Harald Bluetooth
Gorm's son who united Denmark, brought in Christianity and ringed the realm with fortresses.
via Wikipedia: Harald Bluetooth · see source
Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson was a Viking Age king of Denmark and, for a short spell, of Norway. Son of Gorm the Old and Thyra Dannebod, he held the Danish throne from c. 958 until c. 986, pulled most of Jutland and Zealand under his control and introduced Christianity to the Danes. His Norwegian rule, won after the killing of Harald Greycloak, was shaky and probably lasted only a few years in the 970s. His reign ended when his own son, Swein Forkbeard, took the crown from him by force not long before his death.
Quick Facts
- Reign
- c. 958 – c. 986
- Predecessor
- Gorm the Old
- Successor
- Swein Forkbeard
- Spouses
- Tófa
- Issue
- Tyra
- Swein Forkbeard
- Haakon
- House
- Gorm
- Mother
- Thyra
Facts from the source article.
Background
The earliest record of the byname "Bluetooth" is in the Chronicon Roskildense, written c. 1140. A later chronicle glosses it as a bluish or black tooth, suggesting a conspicuously dark bad tooth, while Scocozza (1997) argued instead for a "blue thane" title picked up in England. Around 965 Harald raised the larger of the Jelling stones for his parents, crediting himself with uniting Denmark and converting its people. Accounts of that conversion clash: Widukind of Corvey tells of a cleric named Poppa carrying hot iron unharmed, while Adam of Bremen claims Otto I forced the baptism after a battle. After converting, around the 960s, Harald moved his father's remains from a pagan mound into a church at Jelling.
Did You Know?
- The Curmsun disc names him "king of Danes, Scania, Jumne" in abbreviated Latin.
- The Hiddensee treasure, found in 1873, is thought to have belonged to his family.
- Adam of Bremen says he died of his wounds at Jumne/Jomsborg.
- From 1835 to 1977 he was wrongly linked to the death of the Haraldskær Woman bog body.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Harald called Bluetooth?
The usual explanation is a bad tooth that looked dark; a 12th-century chronicle glosses the name as bluish or black tooth.
Who deposed Harald Bluetooth?
His son Swein Forkbeard, who rebelled and seized the Danish throne.
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