By people in the Frankish kingdom and on the British Isles the
Danes were first of all considered Vikings. Danish attackers, conquerors and
colonists played an important role in the remake of western Europe, but
they also had a strong influence in their own country.
Some Viking
chiefs, who had won riches, power and glory came home to Denmark and
tried to usurp royal power. King Horik and most of his family were
killed in such a power feud in 854. The old branch of the royal family
gained footfold , but other homecoming Viking chiefs - some from the
east - were more lucky in their fight about the throne. The fortification moats in Aarhus might have been built during that
period.
The diplomatic connections between the Danish kings and the Frank and
German rulers brought foreign influences to Denmark. King Harald was
baptized in Mainz in 826, and he was not the only Dane, who experienced
and was impressed by the court ceremoniel of the Franks. Maybe this
infected the life in the Danish royal castle in the 800s, but as for the
900s the big Jelling stone and the cross-marked coins show that Harald
Bluetooth fully understood the value of demonstrating his royal dignity.
The Jelling church was probably bigger than many other Danish
buildings, and its basic plan was inspired by the German churches.
The Franks and the Germans did not only affect their Danish
neighbours - they also wanted to have power over them, but they did not
succeed. The Danes could retriet from Jutland to security on the Danish Isles and
gather new strenght while the peninsula Jutland was attacked - and the Saxon hertug
Bruno and his army had to learn this in 880......the only Danish king
who in the 800s had to acknowledge the supremacy of the Franks was
Harald Klak, and he was deposed and driven into exile .
The feud between the various throne pretenders weakened seriously
the power of the Danish kings, and in 934 the Danes could not resist an
attack in southern Norway from the German army. The Danish supremacy broke down
and Harald Fairhairwas able to expand his Norwegian power while local rulers in the districts east of Storebælt (Danernes Mark) enjoyed a great independency.
Fyrkat , Jutland, photo:GB
Later the German king Henrik 1 forced the Danes to pay taxes, and two
generations later the Germans ruled in Sønderjylland (South Jutland) for a
short number of years (974-983). Nothing indicates that Harald Bluetooth
ever acknowledged German rulers as his overlords - but after 983 and in
the following century the Germans were too busy feuding their Slavic
neighbours to care about Denmark. Undoubtly it was the German occupation of Sønderjylland which
made Harald build the complicated system of fortifications and
roads which gave a clear expression of his power and talent of
organisation. In order to build the fortifications Trelleborg ,
Nonnebakken; Fyrkat and Aggersborg and the great bridges - which were
all
built at the same time - the king had to exploit his right to recruit
labor and demand other necessary services from the Danish population .
Most probably these heavy burdens made him unpopular among the Danes and
led to the rebellion which drove him into exile and death.
Runic inscriptions mention two earlier rulers at Funen, Roulv and
Alle. The Glavendrupstone was raised in the memory of Alle by his widow
Ragnhild and his sons. Ragnhild had the Danish rune-
master to carve the
inscription upon the runestone in Tryggevælde at Zealand
Glavendrupstone
for the
memory of her second husband, Gunulv, about whom it
was said that "few are born better than he". It is not known which stone
was raised first, but these men must have been contemporary to king Harald,
and they might even have been local chiefs, who by acknowledging Harald
as their king, took part in making it possible for him to announce that he
had "won himself all Denmark. "
Harald's kingdom was exposed for disturbances from Viking fleets. As the leader of the expeditions to the west Sweyn Forkbeardsaw
to that his men were awarded like other men of the Viking chiefs.
Torkel's fleet represented the biggest threat however. He was now in the service
of the English king, but it was Sweyn who in 1013 seized the English
throne and thereby got access to the rich sources in England.
The
riches of Englands made Cnut the Great able to realise the Danish
demand on the supremacy of a large part of Scandinavia, much more than
his predecessors had ever been able to. Still before Cnut drove the
Norse king Olav into exile he demanded to be king of the Norwegians -
and at the same time he declared he was king of a part of the Swedes. It
is not known what he actually meant - he might have thought of the
West Goths, whose access to the sea went through Danish territory, but
it was more probable that he considered himself as the overlord of the
Swedes who had been warriors in his army. As king of England Cnut
advised one of the most advanced and
effective Governments of Europe - and it did not last long before
this English influence was evident in Denmark. The attempts to establish
a
well-functioning coin was finally successfull and much was done
to promote the development of cities which became metropols for the
royal power. In some cities were established bishoprics - and the
bishops were
fetched from England or at least educated there. Cnut's great kingdom
sank
into the gravel after his death but the changes he had started were
continued by his successors and long after the separation of Denmark and
England the
English influence was noticed in the Danish church.
