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Denmark's Early Royalty and the Jelling Stones

2016-03-14 | 🔗

The beginning of Denmark's monarchy more than a thousand years ago is linked to two large rune stones at Jelling. Is it possible that the stones were part of an effort on Harald Blåtand's part to revise the history of his parents, Gorm and Thyre?

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This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Here's. The thing saving money with Geico was almost better than playing pick up: basketball, is always that guy who joined your game He never passes the rock he Instantly bricks theories and who can We have you and then put his hands up and say no foul, no foul, with Geico its ease. The switch and save on car insurance. No need fake, an ankle sprain because you're absolutely exhausted. So which, in save with Geiger it's almost better than sports stuff. You missed in history has shown. How am I gonna have somehow we frying I'm crazy, bewildering pantries either you wanna time travel quite away today. Ideal
put on whatever outfit works, for that's that's company so or travelling back in time about a thousand years or so to Viking, Denmark, and we talked about before it's come opinion in passing- that the word Viking few to lump together a lot of different thing, so we're not gonna talk. Viking things a whole lot to snow, that this falls under that Canada five times. We all get emails from people to take part cast on the history of the Vikings, and that answer is no What would be an entirely new podcast brand? It would be a hundred hard theory, the history of the vikings still great there's a lot of stuff and part of it as we discussed today, is that a lot of them? history is still contemptuously debated among historians, So I mean it's rich and fertile soil to do an entire podcast about, but you know we cover all kinds of history, so
we're doing this one little narrow bit and we're talking about the yelling dynasty of Denmark or something You want to go. Do a search for on your own. Yelling is spelt the J beginning since the jailing- if you look at it in your normally an american english speaker, so the dynasty is often referred to as the beginning of the danish monarchy, and that point just as many points they will talk about is argued by historians, and rightly so, because there were certainly people there who had leaders of some sort before that. But this is first started being called Denmark, and this the time and place in history, where our knowledge is really pretty fuzzy, so keep all of that in mind as we go forward. So part of the problem with this particular piece of his stems from the fact that around the year, twelve hundred to a different historians wrote
There's no written accounts of Denmark's early royalty, both Sven Addison and Fax, though Grammaticus described the people and events evolved in great detail, but those to occur contradict each other in a whole lot of instances. We don't even know how much of the writing is in each case is the recording of oral history that had been handed down, which would automatically include some shifts in its accuracy versus how much had been when Arthur Embellishment and the results are viewing. The information through their own Temporary ones is so as a lot of funding is a fairy it's one of the reasons I have some measure elected to do things period, I feel like. We have the carving everything go. We know this pressure, so that will happen just brace and start often nebulous place. We do not know when Gorham the gambler or The old who is often cited as the first king of Denmark, was born,
personal side. Now that is Gorham GEO R M form friends out there. If you think I didn't take, this GEO are in every single time and rest assured I did, but there is out we know STAR Trek reference in the estimates for Gormans birthday are all over the place from the late eight hundreds through the early nine hundreds, and we do not know as well who norms mother was Gormans. Father heartache need had left his in a state of land that he had claimed through force and warm augmented the families property holdings doesn't it when Denmark was one United Kingdom, it was just an assortment of provinces and each was governed by a chief. You serve as its king, eventually Gorham had accumulated, are really significant, sank of land and got married. A woman named Tierra or T re, sometimes you'll, hear pronounced in both
spend Edison and sexual grammaticus accounts. She came from England, although we do not know if that is accurate. The identity her parents is unknown, although she may well have been part of a powerful are wealthy family. There, certainly some indicate that and thus that she was strategically important in marriage. Her father has been guessed at as any number of historically significant figures from Ethelred of Wessex to the king of jet At the time who has Harold Clack Accord The legend Gorham promised to give Tierra all of Denmark as a morning gift ass, a gift given by a husband to his wife, the morning after their myriads of consummated, but according to custom other scandinavian cultures. At the time the morning gift was actually inherited by the wife only after the husband's death so quickly Spit tucked away in your memory, because toward the end of this episode going to talk about this establishment of lineage and inheritance,
Gorman Tierra had children and, depending on what source you look at the number and sexes of those children. Very you I see only Harold Blossom, Gus Gorman listed as a sun, or here old and his brother canoe Dunna asked some. There's another son and on occasion, there's also a sister mentioned so somewhere between one in four children. According to one legend, if it mentions the brother, need clear, killed in a skirmish with another power and terror? Had the entire hall of the Royal House either painted black or hung with black cloth? and walking in seeing that darkened hall was how Gorham found out the news of his sons. Demise there. The name latin in heralds name translates the bluetooth we now why exactly? He had that name, although the most common speculation is that he had a visible, a visit, them AIDS or run tooth, and yes, we're going to come back to them.
