Carolingian Empire during the 9th century. He also appears in Norse legends , and according to the legendary sagas Tale of Ragnar's Sons and a Saga about Certain Ancient Kings , Ragnar Lodbrok's father has been given as
Gesta Danorum - Misplaced Pages Continue
2656-746: The Western United States or the Midwestern United States . California has the largest population of people of Danish descent in the United States. Notable Danish communities in the United States are located in Solvang, California , and Racine, Wisconsin , but these populations are not considered to be Danes for official purposes by the Danish government , and heritage alone can not be used to claim Danish citizenship, as it can in some European nations. According to
2739-620: The Øresund . The Crown of Denmark could tax the traffic, because it controlled both sides of the Sound at the time. The Reformation , which originated in the German lands in the early 16th century from the ideas of Martin Luther (1483–1546), had a considerable impact on Denmark. The Danish Reformation started in the mid-1520s. Some Danes wanted access to the Bible in their own language. In 1524, Hans Mikkelsen and Christiern Pedersen translated
2822-416: The 19th-century national romantic idea of "the people" ( folk ), a view of Danish society as homogeneous and socially egalitarian as well as strong cultural ties to other Scandinavian nations. As a concept, det danske folk (the Danish people) played an important role in 19th-century ethnic nationalism and refers to self-identification rather than a legal status. Use of the term is most often restricted to
2905-479: The 2006 Census, there were 200,035 Canadians with Danish background , 17,650 of whom were born in Denmark. Canada became an important destination for the Danes during the post war period. At one point, a Canadian immigration office was to be set up in Copenhagen . In Greenland , a self-governing territory under Danish sovereignty , there are approximately 6,348 Danish Greenlanders making up roughly 11% of
2988-583: The 22 years between the last event described in the last book (Book 16) and the 1208 event described in the preface. The original manuscripts of the work are lost, except for four fragments: the Angers Fragment , Lassen Fragment , Kall-Rasmussen Fragment and Plesner Fragment . The Angers Fragment is the biggest fragment, and the only one attested to be in Saxo 's own handwriting. The other ones are copies from c. 1275 . All four fragments are in
3071-585: The Boneless, Halfdan Ragnarsson, Björn Ironside, Ubba and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye are historical figures, opinion regarding their father is divided. Contemporary academia regards most of the stories about him to be fiction. According to Hilda Ellis Davidson , writing in 1979, "Certain scholars in recent years have come to accept at least part of Ragnar's story as based on historical fact." The most significant medieval sources that mention Ragnar include: In her commentary on Saxo's Gesta Danorum , Davidson notes that Saxo's coverage of Ragnar's legend in book IX of
3154-510: The Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus , via Wikisource . When exactly Gesta Danorum was written is the subject of numerous works; however, it is generally agreed that Gesta Danorum was not finished before 1208. The last event described in the last book (Book 16) is King Canute VI of Denmark subduing Pomerania under Duke Bogislaw I , in 1186. However the preface of the work, dedicated to Archbishop Anders Sunesen , mentions
3237-473: The Danish conquest of the areas north of the Elbe in 1208. Book 14, comprising nearly one-quarter of the text of the entire work, ends with Absalon 's appointment to archbishop in 1178. Since this book is so large and Absalon has greater importance than King Valdemar I , this book may have been written first and comprised a work on its own. It is possible that Saxo then enlarged it with Books 15 and 16, telling
3320-481: The Danish kingship (identified by Saxo with Ragnfred , d. 814 ). His first deed is the defeat of the Swedish king Frö, who has killed Ragnar's grandfather. Ragnar is assisted in this by a ferocious shield-maiden named Ladgerda (Lagertha), whom Ragnar forces to marry him after killing a bear and a great hound to win her hand. In this marriage, he sires the son Fridleif and two daughters. Ragnar later repudiates his marriage to Ladgerda and marries Thora Borgarhjort ,
3403-641: The Eloquent . Ultimately Frotho ends up ruling over Britain, Scandinavia, the Slavs, and the Huns. Saxo makes many parallels to Augustus . Follows the adventurers of the legendary hero, Starkad who is disappointed in the decadent ways of Frothi III's descendants. Is a collection of short and unrelated love stories, many of these ventures feature shieldmaidens . Covers the famous Battle of Brávellir , between Harald Wartooth and Sigurd Ring . Danish involvement in
