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51-451: Although her existence is documented in Viking Age runic inscriptions, very little is know about Thyra with certainty as no other contemporary sources about her survive. Much of her story is pieced together through 12th and 13th century sources that broadly disagree with one another, such as Icelandic sagas and writings of the medieval historians Saxo Grammaticus and Sven Aggesen . When she

102-476: A morning gift . If Thyra was actually the daughter of Æthelred, the invasion of England by Sweyn Forkbeard could be more accurately depicted as a succession crisis, with the descendants of Thyra having a stronger claim to the throne than the children of Alfred the Great . An alternative proposal given by accounts such as Heimskringla and Jómsvíkinga saga is that her father was Klak Harald , an earl who ruled over

153-537: A conflation of Harald Bluetooth with the legendary or semi-legendary Harald Klak , son of Halfdan . The byname is given as Blachtent and explicitly glossed as "bluish or black tooth" ( dens lividus vel niger ) in a chronicle of the late 12th century, Wilhelmi abbatis regum Danorum genealogia . The traditional explanation is that Harald must have had a conspicuous bad tooth that appeared "blue" (i.e. "black", as blár "blue" meant "blue-black", or "dark-coloured"). Another explanation, proposed by Scocozza (1997),

204-405: A consensus on her life. The Gesta Danorum claims that Thyra stood out as a serious and cunning woman and said that she would not marry Gorm until she had all of Denmark as her dowry. When this was agreed, she was betrothed to him but asked him not to have sex with her when they shared a bed for the first three nights until she had had a vision that their marriage would go well. Gorm agreed and laid

255-723: A consequence of Harald's army having lost to the Germans at the Danevirke in 974, he no longer had control of Norway, and Germans settled back into the border area between Scandinavia and Germany. They were driven out of Denmark in 983 by an alliance of Obodrite soldiers and troops loyal to Harald, but soon after, Harald was killed fighting off a rebellion led by his son Sweyn. He is believed to have died in 986, although several accounts claim 985 as his year of death. According to Adam of Bremen he died in Jumne/ Jomsborg from his wounds. His body

306-566: A drawn sword between them in the bed, and at night he dreamed that a large bird and a smaller one flew out of his wife's womb and flew up into the sky and sat on each of his hands. Again they flew off and came back but the third time when they flew away, only the smaller bird came back and its wings were covered in blood. At this, Gorm woke and cried out, telling his vision to his servants and Thyra took it to mean that they would have children together. She later gave birth to Canute and Harald. According to Jómsvíkinga saga, before Thyra married Gorm, she

357-451: A few years in the 970s. Some sources say his son Sweyn Forkbeard forcibly deposed him from his Danish throne before his death. Harald's name is written as runic haraltr : kunukʀ (ᚼᛅᚱᛅᛚᛏᚱ ᛬ ᚴᚢᚾᚢᚴᛦ) in the Jelling stone inscription. In normalized Old Norse , this would correspond to Haraldr konungr , i.e. "Harald king ". The Latinized name as given in the medieval Danish chronicles

408-529: A peace agreement with the Holy Roman Emperor (either Otto I or II). Adam of Bremen, writing 100 years after King Harald's death in "History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen", finished in 1076, describes Harald being forcibly converted by Otto I , after a defeat in battle. However, Widukind does not mention such an event in his contemporary Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres or Deeds of

459-508: A punishment of Sweyn's apostasy ). The story of this otherwise unknown Poppo or Poppa's miracle and baptism of Harald is also depicted on the gilded altar piece in the Church of Tamdrup in Denmark (see image at top of this article). The altar itself dates to about 1200. Adam of Bremen's claim regarding Otto I and Harald appears to have been inspired by an attempt to manufacture a historical reason for

510-613: A region in the area around Jutland . Heimskringla further says that Thyra's sister was Þorní, the wife of Sigurðr hjörtr and grandmother of Harald Fairhair . Based on the account in Jómsvíkinga saga, it has been proposed that Thyra was born around 806-812 CE and married Gorm around 825 CE. Jómsvíkinga saga further describes Thyra as having two sons with Gorm, Canute and Harald and that Harald eventually killed Canute. It has been noted though that Klak Harald died in 846 CE, while Harald Bluetooth died around 986 CE. Based on other dating such as