Aim and modern technology. Later on, should mention. I should mention that at the top of the episode, this was said by a listener, I believe on social, and I don't have the name attached to it. So, whoever your thank you, because this was lovely and he specifically mentioned it because of the name Bluetooth so back in when his queen Tierra died, Gorham had Aroun stone erected in her memory. This stuff a significant it, and that is the first known time a king of Denmark referenced his country by that name. It's also the This known example of a danish kings words and this stone refers to Tierra, as the pride of Denmark sometimes also see it right now, as the adornment of Denmark sentenced is, though, indicate the Tierra actually outlived her husband. There so medieval texts that are really unclear as to this whole timeline. Has an impact on the narrative of Denmark's early history, as a monarch is also characterized. Them is a lot of different ways sometimes,
its fretted she's, credited with me in the country from conquest, sometimes she's got the saving Denmark from a famine she's so in some writings cast as the architect of a fortifying wall around Denmark southern border. Although archaeologists determined that the wall if he were first, he was built long before her time ass, Queen Ann seven, hundreds or maybe even earlier, and dont know the exact year of tourists death, but because Gorham referred to himself ass king on her room, stone and again Said this is all nebulous and we're gonna talk a lot about the stones in the timeline in a moment, based on his ruin stone. It appears to have been after his reign began, which was nine thirty. Four, then the way of nine fifty eight nine, fifty nine Gorham the. Died and at the time he was possibly laid to rest in the same burial mount his queen Tierra now known as the North man but again we do not know the exact location of tea
burial. So this is another one of those hazy points we are going to come back to terrorist resting place and this stone. As I said in just a bit, Harold Latin Gorman became the king of Denmark. When corn, when corn, another time the Viking kingdom was polytheistic, but Harold, perhaps near the converting to Christianity, would open the door to trade with other european powers, and so he decided that the games would be Christians and, as with all aspects of this story, this conversion to Christianity is characterized in multiple different ways in historical writings. By some, he was more or less forced into transitioning the country's religion to Christianity ever after having been bested in battle by a christian nation, but in other writings, he's described, is coming to this decision through his own interest and eventual spiritual conversion. His reign was one of relative peace than Denmark, although he did meet with a mix of success and failure in his efforts to expand Denmark's lands through conquest. King
world died in the autumn of nine eighty, his son San Fork beard may have been a rebellious upstart with eyes on the yelling throne, and of his supporters. One of sin supporters may have been the one to have shot and killed the king dead with an arrow. His body was interred a church that he had begun. Construction on in seem. Twenty excavators working in the burial amounts at yelling discovered an empty tomb. The only thing side of it were a silver cup and some other small items dating the beams, and then the tomb indicated that they were cut right around the time that Gorham the Old had died. But if the two men was meant to hold the Where was his body, question actually wasn't answered until the early nineteenth seventys in nineteen? Seventy gormans remains were found in the remains of a wooden church that have been built by Harold after he was christened as part of this shift to Christianity, its believe that Harold had his father.