Gesta Danorum - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-673: The Great Summer Army, led by King Bagsecg of Denmark, bolstering the ranks of Halfdan's army. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , the Danes battled the West Saxons nine times, including the Battle of Ashdown on 8 January 871, where Bagsecg was killed. Halfdan accepted a truce from the future Alfred the Great , newly crowned king of Wessex. After Bagsecg's death, Halfdan was the only remaining king of
3569-569: The Mediterranean expedition being a historical event taking place in 859-61. The Great Heathen Army is said to have been led by the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, to wreak revenge against King Ælla of Northumbria who had previously executed Ragnar by casting him into a pit full of venomous snakes. Among the organizers were at least some of the brothers: Ivar the Boneless , Ubba , Halfdan , Björn Ironside , Hvitserk , and Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye , all of whom are known as historical figures, save
3652-702: The Old . The last three books (14–16), which describe Danish conquests on the south shore of the Baltic Sea and wars against Slavic peoples (the Northern Crusades ), are very valuable for the history of West Slavic tribes ( Polabian Slavs , Pomeranians ) and Slavic paganism . Book 14 contains a unique description of the temple on the island of Rügen . The first book is mostly Saxo's original work, sharing little with other primary works, but taking some inspiration from Ancient Greek epics. It very briefly covers
3735-590: The Seine to honour the Norse god Odin , as well as to incite terror in the remaining Frankish forces. Ragnar's fleet made it back to his overlord, the Danish King Horik I , but Ragnar soon died from a violent illness that also spread in Denmark. Among the oldest texts to mention the name Lodbrok is the Norman history of William of Jumièges from c. 1070. According to William, the Danish kings of old had
3818-510: The adventure concerns the loss of Denmark to the Swedes as well as Hading's attempts to reclaim it with the help of giants and Odin. The book concludes with Hading's suicide after hearing of his friend's death. Follows adventures of Hading's descendants, who perform cunning raids across the Baltic Sea and far as England, while encountering many supernatural events and being forced to solve disputes via single combat . Introduces Amleth as
3901-644: The areas of the Scandinavian peninsula from Danish control, thus establishing the boundaries between Norway, Denmark, and Sweden that exist to this day. In the centuries after this loss of territory, the populations of the Scanian lands , who had previously been considered Danish, came to be fully integrated as Swedes . In the early 19th century, Denmark suffered a defeat in the Napoleonic Wars ; Denmark lost control over Norway and territories in what
3984-637: The basis for William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet . Saxo's version, told of in Books 3 and 4, is very similar to that of Shakespeare's Hamlet . In Saxo's version, two brothers, Orvendil and Fengi are given the rule over Jutland by King Rørik Slyngebond of the Danes. Soon after, Orvendil marries King Rørik's daughter, Geruth (Gertrude in Hamlet ). Amleth is their first and only child. Fengi becomes resentful of his brother's marriage, and also wants sole leadership of Jutland, so therefore murders Orvendil. After
4067-538: The chief king of Sweden after Randver's death (Denmark according to the Hervarar saga ), presumably as the subking of Harald. Sigurd and Harald fought the Battle of the Brávellir ( Bråvalla ) on the plains of Östergötland , where Harald and many of his men died. Sigurd then ruled Sweden and Denmark (being sometimes identified with a Danish king Sigfred who ruled from about 770 until his death prior to 804). He sired
4150-402: The chronicle of Adam of Bremen ( c. 1075 ). Here Ragnar's father Sigurd Ring is a Norwegian prince married to a Danish princess, and different from the victor of Brávellir (who had flourished about thirteen generations earlier). Sigurd Ring and his cousin and rival Ring (that is, Sigfred and Anulo of recorded history, d. 812) are both killed in battle, whereupon Ragnar is elevated to
4233-630: The collection of the Danish Royal Library in Copenhagen , Denmark. The text has, however, survived. In 1510–1512, Christiern Pedersen , a Danish translator working in Paris, searched Denmark high and low for an existing copy of Saxo's works, which by that time was nearly all but lost. By that time most knowledge of Saxo's work came from a summary located in Chronica Jutensis , from around 1342, called Compendium Saxonis . It