Merchants, wandering craftsmen, Christian missionaires, diplomats and
the Vikings themselves were all the cause of influences from abroad in
Denmark. The Danes connected more and more to the outside world during
the Viking period than ever before and the consequences began to show in
the beginning of the 1000s - cities were founded, bishoprics and a
royal coinage were established. It is clear via archaeology that all
parts of society were affected by the contact to the outside world. In
each archaeologically examined village from the Viking period are rests
of mill stones from the Rhine district and soapstone-vessels and
grindstones from the northern Scandinavia. In Jutland are found western
European ceramics - and Slavic clay ware or Danish copies are found in
the eastern part of Denmark . More perishable goods like clothes and
wine were probably also widespread. The imported goods were spread all
over Denmark - but they were not for free. Wealthy Danes who lived in
the 1000s were capable of paying their shopping with coins and other
silver - but the import was through the whole period generally paid
with Danish export products or with services and catering to the foreign
merchants who visited the Danish harbours on their tour between the
Baltics and Western Europe. Cattle was one of the most important export
products
Highland cattle, foto:GB
. An early phase of this traffic is proved by the archaeological
find of a large heap of cow dung which had accumulated in the town of
Ribe. This indicates that cattle was gathered here, probably in order
to transport them by sea.
Ansgar
village and church, Hjerl hede, foto:GB
Except from Willibrord's visit in the beginning of the
700s the Christian mission began in 823 among the Danes when archbishop
Ebbo baptized a great number of Danes. Ebbo's, Ansgar's and the preaching
of their successors might have convinced many that the Christian God
was a mighty God, but it was not until king Harald's conversion 150
years later that Christianity became the only legal religion. The
Christian message was being preached by missionary bishops. In the
beginning of the 1000s were established bishpoprics, and in the middle
of the same century were churches built all over Denmark. In most regions of
Denmark church services and new rituals were provided in a foreign
language by men who rarely had any education. Gradually the church
seized several areas of daily life, also the marriage - and eventually
the top officials of the Danish church were incorporated in the elite of
the Holy Church. Several rituals, like cremation and eating horsemeat
were quickly submitted, while other rituals like some fertility rituals
lived on in a Christian disguise.
During
the reign of Sven Estridsen the church began receiving estates as gift
or inheritance, which had great consequences gradually, when large areas
were added to the church. The Christian doctrine brought a still more
perceptible change, namely the abolition of the old custom to expose
infants. The restriction in this form of child restraint reulted in an
increase of population - and new settlements occurred.
Hedeby trading center
Archaeological
finds show that the Danes in the Viking period were relatively wealthy.
The farmers in the wellknown settlement Vorbasse did generally not own
their land, but they had much cattle, and their descendants in the 1000s
had even more. The houses in Vorbasse were large and spacious. Houses
of the Trelleborg-type which were built in the 1000s were larger and
free inside .Another change was that the stables were now in separate
buildings in an appropriate distance from the houses.
Trelleborg, house, foto:GB
Excavations
in other places also indicate that the Danish farmers were really well
in the Viking period - also the landlords who received various benefits
from the farmers. The king was the greatest landlord - and when Harald
Bluetooth won all Denmark he must have expanded the royal estate
enormously. His son and grandson increased also the royal riches when
they conquered England. The Crown Land also grew when farms were given
to the king as a fine for manslaughter. Several farms which Cnut the
Holy in 1085 gave to the cathedral in Lund were acquired by him or his
predecessors in this way.
Detail, Ravning bridge, foto:GB
The realm of gravity up till Harald's rule was in Jutland - usually the
king was able to keep the peace which gave the Danes and the visiting
merchants a reasonable security both in Jutland and on the Isles. In
the 800s and maybe before some Danish kings extended their power to the
island east of Storebælt and up into the southern part of Norway. In
these districts the king was probably the overlord of the
local potentates while they in Jutland were directly regents. A supremacy
like this had to be maintained by force or with the threat of the use
of force and the power of a king depended on the fidelity and skill of
his warriors (his lid).