We buried in the church, rather than the mound after norms remains covered. They were studied at Copenhagen's University in National Museum for several decades. Based on the study, of the remains its estimated that he was a practice we, fifty years old when he died that would have put his birth around the year. Nine o eight, he was five foot seven or a hundred and seventy two centimeters tall, and he had to them in his lower vertebrae on is thirty of two thousand Gorham was reinterred at yelling Church and Denmark's Royal family attended. The ceremony As we alluded to earlier, the exact location of Queen tier burial have been lost and will talk more about the significance of that in just a few moments he's gonna involve a lot of room stone talk, but before we move on to those stones and the various
rotations around them less pause forward from one of our sponsor bad sponsors squares MACE, we absolutely love them both Tracy. I have websites with them when it comes to putting too There are website it can be a little daunting and you could think that you need to have skills and coding information that you may or may not have, but you still need that website. Hey, you dont need those skills that you think you need. You will end up with a professional looking site, regardless of your skill level. It's really intuitive its super easy to use. If you sign up for a year was square space, they will get you a free domain, so you can just start. Free trial site today at square space dot com. When you decide to sign up for square space, Macsharry teased offer code, which is history to get ten percent off. Your vote. So to ruin. Stones usually mentioned at yelling, and that's it.
Central part of the Jutland Peninsula and those two stones have been analyzed and interpreted by historians. For years it there Not settled consensus about them, part of their He comes from the fact that the practice of erecting commemorative ruin appears to be a fairly brief trend in the big picture. So, unlike some other old cultural practices, we don't really have a particularly large samples sets to inform interpretations. Plus. Age means that a lot of them having been sitting outside this whole time have had some degradation said: the first smaller stone. Reeves king Gore made this monument in memory of terror, his wife, Denmark's adornment. And the larger stone reads: Herald the king bade. Do these sepolcro monuments after Gorman, father and after Tierra his mother, the Herald who won the whole of Denmark and all of Norway and made the Danes Christian these stones,
located adjacent to one another between two, nearly identical mounds, each of them out. Seventy meters or seventy six yards in diameter and eleven meters or twelve yards high, the north mound, was a burial chamber, but the south Mount? Doesn't the sound set just south of a nearby masonry church is still in use the original church there. This is the church tat was built around the year. Eleven hundred to replace a wooden church on a site they had burned down was rebuilt. Several times over, but before it was switch to a masonry church. And the smaller stone which will call the king Gorham Stone. The original position of that stone is not known its current. This man is where it's been since approximately sixteen thirty and just prior to the We know that it was used as a seat outside the church. For some period of time, and this stone three vertical lines of rooms on the front and one line of rooms on the back and to snakes that are also on the back
a larger Harold Stone has three five than on one of those. That is what I believe to be first image of Christ in Scandinavia for a while, the image was actually believed to have been a portrait of Harold himself, but early in the nineteenth century. It was established that it was indeed Christ. This in the early restoration project was determined to be in its original position, and there was actually a Then there was actually a third stone found it yelling in nineteen sixty four, but it appears unrelated to the Gorman Harold terrorist stones. A couple of points interesting areas of discussion around these two stones did king Gorham raise Aroun stones to honour his queen, ordered Harold, do it as part of sort of story call revision. So this is things, get to me really fascinating and where they are very hotly debated. So the stone
honouring Tierra are notable because it was not really customary for ruin stones to be raised for women, Denmark, two hundred and seventy seven known Viking Aroun stones. Remember how we mentioned a little bit ago that they don't really have huge data set to go on to earn. Seventy seven is really not that many of that number. Only twelve of those stones commemorate women and two of them reference Tierra. So that's a significant situation, although there has also been a case made that the reference to Denmark's adornment could actually be referencing Gorham, but that's not a particularly popular interpretation the stones, to aren't even more unusual when you consider that these two, part of a group of only three known ruin stones that were created at the command of kings, other rhinestones were raised by other people. Possible that more than two of those twelve stones dedicated to women are actually in honour of norms, wife Tierra at least