561-681: A single runecarver named Ravnunge-Tue (who is one of the earliest known Western European artisans to have carved his name on his work as the maker) wrote the inscriptions both on the Læborg and Jelling 2 stones, while another individual carved the Horne, Bække and possibly the Randbøl stones. From this, it has been argued that the Jelling stones, the Læborg stone and Bække 1 commemorate the same woman named Thyra. If correct, she would be recorded on at least four runestones -

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612-556: A subgenre, or text group, of Icelandic sagas . They are prose narratives primarily based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and early eleventh centuries, during the so-called Saga Age . They were written in Old Icelandic , a western dialect of Old Norse . They are the best-known specimens of Icelandic literature . They are focused on history, especially genealogical and family history. They reflect

663-550: A way for him to consolidate economic and military control of his country and the main city. Ring forts were built in five strategic locations with Aarhus perfectly in the middle: Trelleborg on Zealand , Borrering in eastern Zealand (the inner construction of this fort is still yet to be established), Nonnebakken on Funen , Fyrkat in Himmerland (northern Jutland ) and Aggersborg near Limfjord . All five fortresses had similar designs: "perfectly circular with gates opening to

714-532: Is Haraldus Gormonis filius (Harald, Gorm's son). The given name Haraldr (also Haralldr ) is the equivalent of Old English Hereweald , Old High German Heriwald , from hari "army" and wald- "rule". Harald's name is also inscribed on the so-called Curmsun disc , rediscovered in 2014 (but part of a Viking hoard previously discovered in 1841 in the crypt of the Groß-Weckow village church in Pomerania , close to

765-524: Is agreed that they also had a son called Canute. The Historia Norwegiæ additionally claims that they had a daughter, Gunnhild, Mother of Kings , though this is not corroborated by any other evidence. Further details of her marriage and children are provided in the Gesta Danorum and the Jómsvíkinga saga , among other medieval sources. However, these sources are subject to great scrutiny and do not provide

816-462: Is believed by some scholars to have been written by Snorri Sturluson , a descendant of the saga's hero, but this remains uncertain. The standard modern edition of Icelandic sagas is produced by Hið íslenzka fornritafélag ('The Old Icelandic Text Society'), or Íslenzk fornrit for short. Among the several literary reviews of the sagas is the Sagalitteraturen by Sigurður Nordal , which divides

867-458: Is indeed her grave. It has been proposed that her burial in the larger, northern barrow is consistent with the idea of her as a prominent woman who may have been even more powerful than her husband Gorm. Gorm died around 963 CE and while Saxo records in Gesta Danorum that Thyra died after her husband, it is typically believed that Thyra died before Gorm due to the Jelling 1 stone which he raised to commemorate her. Along with two runestones at

918-399: Is not known when she became queen. Based on the prominence of Thyra seen in the runestone record, it has been proposed that Thyra may have been of the pre-existing royal line and that Gorm became king through marriage with her. Historians widely agree that she and Gorm were the parents of Harald Bluetooth , who commissioned the Jelling 2 runestone in their honour, and to a lesser extent it

969-607: Is now Poland. From 1835 to 1977, it was wrongly believed that Harald ordered the death of the Haraldskær Woman , a bog body previously thought to be Gunnhild, Mother of Kings until radiocarbon dating proved otherwise. The Hiddensee treasure , a large trove of gold objects, was found in 1873 on the German island of Hiddensee in the Baltic Sea. It is believed that these objects belonged to Harald's family. Harald introduced

1020-498: Is summed up by this runic inscription from the Jelling stones: King Harald 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. Harald undoubtedly professed Christianity at that time and contributed to its growth, but with limited success in Denmark and Norway. Spouses: Children: The Bluetooth wireless specification design

