Rune stones of Gorm and Harald

Rune stone of Harald, writing side

Rune stones of Gorm and Harald, back side

Harold Bluetooth Gormson (Danish: Harald Blåtand, Old Norse: Haraldr blátönn, Norwegian: Harald Blåtann, German: Harald Blauzahn), d.986, was King of Denmark from around 958 until his death, and king of Norway for a few years probably around 970. He succeeded his father and mother, Gorm the Old (king of Jutland) and Thyre Danebod (supposed daughter of Harold Klak, jarl of Jutland). Download high resolution version (1280x960, 194 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 194 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 142 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 142 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 124 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 124 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... This is the approximate extent of Old Norse and related languages in the early 10th century. ... Events March 2 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks End of the reign of Emperor Kazan of Japan Emperor Ichijo ascends to the throne of Japan Explorer Bjarni Herjólfsson becomes the first inhabitant of the Old World to sight North America Births Deaths March 2 - Lothair, King of... This is a list of Danish monarchs, that is, the Kings and ruling Queen of Denmark, including Regents of the Kalmar Union. ... Events Kshemgupta, King of Kashmir dies and is succeeded by his young son Abhimanyu. ... Events Major volcano eruption in Mashu Japan Devastating decade long famine begins in France Byzantine Emperor John I successfully defends the Eastern Roman Empire from massive barbarian invasion Construction completed on Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, worlds oldest Islamic university Births Leif Ericson, Norse explorer Seyyed Razi, important Muslim... Gorm the Old (Gorm den Gamle) was King of Denmark in the mid-900s. ... Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland; German: Jütland) is a peninsula in northern Europe that forms the mainland part of Denmark and a northern part of Germany, dividing the North Sea from the Baltic Sea. ... Jarl is the Scandinavian language cognate of Earl. ...

Conversion to Christianity

Although his predecessors had accepted Christianity at the instigation of the Frankish Carolingian kings in 826, heathendom remained extant among Danes and northerners for centuries. When Harald converted around 965, he had the Jelling mounds – previously started by his pagan father Gorm – adapted into Christian monuments honoring both Gorm and Thyre. The Jelling monuments are said to have been a statement of Harald's new-found religion; it was thought that with these monuments, he was trying to conduct a smooth transition from paganism to Christianity both for himself and his subjects. Christianity may have been impressed on him as a result of military pressure, but the stones have led some people to believe that they represent a new-found love and confidence for his new religion. History Main article: History of Christianity See also: Timeline of Christianity The history of Christianity is difficult to extricate from that of the European West (and several other culture-regions) in general. ... Statue of Charlemagne (also called Karl der Große, Charles the Great) in Frankfurt, Germany. ... The Carolingians were a dynasty of rulers that eventually controlled the Frankish realm and its successors from the 8th to the 10th century, officially taking over the kingdom from the Merovingian dynasty in 751. ... Events The Danish king accepts Christianity. ... Within a Christian context, Paganism (from Latin paganus) and Heathenry are catch-all terms which have come to connote a broad set of spiritual/religious beliefs and practices of a natural religion, as opposed to the Abrahamic religions. ... Events March 1 - Pope Benedict V is put in place of Pope Leo VIII by the people October 1 - John XIII becomes Pope The Khazar fortress of Sarkel falls to the Kievan Rus Births Sweyn I of Denmark Deaths February 22 - Odo, Duke of Burgundy July 4 - Pope Benedict V... Burial mound in Jelling churchyard Jelling is the old Viking capital of Scandinavia. ...

Reign

During his reign, Harald oversaw the reconstruction not only of the Jelling runic stones but of other projects as well. Some believe that these projects were a way for him to preserve the economic and military control of his country. During that time, forts were built in five strategic locations: Trelleborg on Sjælland, Nonnebakken on Fyn, Fyrkat in central Jylland, Aggersborg near Limfjord, and Trelleborg near the city of Trelleborg in Skåne in present-day Sweden. The Jelling stones are massive carved runic gravestones from the 10th century, found at Jelling in Denmark. ... Trelleborg is a collective name for the Danish and Swedish ring castles from the Viking Age. ... Zealand (Danish: Sjælland) is the largest island of Denmark. ... Funen (Danish: Fyn) is the third largest island of Denmark. ... Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland, German: Jütland) is a peninsula in northern Europe that forms the continental part of Denmark and a northern part of Germany, dividing the North Sea from the Baltic Sea. ... a bridge over Limfjord (Aalborg/Nørresundby) The Limfjord is a shallow sound in Denmark that separates the island of Vendsyssel-Thy from the rest of Jutland Peninsula. ... Trelleborg is a municipality and city in Scania in southernmost Sweden. ...   SkÃ¥ne? (also known as Scania) is the southernmost historical province (landskap) of Sweden. ...

