North Germanic tribe
The
Danes
were a
North Germanic
tribe inhabiting southern
Scandinavia
, including the area now comprising
Denmark
proper, northern and eastern
England
, and
the Scanian provinces
of modern-day southern Sweden, during the
Nordic Iron Age
and the
Viking Age
. They founded what became the
Kingdom of Denmark
. The
name of their realm
is believed to mean "
Danish March
", viz. "the
march
of the Danes", in
Old Norse
, referring to their southern border zone between the
Eider
and
Schlei
rivers, known as the
Danevirke
.
Origins
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]
The origin of the Danes remains undetermined, but several ancient historical documents and texts refer to them and archaeology has revealed and continues to reveal insights into their culture, cultural beliefs, beliefs organization and way of life.
The Danes first appear in written history in the 6th century with references in Jordanes'
Getica
(551 AD), by
Procopius
, and by
Gregory of Tours
.
In his description of
Scandza
,
Jordanes
says that the
Dani
were of the same stock as the
Suetidi
("Swedes") and expelled the
Heruli
and took their lands.
The
Old English
poems
Widsith
and
Beowulf
, as well as works by later Scandinavian writers (notably by
Saxo Grammaticus
(
c.
1200)), provide some of the original written references to the Danes. According to the 12th-century author
Sven Aggesen
, the mythical King
Dan
gave his name to the Danes.
Culture
[
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]
Language
[
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]
The Danes spoke
Proto-Norse
which gradually evolved into the
Old Norse
language by the beginning of the
Viking Age
. They spoke
d?nsk tunga
(Danish tongue), which the Danes shared with the people in Norway and Sweden and later in Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
[1]
Like previous and contemporary people of Scandinavia, the Danes used
runes
for writing, but did not write much apparently, as they have left no literary legacy except for occasional
rune stones
and carvings in wood and various items like weapons, utensils and jewellery.
Religion
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As previous and contemporary peoples of Scandinavia (the Vikings), the tribal Danes were practitioners of the
Norse religion
. Around 500 AD, many of the gods of the
Norse pantheon
had lost their previous significance, except a few such as
Thor
,
Odin
and
Frey
who were increasingly worshipped. During the 10th century of the late Viking Age, the Danes officially adopted
Christianity
, as evidenced by several rune stones, documents and church buildings. The new Christian influences also show in their art, jewellery and burial practices of the late Viking Age, but the transition was not rapid and definitive and older customs from the Norse religion remained to be practised to various degrees.
[2]
Some sources, such as the
Beowulf
, point to a very early
Arianism
in Denmark, but it has been a matter of intense academic debate for many years whether these sources reflect later adjustments or an actual early
Germanic Christianity
among the Danes in the Iron Age. There are several archaeological artefacts in and from Denmark however, made as early as the 500s, depicting
Daniel
among the lions, so the Danes must have had some knowledge of and influence from Arian cultures.
[2]
Iron Age
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In the Nordic Iron Age, the Danes were based in present-day
Zealand
and
Scania
(and neighbouring parts of present-day Sweden). Until around the 6th century, Jutland was the homeland of two other Germanic tribes: the
Jutes
in what is now North Jutland, and the
Angles
in South Jutland (especially the
Anglia
peninsula).
The
Widsith
mentions two semi-mythical kings in relation to the Danes of the Iron Age.
Sigar
who ruled the "Sea-Danes" and
Offa
who ruled both Danes and
Angles
. Centuries later, Saxo lists for the first time the Danes entire lineage of semi-mythical kings, starting from King Dan. As Saxo's texts are the first written accounts of Denmark's history, and hence the Danes, his sources are largely surviving legends, folk lore and word of mouth.
The royal seat and capital of the Danes was located on
Zealand
near
Lejre
and constituted what has later been dubbed the Lejre Kingdom, ruled by the
Skjoldung
dynasty.
Some time around the middle of the
First Millennium
, both Jutland and Anglia became part of Danish kingdom or kingdoms. So was southern
Schleswig
(now the northernmost part of Germany) ? the site of
Danevirke
, a large set of fortifications reportedly built by Danes to mark the southern border of their realm. It was extended several times in later centuries.
Viking Age
[
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Beginning in the 8th century, the Danes initiated the construction of trading towns across their realm, including
Hedeby
,
Ribe
,
Aarhus
and
Viborg
and expanded existing settlements such as
Odense
and
Aalborg
. Hedeby quickly grew to become the largest settlement in Scandinavia and remained so until its eventual destruction in the later half of the 11th century.
From around 800 AD, the Danes began a long era of well-organised raids across the coasts and rivers of Europe. Some of the raids were followed by a gradual succession of Danish settlers and during this epoch, large areas outside Scandinavia were settled by the Danes, including the Danelaw in England and countryside and newly established towns in Ireland, the Netherlands and northern France. In the early 11th century, King
Cnut the Great
(died 1035) ruled the extensive
North Sea Empire
for nearly 20 years, consisting of Denmark, England, Norway, southern Sweden and parts of northern Germany.
[3]
During the 10th century the royal seat of the Danes was moved from Lejre to
Jelling
in central Jutland, marking the foundation and consolidation of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Danelaw
[
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In the
British Isles
, Danes landed three
Viking ships
at the isle of
Portland, Dorset
in 786 AD, where they met and killed a local reeve and his men.
[4]
[note 1]
In 793 AD, a Viking raid and plunder of the monastery at
Lindisfarne
took place, but no further activity in England followed until 835 AD. In that year, the Danes raided and built a permanent camp on the
Isle of Sheppey
in south east England and settling followed from 865, when brothers
Halfdan Ragnarsson
and
Ivar the Boneless
wintered in
East Anglia
. Halfdan and Ivar moved north and captured
Northumbria
in 867 and
York
as well.