1071-495: Is that he was called "blue thane " (or "dark thane") in England (with Anglo-Saxon thegn corrupted to tan when the name came back into Old Norse). During his reign, Harald oversaw the reconstruction of the Jelling runic stones, and numerous other public works. The most famous is fortifying the fortress of Aros (nowadays Aarhus ) which was situated in a central position in his kingdom in the year 979. Some believe these projects were

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1122-403: The 12th-century CE. The northern howe at Jelling, the seat of power for Gorm's dynasty, is traditionally known as Thyras Høj ("Thyra's mound"), with the southern as Gorm's, although when excavated, no evidence of a body was found in it. Wooden artefacts from the howe have however been dated by tree-ring analysis to 959-960 CE which would put this as the latest date for Thyra's death if it

1173-565: The Saxons . Some 250 years after the event, the Heimskringla relates that Harald was converted with Earl Haakon , by Otto II (ruled 973 – 983). A cleric named Poppa, perhaps the same one, also appears in Adam of Bremen's history, but in connection with Eric of Sweden , who had supposedly conquered Denmark (the fact that Eric conquered Denmark during the realm of Sweyn Forkbeard is explained by Saxo as

1224-515: The Viking Age stronghold of Jomsborg ), as +ARALD CVRMSVN + REX AD TANER + SCON + JVMN + CIV ALDIN , i.e. "Harald Gormson, king of Danes , Scania , Jumne , [in] Bishopric of Aldinburg  [ de ] ". The first documented appearance of Harald's nickname "Bluetooth" (as blatan ; Old Norse *blátǫnn ) is in the Chronicon Roskildense (written c. 1140), alongside the alternative nickname Clac Harald . Clac Harald appears to be

1275-516: The archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen to claim jurisdiction over Denmark (and thus the rest of Scandinavia); in the 1070s, the Danish king was in Rome asking for Denmark to have its own arch-bishop, and Adam's account of Harald's supposed conversion (and baptism of both him and his "little son" Sweyn , with Otto serving as Sweyn's godfather) is followed by the unambiguous claim that "At that time Denmark on this side of

1326-604: The assassination of King Harald Greycloak of Norway, managed to force the people of that country into temporary subjugation to himself. The Norse sagas present 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 Thyra , the second time by giving up himself as hostage, along with yet another fleet. When Styrbjörn brought this fleet to Uppsala to claim

1377-564: The daughter of an English king, the daughter of an earl of Jutland, or a German subject. In the Gesta Danorum , Saxo Grammaticus describes her as the daughter of the English king Ethelred. This king has typically been identified as Æthelred I of Wessex , though alternatives include Edward the Elder . According to Saxo, Thyra only agreed to marry Gorm on the condition that she be granted Denmark as

1428-401: The first nationwide coinage in Denmark. King Harald Bluetooth's conversion to Christianity is a contested bit of history, not least because medieval writers such as Widukind of Corvey and Adam of Bremen give conflicting accounts of how it came about. Widukind of Corvey, writing during the lives of King Harald and Otto I (ruled 962–973), claims that Harald was converted by a "cleric by

1479-467: The four corners of the earth, and a courtyard divided into four areas which held large houses set in a square pattern." A sixth Trelleborg of similar design, located at Borgeby , in Scania, has been dated to about 1000 and may have been built by King Harald and a second fort named Trelleborg is located near the modern town of Trelleborg in Scania in present-day Sweden, but is of older date and thus pre-dates

1530-409: The house and had three dreams. In the first dream, three white boars came out of the sea, fed on the grass, and went back to the sea. In the next, three red boars with large tusks came out of the sea, and did the same. In the third dream, three black boars with even larger tusks did the same, but when they returned to the sea, there was such a loud rush of the waves returning to the land that he thought

1581-548: The most for anyone in Viking Age Denmark, exceeding both Gorm the Old and Harald Bluetooth. Following this, it has been suggested that she was either one of the individuals or even the leading figure who drove the assembly of the Danish kingdom. Icelandic saga The sagas of Icelanders ( Icelandic : Íslendingasögur , modern Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈislɛndiŋkaˌsœːɣʏr̥] ), also known as family sagas , are

