The story of the Danes is of an ancient people who have risen out of antiquity, wars, strife, into a nation of freedom, peace and prosperity -- and a healthy sense of humor borne from trial.
Global warming lent a friendly hand in the formation of Denmark. The sun smiled on a group of hunter/gatherers, melting a sheet of ice that covered the land. My ancestors migrated northward, following the retreating ice and herds of deer. They depended upon reindeer and other animals and fish for their survival.
The lives of the early hunter/gatherers were hard. Many died before age 20. They made tools of wood, flint and bone for hunting and fishing. They made spears for fishing and stone axes. To catch food for daily sustenance they were frequently on the move. They made huts from the bark of trees. The frozen tundra gradually thawed, replaced by forests and wetlands.
The people who would in thousands of years become Danes roamed a wide area in the days before rising sea levels and an underwater landslide created a tsunami, flooding the land bridge between England and Scandinavia. Their descendants would sail across that flooded area to raid England.
Life improved at a painstaking pace as cultures gradually adopted the practice of animal husbandry. They domesticated the dog. Agriculture was a major leap forward in providing a more reliable source of food. Gradually rising temperatures led to changes in the forests and wildlife. Around 7000 BC oak and elm trees began growing in Denmark. Reindeer moved north, replaced by boar and red deer. The population of Denmark was probably between 3,300 and 8,000.
With rising sea levels, diet shifted more toward seafood, which allowed populations to increase. By 4500 BC the large contiguous landmass became a series of islands surrounding Jutland.
Agriculture became more prominent around 3000 BC. Many rock tombs date from this period. The tombs were one large rock atop two other stones, probably covered with earth. The earth has since worn away, leaving only the stone “dolmens.”
The Nordic Bronze Age period in Denmark from about 1500 BC featured a culture which buried its dead, with their worldly goods, beneath burial mounds. Many beautiful religious objects and musical instruments have been discovered dating from this time. Among them is the famous Trundholm sun chariot, depicting the sun being drawn by a horse. These finds represent the earliest evidence of the rise of classes in Danish society.
From the 4th to 1st century BC the weather became cooler and wetter, causing a migration southward into Germania. Also about this time, iron began to be extracted from the iron ore peat-bogs.
The borders of the Roman Empire never extended to Denmark, but its influence was felt through trade and cultural exchange. Roman coins and other artifacts have been found dating from the 1st century. Literacy was another benefit from the south. Depletion of cultivated land in the last century BC seems to have contributed to increasing migrations in northern Europe and increasing conflict between Teutonic tribes and Roman settlements in Gaul. Some Danish warriors likely served in the Roman army.
The peat-bogs were apparently a convenient place to dispose of murder victims. Some of these bog bodies have been found well preserved, giving valuable information about the people who lived in Denmark in this period. Other peat-bog corpses have been found that date to the 5th-7th centuries, including two well preserved strangulation victims.
Sixth-century Roman historian Jordanes mentions the Danes in his work, “Getica.” He wrote that the Danes were of the same ethnic stock as the Swedes, and that they expelled the Heruli and took their lands. The old English poems Widsith and Beowulf, as well as works by later Scandinavian writers provide some of the earliest references to the Danes.
Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 - c. 1220) was a Danish scholar, historian, warrior, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary for Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, chief adviser to Valdemar I of Denmark. Saxo wrote the first complete history of Denmark. He lived in a period of warfare and Danish expansion, led by Absalon and the Valdemars. His history includes the first reference to Amleth (Hamlet). Saxo based his story on an oral tale of a son who took revenge for his father’s murder.
(Source: Wikipedia)
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