Danelaw
? a special rule of law ? was soon established in the settled areas and shaped the local cultures there for centuries. Cultural remains are still noticeable today.
[5]
Ireland
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The Danes first arrived in Ireland in 795 AD, at
Rathlin Island
, initiating subsequent raids and fortified trade settlements, so called
longphorts
. During the Viking Age, they established many coastal towns including
Dublin
(Dyflin),
Cork
,
Waterford
(Veðrafj?rðr) and
Limerick
(Hlymrekr) and Danish settlers followed. There were many small skirmishes and larger battles with the native
Irish clans
in the following two centuries, with the Danes sometimes siding with allied clans. In 1014 AD, at the
Battle of Clontarf
, the Vikings were eventually defeated and the remaining Danish settlers gradually assimilated with the Irish population.
[6]
Frisia
[
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]
| This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
August 2016
)
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The first Vikings appeared in
Frisia
, now part of the Netherlands and Germany, in 800 AD, when Danes plundered coastal settlements and later the trade town of
Dorestad
became a frequent target of raids. During this time, Frisia was ruled by the
Franks
and in the mid-9th century, the Danish chieftain of
Roric
received the western parts of the Netherlands as a fief and established here.
[7]
The Danes were probably involved in Frisia much earlier as
Gregory of Tours
(c. 538?594 AD) mentions a Danish king
Chlochilaichus
who was killed there while invading
Frankish
territory in the early 6th century.
[8]
France
[
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]
| This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
June 2016
)
|
The first known Viking raid in what now constitutes France, commenced in 799, when an attack was fought off on the coast of
Aquitaine
. Several other smaller skirmishes with aggressive Vikings from primarily Danish territory have been recorded, including the first raid on the
Seine
in 820, but it was not until the year 834 before Viking activity in France took off on a grand scale. In that year, Danes established a lasting base on
Noirmoutier
island, a central spot for the European salt trade at the time, and poured into the
Loire Valley
on larger raid expeditions. Many large scale raids followed all across the coasts and in-land rivers of Western Europe in subsequent decades.
[9]
In the beginning of the 900's, Vikings had established an encampment and base in the lower parts of the
Seine
river around
Rouen
. In an effort to stop or reduce the relentless raids,
Charles the Simple
made a
treaty in Saint-Clair-sur-Epte
with the Viking chieftain of
Rollo
in 911, granting Rollo and his Danish men authority over the area now known as
Normandy
. This prompted Scandinavian settlers to establish themselves here and in the course of the next couple of centuries, the Norman culture emerged in Normandy.
[10]
[note 2]
[11]
Historical texts
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Important historical documents that tell about the tribal Danes include:
- Widsith
- Beowulf
. This poem describes an event in
Lejre
around the year 500 AD and was probably originally written shortly after.
- Saxo Grammaticus:
"
Gesta Danorum
"
(Deeds of The Danes) written in the 12th century.
See also
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Notes
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]
- ^
The Vikings in Dorset might perhaps have originated from Norway and the exact time of the event is unclear, it took place between 786-793 AD. See
"The Vikings in History"
.
- ^
Rollo was most likely from Norway himself and the new settlers in Normandy were not Danes exclusively. See
"A History of the Vikings"
.
References
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- ^
Anderson, Carl Edlund.
"The Danish Tongue and Scandinavian Identity"
(PDF)
. p. 1
. Retrieved
4 November
2013
.
Icelandic writers (who provide the bulk of our surviving documentation) commonly employed the term d?nsk tunga (literally 'Danish tongue') to identify the language not just of those who were ruled by the Dana konungr, but of all Germanic-speaking Scandinavians.
- ^
a
b
Described in
"Hvad troede de pa?"
- ^
In northern Germany, the North Sea Empire included the area we now know as
Schleswig-Holstein
and the island of
Rugen
.
- ^
F. Donald Logan:
The Vikings in History
, p.22-24, Taylor & Francis (2005).
- ^
Flores Historiarum: Rogeri de Wendover, Chronica sive flores historiarum, pp. 298?9. ed. H. Coxe,
Rolls Series
, 84 (4 vols, 1841?42)
- ^
"The Vikings in Ireland: 800AD?1169"
.
DoCharra.com
. 17 December 2008
. Retrieved
10 February
2016
.
- ^
See
"Viking Trade and Settlement in Continental Western Europ"
- Frisia in Carolingian Times (Egge Knol), p. 43ff
- ^
Peter Hunter Blair (1990).
The World of Bede
(2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 28ff.
- ^
F. Donald Logan (2005). "Chapter 5 (The Danes in the South)".
The Vikings in History
. Routledge. pp. 97?120.
- ^
T. D. Kendrick
(2004).
A History of the Vikings
. Dover Publications. p. 221.
- ^
See
"Viking Trade and Settlement in Continental Western Europe"
.
Sources and further reading
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- Niels Hybel, ed. (2003).
Danmark i Europa (750-1300)
(in Danish).
Museum Tusculanum Press
, University of Copenhagen.
- Mads Lidegaard (2004):
"Hvad troede de pa? ? religiøse tanker i oldtid og vikingetid" [What did they believe in? ? religious thoughts in ancient times and the Viking Age]
, Gyldendal,
ISBN
87-02-02703-8
(in Danish)
Mads Lidegaard
(1915?2006) was a prolific writer, teacher and theologian from Denmark.
- Iben Skibsted Klæsøe, ed. (2010).
Viking Trade and Settlement in Continental Western Europe
. Museum Tusculanum Press, University of Copenhagen.
External links
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]