Hemming I (died 812) was a king in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

from 810 until his death. He was the successor of King

Gudfred Gudfred was a ninth century Danish king who reigned from at least 804 to 810. Alternate spellings include ''Godfred'' (Danish), ''Göttrick'' (German), ''Gøtrik'' (Danish), ''Gudrød'' (Danish), and ''Godofredus'' (Latin). He stands at the thre ...

, his uncle.

Family

Hemming I is mentioned in the

Royal Frankish Annals The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state of ...

as son to an unnamed brother of

. Though ''

Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum (Medieval Latin for "Deeds of the Bishops of Hamburg") is a historical treatise written between 1073 and 1076 by Adam of Bremen, who made additions (''scholia'') to the text until his death (possibly 1081; before 1085). It is one of the most ...

'' by

Adam of Bremen Adam of Bremen (; ; before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle '' Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' ('' ...

considers Hemming and Gudfred to be "patruelis", paternal cousins. Gudfred had several sons who served as co-rulers of the Danes. However, they are typically called "sons of Gudfred" without mention of their names or personal histories. The sole exception was

Horik I Horik I or Hårik (died 854) was a king of the Danes. He was co-ruler from 813, and sole king from c. 828 until his violent death in 854. His long and eventful reign was marked by Danish raids on the Carolingian Empire of Louis the Pious, son an ...

who seems to have survived his siblings and was sole ruler by 827. They can all be considered paternal cousins of Hemming. Another nephew of Gudfred, Reginold, is mentioned in the Royal Frankish Annals. He is also identified as son to an unnamed brother of Gudfred. He could be a sibling to Hemming. Assuming Gudfred had more than one sibling, Hemming and Reginold could also be paternal first cousins. Reginold appears in an 808 entry detailing a campaign of Gudfred against the

Obotrites The Obotrites (, ''Abodritorum'', ''Abodritos'') or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (), were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany (see Polabian Slavs). For ...

. Gudfred reportedly "made two-thirds of the Obodrites tributary. But he lost the best and most battle-tested of his soldiers. With them he lost Reginold, his brother's son, who was killed at the siege of a town along with a great number of Danish nobles." Hemming had two siblings identified in the Annals, Hankwin and Angandeo. Sigifrid, one of his two rival successors on the throne, is also mentioned as a nephew of Gudfred. He could also be either a sibling or cousin to Hemming. Less clear is the relation of Hemming to the other rival successor, Anulo, and to the siblings of Anulo. Adam of Bremen considered Sigifrid and Anulo to be members of the same family, identifying both as nephews of Gudfred. The relation does not appear in the Royal Annals. However, there is an obscure phrase of the Annals which could support the relation. "Anulo, the nephew of Heriold and of the former king". The vague Latin phrase "Herioldi, et ipsius regis" has been translated variously as "Harald, and the king himself" and "Harald, previous king". Various attempts have been made to harmonize these kings from the Frankish annals with the legendary kings found in the accounts of traditional historians such as

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author ...

and the sagas. ''History of the Northmen, or Danes and Normans, from the earliest times to the Conquest'' (1831) by Henry Wheaton suggested that Hemming was a direct descendant of

Ragnar Lodbrok Ragnar Lodbrok (Old Norse: ''Ragnarr loðbrók'', ), according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Legendary Kings of Sweden, Swedish and Legendary kings of Denmark, Danish king.Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye () or Sigurd Ragnarsson was a semi-legendary Viking warrior and Danish king active from the mid to late 9th century. According to multiple saga sources and Scandinavian histories from the 12th century and later, he is one ...

, the traditional son of Lothbrok, while making successor Gudfrid Sigurd's brother. An alternative reconstruction would make Gudfred identical to the Gudröd of

Ynglingatal ''Ynglingatal'' or ''Ynglinga tal'' (Old Norse: 'Enumeration of the Ynglingar') is a Skaldic poem cited by Snorri Sturluson in the ''Ynglinga saga'', the first saga of Snorri's ''Heimskringla''. Þjóðólfr of Hvinir (Thjodolf), who was a poet ...

, semi-legendary king of

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

and himself son of

Halfdan the Mild Halfdan (, , Medieval : "half Dane") was a late 5th and early 6th century legendary Danish king of the Scylding (Skjöldung) lineage, the son of king named Fróði in many accounts, noted mainly as the father to the two kings who succeeded hi ...

