# Danes (tribe)

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North Germanic tribe

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"The Danes" redirects here. For the people of Denmark, see [Danes](/source/Danes).

The **Danes** were a [North Germanic](/source/North_Germanic_peoples) tribe inhabiting southern [Scandinavia](/source/Scandinavia), including the area now comprising [Denmark](/source/Denmark) proper, northern and eastern [England](/source/England), and [the Scanian provinces](/source/Sk%C3%A5neland) of modern-day southern Sweden, during the [Nordic Iron Age](/source/Nordic_Iron_Age) and the [Viking Age](/source/Viking_Age). They founded what became the [Kingdom of Denmark](/source/Kingdom_of_Denmark). The [name of their realm](/source/Etymology_of_Denmark) is believed to mean "[Danish March](/source/Danish_March)", viz. "the [march](/source/Marches) of the Danes", in [Old Norse](/source/Old_Norse), referring to their southern border zone between the [Eider](/source/Eider_(river)) and [Schlei](/source/Schlei) rivers, known as the [Danevirke](/source/Danevirke).

## Origins

See also: [Dan (king)](/source/Dan_(king))

The origin of the Danes remains undetermined, but several ancient historical documents and texts refer to them and archaeology has revealed and continues to reveal insights into their culture, cultural beliefs, beliefs organization and way of life. A 2025 study in *Nature* found genetic evidence of an influx of central European population after about 500 AD into the region later ruled by the Danes.[1]

The Danes first appear in written history in the 6th century with references in Jordanes' *[Getica](/source/Getica)* (551 AD), by [Procopius](/source/Procopius), and by [Gregory of Tours](/source/Gregory_of_Tours). In his description of [Scandza](/source/Scandza), [Jordanes](/source/Jordanes) says that the **Dani** were of the same stock as the *Suetidi* ("Swedes") and expelled the [Heruli](/source/Heruli) and took their lands.[2]

The [Old English](/source/Old_English) poems *[Widsith](/source/Widsith)* and *[Beowulf](/source/Beowulf)*, as well as works by later Scandinavian writers (notably by [Saxo Grammaticus](/source/Saxo_Grammaticus) (c. 1200)), provide some of the original written references to the Danes. According to the 12th-century author [Sven Aggesen](/source/Sven_Aggesen), the mythical King [Dan](/source/Dan_(king)) gave his name to the Danes.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Culture

### Language

The Danes spoke [Proto-Norse](/source/Proto-Norse_language) which gradually evolved into the [Old Norse](/source/Old_Norse) language by the beginning of the [Viking Age](/source/Viking_Age). They spoke [*dǫnsk tunga*](/source/Old_Norse) (Danish tongue), which the Danes shared with the people in Norway and Sweden and later in Iceland and the Faroe Islands.[3]

Like previous and contemporary people of Scandinavia, the Danes used [runes](/source/Runes) for writing, but did not write much apparently, as they have left no literary legacy except for occasional [rune stones](/source/Rune_stones) and carvings in wood and various items like weapons, utensils and jewellery.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

### Religion

As previous and contemporary peoples of Scandinavia (the Vikings), the tribal Danes were practitioners of the [Norse religion](/source/Norse_religion). Around 500 AD, many of the gods of the [Norse pantheon](/source/Norse_pantheon) had lost their previous significance, except a few such as [Thor](/source/Thor), [Odin](/source/Odin) and [Frey](/source/Freyr) who were increasingly worshipped. During the 10th century of the late Viking Age, the Danes officially adopted [Christianity](/source/Christianity), as evidenced by several rune stones, documents and church buildings. The new Christian influences also show in their art, jewellery and burial practices of the late Viking Age, but the transition was not rapid and definitive and older customs from the Norse religion remained to be practised to various degrees.[4]

Some sources, such as the *Beowulf*, point to a very early [Arianism](/source/Arianism) in Denmark, but it has been a matter of intense academic debate for many years whether these sources reflect later adjustments or an actual early [Germanic Christianity](/source/Germanic_Christianity) among the Danes in the Iron Age. There are several archaeological artefacts in and from Denmark however, made as early as the 500s, depicting [Daniel](/source/Daniel_(biblical_figure)) among the lions, so the Danes must have had some knowledge of and influence from Arian cultures.[4]

		- [Silver coins](/source/Sceat) from Ribe (c. 710–20). [Odin](/source/Odin) and Christian cross symbols (left) and Norse pagan fantastic animal (right).

