Somewhere a story must begin. For the kingdom of Denmark this beginning is a man named Gorm – Gorm the Old, the first king whose line can be traced unbroken to this day. He left a runestone for his wife, and his son made of the inheritance a Christian kingdom. A look at the beginning of a dynasty.
Before Gorm, Danish royal history lies in a fog of legend and fragments. With him it becomes firm: Gorm the Old, who ruled Jutland and beyond in the first half of the 10th century, is regarded as the founder of the Jelling dynasty – the royal house that shapes Denmark to this day. His seat was Jelling in Jutland.
Gorm raised a runestone at Jelling for his wife Thyra. The inscription is terse and dignified:
“King Gorm made this monument in memory of Thyra, his wife, Denmark's adornment.” Smaller Jelling stone, inscription in the Younger Futhark (Danmarkar bót), public domain
“Denmark's adornment” (Old Norse Danmarkar bót) – a title of honour for the queen. It is one of the very first attestations of the name “Denmark” in Denmark itself. More about the remarkable Thyra is in our piece on Thyra Danebod.
Gorm died around the middle of the century, still heathen. His son Harald Bluetooth continued what the father had begun – and went far beyond: he united Denmark, was baptised, built the famous ring fortresses and set up his own mighty runestone at Jelling. Gorm's body he later had reburied in the new church. From the beginning Gorm had made grew a Christian kingdom. More on this in our pieces on the ring fortresses and the Danegeld age.
What remains of Gorm is above all a stone with a name – that of his wife. That is exactly what runestones were about: to hold fast a person, beyond death. The same idea still lies in a good engraving today.
Gorm the Old (Danish Gorm den Gamle) ruled from Jelling in the first half of the 10th century and is regarded as the first firmly tangible king of Denmark and founder of the Jelling dynasty. He raised the smaller Jelling runestone for his wife Thyra (“Denmark's adornment,” Danmarkar bót). Gorm died heathen (mid-10th c.); his son Harald Bluetooth united and Christianised the kingdom and later reburied Gorm in the church. The Jelling complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“Gorm was the first king of Denmark” holds only with a qualification: there were earlier Danish rulers (for example around Haithabu), but with Gorm the continuously attestable line of kings begins. The byname “the Old,” too, was given later. Much detail (regnal years, exact borders of rule) remains uncertain; what is certain are the Jelling stone, Thyra and the dynastic succession of Harald.
Thyra Danebod – Denmark's mightiest woman · Stiklestad – the fall of Saint Olav · Trelleborg – Harald's ring fortresses · Danegeld & the Battle of Maldon · Ribe & the North's first coins.