, who would then be the grandfather of Hemming. Other scholars reject these identifications and the legends to which they attempt to link, only crediting the annals as representing authentic history.

Reign

The ''

'' recorded the brief reign of Hemming. In 810,

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

and Gudfred were in conflict. Gudfred had invaded

Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...

and imposed tribute on its local population. He had then returned to

. Charlemagne was preparing a retaliation campaign, gathering troops in the area of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. He led the assembled troops in the area where the Aller flows into the

Weser River The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Br ...

. There news reached him that Gudfred had died. "The fleet which ravaged Frisia had returned home and King Godofrid had been murdered by one of his retainers". Charlemagne called off the campaign. The last entry for year 810 mentions "After the death of Godofrid, king of the Danes, Hemming, the son of his brother, succeeded to his throne and made peace with the emperor." The entries for 811 include detailed accounts of the negotiations between Hemming and Charlemagne. "The peace announced between the emperor and Hemming, the king of the Danes, was only sworn on arms because of the severity of the winter, which closed the road for traveling between the parties. Only with the return of spring and the opening of the roads, which had been closed because of harsh frost, did twelve magnates of each party and people, that is of

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

and

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

, meet on the River Eider at Heiligen and confirm the peace by an exchange of oaths according to their customs." "The nobles of the Frankish side were Count Walach, son of Bernard, Count Burchard, Count Unroch, Count Odo, Count Meginhard, Count Bernard, Count Egbert, Count Theothari, Count Abo, Count Osdag, and Count Wigman. On the Danish side there were Hankwin and Angandeo, Hemming's brothers, and in addition, other men distinguished among this people: Osfrid nicknamed Turdimulo, Warstein, Suomi, Urm, another Osfrid, son of Heiligen, and Osfrid of Schonen, and Hebbi and Aowin. New envoys of Hemming are reported meeting Charlemagne in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

during November, 811. "About the middle of November he harlemagnecame to Aachen. The envoys of King Hemming, Aowin and Hebbi, came to meet him and brought presents and assurances of peace." The entries in 811 end by mentioning the death of

Charles the Younger Charles the Younger ( – 4 December 811) was the son of the Frankish ruler Charlemagne and his wife Queen Hildegard. Charlemagne's second son, Charles gained favour over his older, possibly illegitimate half brother Pepin. Charles was entruste ...

(4 December 811) and

wintering in

. The entries in 812 begin with mention of the situation in Denmark. "Not much later the news arrived that Hemming, king of the Danes had died. Sigifrid, the nephew of King Godofrid, and Anulo, the nephew of Heriold and of the former king, both wished to succeed him. Being unable to agree on who should be king, they raised troops, fought a battle, and were both killed. The party of Anulo won, however, and made his brothers Heriold and Reginfrid their kings. The defeated party out of necessity had to go along with Anulo's party and did not reject the brothers as their kings. They say that ten thousand nine hundred and forty men died in that battle." Heriold, usually translated Harald, this man was

Harald Klak Harald 'Klak' Halfdansson (c. 785 – c. 852) was a king in Jutland (and possibly other parts of Denmark) around 812–814 and again from 819–827."Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories" (1970), translation by Bernh ...

. The ''

Annales Fuldenses The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Francia, East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Fran ...

'' give an almost identical account of this reign. This is not surprising as the entries of the ''Annales Fuldenses'' from 714 to the 830s were adopting material from earlier sources, including the Royal Frankish Annals. Hemming also appears in an 810 entry of the ''

'' by

. "After their king Gudfred (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: Gotafridus) had subjected the

Frisians The Frisians () are an ethnic group indigenous to the German Bight, coastal regions of the Netherlands, north-western Germany and southern Denmark. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland an ...

and likewise the Nordalbingians, the Abodrites, and other

Slavic peoples The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, Southeast ...

to tribute, he threatened even Charles with war. This strife very seriously retarded the emperor's purpose with respect to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. When at length, by the dispensation of Heaven, Gudfred died, Hemming, his cousin, succeeded and soon made peace with the emperor, accepting the Eider River as the boundary of the kingdom."Norsemen in the Low Countries:Extracts from Adam of Bremen, 810 entry
The term used in Latin was "patruelis" which would mean a paternal cousin.

Literature

References

Sources

* *

External links

"Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories" (1970), translation by Bernhard Walter ScholzPage of "History of the Norsemen" detailing his family
{{authority control 8th-century births 812 deaths Scyldings 9th-century monarchs of Denmark