Northern Empire, 1000s, wikipedia
The procedures of the government were also in the 1000s primitive and
severe - as Cnut the Great did show, when he commanded his regent in England , Thorkel, to defure evildoers who else could not be prosecuted. Harald
Bluetooth's rulership in the eastern part of Denmark probably had the
same reprisals like Godfred had 150 years before, but Harald showed that
he was able to mobilize many good forces at Zealand and Funen and in
Jutland so he could build his big fortifications and roads and bridges.
It might be Harald who initiated the conversion of the townships into
administration units which made it easier to collect taxes and other
benefits. .
Sweyn, wikipedia
Twice in the 900s it was clear how vulnerable Jutland was to German attacks, and Harald Bluetooth might have seen that the countries east of Storebælt provided the highest security against the threat from these mighty neighbours. It was not until the rule of Sweyn Forkbeard that the gravity of the kingdom moved east to the districts around Øresund. King Sweyn founded the towns Roskilde and Lund. The Danish king now wanted to be overlord of the whole country - and "landefreden" ( the peace of the country) spread along the coasts of Øresund. Piracy was still a nuisance, but inspite of Adam of Bremen's assertion that both Storebælt and Øreasund were harrassed by pirates, the traffic through Øresund was probably not suffering from great hindrances, when the travelling merchants were on their way to the Baltic Sea. They had been proned to follow the coast of Jutland in order to get the protection which the Danish king provided. Now they were guaranteed the same security if they chose the direct way through Øresund, which now became the gateway to the Baltic Sea and the key to the power of the North.
The Danish royal power originated in its time in Jutland, and in the first centuries of the kingdom Jutland was kernelandet (the core country). When the scalds still celebrated Cnut the Great as Jótlands jøfurr (Jyllands høvding) it was a memory about that time. But by supplying their Jutland power with a firm grip of the regime of the Danish Isles and Scania - the large area, which until then were considered the outer districts of the kingdom ( danernes mark), the last great Viking kings, Harald, Sweyn and Cnut had created a strong and viable unit in Denmark with a future.
The big Jelling stone , photo:GB
Source: "Da Danmark blev Danmark" (700-1050) by Peter Sawyer, Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie bd 3.
photo: Grethe Bachmann and photocopies:: wikipedia.
The Scandinavion tradition with Lucia processions is relatively new and origins from 1928, where a Swedish newspaper graded "Stockholm's Lucia". Today each Swedish town has its own Lucia, who each year is graded Lucia long before 13 December. All the Lucias take part in a competition as "Swedens Lucia", a title which don't just mean to drive in a cortege to Skansen in Stockholm, but that the lucky girl gets a pr-tour to Italy and Syracusa where Lucia came from.
The Swedes have actually celebrated the Lucia night ("lussenat") since the 1600-1700s, especially in the western part of the country, where tradition says that the young girls in the farm wake everyone with coffee and bread in the dark early morning. In
Sweden the tradition has been cultivated with the special Lucia
"lussebröd", a bun, which is shaped like a wreath with four loops and
spiced with saffron.
The Santa Lucia celebration song is a Sicilian folksong in the honour
of Lucia, but the Scandinavian text is not so much about the historic
Lucia, rather about the Swedish tradition where the Lucia Bride carries a
tray with food to "those in need". Maybe this comes from the old
legend, where Lucia brought food to the Christians in the catacombs
during the persecutions. Lucia has nothing to do with Christmas which is seen in the Lucia songs. Sweden has lots of Lucia songs while the Danes only know a single one ( about the locality Lucia south of Napoli.) The first Lucia procession in Denmark was during the German occupation in WWII, and since then it has become a permanent part in Danish schools, but the Lucia feast in Denmark has never reached the same importance as in Sweden.
The story about Lucia begins in 283 at Sicily in the town Syracusa. Her family was well off and her prospects were good, but at a young age Lucia conversed from the Roman religion and was baptized, which later cost her life. Sicily was a part of the Roman Empire - and in order to maintain peace the inhabitants had to sacrifice to the emperor. The Christians denied to bring these sacrifices.
The Romans considered Christianity a dangerous religion and an enemy of the Roman empire, and the Christians were tortured and executed in the most brutal way. Many Christians lived a secret life where they either hid their faith or lived underground in the catacombs. Lucia helped her fellowmen. At night she brought food to the Christians in the catacombs - and in order to find way in the dark she wore a wreath upon her head with lit candles.
