[4] According to the Ynglinga saga, the earliest rulers used the title drotin (modern Swedish: Drott). By the late 10th century, some Vikings (including the famous Erik the Red) moved even further westward, to Greenland. The arrowhead made of iron was revealed with its cracked wooden shaft and a feather, is 17cm long and weighs just 28 grams. Gustav Vasa is the first King in Swedish history of whose life we have a clear view. 'saga kings / fairy tale kings') according to legends were rulers of Sweden and the Swedes who preceded Eric the Victorious and Olof Sktkonung, the earliest reliably attested Swedish kings. Viking, also called Norseman or Northman, member of the Scandinavian seafaring warriors who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the 9th to the 11th century and whose disruptive influence profoundly affected European history. The Kirk Douglas . Many of the kings in the saga are overshadowed by their contemporary vassals and wives,[14] and they are rarely shown in a positive light. During the last centuries, influences from the Central European La Tne culture spread to Scandinavia from northwestern Germany, and there are finds from this period from all the provinces of southern Scandinavia. Sweden had the short lived colony New Sweden in Delaware in North America during the 1630s and later acquired the islands of Saint-Barthlemy (17851878) and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. Rollo | duke of Normandy | Britannica The same is true for the Hervarar saga, whose sequence of kings is identical to the sequence presented in Langfegatal. Ynglingatal is not a reliable source either, though traditionally believed to have been composed at the end of the 9th or beginning of the 10th century, it might be from as late as the 12th century. First Look With Surveillance: Microsoft, Alphabet. Meta Were There Ever African Vikings? - Scandinavia Facts Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples' Secretariat, "Keep your head high: skulls on stakes and cranial trauma in Mesolithic Sweden", "Climate change reveals, and threatens, thawing relics", "Photo Friday: Norwegian Glacial Ice Preserves Ancient Viking Artifacts", "1,500-Year-Old Viking Arrowhead Found After Glacier Melts in Norway", "Siida and traditional Sami reindeer herding knowledge", "IPS Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples' Secretariat", "Viking Woman Warrior May Have Been Slavic", "Considering the connections between Scandinavia and the southern Baltic coast in the 10th 11th Centuries", "Canute (I) king of England, Denmark, and Norway", "Thorgeir Ljosvetningagodi Conversion to Christianity", Scandinavian Roots American Lives The Story of the Great Emigration, Ancient Scandinavia: An Archaeological History from the First Humans to the Vikings, Guides and travel tips about: Scandinavia For Visitors, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_Scandinavia&oldid=1151742366. As a result of the adoption of Christianity by the monarchy and eventually the entirety of the country, traditional shamanistic practices were marginalized and eventually persecuted. [5], In addition to having been written centuries after the events they describe, the sagas have numerous other problems which make them unsuitable to use as sources. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [28] Britain thereafter attacked the Danish fleet at the battle of Copenhagen (1801) and bombarded the city during the second battle of Copenhagen (1807). ' saga kings / fairy tale kings') according to legends were rulers of Sweden and the Swedes who preceded Eric the Victorious and Olof Sktkonung, the earliest reliably attested Swedish kings. [12] Most of the sagas known today, the Ynglinga saga included, were composed during a relatively brief period, from the 12th to 13th century, a time when royal power was being consolidated in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The Thirty Years' War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the Central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire but also involving most of the major continental powers. Bronze continued to be used during the whole period but was mostly used for decoration. They began to discuss a Scandinavian defence union. They subsisted by hunting, fishing and gathering. Sweden joined the Third Coalition against Napoleon in 1805, but the coalition fell apart after the peace at Tilsit in 1807, forcing Russia to become the ally of France. Norway remains outside the European Union to this day after referendums on membership in 1972 and 1994, although it is a signatory of the Schengen treaty and a member of the European Economic Area. The Cimbri and the Teutons were eventually defeated by the Roman legions. When it became known that the western alliance would not be able to supply the Scandinavian countries with armaments before meeting their own pressing needs, this issue ultimately proved to be the turning point for