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#17327654886064316-407: The contempt he had shown the Christian religion. While the narrative Norse sources date from the 12th and 13th centuries, there are also many older poems that mention him and his kin. The Ragnarsdrápa , ostensibly composed by Bragi Boddason in the 9th century, praises a Ragnar, son of Sigurd, for a richly decorated shield that the poet has received. The shield depicts the assault on Jörmunrek ,
4399-412: The custom to expel the younger sons from the kingdom to have them out of the way. It was during the time this practice was in fashion that King Lodbrok succeeded his unnamed father on the Danish throne. After gaining power, he honoured the said custom and ordered his junior son Björn Ironside to leave his realm. Björn thus left Denmark with a considerable fleet and started to ravage in West Francia and later
4482-458: The daughter of King Harald of the Red Moustache from Norway. The accounts further tell that Randver was a grandson of the legendary Scandinavian king Ivar Vidfamne by his daughter Aud (whom the Hervarar saga calls Alfhild). After the death of King Ivar Vidfamne, Aud's eldest son by the Danish king Hrœrekr Ringslinger , Harald, conquered all of his grandfather's territory and became known as Harald Wartooth . Harald's nephew Sigurd Ring became
4565-446: The death of Canute the Great in 1035, England broke away from Danish control. Canute's nephew Sweyn Estridson (1020–74) re-established strong royal Danish authority and built a good relationship with the archbishop of Bremen , at that time the archbishop of all Scandinavia . Over the next centuries, the Danish empire expanded throughout the southern Baltic coast. Under the 14th century king Olaf II , Denmark acquired control of
4648-411: The early 12th century. It reads: "This howe was built a long time before Lodbrok's. Her sons, they were bold; scarcely ever were there such tall men of their hands". The expression "her sons" has given rise to the theory that Lodbrok was originally thought of as a woman, mother of the historically known sons. The Siege of Paris and the Sack of Paris of 845 were the culmination of a Viking invasion of
4731-427: The early 980s, Bluetooth established a kingdom in the lands of the Danes, stretching from Jutland to Scania. Around the same time, he received a visit from a German missionary who, by surviving an ordeal by fire according to legend, convinced Harold to convert to Christianity . The following years saw the Danish Viking expansion , which incorporated Norway and England into the Danish North Sea Empire . After
4814-415: The end, Hvitserk was treacherously captured by the Hellespontian prince Daxon and burnt alive with his own admission. Hearing this, Ragnar led an expedition to Kievan Rus' and captured Daxon who was spared and exiled. Unlike the Icelandic sources, Saxo's account of Ragnar Lodbrok's reign is largely a catalog of successful Viking invasions over an enormous geographical area. Among the seaborne expeditions
4897-430: The entry is a strong indication that the name of Ivar's and Halfdan's father was really Ragnar or a similar name. The early 11th century Three Fragments contains a passage that gives a semi-legendary background to the capture of York by the Vikings in 866. The two younger sons of Halfdan, King of Lochlann , expelled the eldest son, Ragnall, who sailed to the Orkney islands with his three sons and settled there. Two of
4980-431: The first time illustrated and printed correctly in a learned compilation. The source of all existing translations and new editions is Christiern Pedersen's Latin Danorum Regum heroumque Historiae . There exist a number of different translations today, some complete, some partial. Gesta Danorum is also translated partially in other English, French and German releases. Certain aspects of Gesta Danorum formed
5063-417: The giant serpent in order to win Thora). The Knutsdrapa of Sigvat Thordarson (c. 1038) mentions the death of Ælla at the hands of Ivar in York , who "carved the eagle on Ælla's back". From this, the story of the atrocious revenge of Lodbrok's sons already seems to be present. The reference to a " blood eagle " punishment has, however, been much debated by modern scholars. Another lay, Krakumal , put in
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#17327654886065146-417: The increasing influence of immigration . The Danish diaspora consists of emigrants and their descendants, especially those who maintain some of the customs of their Danish culture. A minority of approximately fifty thousand Danish-identifying German citizens live in the former Danish territory of Southern Schleswig ( Sydslesvig) , now located within the borders of Germany, forming around ten percent of
