Elroy's Jutland Denmark History

The Danes that occupied this western most peninsula of Denmark are constantly being harassed by the relentless weather of the North Sea. It may have helped to produce a people of extreme hardiness and independence. This is one of the toughest regions of all Denmark. A few miles from Vestervig begins Thy National Park, Denmark's first national park, on the west coast. It's relentless winds, blowing sands and eroding tides have forced the abandonment of Bronze Age settlements and villages along with more contemporary farms within the park boundaries. The remains of Bronze Age burial mounds are only a few miles from where my various known grand parents lived.

The dolmen remains at Lindeskov of Langdysse #6, island of Fyn, Denmark, about 3500 - 3100 BC
photo Elroy Christenson 2016

There are numerous mounds around present day Denmark testify to the age of the habitation patterns. My own DNA tests seem to indicate that my families lived in this and areas of southern Norway for hundreds of years perhaps back as far as 10,000 bce. These northern peoples were very migratory using the open seas and frozen waters to inhabit the vast spaces either for temporary foraging or more permanent settlements. The mounds of Ydby Heath go back to 1100 bce to 1600 bce. Other burials have gone back further but intense cultivations has eliminated some signs. Over the centuries some of the mounds and stones have been removed and the land plowed over.

Viking culture may have been created here although trade had taken place throughout the region much earlier. The Viking village of Lindholm, just north of Aalborg was abandoned due to encroaching sand dunes.

The remains recovered from the burials have provided clues to the richness of the culture while some of the marking stones may have been crushed to build roads in the 1800's. The more protected areas of Aalborg were used to stage invasions of Europe. Viking settlements at Ribe in Denmark and Hedeby, one of the largest trade towns in northern Europe in 1100 AD, is about a 4 hours drive south to what is just over the border into what is now northern Germany known as Haithabu-Dannewerk, Germany.

Although this area of Scandinavia may have been foraged from the end of the Ice Age in 10,000 bce, the environment was not an easy place to remain. Short growing seasons, cold and blowing winds, and long dark winters required creativity and stubbornness. With the development of agriculture it was also necessary to be particularly frugal and protective of their families and their animals. The environment may have aided in creating warriors of a people that would not give up to the Teutons, Romans or Charlemagne. According the story of Beowulf, The Skjoldungs (the Men of the Shield) were the legendary kings of Denmark and descended from Skjold, the son of Odinn, who according to Ynglinga Saga was the grandson son of Dan. [Jones 45] Odin is, of course, one of the great gods of Scandinavia. Little accuracy can be authenticated from these legends. Rather they show that the tribes existing in the north were constantly battling with one another.

Various tribes may have lived on Jelling(Jutland) including the Eurli, the Angles, the Dani, the Saxons, the Jutes and the Cimbri. The Cimbri tribe were the known residents on Jutland. Climate change may have pushed them out to initially migrate south. They were not alone since the Longobards, Burgundians, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Alamanus, and Franks were also on the move pillaging as they went. The Cimbri first raided into Bulgi and then Roman controlled Gaul(France) on their own about 113 A.D. On later forays the Cimbri combined forces with the Teuton tribes to eventually invade the territories that had been controlled by the Romans all the way to the Mediterranean. Their ferocity in battles marked them as dangerous to Roman stability. The Jutland became known as Cimbria while the war with the Romans became known as the Cimbria War (113-101bce). The Roman defeat at Orange (now France) was described by Orosius about c105 in his History of the World:

"The enemy (the Cimbri) captured both camps and acquired an enormous quantity of booty. In accordance with a strange and unusual vow, they set denmark.ptolemy.map574p.jpg

about destroying everything which they had taken. Clothing was cut to pieces and cast away, gold and silver was thrown into the river, the breastplates of the men were hacked to pieces, the trappinges of the horses were broken up, the horses themselves downed in whirlpools, and men with nooses round their neck were hanged from trees. Thus there was no booty for the victors and no mercy for the vanquished. [Jones 21]

Strabo, another Roman, wrote about some the ceremonies he witnessed in the 1c a.d. related to the Cimbri priestesses. He stated that they were dressed in white robes. They decked out their captives with garlands before leading them to a huge bronze cauldron. The captives were hoisted by the feet over the cauldron where the priestess would climb a ladder to slit their throats. The blood would then flow into the cauldron from the human sacrifice. On these forays across the Roman empire the Cimbri made contacts and connections with the Baltic region for plunder and trade. The combined Roman armies defeated them, however, Roman respect was gained. Forced back to the north the goods came into Daneland that could be then traded to other areas. With the collapse of the Roman Empire an opening was seen for even more profitable trade and raids. [Jones 22]

