The 10th century in Denmark saw the emergence of the country into historical records and the conversion of the country to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

. The 950s are when the first records of the state of Denmark (''Tan-marker'') appeared.

Monarchs

Gorm the Old Gorm the Old ( da, Gorm den Gamle; non, Gormr gamli; la, Gormus Senex), also called Gorm the Languid ( da, Gorm Løge, Gorm den Dvaske), was ruler of Denmark, reigning from to his death or a few years later.Lund, N. (2020), p. 147

, 940–958 *

Harald Bluetooth Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson ( non, Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson; da, Harald Blåtand Gormsen, died c. 985/86) 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. 9 ...

, 940–986 *

Sweyn Forkbeard Sweyn Forkbeard ( non, Sveinn Haraldsson tjúguskegg ; da, Svend Tveskæg; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 to 1014, also at times King of the English and King of Norway. He was the father of King Harald II of ...

, 986–1014

Events

910s *911 – The

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

settle in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

940s *940 – Around this year,

becomes king, ruling with his father

. Bluetooth will later impose

on his people. *942 – William I, Duke of Normandy offers asylum to Harald, and restores him to his throne by force. William I is assassinated later that year. However, the "Haigrold" described by the chronicler was possibly King Harald Greycloak of Norway or different Viking. *947 – The Norwegian

Eric Bloodaxe Eric Haraldsson ( non, Eiríkr Haraldsson , no, Eirik Haraldsson; died 954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( non, blóðøx , no, Blodøks) and Brother-Slayer ( la, fratrum interfector), was a 10th-century Norwegian king. He ruled as King of Norway from ...

is elected King of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

. He is deposed when the English king

Eadred Eadred (c. 923 – 23 November 955) was King of the English from 26 May 946 until his death. He was the younger son of Edward the Elder and his third wife Eadgifu, and a grandson of Alfred the Great. His elder brother, Edmund, was killed tr ...

marches north, and flees to Denmark. *949 –

returns from Denmark to England. He will be killed in battle in 952. 950s *950 – Gorm the Old conquers most of Denmark. *950 – Denmark under Gorm's son Harald Bluetooth conquers Norway. * 958 – Gorm the Old dies and Harald Bluetooth becomes sole king, succeeding his father. 960s *c. 965 –

raises the larger

Jelling Stone The Jelling stones ( da, Jellingstenene) are massive carved runestones from the 10th century, found at the town of Jelling in Denmark. The older of the two Jelling stones was raised by King Gorm the Old in memory of his wife Thyra. The larger ...

, taking credit for the unification of Denmark and Christianizing the Danes. *965 – Tartushi visits

Hedeby Hedeby (, Old Norse ''Heiðabýr'', German ''Haithabu'') was an important Danish Viking Age (8th to the 11th centuries) trading settlement near the southern end of the Jutland Peninsula, now in the Schleswig-Flensburg district of Schleswig-Hol ...

. 970s * 970 – the wedding of Harald Bluetooth and

Tove of the Obotrites Tove of the Obotrites, also called ''Tova'', ''Tofa'' or ''Thora'', (10th century) was a Slavic princess and a Danish Viking Age queen consort, the spouse of King Harald Bluetooth. Tofa, her name carved in runes as ᛏᚢᚠᛅ'','' was the d ...

* 974 –

falls to the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

* 975 – Harald Bluetooth tries to force Christianity upon

Haakon Sigurdsson Haakon Sigurdsson ( non, Hákon Sigurðarson , no, Håkon Sigurdsson; 937–995), known as Haakon Jarl (Old Norse: ''Hákon jarl''), was the ''de facto'' ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995. Sometimes he is styled as Haakon the Powerful ( n ...

, who then turns against him. 980s * 980s – Viking raids against England resume during the minority of

Æthelred the Unready Æthelred II ( ang, Æþelræd, ;Different spellings of this king’s name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or "Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the original Old English form . Compare the modern dial ...

. * 980 – Struggling to unite Denmark, Harald Bluetooth builds at least four large circular forts around this time. * 980 – Harald Bluetooth builds the first church in Zealand at

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

. * 983 –

returns to Denmark from the

. * 984 – The ladies of Denmark give their gold and silver ornaments to the Jutlanders in exchange for the release of Sweyn Forkbeard. * 987 –

Eric the Victorious Eric the Victorious (Old Norse: ''Eiríkr inn sigrsæli'', Modern Swedish: ''Erik Segersäll''; c. 945 – c. 995) was a Swedish monarch as of around 970. Although there were earlier Swedish kings, he is the first Swedish king in a consecutive reg ...

, king of Sweden, expels

. * 988 – First known mention of

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 2 ...

in writing. * 988 – Sweyn seizes power from his father, Harald Bluetooth.

Births

* c. 910 –

Gunnhild, Mother of Kings Gunnhildr konungamóðir (''mother of kings'') or Gunnhildr Gormsdóttir, whose name is often Anglicised as Gunnhild (c. 910 – c. 980) is a quasi-historical figure who appears in the Icelandic Sagas, according to which she was ...

(died c. 980 in Orkney) * c. 948 – Valtoke Gormsson (died 986 in Sweden) * c. 960 –

(died 1014 in England) * c. 990 –

Cnut the Great Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway ...

(died 1035 in England) * c. 997 – Harald II of Denmark (died c.

1018 Year 1018 ( MXVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 30 – The Peace of Bautzen: Emperor Henry II signs a peace treaty with Bo ...

)

Deaths

* c. 958 –

(born before 900) * c. 988 – Reginbrand

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * {{Years in Denmark, state=collapsed Centuries in Denmark