two other ruin stones from the same time period also reference a woman named Tierra, so is it very likely There was another woman with the same name who was also inspiring the commissioning of multiple moonstones. You just happened to me: in the same area of Denmark at the same time, seems a little bit coincidental It seems perhaps simply to coincidental, for it do not all be the same woman, but if even men weren't normally honoured or commemorated in this way multiple times over either. There is actually only one man that we know of with multiple rain, so it just weird in a variety of ways and one pollination for the multiple but allegedly unrelated, mentions of a woman named Tierra is that it common name in Jutland at the time historian Sire makes the case, though, that the assumption of the names commonplace nature is based not only seven or eight possible. Instances of its having been used or a fine but there was around, ruin stands for the logic
claiming the ruin stones are honouring multiple women of the same name. It's pretty circular yeah they're, using data to support that assertion. That is the direct, the direct thing they're trying to prove out so it gets really really a little bit squarely at that point, the smaller of those two yelling stones, thought to be erected by Gorham also has some linguistic characteristics which might give it away is being younger than we are intended to believe the stone Chris did to herald the large, The two has words that run together, whereas the ruin stones that Gorman the room stone that Gorman supposed to have erected has dividing them. Between the words and that's a newer linguistic practice in the caning the Gorham, stone may actually have come. Second, what
about why that may have been the case in just a moment. But first we are going to pause for a brief word from mother. This episode of stuff you missed in history classes, brought to you by the travel store. I have wanted to go to Alaska from a really long time, and now I'm going to get to you and I'm so excited Holly is coming to, and so can you we will be on the July tenth sailing from Seattle. Washington on celebrity clues lines will be going to several beautiful ports in Alaska, including Skagway catch. A cannon. Juno will also be an Victoria British Columbia, and we are also planning a couple of events on board where Holly and I will be where you can meet up with
podcast. This is on celebrity cruises. This is going to be a luxurious experience, full of wonderful amenities and amazing food. I've been on several cruises in my lifetime. They have all been just wonderful experiences, so please join us on an exciting cruise to Alaska on July Tenth call the travel store at one eight hundred, seven hundred and seventy seven six thousand five hundred and forty that's eight hundred seven hundred and seventy seven, six thousand five hundred and forty or log onto stuff. You missed cruise dot com why? What Harold have possibly irregular stone but seemed to be the work of his father and that it appeared he may be trying to pass off. As that and again, I referencing the work abridged Sawyer, but according to her, it may have been a way in which people asserted
the claims of inheritance. So he mentioned early on in the episode that Denmark was new to unification lords, your Gorham, likely competed with Gorham for control of the land that he eventually made his terror I have been a very appealing marriage partner because she may have held significant power prominence even before becoming dorms queen most likely, the daughter of someone you add additional landholdings. That would then become part of her husbands, king them entirely possible that the outlived her husband and remarried and then now would have created some question marks about who should inherent her holdings after her death they snow room stones that reference, a woman named Tierra, may have been placed by the family. She married into after Gorner died. So, you're suggests that it's possible that here old, not only reconstructed the past, by placing a rude stone from his father to terror,
But then the unknown resting place of the queen is due to the fact that she may have been buried by another family in another place entirely. After having been remarried Carol physically, had to prove his place, a son and heir and thus guns did the burial mounds at yelling to establish himself as part of terror is true or primary family and of you're. The existence of another burial spot, moreover, the cormorant stone was erected by Harold. It also serves as a precedent centre that Gorham was king, which litter carved in stone something that up to that point may have still been a matter of some dispute and remember back to you. Top the show we talked about the morning gift from Gorham to Tierra. If she did inherit Denmark upon his death, as combination of this gift. It would very very much me an heralds interest not to let another family then inherit literally the entire country after his mother's death
I am. I know I keep saying that it is important to note that these interpretations of the history of Gore, Harold and terror in the room stones, are just that their interpretations, although their debt we base in existing evidence is viewed through different lenses. Historic. Continue to argue the various points the Ladys and details of this part of Denmark's history. But in any case, if the ruin stones and mounds were part of a carefully orchestrated edit of history on heralds part, the planned work because he is recognised as an early king of Denmark. It's entirely about a new excavations yelling will reveal additional information about Gorman. His family, yelling mounds, runic, stones and church are all the UNESCO World Heritage site and since two thousand seven excavations have unearthed evidence of massive of a massive stone ship at the sight well as a member of buildings that could indicate a fortress that was built by Harold.