5229-420: The invading host. He may also have been a King of part of Denmark ( Jutland ?), since a co-ruler Halfdan is mentioned in Frankish sources in 873. According to late sagas Björn Ironside became King of Sweden and Uppsala, although this presents chronological inconsistencies. Björn had two sons, Erik and Refil Björnsson . His son Erik became the next king of Sweden, and was succeeded in turn by Erik Refilsson ,
5312-674: The invitation of Archbishop Absalon , Gesta Danorum describes Danish history and to some degree Scandinavian history in general, from prehistory to the late 12th century. In addition, Gesta Danorum offers singular reflections on European affairs in the High Middle Ages from a unique Scandinavian perspective, supplementing what has been handed down by historians from Western and Southern Europe. The sixteen books, in prose with an occasional excursion into poetry, can be categorized into two parts: Books 1–9, which deal with Norse mythology and semi-legendary Danish history, and Books 10–16, which deal with medieval history. Book 9 ends with Gorm
5395-424: The kingdom of the West Franks. The Viking forces were led by a Norse chieftain named "Reginherus", or Ragnar. This Ragnar has often been tentatively identified with the legendary saga figure Ragnar Lodbrok, but the accuracy of this is disputed by historians. Ragnar Lodbrok is also sometimes identified with a Ragnar who was awarded land in Torhout , Flanders , by Charles the Bald in about 841 but eventually lost
5478-465: The land as well as the favour of the King. Ragnar's Vikings raided Rouen on their way up the Seine in 845 and in response to the invasion, determined not to let the royal Abbey of Saint-Denis (near Paris) be destroyed, Charles assembled an army which he divided into two parts, one for each side of the river. Ragnar attacked and defeated one of the divisions of the smaller Frankish army, took 111 of their men as prisoners and hanged them on an island on
5561-438: The legendary Ragnar with one or several of those men have failed because of the difficulty in reconciling the various accounts and their chronology. But the tradition of a Viking hero named Ragnar (or similar) who wreaked havoc in mid-9th-century Europe and who fathered many famous sons is remarkably persistent, and some aspects of it are strengthened by relatively reliable sources, such as Irish historical tradition and, indirectly,
5644-436: The legendary king of the Swedes , Sigurd Ring . According to the Tale of Ragnar Lodbrok , Tale of Ragnar's Sons , Heimskringla , Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks , Sögubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum , and many other Icelandic sources, Ragnar was the son of the king of Sweden Sigurd Ring . Nearly all of the sagas agree that the Danish king Randver was Sigurd's father, with the Hervarar saga citing his wife as Åsa,
5727-575: The local population. In Denmark, the latter group is often referred to as "Danes south of the border" ( De danske syd for grænsen ), the "Danish-minded" ( de dansksindede ), or simply "South Schleswigers". Due to immigration there are considerable populations with Danish roots outside Denmark in countries such as the United States, Brazil , Canada , Greenland and Argentina . Danish Americans ( Dansk-amerikanere ) are Americans of Danish descent. There are approximately 1,500,000 Americans of Danish origin or descent. Most Danish-Americans live in
5810-443: The middle of the flag; but if they were doomed to be defeated, it would hang down motionless, and this was often proved to be so." This is among the earlier references to the legendary hero Ragnar Lodbrok. The Irish Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib from the 12th century, with information deriving from earlier annals, mentions king Halfdan (d. 877) under the name "mac Ragnaill". The form Ragnall may refer to either Ragnvald or Ragnar and
5893-441: The mouth of the dying Ragnar in the snake pit, recounts the exploits of Ragnar and mentions battles over a wide geographical area, several relating to the British Isles. The poem's name, "Kráka's lay", alludes to Ragnar's wife's Kráka , though modern philologists commonly date it to the 12th century in its present form. There is one runic inscription mentioning Lodbrok, carved on the prehistorical tumulus of Maeshowe on Orkney in
5976-702: The oldest known complete text of Saxo's works is Christiern Pedersen's Latin edition, printed and published by Jodocus Badius in Paris, France, on 15 March 1514 under the title of Danorum Regum heroumque Historiae ("History of the Kings and heroes of the Danes"). The edition features the following colophon : ... impressit in inclyta Parrhisorum academia Iodocus Badius Ascensius Idibus Martiis. MDXIIII. Supputatione Romana. (the Ides of March , 1514). The full front page reads (with abbreviations expanded) in Latin: Danorum Regum heroumque Historiae stilo eleganti