Norway, which resigned from the talks. Moreover, the style of metal objects and clay vessels was markedly Roman. In 1635 he became Administrator of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen too.) The Ynglinga saga was composed by Sturluson c. 1230 and details the reigns and lives of the kings of the Yngling dynasty (Swedish: Ynglingar), a legendary line of kings said to descend from the Norse god Odin. In 911 the Viking leader Rollo became the first duke of Normandy, as a vassal of Charles III of France. In the ninth century, Scandinavians (mainly Norwegians) began to colonize Iceland, an island in the North Atlantic where no one had yet settled in large numbers. Since he was childless, Sweden chose as his successor the commander in chief of the Norwegian army, Prince Christian August of Augustenborg. [4] The Ynglings are described in the Ynglinga saga as the first royal blood line of the Swedes. [4], It is possible that the Yngling line of kings is entirely fictional, invented by later Norwegian rulers to assert their right to rule Norway. Attempts have been made to harmonize Ansgar's kings with the kings mentioned in the sagas but such attempts have to be considered unreliable and unverifiable. In the first half of the 10th century, English armies led by the descendants of Alfred of Wessex began reconquering Scandinavian areas of England; the last Scandinavian king, Erik Bloodaxe, was expelled and killed around 952, permanently uniting English into one kingdom. However, new analyses revealed that the woman was a Slav from present-day Poland. The Swedish Ynglings might have been invented to glorify the Norwegian kings further, giving them a glorious and mythical past associated with Uppsala. The Maglemosian culture lived in Denmark and southern Sweden. Scandinavia's Conversion to Christianity: Get the Facts Photo: Hugo Burnand. The transmission of metallurgy to southern Scandinavia coincided with the introduction of long barrows, causewayed enclosures, two-aisled houses, and certain types of artefacts, and seems to have enabled the establishment of a fully Neolithic society.[3]. 10 Most Famous Swedish Kings - Discover Walks Blog For example, Hygelac (500 A.D.) is believed to have historical basis due to his name being attested in Frankish, English, Danish and Icelandic sources. Leaving Wessex, the Danes settled to the north, in an area known as Danelaw. Many of them became farmers and traders and established York as a leading mercantile city. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. History of Christianity in Norway - Wikipedia These repressive measures ensured that the cooperation was small. Swedish settlers were mostly present in Rus, Livonia, and other eastern regions while the Norwegians and the Danish were primarily concentrated in western and northern Europe[citation needed] . The northern hunter/gatherers followed the herds and the salmon runs, moving south during the winters, moving north again during the summers. The Protestant Reformation came to Scandinavia in the 1530s, and Scandinavia soon became one of the heartlands of Lutheranism. Valhalla - History, Myths & Interpretations | Mythology.net Many Scandinavians emigrated to Canada, the United States, Australia, Africa, and New Zealand during the later nineteenth century. Margaret I | queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden | Britannica Apr 25, 2023, 12:06 PM PDT. and the final expansion towards the late Weichselian maximum took place after . In Iceland, the Vikings left an extensive body of literature, the Icelandic sagas, in which they celebrated the greatest victories of their glorious past. Great ships made for rowing have been found from the 4th century in Nydam mosse in Schleswig. A plebiscite on 13 August confirmed the parliamentary decision. The construction of a railway connecting southern Sweden and the northern mines was of primary importance. Norway was treated much more harshly throughout their occupation. Baron Karl Otto Mrner, an obscure member of the Diet, was the one who initially extended the offer of the Swedish crown to the young soldier. Crawley, ed. Haralds rebellious son, Sven Forkbeard, led Viking raids on England beginning in 991 and conquered the entire kingdom in 1013, sending King Ethelred into exile. Together with Finland and Iceland, almost a third of the population left in the eighty years after 1850. The region is located in Northern Europe, and consists of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. However, they would occasionally aid the Allies. Negotiations in Karlstad led to agreement with Sweden on 23 September and mutual demobilization. Moberg, Vilhelm, and Paul Britten Austin. The Norwegian vice-roy and heir to the throne of Denmark-Norway, Christian Frederik took the lead in a national uprising, assumed the title of regent, and convened a constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll. However, his sudden death in 1810 