The period between 450 and 1066 was known as the Anglo-Saxon Period. I believe it should have been more appropriately called "the Anglo-Saxon-Jutes Period". These tribes have been reported to be German, however, the tribes were occupying various sections of the Jelling/Juteland peninsula and should be more appropriately be referred to as Danish, although that country didn't exist then, but probably were noted to be of "Magna Germania" based on the Roman map of Ptolemy. The term of "Dane" doesn't seem to come in until about 800 with tribes of Dan and Suetidi ("Swedes"). Dane and Danelaw doesn't get recognized until the Viking invasions in the 800s. Emigration and invasion into the British Isles stamped them with, at least, a language basis that we refer to as Anglo-Saxon. The DNA roots indicate this is more geographically Danish than German. The English term "Germanic" was used mostly to denote a root from the continent rather than indigenous to the British Isles. So, with the withdrawal of the Romans came the disintegration of imperial rule back to only local rule. The Danish("Germania") tribes found it easy to settle here and establish a Danish or Scandinavian religion and government. By the times the Vikings (Norwegians) start their raids on the British Isles in the 8c the Danes/Jutes had been well established. It has been argued that Bede, the "Anglo-Saxon" monk/chronicler, was biased in his interpretation of Historia ecclesiastica, written in 731. It has been said that there is no evidence of an Anglo-Saxon-Jute invasion. It was probably more of a long gradual immigration perhaps even with the Romans. [Bede - wikipedia]

Minimal protection of the local governments made the raids seem a profitable occupation. It was widely reported throughout the Catholic world about the slaughter and pillage of the peaceful group of monks. It was reported in an Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of the era:

"In the year 787 came three ships to the West Saxon shores... and they slew folk. These were the first ships of Danish men that sought land of Engle folk." [Durant 4/483]

One of the most celebrated Danish raids took place on the monastery on the Island of Lindesfarne off the northeast coast of Great Britain in 793. This raid became a model for Viking raids for the next 200 years and created the legend for the violence that came with them. It made them a feared group throughout the Medieval world. In 833 a fleet of 350 Viking ship were moored in the Thames river as they pillage London and Canterbury. In 865 the Danes raided English monasteries and periodic raids continued until most of northern England was conquered. York and its cathedral was sack and the village "reduced to destitution and ignorance" in 867. [Durant 4/483] Although they slaughtered many original inhabitants, over the next 200 years northern England was settled by the Danes almost to the city of London. They establish farms, villages, and trade. They established a rule of law known as Danelaw based very much on a jury system above the Thames River. The Danes had many successive kings that ruled the northern lands of the Isles and fought against Viking raiders from Norway. Unfortunately, they also fought against one another too often. The Vikings, including now Norwegians, invaded England, Ireland and Normandy. This included several invasions up the Seine River to Paris, one with two hundred ships. Some of the rulers of northern England were relatives of Svein Forkbeard Haraldsson also known as Sweyn of Denmark.

In 1002 Ethelred "the Unready or counseless" conquered several areas of northern England and ordered the massacre of Danish settlers including Svein's relatives. Svein became the King of Denmark in 985 and in 1000 conquered Norway. He demanded and received payment to keep from invading Ethelred's England. Ethelred had to establish the first tax in England to pay the bribe. Finally Svein had just had enough and he drove Ethelred out to Normandy and Svein now became the King of England as well. The Saxons fought back and did recapture some land. When Svein dies Ethelred makes peace with Svein's son, Canute who fled to Denmark in fear of retribution to become King of Denmark. Ethelred died in 1016 and Canute fights with William Ironside, who lost, and Canute The Great wins the crown of England. Canute's empire came apart shortly after his death. England gains independence in 1042 and Norway in 1047. [Durant 4/483-485]

Christianity probably first came into the Jutland with the captured English monks who had been taken as slaves. It was a gradual assimilation and conversion. Charlemagne battled Godfred to the Eider river in Jutland but was not able to conquer them. His purpose was to convert the heathen north but also to punish them for their invasions of Franks. The several battles and the death of Charlemagne in 814 created a stalemate between the north and the Franks. Christianity made more conversions by diplomacy and concessions than by battles.[Jones]

Harrald I "Båltonn /Bluetooth" Gormsson (c910-987) came to power after his father, "Gorm the old", had removed the Sweds from the territory. The Catholic church officially came to the area of in the 10th century. Up to this point the people here were probably Norse pagans and held animistic beliefs based on the forces of nature. Harald Bluetooth came to power and under military and church pressure from Germany he imposed the church on his Danish realm with some resentment of his citizens. Two large burial mounds of his parents are nearby the Jelling Kirke. "Bluetooth" has come to be known as the writer of the Danish birth certificate with the inscriptions on the stone at Jelling.