6059-410: The reasons that Denmark was able to integrate their earliest ethnic minorities of Jewish and Polish origins into the Danish ethnic group with much more success than neighboring Germany. Jewishness was not seen as being incompatible with a Danish ethnic identity, as long as the most important cultural practices and values were shared. This inclusive ethnicity has in turn been described as the background for
6142-540: The relative lack of virulent antisemitism in Denmark and the rescue of the Danish Jews , saving 99% of Denmark's Jewish population from the Holocaust . Modern Danish cultural identity is rooted in the birth of the Danish national state during the 19th century. In this regard, Danish national identity was built on a basis of peasant culture and Lutheran theology , with Grundtvig and his popular movement playing
6225-412: The rule of the eponymous founder of the Danish nation, Dan, but also his brother Angul , his sons Humble and Lother , and Dan's grandson, Skiold , whose son, Gram is the first Danish king to be given some detail, his reign revolves around conquering Sweden and Finland, only to die in a battle. Most of the book deals with the adventures of Hading , the son of Gram and Finnish princess, Signe . Here
6308-435: The slightly more dubious Hvitserk. Ivar the Boneless was the leader of the Great Heathen Army from 865 to 870, but he disappears from English historical accounts after 870. The Anglo-Saxon chronicler Æthelweard records Ivar's death as 870. Halfdan Ragnarsson became the leader of the Great Heathen Army in about 870 and he led it in an invasion of Wessex. A great number of Viking warriors arrived from Scandinavia, as part of
6391-511: The son of Refil. Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye is perhaps the same person as Sigfred , brother of Halfdan, who was king in Denmark together with Halfdan in 873. According to the sagas Sigurd became King of Zealand , Skåne and the lesser Danish Isles. Sigfred-Sigurd possibly succeeded his brother Halfdan as King of entire Denmark in about 877, and may be the Viking king Sigfred who was killed in West Francia in 887. Whereas Ragnar's sons Ivar
6474-402: The sons later raided the English and Franks , proceeding to plunder in the Mediterranean. One of them learned from a vision that Ragnall had fought a battle where the third son had been slain and in which he himself had most likely perished. The two Viking sons then returned home with a lot of dark-skinned captives. It has been hypothesized that this is an Irish version of Ragnar Lodbrok's saga,
6557-423: The story of King Valdemar I's last years and King Canute VI's first years. It is believed that Saxo then wrote Books 11, 12, and 13. Svend Aagesen 's history of Denmark, Brevis Historia Regum Dacie (circa 1186), states that Saxo had decided to write about "The king-father and his sons," which would be King Sweyn Estridson , in Books 11, 12, and 13. He would later add the first ten books. This would also explain
6640-419: The territory's population. The most common Y-DNA haplogroups among Danes are R1b (37.3 %) and I1 (32.8 %). [REDACTED] Media related to Danes at Wikimedia Commons Ragnar Lothbrok Ragnar Lodbrok ("Ragnar hairy-breeches") ( Old Norse : Ragnarr loðbrók ), according to legends , was a Viking hero and a Swedish and Danish king. He is known from Old Norse poetry of
6723-528: Was installed on the throne. Sometime later Björn was put in charge of Norway, while Ragnar appointed another son, Eric Weatherhat, as ruler in Sweden; he was subsequently killed by a certain Eysteinn . One of the sons, Ubbe, revolted against his father at the instigation of his maternal grandfather Esbjørn, and could only be defeated and captured with utmost effort. Saxo moreover tells of repeated expeditions to
6806-752: Was one against the Bjarmians and Finns ( Saami ) in the Arctic north. The Bjarmian use of magic spells caused foul weather and the sudden death of many Danish invaders, and the Finnish archers on skis turned out to be a formidable foe. Eventually, these two tribes were put to flight, and the Bjarmian king was slain. The historical king Harald Klak is by Saxo (based on a passage in Adam's chronicle) made into another persistent enemy of Ragnar, who several times incited
6889-488: Was thrown into a snake pit to die in agony. The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok , Tale of Ragnar's Sons , and Heimskringla all tell of the Great Heathen Army that invaded England at around 866, led by the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok to wreak revenge against King Ælla of Northumbria who is told to have captured and executed Ragnar. The Chronicon Roskildense ( c. 1138 ) mentions Lodbrok (Lothpardus) as
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