A brief history of Denmark : Part 1 (Until 800)

A brief history of Denmark
by Peter Ravn Rasmussen

Chapter 1 : Until A. D. 800

Denmark in prehistoric times

The stone age

The earliest evidence of human habitation in Denmark occurs in the Eem interglacial period (between 100000 and 70000 B.C.). Near Randers, on the Jutland peninsula, some paleolithic hunter-gatherers have left the remnants of deer bones, broken to allow access to the marrow.

Roaming reindeer hunters of the Allerød era (c. 10000 B.C.) have left reindeer horns, crafted into tools, in several places on the Jutland peninsula and on the islands. Crude, early flint tools are characteristic of this period.

The mesolithic period from 8000 to 3000 B.C. produces a series of cultures, in various locations of what is to become Denmark; in Jutland, the Gudenå culture, and on Sjælland [Zealand], the Maglemose and Kongemose cultures. These cultures have left behind rich remnants of microliths, and bone and horn tools. From around 3000 B.C., the Ertebølle culture begins to produce more solid flint tools, and clay vessels. This culture shows the earliest signs of semi-agricultural cultivation in Denmark.

In the course of the neolithic period, from 3000 to 1500 B.C., agriculture and cattle become part of the local repertoire of technology - arguably the most significant change in Danish history. The period is marked by the clearing of forests (with sharpened flint axes), the rise of small communities and villages, and the mining of flint. The period from 3000 to 2000 B.C. is dominated by the tragtbæger culture ("funnel-cup", from their characteristic pottery). This period sees the erection of megalithic structures (small megaliths, dysser, as well as large megalithic grave-complexes, jættestuer). Around 2000 B.C., the single-grave culture entered the region, possibly in connection with a migration of indo-european nomadic peoples. This culture placed its dead in one-person wooden coffins, in low mounds.

The bronze age

The transformation from stone age society to bronze-working, in the course of the period 1500 to 400 B.C., is an even, undramatic one. Throughout the period, flint-working is still in progress, but is slowly being supplanted by bronze use. Intially, the imported bronze is used mostly for adornments and weaponry, only gradually coming into more practical use.

The elder bronze age (until 900 B.C.) sees the erection of large mound-graves over oaken coffins. Several such mounds have produced beautiful archaeological finds. Towards the end of the elder bronze age, cremation comes into use. The Sun Cart (see picture, below), found at Trundholm Bog on Sjælland, documents the practice of a solar religion or magic, also evidenced in stone carvings. Bronze lurer [a lur is a musical instrument, horn-like] have been found from this period. Archaeological evidence shows the evolution of a society with significant class differentiation in this period.

The iron age

Iron makes its first appearance during the younger bronze age (900 to 400 B.C.), but the beginning of the iron age is generally counted as being from 400 B.C.

The earliest period, until around the beginning of the Christian Era, is called the Celtic or pre-Roman iron age. One presumed Celtic treasure is the Gundestrup Cauldron (see picture, below), found in North Jutland.

Iron finds of low quality within Denmark produced sufficient metal for the level of usage prevalent in this period. This period sees the erection of fortress-like structures (apparently to serve as refuge during raids) several places in Denmark, evidence of a more structured response to warfare. During this period, the sacrifice of objects, animals, and human beings in bogs and marshes provides us with a rich heritage of archaeological material, including the Hjortspring boat, found on the island of Als, and the various mummies found in peat bogs in various parts of the country.

The Roman iron age is the name generally applied to the period from the beginning of the Christian Era until A.D. 400. In this period, imported Roman goods (including the Hoby cups) are evidence of extensive trade abroad. An increase in the number of sacrificed weapons, and other booty, indicates a period of increasing warfare. In the marshes of Nydam Mose, a 23 meter long clinker-built boat, an intermediate design on the road to the viking longboat, was found, perfectly preserved. This period also sees the eldest preserved inscriptions using runes, made some time in the 3rd century A.D.

The Germanic iron age (A.D. 400 to 800) shows continued signs of unrest and warfare, with fortresses and sacrifices of war booty much in evidence. Simultaneously, forests are cleared and land brought under the plow, using the now-ubiquitous iron tools. From this period date many treasure hoards, including perhaps the most famous of them all, the Gold Horns, dating from the 5th century, found near Gallehus in South Jutland.

From around 500 A.D., sporadic mention is made in foreign sources about the Danes (Dani) as a tribe, tribal grouping, or people. Around 695 A.D., the first Christian mission is sent to "the Danish people". From around A.D. 700 and onward, runestones with runes in the "younger Futhark" runic script begin to be erected all over Denmark.

The end of this rather murky period in Danish history comes with the viking era, generally considered to begin on the occasion of the sack of Lindifarne Monastery, on Holy Island, in A.D. 793. From this period on, the number of historical sources become more numerous, and Denmark as a nation begins to emerge.

Danish archaeological treasures (click thumbnails to enlarge)

Solvognen [The Sun Cart],
a Bronze Age cult object found at Trundholm.
Dated about 1400 B.C.

Gundestrupkedlen [The Gundestrup Cauldron],
Celtic cult object found at Gundestrup.
Dated about 100 B.C.

Guldhornene [The Gold Horns],
found near Gallehus (reconstruction)
Dated about A.D. 450.

Kings and queens of Denmark

Before A.D. 800, few reliable sources to Danish history exist, and even then, the sources are foreign, and filled with imprecision and misconceptions. It is often impossible to establish for certain whether the "king" mentioned was, in fact, more than a merely local chieftain. Nevertheless, a few individuals do seem to have been of sufficient importance to be considered "kings of Denmark":

Hugleik (de-Latinised from Chochilaicus), a "king of the Danes", is mentioned in the Frankish Chronicle by Gregory of Tours (written c. 590) as having led a major Danish raid on the French coast in 515. He supposedly died on the return journey.

An indication that a strong Danish kingship is coming into being is the establishment of the fortifications at Dannevirke (see sidebar below, as well as Ch. 2), in the 8th century.

Significant events

c. 695 First Christian mission to Denmark.

c. 737 First fortifications at Dannevirke commenced.

793 Viking raiders sack the monastery at Lindisfarne, on Holy Island - generally considered the first viking raid (see sidebar to Ch. 2).

Early foreign sources

Early mention of the peoples of the Nordic region is made as far back as Caesar's De Bello Gallico (and further, if one is prepared to strech the interpretation). Most significant of the classical sources is the Germania of Tacitus, which describes with much enthusiasm (but little reliable historicity) the life of the Germanic tribes of the 1st century A.D. Tacitus describes the Germanic peoples with varying sympathy and a great deal of colourful "barbarian quirks".

Dannevirke

The southern land border of Denmark, at its narrowest, leaves a gap of only about 15 kilometers, between a pair of natural fortifications: the marshes west of Hollingsted, and the long, narrow inlet of the Slien Fjord.
From the earliest days of the Kingdom of Denmark, until recent history, the fortification of this narrow gap has provided a defense against invasion.
From dendrochronological analyses, we know that the wood in the earliest parts of Dannevirke, the "Danish Wall", was cut in A.D. 737. This is generally taken as a sign that a central kingship had been established by this time, since the effort required to produce the fortifications was considerable. It is possible that one reason for the fortification was to control the rich overland trade with the Saxons and Wends to the south.
Throughout the 800s and 900s, and again in the 1100s, Dannevirke was extended and expanded. The walls of Dannevirke have stopped several invasions, and have been the focus of fierce battles on several occasions, culminating with the fighting in 1864.