These stones are difficult to photograph due to the reflections from the protective glass. While exposed to the elements they also were subject to vandalism from "taggers" and have deteriorated in recent history compared with earlier photos. Inside the Jelling Kirke a silver line marks the spot where "Old Gorm" is said to be buried. Gunhild Gormsdatter, Harald I "Bluetooth"s sister may have had more influence by giving birth to several kings of Norway. She was known for her beauty, power, scheming and magic.

The introduction of Christianity also brought written records. Catholic monks recorded births, deaths and marriages which had previously been very loosely identified and sometimes recorded from verbal history. These histories, usually to reinforce a nobleman's claim, could very easily be more invention than fact. In 1230s, the Southern Jutland became known as the Duchy of Slesvig. The division began with a feud among the rulers of Denmark, Canute's great-grandson, Abel Vlademarsen. Although it remained a Danish fief by marriage alliances it became closer connected to to the German Duchy of Holstein. Latin was introduced into the churches but by the mid to late 1600's the Reformation brought reform to the church and Danish churches. Northern Jutland churches started using Danish for services while the Schleswig churches adopted German. This created a cultural division between the two areas which remains today.

Vlademar IV Atterdag of Denmark (reign 1340-1375. As the youngest son of Christopher II, who had bankrupted the country, little hope was expect of Vlademar. He set about going on a crusade to Jerusalem without the Pope's permission, made war on Lithuania, sold the possession of Estonia, declared war on several German principalities and reunited the country of Denmark. During his tenure the ghost ship brought the Bubonic plague to Jutland. quoting Wikipedia article on Vladimar IV here:

Map of Denmark in 1500's
The names of the towns have changed a good deal. The towns seem identified to each have a church. The name of one of the towns in the northern most province of Thy is listed as Harthals which I believe is the present town of Hartshal. Holm is probably present Hanstholm. These towns that may have been major trade centers in the 1500's have become less important due to changes in the geography such as silting of the harbors. Swertsborg is what I believe is present day Vestervig in the area known as the Crimea of Cimbria. Nicopen is the present Nykobing. The Cimbria were a tribe that fought successfully against the Romans in the 1c. The lack of accuracy of the map is typical of the time period. [digital map, collection of EC]

The ideas of Martin Luther came to the Danish people through Germany. In 1536 the economic pressures and politics brought unrest. The peasants were unhappy with the rule of the Catholic prelates but were also unhappy about having a new king being imposed from the within. Luther had pointed out the excesses of the Catholic Pope and economic slavery the church had created in Germany. The uncle of Christian II had decided to use this as a reason to change the order and install his son as King of Denmark. Skipper Clement, who was a Vice Admiral and pirate for Christian II, helped to organize a peasant rebellion against the uncle of Christian II. The failed attempt saw Clement being executed in Viborg. During the Reformation of the 1600s the Convent of the Vestervig Kirke was torn down and the interior was white washed to cover all the images of saints that had been previously painted on the interior walls. Even the bricks and timbers from the church were quarried to build Aalborghus. The simplicity and self-reliant nature of the protestant faith undoubtedly appealed to these farmers sense of nature and propriety. [Vestervig Church]

The 1600's to the 1800's was a reasonably stable time period. The large manors existed growing crops and dairy products with the help of the feudal labor. The feudal system wasn't abolished until the 1800's. One of my grandmothers, Zidsel Sørensdatter, was actually sold with the mill that her previous husband, Søren Lauritsen, and her had operated for the lord of the manor. Her second husband was able to gain legal control of the mill and became a prosperous land owner by the time he dies in 1788.

Other names in this region that are related is somewhat confusing because of the naming patterns. For instance Christian's children would be named Christensen (Christian's son) or Christensdatter (Christian's daughter). Some of the names are related to their profession such as a person who owns and operates a mill would be Møller. It best to follow the family using the links on Ancestor Chart #1.


Harald I, Bluetooth's stone at Jelling photo Elroy Christenson 2016	Harald I, Bluetooth's stone at Jelling, side2 photo Elroy Christenson 2016