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1632-454: The name of Poppa" who, when asked by Harald to prove his faith in Christ, carried a "great weight" of iron heated by a fire without being burned. According to 12th-century Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in his work Gesta Danorum , Poppo performed his miracle for Harald's son Sweyn Forkbeard after Sweyn had second thoughts about his own baptism. Harald himself converted to Catholicism after

1683-429: The noise could be heard throughout Denmark. Thyra's interpretation was that the three white boars represented three very cold, snowy winters that would harm crops. The red boars were interpreted to mean that three mild winters would follow, while the black boars meant there would be wars in the land. The fact that all of the boars went back into the sea showed that their effects would not be long-lasting. The loud noise as

1734-480: The possible birth years of Thyra's other children, it has been argued that Thyra, the wife of Gorm the Old, could not have been the daughter of Klak Harald, with the lengths of time between her children's births being too great. According to Sven Aggesen , Thyra was or German origin and her marriage to Gorm had been arranged by the German emperor to whom Gorm owed a large tribute. Having installed Thyra as Gorm's wife, she

1785-466: The reign of Harald Bluetooth. He constructed the oldest known bridge in southern Scandinavia, the 5-metre (16 ft) wide and 760-metre (2,490 ft) long Ravning Bridge at Ravning meadows. While quiet prevailed throughout the interior, he turned his energies to foreign enterprises. He came to the help of Richard the Fearless of Normandy in 945 and 963, while his son conquered Samland , and after

1836-446: The royal site of Jelling dating to the mid 10th century CE, the name Thyra is recorded on five more from Viking Age Denmark - Laeborg (DR 26) , Bække 1 and 2 (DR 29 and 30), Horne (DR 34) and Randbøl (DR 40). Although all seven stones reference a woman called Thyra, it has been debated whether they refer to the same person. It has been proposed however, based on analysis of factors such as groove depth, rune shape and spelling, that

1887-472: The sagas into five chronological groups (depending on when they were written not their subject matters) distinguished by the state of literary development: This framework has been severely criticised as based on a presupposed attitude to the fantastic and an over-estimation on the precedence of Landnámabók . It is thought that a number of sagas are now lost, including the supposed Gauks saga Trandilssonar – The saga of Gaukur á Stöng. In addition to these,

1938-419: The sea, which is called Jutland by the inhabitants, was divided into three dioceses and subjected to the bishopric of Hamburg." As noted above, Harald's father, Gorm the Old , had died in 958, and had been buried in a mound with many goods, after the pagan practice. The mound itself was from c. 500 BCE, but Harald had it built higher over his father's grave, and added a second mound to the south. Mound-building

1989-498: The struggle and conflict that arose within the societies of the early generations of Icelandic settlers. The Icelandic sagas are valuable and unique historical sources about medieval Scandinavian societies and kingdoms, in particular regarding pre-Christian religion and culture and the heroic age. Eventually, many of these Icelandic sagas were recorded, mostly in the 13th and 14th centuries. The 'authors', or rather recorders, of these sagas are largely unknown. One saga, Egil's Saga ,

2040-493: The texts often referred to as the "Tales of Icelanders" ( Íslendingaþættir ) such as "Hreiðars þáttr" and "Sneglu-Halla þáttr" of the kings' saga Morkinskinna could be included in this corpus, as well as the contemporary sagas (written in the 13th century and dealing with the same period) incorporated into Sturlunga saga . Harald Bluetooth Harald " Bluetooth " Gormsson ( Old Norse : Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson ; Danish : Harald Blåtand Gormsen , died c. 985/86)

2091-561: The throne of Sweden, Harald broke his oath and fled with his Danes to avoid facing the Swedish army at the Battle of Fýrisvellir . In the wake of Otto I 's death, Harald attacked Saxony in 973. Otto II counter-attacked Harald in 974, conquering Haithabu, Dannevirke and possibly large parts of Jutland. Harald regained some of the seized territory in 983 when Otto II was defeated by the Saracens. As