According to customs she was promised to a man, who was a Roman from a reputable family, but she rejected the husband and the marriage. Her faith and her vow to God were incompatible with marriage, but in the eyes of the Roman her reasons were not just ridiculous, but also dangerous, and he indicated her to the authorities. Lucia would not sacrifice to the emperor and she was convicted guilty. At first she was sent to a brothel, but by divine intervention she was being protected. She was then exposed to torture and sentenced to die at the stake, but once again God intervened. At last the judge took his sword and stuck her, and she died on 13. December year 304.
Lucia was buried in her hometown Syracusa and as early as in the 400s she is mentioned in written sources. In the 600s where Christianity now was a state religion in the Roman kingdom she was a part of the Catholic liturgy. Her celebration day is the day of her death on 13. December, which is celebrated as a light feast in Scandinavia, especially in Sweden and Denmark. According to tradition the Lucia Bride walks in front of the light procession wearing a crown with candles upon her head. This is the virgin crown as a memory about Santa Lucia who gave her life to God as the bride of Christ .
Santa Lucia is connected to more than light and joy. She has become the patron saint for blind people and people with eye diseases. She is often displayed with a small bowl containing two eyes.
The Viking Age is often displayed as a violent time, dominated by men who conquered countries and built kingdoms, but the image has changed during the latest 20 years. Archaeological finds from Scandinavia and the Continent bear witness about the Viking women's daily activities, their power and status from slave to queen.
The daily Life of a Viking woman.
Hjerl Hede, photo:GB
Silkeborg Bymuseum, photo:GB
Most people in Viking Age were farmers - or they lived in farms. The management was maintained by a household: the family, some slaves, farm workers and servants, although the knowledge about a Viking household like this is limited today. The economy of the farm was (in Dk) based upon livestock, agriculture and production of textiles and other things for own use. All members of the house took probably part in the daily doings - the archaeological finds show that the production of textiles and metal objects and timber work were gender based for respectively women and men.
Textiles, Silkeborg Bymuseum, photo:GB
textiles, photo:GB
Women could work as craftsmen in the cities, often with the production of textiles for trade, and they might also take part in doing the trade on behalf of the family. It seems that some women were specialized textile workers since the production- techniques were complicated. The production and trade of textiles were an important part of the economy.
The daily life in the city and on the farm was lived both inside and outside the house. Women took care of the children and of the elderly, they made food and conserved food, like dairy-products and other processing of raw products. The textile production included also processing of wool, spinning and weaving. Unfortunately the textiles from Viking Age are rarely preserved up till today, but some small fragments are found and they show a wide width in the techniques they used and in the quality of the textiles.
The gender roles via the burials of the Vikings tells something. Men and women were often buried in
Højstrup viking graves, photo: GB
their prettiest clothes with grave goods and eventually with sacrificed animals. During the 9th century and in the first half of the 10th century wealthy women wore a dress held together with two oval clamps on the shoulders and with more grave goods like broches and pearl necklaces and spindle-things - often also with small chests containing textile equipment. Keys are also a common thing in women-graves - maybe marking the status of a house wife. But rich women-graves and rich men- graves were in general rather few. The rich graves seem reserved to the highest class in the social hierarchy. Common people
were buried with one or two objects or nothing.
Silkeborg Bymuseum, photo:GB
The ideal Viking woman was a woman between 16-40 years of age. At 16 she was ready to marry and have children and she could take part in the physical hard life on the farm.She enjoyed to some extent more freedom than women in other parts of the medieval contemporary Europe. Written sources represent the Scandinavian woman of Viking age as independent and with rights. Runic inscriptions, especially from Mid Sweden, bear witness about the woman's right to dispose over her property and her rights to inherit. The married couple was jointly responsible for the household and had to trust the partner's willingness to cooperate. An apparently good relation was between a Swedish couple, Holmgaut and Odendisa, since Holmgaut let carve runes in a memorial after his wife "no better housewife will come to Hassmyra to look after the farm" This inscription describes the woman's role in the management of the farm, the organisation of the household and maybe the control of people, animals and ressources. If the husband was out on a Viking expedition the responsibility of everything at home fell to the woman.