And I believe that those excavations went on until late twenty, eighteen. So a lot of those findings are still being analyzed in there could be big changes are based on an analysis we will just have to keep an eye on it. But we mention that we would talk about how heralds name ended up connected to technology, and then ninety ninety six, when a wireless technology being worked on by Ericsson, Nokia, Intel and eventually IBM needed a name that project the name of blue tooth, and that was because, just as hair Had United Denmark in many history, He's Bluetooth was intended to unite technologies. With this wireless short range link while it was intended initially only as a code name for the technology, Likud Development Name, Bluetooth. Of course, and there was more due to legal issues than anything else, digital name for this technology was pan or personal area networking and it was to use them there are many other trademark names and the second
Radio wire was already trademarked by someone else, though. The project's code name eventually became its official moniker, and now, when your mobile device has Bluetooth activated, you can see a small room on your screen, and you can thank Harold Bluetooth for that, too. That logo for blue technology is actually a combination of the ruins for king heralds initial, so in a fun way that Three comes alive. You are carrying a reference to Denmark's Viking history in your pocket with you all the time, if you have a smartphone bluetooth, that's pretty go. Now has really now that you mention it. That does look like a room I almost fell foolish for never. Having had that thought, once I read about it, I was like, while of course that's what it is well, I feel foolish because I've been working a house networks, dot com for more than a decade, talking about Bluetooth
times, and I knew like I knew at a very basic level, whose name for but the whole part where the logo little icon thing is basically Aroun did not know that yeah. Stuff, so that these are our discussion. Of the the yelling stones, which I I really can't wait to see sort of what edition. Analysis comes out. We will link, in our show notes to Denmark she'll museum has kind of an ongoing site that updates with the archaeological stuff. There hasn't been a lot of I ve been a lot of updates lately, I think, like I said there still doing analysis, but you can see all the stages of of the digs that they have done how they ve been very carefully preserving the area because it is in a place where I mean there's also neighborhoods around it. It's not like just a place in the middle of nowhere there's the when in that area? So it's really pretty fascinating to look at all those pictures and see what they're doing and how their Their handling at the stones are actually now encased in, like
the glass. I don't want to see cabinet tree, but that silly word coming to mind, but they're they're outside still but their case to protect them. So you can see them their basically on display is just sitting out there in between the mounds and in front of a church, quite cool. I heard you also have them snare mail. You heard correct this listener. Mail is from our listener Roberta, and it's a little bit of go back to your declaration of sentiments POD and the word obey used in marriage vows. So she says dear Alien, Tracy. First, of course I loved of human history class. I wasn t with great for a number of years now, and you always delay and inform. So. Thank you I just into the road to the declaration of sentiments in the process living in a quite a backlog of paths to catch up on. However, I mostly current now as in the past
no side, and no one ever has to apologise for not being current on the show. I'm not current on everything I watch or listen to buy our strengths. I take a train driver this past weekend and I listened to you literally for episodes. Each of judge done. Hodgman insarov owns that I was behind on on the trip yeah. I love a red trip for that reason I can let whoever else's on the car sack out like a display fight cast, but anyway, going back to report referred is note, said you guys, So comments of disbelief about people wanting the word obey in their wedding ceremonies or more specifically, not wanting it I wanted to. Let you know why we specifically chose to include it husband and I were merry by a justice of justice of the peace in several ninety ninety eight and had a big ceremony September of that year it was around lifestyle ceremony in a park with a friend officiating blessing, our non denominational wedding, I'm agnostic, my husband is now, but he was still a believer at the time
and we wanted traditional book of common prayer vows for authenticity, but also more so because it helps a meaning for us. We just stu obey and came to the conclusion that it was important to us to included we eat we child Anson Baggage and the idea that marriage was for life for us was very important pleaded obey to drive home the point to each other that we were in this for the long haul. The twisted that we set it to each other. It was a little and cheek, but we toss it at each other every once in a while to drive home the fact that we made promises to each other that can easily be broken. We're progressive people who have to somewhat traditional gender roles and we're very aware that latest tenuous, some we need a reminder that the promises we have made to each other is the basis for everything else in our lives, so it possible, though, surely rare, that people on the left of the spectrum might choose to include it. I just thought: maybe a different perspective might be interesting Thank you for your diligent research, a beautiful work. I look forward to many more wonderful podcast from you and trade