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2142-455: The waves of the sea rolled back on the Danish shores signified that mighty men would come to the land and Gorm's relations would be drawn into the wars that would follow. She said that had he dreamed of the black boars and the rushing waves the first night, she would not have married him, but since she would be available to provide advice as queen, there would be little injury from the wars foretold. Aggesen and Saxo Grammaticus record that Thyra

2193-586: The words Danmarkar bót instead refer to Gorm, with Thyra's importance being a later innovation by medieval writers, though this is not the scholarly consensus. This term is also used to describe her in Saga Hálfdanar svarta as Danmarkar bótar (sometimes anglicised as "Dannebod"). Thyra's parentage is unclear. Accounts produced by medieval historians and in Icelandic sagas during the 12th and 13th centuries disagree on her origins, variously describing her as

2244-420: Was a king of Denmark and Norway . He was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 958 – c. 986. Harald introduced Christianity to Denmark and consolidated his rule over most of Jutland and Zealand . Harald's rule as king of Norway following the assassination of King Harald Greycloak of Norway was more tenuous, most likely lasting for no more than

2295-399: Was a newly revived custom in the 10th century, perceivably as an "appeal to old traditions in the face of Christian customs spreading from Denmark's southern neighbors, the Germans". After his conversion, around the 960s, Harald had his father's body reburied in the church next to the now empty mound. He had the Jelling stones erected to honour his parents. The biography of Harald Bluetooth

2346-509: Was a wise and steadfast queen who ordered the building of the Danevirke , a system of fortifications built to protect Denmark from invaders from the south. According to Aggesen, Thyra ordered the construction of the Danevirke as part of her plan to end Denmark's role as a tributary to the Kingdom of Germany . She is reported to have deceived the German emperor into believing that the fortifications she

2397-516: Was already working closely with Klak Harald in the running of his kingdom. Gorm at the time was ruling a kingdom in the north of Jutland and asked her for marriage and threatened to take her by force if she did not go willingly. Neither accepting nor rejecting her offer, she told him that to work out if they would have a happy marriage, he had to build a house in a wood that could fit only one bed and to sleep there alone for three nights, telling her what dreams he had. Gorm did this, setting his men to watch

2448-748: Was born and became queen is unclear, however, she likely ruled until her death in the middle of the 10th century. Historians widely agree that she and Gorm were the parents of Harald Bluetooth and likely also Canute. The Historia Norwegiæ additionally claims that they had a daughter, Gunnhild, Mother of Kings , though this is less certain. Thyra's name is attested in Old Norse as Þyri and Þyre and has been alternatively anglicised as Thorvi and Thyre. The Jelling 1 stone, commissioned in honour of Thyra by her husband after her death refers to her as Danmarkar bót , translating as "Denmark's adornment", "strength", "salvation" or "remedy". It has been further argued that

2499-591: Was brought back to the Trinity Church in Roskilde where he was buried. The Curmsun Disc, found in Groß-Weckow, Pomerania , (after 1945 Wiejkowo ) is inscribed with "ARALD CVRMSVN" (Harald Gormson), calling him, in abbreviated Latin, "king of Danes, Scania, Jomsborg , town of Aldinburg ". Based on this, Swedish archaeologist Sven Rosborn has proposed that Harald is buried at the church there, close to Jomsborg, in what

2550-420: Was constructing on the border were to protect Germany from a invasion from her husband Gorm. The Historia Norwegiæ further attests to Thyra's wisdom, contrasting her astuteness with the foolishness of Gorm. The first phase of construction has been shown to predate Thyra's reign, with some trees in the fortification having been felled in 737 CE, however the defences were extended significantly several times until

2601-431: Was to collect the tribute for the emperor. Aggesen claims that Thyra refused to pay the emperor, heroically declaring that the Danes were no longer a tributary to the Kingdom of Germany . Little is known concretely about Thyra's role as queen consort of Denmark , nor the circumstances of her marriage to Gorm and their children. Gorm became king around 936 CE, however it is unknown if he was already married to Thyra, and it

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