forced the Swedes to look for another candidate, and once more they chose an enemy officer. North of the Kongemose people lived other hunter-gatherers in most of southern Norway and Sweden called the Nstvet and Lihult cultures, descendants of the Fosna and Hensbacka cultures. In Scandinavia, there was a great import of goods, such as coins (more than 7,000), vessels, bronze images, glass beakers, enameled buckles, weapons, etc. As the direct predecessors of Eric the Victorious, Icelandic sources give Bjrn Eriksson, preceded by Erik Anundsson. Who is the first King of Scandinavia? [10] The Sami are counted among the Arctic peoples and are members of circumpolar groups such as the Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples' Secretariat.[11]. Sweden abandoned the tie to gold on 2 August 1914, and without a fixed exchange rate the free circulation came to an end. The monetary union was one of the few tangible results of the Scandinavian political movement of the 19th century.[31]. Olaf and Olaf II had been baptized voluntarily outside of Norway. Denmark remained primarily agricultural until well into the 20th century, but agricultural processes were modernized and processing of dairy and meats became more important than the export of raw agricultural products. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. In the eighth century A.D., Europe was growing richer, fueling the growth of trading centers such as Dorestad and Quentovic on the Continent and Hamwic (now Southampton), London, Ipswich and York in England. None of the Scandinavian countries (except Finland) have joined the Euro, membership being rejected by referendum in both Denmark and Sweden. About 10-15 years later, Erikson would go on to lead an . Rollo - Wikipedia King of Scandinavia - Wikipedia King Christian Frederik abdicated and left for Denmark in October, and the Norwegian Storting (parliament) elected the Swedish king as King of Norway, after having enacted such amendments to the constitution as were necessary to allow for the union with Sweden. Swedish Vikings: A Guide To Viking Age Swedes & Their Journeys Beowulf was connected to King Cnut, study finds The Vikings invaded and eventually settled in Scotland[citation needed] , England[citation needed], Greenland[citation needed] , the Faroe Islands[citation needed] , Iceland[citation needed] , Ireland[citation needed] , Livonia[citation needed] , Normandy[citation needed] , the Shetland Islands, Sicily, Rus' and Vinland, on what is now known as the Island of Newfoundland[citation needed] . Medieval Scandinavia: The Swedish Kingdom - Medievalists.net Before long other Vikings realized that Frankish rulers were willing to pay them rich sums to prevent them from attacking their subjects, making Frankia an irresistible target for further Viking activity. During the fall of the Roman empire, there was an abundance of gold that flowed into Scandinavia, and there are excellent works in gold from this period. The Swedish intervention began in 1630 and lasted until 1635. Vikings in Denmark: History, Raids, Fate - Scandinavia Facts After planning for months, Germany invaded both Denmark and Norway the same day, 9 April 1940, days before Britain planned to invade.[34]. Swedes join Danes and Norwegians in England. During the Ingrian War Sweden expanded its territories eastward. These seafaring warriorsknown collectively as Vikings or Norsemen (Northmen)began by raiding coastal sites, especially undefended monasteries, in the British Isles. Germany eventually reacted by eliminating Denmark's representative government and imposing martial law. Many Swedish runestones tell tales of Swedish Vikings, such as Skoglar Toste and Ulf of Borresta, who left for glory and Gld (ransom money) in England.Ulf of Borresta is memorized on a runsetone in Sweden, commemorating that Ulf had taken three danegelds in England; with Skagul Toste in 991, with Thorkel the High in 1012, and with Canute the Great . Vidkun Quisling was installed as Minister-President, a puppet to Berlin's High Command. [22], The Icelandic Commonwealth adopted Christianity in 1000 AD, after pressure from Norway. These two tribes, the Cimbri and the Teutons, initially inflicted the heaviest losses that Rome had suffered since the Second Punic War. The Kalmar Union (Danish/Norwegian/Swedish: Kalmarunionen) was a series of personal unions (13971520) that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden under a single monarch. According to Rimbert the archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in the 9th century, king Olof at Birka was sent a message from King Horik of Denmark to allow the monk Ansgar to introduce Christianity. Scandinavia in C.W. On 17 May 1814 the Constitution of Norway was signed by the assembly, and Christian Frederik was elected as king of independent Norway. The Sami have been recognized as an indigenous people in Norway since 1990 according to ILO convention 169, and hence, according to international law, the Sami people in Norway are entitled special protection and rights. The Ynglinga saga presents the following line of Yngling kings of the Swedes: Sturluson's Ynglinga saga was created far too late to serve as a reliable source in regards to the events and kings it describes, being separated from the earliest ones by several centuries. Famous Scandinavian Kings from Sweden Thank you for visiting Scandinavia Facts. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 brought an end to the monetary union. No written language existed in the Nordic countries during the Bronze Age. The Danish intervention began when Christian IV (15771648) the King of Denmark-Norway, himself a Lutheran, helped the German Protestants by leading an army against the Holy Roman Empire, fearing that Denmark's sovereignty as a Protestant nation was being threatened. Many were buried without burning, but the burning tradition later regained its popularity. Norway declared its independence, adopted a liberal constitution, and elected Prince Christian Frederik as king. They granted the Jews that escaped from Denmark asylum and gave notable aid to Finland during the Winter War. [1] The Finnish War was fought between Sweden and Russia from February 1808 to September 1809. The countries had given up their sovereignty but not their independence, and diverging interests (especially Swedish dissatisfaction over the Danish and Holsteinish dominance) gave rise to a conflict that would hamper it from the 1430s until its final dissolution in 1523.[24]. There are also many bog bodies from this time in Denmark, Schleswig and southern Sweden. The culpritsprobably Norwegians who sailed directly across the North Seadid not destroy the monastery completely, but the attack shook the European religious world to its core. Gunhild of Wenden 4. Over the next three centuries, they would leave their mark as pirates, raiders, traders and settlers on much of Britain and the European continent, as well as parts of modern-day Russia, Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland. [19], The Muns dynasty of kings is the earliest royal lineage that is mentioned not only in Icelandic sagas, but also in medieval Swedish sources. In the Viking Age and later, Danish rulers repeatedly attempted to conquer Norway and through inventing a lineage that stretched back centuries, the Norwegian rulers may have attempted to demonstrate their inherent right to their lands and to put themselves on the same level as the Danes, who had historical accounts of their ancestors. [27] Denmark-Norway tried to remain neutral but became involved in the conflict after British demands to turn over the navy. During this period Scandinavia gave rise to the first known advanced civilization in this area following the Nordic Stone Age. The Slavic and Viking cultures influenced each other: Slavic and Viking tribes were "closely linked, fighting one another, intermixing and trading". The Nordic Bronze Age was characterized by a warm climate (which is compared to that of the Mediterranean), which permitted a relatively dense population, but it ended with a climate change consisting of deteriorating, wetter and colder climate (sometimes believed to have given rise to the legend of the Fimbulwinter) and it seems very likely that the climate pushed the Germanic tribes southwards into continental Europe. Denmark voted no to the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, but reversed the decision after negotiating opt-outs. [18] Likewise, his son, Olof, fell in love with Edla, a Slavic woman, and took her as his frilla (concubine). [5][6][7], Since prehistoric times,[8][9] the Sami people of Arctic Europe have lived and worked in an area that stretches over the northern parts of the regions now known as Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Russian Kola Peninsula. Another notable effect was the Swedish parliament's adoption of a new constitution and a new royal house, that of Bernadotte. Constitutional Monarchs: The Royal Families of Scandinavia Ancient Sovereigns - ORDER OF THE SOVEREIGNS OF ANCIENT SCANDINAVIA can be found in the traditional lands of the Sami. Royal Hotel, Denmark. From c. 9,000 to 6,000 B.P. Vikings - History, Origins & Tactics They hunted seals and fished in the rich waters. As the successors of King Stenkil (r.c. 10601066), the Icelandic sources give Hkan the Red, followed by a co-regency of Inge the Elder, Halsten and Blot-Sweyn. The Kongemose culture was dominant in this time period. Raised by Vikings, and a participant in raids on England early in his adulthood, Tryggvason converted to Christianity and was baptized on the Scilly Islands off the coast of England. [14] The presence of Slavs in Scandinavia is "more significant than previously thought"[14] although "the Slavs and their interaction with Scandinavia have not been adequately investigated".

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