Editing Denmark (section)

=== Viking and Middle Ages ===
{{Main|Viking Age|Kalmar Union}}

[[File:Ladbyskibet.jpg|thumb|The [[Ladby ship]], the largest ship burial found in Denmark]]

From the 8th to the 10th century the population of the wider [[History of Scandinavia|Scandinavian]] region was called [[Vikings]] by non-Scandinavians. While they mostly lived of agriculture, fishing and trade, they were excellent sailors and would travel as far as Iceland, Greenland and Canada. They traded in all parts of Europe, down to Constantinople and beyond, but would also raid local settlements and set up colonies in far-flung places. The Danish Vikings were most actively raiding the eastern and southern [[British Isles]] and [[Western Europe]]. They settled in parts of [[England]] (known as the [[Danelaw]]) under King [[Sweyn Forkbeard]] in 1013, and in [[France]] where Danes and Norwegians were allowed to settle in what would become [[Normandy]] in exchange of allegiance to [[Robert I of France]] with [[Rollo]] as first ruler.<ref>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Sweyn I". Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sweyn-I. Accessed 8 April 2025</ref> Some [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] [[pence]] of this period have been found in Denmark.<ref name="Lund">*{{cite web|last=Lund |first=Niels |date=May 2003 |url=http://www.um.dk/Publikationer/UM/English/Denmark/kap6/6-2.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060510174200/http://www.um.dk/Publikationer/UM/English/Denmark/kap6/6-2.asp |archive-date=10 May 2006 |title=Denmark – History – The Viking Age |publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Denmark)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark]] |access-date=24 June 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Denmark was largely consolidated by the late 8th century and its rulers are consistently referred to in [[Frankish language|Frankish]] sources as kings (''reges''). Under the reign of [[Gudfred]] in 804 the Danish kingdom may have included all the [[Lands of Denmark|lands]] of Jutland, [[Scania]] and the Danish islands, excluding Bornholm.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UmFrVUb5DSwC&pg=PA76|title=Christianization and the Rise of Christian Monarchy: Scandinavia, Central Europe and Rus' c. 900–1200|first=Nora|last=Berend|date= 2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|via=Google Books|isbn=978-1-139-46836-7}}</ref>

[[File:Jellingsten stor 1.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Large stone containing a carved depiction of Jesus Christ|Larger of the two Jelling stones, raised by [[Harald Bluetooth]]]]

The extant Danish monarchy traces its roots back to [[Gorm the Old]], who established his reign in the early 10th century.{{sfnp|Stone|Bain|Booth|Parnell|2008|p=31}} As attested by the [[Jelling stones]], the Danes were [[Christianised]] around 965 by [[Harald Bluetooth]], the son of [[Gorm the Old|Gorm]] and [[Thyra]]. It is believed that Denmark became Christian for political reasons so as not to get invaded by the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. A rising Christian power in Europe, the Holy Roman Empire was an important trading partner for the Danes. As a deterrent against this threat, Harald built six [[fortresses]] around Denmark called [[Viking ring fortress|Trelleborg]] and built a further [[Danevirke]]. In the early 11th century, [[Canute the Great]] won and united Denmark, England, and [[Norway]] for almost 30 years with a Scandinavian army.<ref name="Lund" /><ref>Whitelock, Dorothy. "Canute (I)". Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Canute-I. Accessed 8 April 2025</ref>

Throughout the [[High Middle Ages|High]] and [[Late Middle Ages]], Denmark also included [[Skåneland]] (the areas of Scania, [[Halland]], and [[Blekinge]] in present-day southern Sweden) and Danish kings ruled [[Danish Estonia]], as well as the [[duchy|duchies]] of [[Schleswig]] and [[Holstein]]. Most of the latter two now form the state of [[Schleswig-Holstein]] in northern Germany.

In 1397, Denmark entered into a [[personal union]] known as the [[Kalmar Union]] with [[Norway]] and [[Sweden]], united under Queen [[Margaret I of Denmark|Margaret I]].{{sfnp|Stone|Bain|Booth|Parnell|2008|p=33}}<ref>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Kalmar Union". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Mar. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Kalmar-Union. Accessed 8 April 2025</ref><ref>Folke, Hans, Anderson, Robert T., Nokkentved, Christian, Anderson, Stanley Victor, Linton, Michael I.A.. "Denmark". Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Apr. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Denmark. Accessed 8 April 2025</ref> The three countries were to be treated as equals in the union. However, even from the start, Margaret may not have been so idealistic; treating Denmark as the clear "senior" partner of the union.<ref name="Lauring">Lauring, Palle (1960) ''A History of the Kingdom of Denmark'', Host & Son Co.: Copenhagen, p. 108.</ref><ref>Norman, Lennart T.. "Margaret I". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-I. Accessed 8 April 2025</ref> Thus, much of the next 125 years of [[History of Scandinavia|Scandinavian history]] revolves around this union, with Sweden breaking off and being re-conquered repeatedly. The issue was for practical purposes resolved on 17 June 1523, as [[List of Swedish monarchs|Swedish King]] [[Gustav I of Sweden|Gustav Vasa]] conquered the city of [[Stockholm]]. The [[Protestant Reformation]] spread to Scandinavia in the 1530s, and following the [[Count's Feud]] civil war, [[Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein|Denmark converted]] to [[Lutheranism]] in 1536. Later that year, Denmark entered into a union with Norway.