congrats on your upcoming nuptials. I can tell you that eighteen years in five kids, Mary each other was the best who is most are something my husband I have ever done. I wish both of you. And how we can bring in the lifetime of the love of peace. We ve had much less and she actually goes by bobby- I realise its signature. I was her email address name when I, when I first preference tourist, Roberta Bobby gives with such a good email and a nice reference, we ve gotten a variety of feedback on that have never went. Thank you Bobby. That's areas and then there were two. We got some letters that made. We think that maybe we ve there were some people to make our really angry and in writing. Amending the power I was like, if you want to make a choice, Klute within your bows make the choice. The point is that you have a choice now think not if their rest only upon women as a condition. I'm getting married, like that's the thing that the bats
two things the boys my mind, and the other thing was that the story I was relating was my official specifically, who is from either probably the most progressive denomination that exists in the United States, and so it was started, to me that anyone would have her officiate their wedding and then also want a unilateral vow of obedience. That seems a little contradictory to me to have like an extremely progressive religious aspect. Wedding than by then also want you unilateral obedience. Yeah bill, but it was my mind all of it. Yeah. Similarly, I think I really the story of my best files had friend getting married and she had said: don't use obey they had had a last minute, switch ruin their efficient and he described it out for the word serve, which was hilarious to all of us, but again it was. It was a thing that she had specifically chosen to exclude, and she like me as a little bit headstrong, and it was
A humorous in that regard to watch her reacts because she's one of those people that has always been common, cool and collected and fairly unflappable. It was just the areas to me because I'm maybe a jerk friend everybody had a good chuckle, but anyway, I think our point is that what feels right for you, perfect, like if people were offended by our, are seeing that it wasn't for us, I that was not my intense certainly so I apologise now and regardless of your feelings on the matter. I think it is a good thing for for people to have a choice in the matter now and Yeah- and I will say like all of the people that wrote us the even with very dissenting feelings about what we have said, I, what really stood out to me was interesting and- and I really liked was that all of them had talked about it from the point you have having discussed it with their spouse. Your partner ahead of time, and they were all like they got to that place
gather it wasn't again. As you said, it was not forced on anyone. It was situation where there was no choice. It was something that they agreed upon and felt correct for them. Now if they were suddenly you're, making a vow in front of people and not allow you can actually holding your heart whereby it right so hopeful this discussion cleared up any confusion we thank you for your lovely letter cause. It really was a nice way to open that door, and I thank you very much for your well wish. Is yes, so sweet Free Brien AM, I will hit our the anniversary this year, and I still say lake best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't ever I wanted to be married, and then I met him and everything changed like immediately in for me. That was absolutely the correct thing, maybe not for everybody, but only you know. Your heart in an Amy pullers book good for her. Not for me is the thing
We shall think of ourselves. Rack we're talking about other people's decisions, correct we met- comes up all the time in all walks of life in all decisions of life. That is hard, some of em unites have struggled, but that a former I'm like that's not the way you should do it, but for that person it might be- and am I to say good, like the right to us and share your thoughts Such things are in the history of document. Today you can do so at history forecast at Helstone works are com or on Facebook, Facebook, our complex, missed his on twitter at missed in history, Mr History, that com or on Pinterest I missed in history. Instagram analysed in history. If you would like to research to live a bit about what we found Today you can go to all appearance. I cast a works taken the word Vikings in the search bar and you will get an article on how vikings work you can also.
Let us at least in history that com for show notes for an archive of every episode that's ever existed and for the occasional other digital goody. We hope you do visit how's, the worst our common interest in history, that war on this and thousands of other topics that have worked on this episode of stuff. You missed and history classes, brought to you by the travel store. I have always wanted to go to Alaska so much and now I'm finally getting too and so with Holly, and so can you Holly and I will be aboard celebrity. Crews
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Transcript generated on 2020-02-02.