With Life on the Line Anno 950
Those who lived during the Viking Age lived dangerously. For one, the average lifespan was short—perhaps 30 years.
And if wear, hunger, or disease didn’t take you, there was a great risk of ending the day a head shorter, than you started out on the fateful day that would be your last. This happened to Jarl Byrthnooth, for example, when he tried to stand in the way of Sweyn Forkbeard during his conquest of England alongside his Norwegian ally Olaf Tryggvason. The Jarl lost after a fierce battle and was beheaded. Sweyn and Olaf took his head in triumph, while Byrthnooth was humiliated by being buried with a wax head.
Sweyn Forkbeard was the son of Harald Bluetooth, who was the son of Gorm the Old. Harald is the first person mentioned in writing as the king of all Denmark, as noted on the Jelling Stones. Harald had carved into runes that he was ‘Harald who won all of Denmark and Norway.’
Harald Bluetooth was a very active king. He fought with the German emperor for control over Southern Jutland. He expanded the Dannevirke fortification, constructed 4-5 large ring fortresses across the country, built a bridge, which remained the longest in the country for 1,000 years, and created the monuments in Jelling with two rune stones, two burial mounds, and a Christian church.
He was also the one who Christianized the Danes—or at least, that’s what he said. The truth is that the transition to Christianity had been underway for a couple of hundred years before Harald converted. His intent was perhaps more to please the powerful neighbor to the south.
Harald Bluetooth appointed his son Sweyn Forkbeard as co-king—a move we would call a smooth transition today. But the plan fell through. Harald and Sweyn went to war over the kingship, a war that ended when Harald was wounded and died. Myth says he was shot in the backside while attending to nature’s call, but that’s likely just a tale, perhaps invented to tarnish Harald’s good name and reputation.
You can explore the story of Harald, Sweyn, and the rest of Denmark's kings and queens at the experience center at Kongernes Jelling. Go and discover how the royal lineage was shaped through bloody battles, intrigue, rebellion, and diplomacy. For many years, becoming a ruler was a position where life was at stake.