All five fortresses had similar designs. They were

"perfectly circular with gates opening to the four corners of the earth, and a courtyard divided into four areas which held large houses set in a square pattern"^[1]

A sixth Trelleborg is located in Borgeby, in Skåne in present-day Sweden. This one has been dated to the vicinity of 1000 AD and has a similar design, so it too may have been built by king Harald.   SkÃ¥ne? (also known as Scania) is the southernmost historical province (landskap) of Sweden. ... (Redirected from 1000 AD) For other uses, see number 1000. ...

He also constructed the oldest known bridge in southern Scandinavia, known as the Ravninge Bridge. It was built in Ravninge meadows, and was 5m wide and 760m long.

Harald had a son named Sweyn (Forkbeard), who was baptized along with the rest of the royal family, and given the name of the Holy Roman emperor Otto the Great: Svend I Forkbeard (Svend Otto Haraldsen; Danish: Svend Tveskæg, originally Tjugeskæg or Tyvskæg, Norwegian: Svein Tjugeskjegg) (c. ... Coats of arms of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire This page is about the Germanic empire. ... Otto I at his victory over Berengar of Friuli Grave of Otto I in Magdeburg Otto I the Great (November 23, 912 - May 7, 973), son of Henry I the Fowler, king of the Germans, and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of the Germans and arguably the...

Not long after Harold himself was baptized together with his wife, Gunnhild, and his little son, whom our king raised up from the sacred font and named Svein^[2]

As a consequence of Harald's army having lost to the Germans in the shadow of Danevirke in 974, he no longer had control on Norway and Germans having settled back into the border area between Scandinavia and Germany. The German settlers were driven out of Denmark in 983 by an alliance consisting of Obodrite soldiers and troops loyal to Harald. Soon after, Harald was killed fighting off a rebellion led by his son Sweyn. He was believed to have died in 986, although there are many other accounts that claim he died in 985. Events Antipope Boniface VII succeeds Pope Benedict VI. The Byzantine Empire retakes Syria including Aleppo from the Abbasids. ... The Obotrites (German: Abodriten, Polish: Obodryci) were a group of Slavic peoples related to the Wends. ... Events March 2 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks End of the reign of Emperor Kazan of Japan Emperor Ichijo ascends to the throne of Japan Explorer Bjarni Herjólfsson becomes the first inhabitant of the Old World to sight North America Births Deaths March 2 - Lothair, King of...

The biography of his life is best summed up by this runic inscription:

(In Old Norse): "Haraltr kunukr bath kaurua kubl thausi aft kurm fathur sin auk aft thaurui muthur sina. sa haraltr ias sar uan tanmaurk ala auk nuruiak auk tani karthi kristna"^[3]

Translation: "Harald, king, bade these memorials to be made after Gorm, his father, and Thyra, his mother. The Harald who won the whole of Denmark and Norway and turned the Danes to Christianity"

The Norse sagas presents Harald in a rather negative light. He was forced twice to submit to the renegade Swedish prince Styrbjörn the Strong of the Jomsvikings. First by giving Styrbjörn a fleet and his daughter Tyra, and the second time by giving up himself as hostage and an additional fleet. Styrbjörn brought this fleet to Uppsala in Sweden in order to claim the throne of Sweden. However, this time Harald broke his oath and fled with his Danes in order to avoid facing the Swedish army at the Battle of the Fýrisvellir. Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... The Norse sagas or Viking sagas (Icelandic: sögur), are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, about migration to Iceland, and of feuds between Icelandic families. ... Styrbjörn the Strong (Styrbjörn Sterki) or Styrbjörn the Swedish Champion (Styrbjörn svía kappi) was according to the Norse sagas the son of the Swedish king Olof, and the nephew of Olofs co-ruler and successor Eric the Victorious. ... The Jomsvikings were a company of viking mercenaries of the 900s and 1000s, dedicated to the worship of such deities as Odin and Thor. ... Tyra was the daughter of Harold Bluetooth and his third wife Gyrid. ... Uppsala (older spelling Upsala) 59°51′ N 17°38′ E is a Swedish City in central Sweden, located about 70 km north of Stockholm. ... The Battle of the Fýrisvellir was a battle that took place on the Fýrisvellir, where modern Uppsala is situated, in the 980s for the throne of Sweden between Eric the Victorious and his nephew Styrbjörn the Strong. ...

Bluetooth wireless specification

"Bluetooth" now more commonly refers to the Bluetooth wireless specification designed to enable cable-free connections between computers, mobile phones, PDAs, printers and other electronic equipment. The Bluetooth logo consists of the Nordic runes for his initials, H and B. This article is about the Bluetooth wireless specification. ... The Runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes, formerly used to write Germanic languages, mainly in Scandinavia and the British Isles. ...

References

1. ^  Viking Empires, Fortehad, Oram and Pedersen, Cambridge University Press, 2005, p.180
2. ^  History of the Archbishops of Hamberg-Bremen, Adam of Bremen, p.56
3. ^  http://www.dr.dk/p1/udmedsproget/tidslinie/ramfiler/Jelling.ram