If a marriage did not work both husband and wife could get a divorce. The Spanish-Jewisch traveller At Tartushi visited Hedeby in the second part of the 10th century and was surprised by being told that women had a right to get divorced if they just wanted it themselves. The frequency of divorces in the Viking period is not known but the right to divorce and to inherit shows that the Viking woman had an independent social status.
Hägar, wikipedia
A permanent relation between a man and a woman could also happen outside the frame of marriage, since polygamy was a spread custom, at least in the higher levels of society. There are no informations about other groups. In Frankish sources are written about some Norman chiefs who had more than one woman in his household, which by the Franks was considered a special Danish and un-Christian custom.
Thyra Danebod, Lorenz Frølich, 1855,wikipedia
Some women achieved a special high status by family alliances or by their own skill. The best known might be queen Thyra, wife of Gorm the Old and mother of Harald Bluetooth. Her name is carved upon at least four runestones in Jutland, including two runestones from Jelling. Upon the small Jelling stone, raised by Gorm in the middle of 900s, Thyra is characterized as Danmarks pryd, while she upon the big Jelling stone, raised by her son Harald, is mentioned as Gorm's wife and king Harald's mother. These inscriptions show her significance for the Danish kingdom.
Dejbjergvogn, National Museum
Fyrkat, Viking House, photo:GB
In the second part of the 900s aristocratic women had their own burial customs, where they were placed in a wagon. These graves correspond socially to the horseman's grave, where men of the elite were buried with weapons, equestrian equipment and in some cases also with a horse. One of the aristocratic women was known from the burial place at the Viking site Fyrkat. She was nobly dressed in a robe with decorations of gold and silver, and she had exotic jewelry, seeds of hemlock which has expanding qualities of consciousness, and a chest with textile equipment etc. And a decorated iron staff among these grave goods leads to the conclusion that this woman was a volve, a female ritual specialist.
Siege of Paris, painting Jean Pierre Franque/wikipedia
The Viking expeditions were not only a matter for men. The Anglosaxon Chronicle mentions for the 890s that Viking groups held both women and children, who stayed in a safe place during the men's attacks. A more doubtful source, a poem by Abbo from Saint Germain's kloster in Paris tells in 885-886 how Vikings during the Siege of Paris were encouraged to go back fighting. Some cases are probably about getting slaves like in the Frankish annals, where it is informed for the year 837 that the Vikings captured women to sell them as slaves. Maybe some of these women were brought back to Scandinavia.
oval broches, wikipedia
Women were also with the Vikings when they settled permanently in the conquered areas in England and France. In Angers in France a group of Vikings arrived in 873 with women and children to settle down. It is not known if these women came from Scandinavia.
Oval broches, which were used by high status women in Scandinavia to hold their robe, were found in various parts of Europe, where the Vikings settled, like in England, Ireland, Russia and Iceland. This shows that Scandinavian women probably were a part of the Vikings' expansion - and maybe some elements of the Scandinavian dress custom for women spread among the original inhabitants in these areas.
The Viking age was a period where Scandinavia went from the before-Christian religion to Christianity. The new faith was in the beginning especially popular among women, which is seen from many runestones from Mid Sweden, where women raised stones. Some women had built bridges and the runestones were raised as a memory of a deceased, which was considered a Christian benefaction. Women may have been attracted to the new religions because of the wonderful paradise with place for everyone, peace and equality between men and women in the face of God, and the Christian prohibition of infanticide. There are also examples of Viking women going on a pilgrimage. (Left: one of Denmark's most important runestones (Sdr. Vissing church), raised by Harald Bluetooth's wife, Tove Mistivojsdatter after her mother.
The new Christian social ideology had however in the long run a negative effect on women in society if they had part in the public cult in before-Christian time. The Christian practice with male priests made women passive spectators in the cult. Later in high Middle Ages Saxo expresses a clear disbelief in women whom he considers inconsistent, unreliable and a threat to the right scheme of the world. Women's dependence of men were thus promoted, and it is probable that women lost a part of the social freedom which they had earlier in the first couple of centuries of the new Millenium
after the introduction of Christianity in Scandinavia.
Scandinavian Jul in the Viking period and in the early Middle Ages. (source: Middelalderhistorie, Århus Universitet)
Candle in Vor Frue Kirke, Århus/ GB
The word Jul or the Old Norse Jól was used long before Christianity came to Denmark and Scandinavia. Jul was the term for the winter feasts when days of the year again began to grow longer - but today it is difficult to know what these ancient feasts really meant to people.