		- [Odin from Lejre](/source/Odin_from_Lejre), (c. 900).

		- [Hiddensee treasure](/source/Hiddensee_treasure). Golden jewellery mixing [Thor's hammer](/source/Thor's_hammer) and the Christian cross (10th century).

## Iron Age

Further information: [Nordic Iron Age](/source/Nordic_Iron_Age)

Site of the earliest Iron Age hall of the Danes in Lejre (c. 550 AD). The hall is outlined by darkened soil.

In the Nordic Iron Age, the Danes were based in present-day [Zealand](/source/Zealand) and [Scania](/source/Scania) (and neighbouring parts of present-day Sweden). Until around the 6th century, Jutland was the homeland of two other Germanic tribes: the [Jutes](/source/Jutes) in what is now North Jutland, and the [Angles](/source/Angles_(tribe)) in South Jutland (especially [Angeln](/source/Angeln)).

The *[Widsith](/source/Tribes_of_Widsith)* mentions two semi-mythical kings in relation to the Danes of the Iron Age. [Sigar](/source/Sigar) who ruled the "Sea-Danes" and [Offa](/source/Offa_of_Angel) who ruled both Danes and [Angles](/source/Angles_(tribe)). Centuries later, Saxo lists for the first time the Danes entire lineage of semi-mythical kings, starting from King Dan. As Saxo's texts are the first written accounts of Denmark's history, and hence the Danes, his sources are largely surviving legends, folk lore and word of mouth.

The royal seat and capital of the Danes was located on [Zealand](/source/Zealand) near [Lejre](/source/Lejre) and constituted what has later been dubbed the Lejre Kingdom, ruled by the [Skjöldung](/source/Skj%C3%B6ldung) dynasty.

Some time around the middle of the [First Millennium](/source/First_Millennium), both Jutland and Angeln became part of Danish kingdom or kingdoms. So was southern [Schleswig](/source/Schleswig) (now the northernmost part of Germany) – the site of [Danevirke](/source/Danevirke), a large set of fortifications reportedly built by Danes to mark the southern border of their realm. It was extended several times in later centuries.

## Viking Age

Further information: [Viking Age](/source/Viking_Age)

The extent of the Danish Realm before the expansion of the Viking Age. It is not known when, but the tribal Danes divided the realm into "[herreder](/source/Herred)" (marked by red lines).

Beginning in the 8th century, the Danes initiated the construction of trading towns across their realm, including [Hedeby](/source/Hedeby), [Ribe](/source/Ribe), [Aarhus](/source/Aarhus) and [Viborg](/source/Viborg%2C_Denmark) and expanded existing settlements such as [Odense](/source/Odense) and [Aalborg](/source/Aalborg). Hedeby quickly grew to become the largest settlement in Scandinavia and remained so until its eventual destruction in the later half of the 11th century.

From around 800 AD, the Danes began a long era of well-organised raids across the coasts and rivers of Europe. Some of the raids were followed by a gradual succession of Danish settlers and during this epoch, large areas outside Scandinavia were settled by the Danes, including the Danelaw in England and countryside and newly established towns in Ireland, the Netherlands and northern France. In the early 11th century, King [Cnut the Great](/source/Cnut_the_Great) (died 1035) ruled the extensive [North Sea Empire](/source/North_Sea_Empire) for nearly 20 years, consisting of Denmark, England, Norway, southern Sweden and parts of northern Germany.[5]

During the 10th century the royal seat of the Danes was moved from Lejre to [Jelling](/source/Jelling) in central Jutland, marking the foundation and consolidation of the Kingdom of Denmark.