Carl Larsson, Midvinterblót, (wikipedia)
The linguistic history of the word Jul are somewhat lost, but it has probably German roots. An early example of the use of the word is in the Gothic language spoken in Central and South Eruope in late Antiquity and in the early Middle Ages. The word Jul is first seen in the 300s. It was among others used in the form jiuleis which was the name for November or December. A few centuries later it is seen in Old English where it occurs as goiuli giulæi or youle - as a description of the period December-January. In Old Norse ( the language in Scandinavia in the Viking Age) the word seems to have had several meanings, but everything points to that the Old Norse Jól can be translated into feast. The word seems to have spread in Europe in Antiquity and early Middle Ages, the periods which in Denmark are named Iron Age and Viking Age. It was everywhere used about the same time of the year, but it is uncertain what the word actually covered - also in the Nordic context.
Viking House, Fyrkat/ GB
There are no contemporary written sources which describe the before-Christian Jul. A few Nordic sources like scaldic verses and sagas, which use the word jul/jól, were written down in the Christian period, and they therefore reflect the world view of the Christian writer. In most source-cases where jul is mentioned, it is used about the Christian celebration, but a few Nordic sources indicate that the jul in Scandinavia - also in the time before Christianity - was a special event in December or January.
Harald Haarfager/ wikipedia
This is seen in the probably earliest Nordic source which mentions the word jul. It is a scaldic verse ( ab. year 900) by the scald Thorbjørn Hornklofi, composed to king Harald Haarfager of Norway (king ca. 872-930). The verse sounds like this: "the king will drink jul out ... and make Frej's play". The first words probably refer to how a ruler in the Viking Age had to move around a lot if he wanted to keep his power. It is not clear what is meant by Frej's play, but the drink sacrifice took a central role in the before-Christian religion, where the Vikings drank to honor gods like Frej and Odin. Maybe the verse refers to a sacrifice like this.
Odin, Hugin and Munin/wikipedia
Another scaldic verse pays tribute to king Harald Hardrada of Norway (king 1046-1066) for his victory at the battle field. It was said that the king prepared jul for Hugin's hird. Hugin was one of Odin's ravens, so the verse refers probably to the men killed in the battle and being food for the ravens. Maybe here is also referred to the unusual numbers of food taken in at the feasts of jul.
Hakon the Good/ wikipedia
The Icelandic Christian chronicle writer Snorri Sturlasson mentions jul in a saga about the Norwegian king Hakon the Good (king ab.
933- 959). The saga was written down in ab. 1230. He describes that king Hakon decides to celebrate jul at the same time as the Christians. The saga also tells the story about a Viking chief, who after being a Christian, still held on to the tradition to celebrate three big feasts during each year, three yearly sacrifice feasts: one at the beginning of winter, one in midwinter and one in the start of summer.
Snorri Sturlasson,C.Krogh/ Wikipedia
When he became a Christian he continued celebrating three feasts each year, which were now named gæstebud (banquets): one in autumn, a jul-feast in winter and one at Easter. How the feasts were celebrated is told by Snorri: "the Christian king Hakon was invited to a jul-feast by some heathen farmers, who according to tradition wanted the king to take part in the sacrifice. (blót) The Christian king would not take part in this, but he needed to have the support of the farmers, so he found a compromise: he eat a little horse liver and drank some memorial cheers without crossing his drinking cup. Making the sign of the cross was a Christian custom which the farmers would never accept.
Jolagjafir/ wikipedia
The sagas holds also the first example e of the word julegave (Christmas gift). It is seen in a description of Norway's king Hakon (king 1093-1095). He was supported by a part of the Norwegian population if he refrained from filing the traditional taxes which the Norwegian people had to give the king, including julegaver/jolagjafir. In other parts of the sagas are examples of julegaver which remind of the phenomenon, known today. Scandinavian Viking chiefs gave gifts to their families around the turn of the year, and thus he followed a custom which had spread in the European courts. Princes also used gifts traditionally to attract important people and thereby establish or hold on to their social status. In time these gifts were connected to the jule feast.
Jul in Lejre, Zealand/ wikipedia
The German history writer Thietmar of Merseburg wrote in the beginning of the 1000s about a sacrifice feast which was held each year at Lejre in the Danish isle Zealand. Archeologists have here found a very important place, which probably functioned as the royal court of the Danes. According to Thietmar the Danes sacrificed humans and animals in Lejre at a time where Christians celebrated the Holy three kings on 6 January, these sacrifices were held in order to please the underground people. Thietmar's descriptions reflects a Christian's negative view upon a heathen society - and it is not certain if his description can be connected to the before-Christian jul, but it indicates that people of Scandinavia in December or January celebrated ritual blót-feasts.
Sacrifice place, reconstruction, DK/ wikipedia
After the introduction of Christianity in Denmark several sources mention how Danish kings kept magnificent feasts in order to celebrate the Christian jul. German history writers like Arnold of Lübeck describe in the 1100s how Danish kings had great drinking feasts. Similar descriptions are also seen in the Danish chronicles. The history writer Saxo wrote ab.year 1200 about a jule feast at the Danish court. The king invited the greatest men of the kingdom to magnificent feasts where they eat and drak for several days.
Sacrifice of food,reconstruction, DK/ wikipedia
Some are of the opinion that the before-Christian jul was at winter solstice, 21 or 22 December, others that it was at midwinter night between 19-20 January. Both suggestions could be true. There were probably several ritual feasts, which were held on various times in December or January. The feasts have varied from district to district, maybe even from family to family in some cases. There was probably a summer solstice feasts, a feast at midwinter, and in other cases a fertility feast. The jól of winter was regarded as one of the intersection points of the year.
Feast in Middle Ages/ wikipedia
The jul was a ritual event, connected to the middle of winter. It seems that great men from the social elite often were the focal point of important feasts. Like the king the powerful men of the kingdom were often central in the ceremonies which were connected to the practice of the before-Christian religion - and they played undoubtedly an important role in marking the Jul. They drank, eat and sacrificed, and the sacrifice was probably held in one of the great halls where the elite resided. The jul-feast contributed to hold on to and to develop the social and religious structures of society.
Earliest Danish cross, Vor Frue kirke, Århus/ GB
In Scandinavia the word jul survived the introduction of Christianity, while other parts of Europe began to use words, which came from Christianity, like the English Christmas, the German Weihnacht and the Spanish Navidad etc. Likewise the considerable intake of food and drink seemed to live on in new forms. People did not cheer in the honor of Odin and Frej, but celebrated the birth of Christ. Although it immediately looks as if central parts of the before-Christian jul continued after the introduction of Christianity, it is important to say that the informations were written down by later Christian writers. They saw the past through a Christian lens and might therefore have transferred a part of their contemporary jul-celebration to their description of the past.
The Franks and the Germans did not only affect their Danish
neighbours - they also wanted to have power over them, but they did not
succeed. The Danes could retriet from Jutland to security on the Danish Isles and
gather new strenght while the peninsula Jutland was attacked - and the Saxon hertug
Bruno and his army had to learn this in 880......the only Danish king
who in the 800s had to acknowledge the supremacy of the Franks was
Harald Klak, and he was deposed and driven into exile .
Harald's kingdom was exposed for disturbances from Viking fleets. As the leader of the expeditions to the west Sweyn Forkbeard saw
to that his men were awarded like other men of the Viking chiefs.
Torkel's fleet represented the biggest threat however. He was now in the service
of the English king, but it was Sweyn who in 1013 seized the English
throne and thereby got access to the rich sources in England.
Merchants, wandering craftsmen, Christian missionaires, diplomats and
the Vikings themselves were all the cause of influences from abroad in
Denmark. The Danes connected more and more to the outside world during
the Viking period than ever before and the consequences began to show in
the beginning of the 1000s - cities were founded, bishoprics and a
royal coinage were established. It is clear via archaeology that all
parts of society were affected by the contact to the outside world. In
each archaeologically examined village from the Viking period are rests
of mill stones from the Rhine district and soapstone-vessels and
grindstones from the northern Scandinavia. In Jutland are found western
European ceramics - and Slavic clay ware or Danish copies are found in
the eastern part of Denmark . More perishable goods like clothes and
wine were probably also widespread. The imported goods were spread all
over Denmark - but they were not for free. Wealthy Danes who lived in
the 1000s were capable of paying their shopping with coins and other
silver - but the import was through the whole period generally paid
with Danish export products or with services and catering to the foreign
merchants who visited the Danish harbours on their tour between the
Baltics and Western Europe. Cattle was one of the most important export
products