### Danelaw

In the [British Isles](/source/British_Isles), Danes landed three [Viking ships](/source/Viking_ship) at the isle of [Portland, Dorset](/source/Portland%2C_Dorset) in 786 AD, where they met and killed a local reeve and his men.[6][note 1] In 793 AD, a Viking raid and plunder of the monastery at [Lindisfarne](/source/Lindisfarne) took place, but no further activity in England followed until 835 AD. In that year, the Danes raided and built a permanent camp on the [Isle of Sheppey](/source/Isle_of_Sheppey) in south east England and settling followed from 865, when brothers [Halfdan Ragnarsson](/source/Halfdan_Ragnarsson) and [Ivar the Boneless](/source/Ivar_the_Boneless) wintered in [East Anglia](/source/East_Anglia). Halfdan and Ivar moved north and captured [Northumbria](/source/Kingdom_of_Northumbria) in 867 and [York](/source/York) as well. [Danelaw](/source/Danelaw) – a special rule of law – was soon established in the settled areas and shaped the local cultures there for centuries. Cultural remains are still noticeable today.[7]

### Ireland

The Danes first arrived in Ireland in 795 AD, at [Rathlin Island](/source/Rathlin_Island), initiating subsequent raids and fortified trade settlements, so called [longphorts](/source/Longphort). During the Viking Age, they established many coastal towns including [Dublin](/source/Early_Scandinavian_Dublin) (Dyflin), [Cork](/source/Cork_(city)), [Waterford](/source/History_of_Waterford) (Veðrafjǫrðr) and [Limerick](/source/Limerick) (Hlymrekr) and Danish settlers followed. There were many small skirmishes and larger battles with the native [Irish clans](/source/Irish_clans) in the following two centuries, with the Danes sometimes siding with allied clans. In 1014 AD, at the [Battle of Clontarf](/source/Battle_of_Clontarf), the Vikings were eventually defeated and the remaining Danish settlers gradually assimilated with the Irish population.[8]

### Frisia

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (August 2016)

The first Vikings appeared in [Frisia](/source/Frisia), now part of the Netherlands and Germany, in 800 AD, when Danes plundered coastal settlements and later the trade town of [Dorestad](/source/Dorestad) became a frequent target of raids. During this time, Frisia was ruled by the [Franks](/source/Franks) and in the mid-9th century, the Danish chieftain of [Roric](/source/Roric) received the western parts of the Netherlands as a fief and established here.[9]

The Danes were probably involved in Frisia much earlier as [Gregory of Tours](/source/Gregory_of_Tours) (c. 538–594 AD) mentions a Danish king [Chlochilaichus](/source/Hygelac) who was killed there while invading [Frankish](/source/Franks) territory in the early 6th century.[10]

### France

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (June 2016)

Further information: [History of Normandy](/source/History_of_Normandy) and [Normans](/source/Normans)

[Viking ships](/source/Viking_ship) on the Normandy coast. Scene from the [Bayeux tapestry](/source/Bayeux_tapestry).

The first known Viking raid in what now constitutes France, commenced in 799, when an attack was fought off on the coast of [Aquitaine](/source/Aquitaine). Several other smaller skirmishes with aggressive Vikings from primarily Danish territory have been recorded, including the first raid on the [Seine](/source/Seine) in 820, but it was not until the year 834 before Viking activity in France took off on a grand scale. In that year, Danes established a lasting base on [Noirmoutier](/source/Noirmoutier) island, a central spot for the European salt trade at the time, and poured into the [Loire Valley](/source/Loire_Valley) on larger raid expeditions. Many large scale raids followed all across the coasts and in-land rivers of Western Europe in subsequent decades.[11]

In the beginning of the 900s, Vikings had established an encampment and base in the lower parts of the [Seine](/source/Seine) river around [Rouen](/source/Rouen). In an effort to stop or reduce the relentless raids, [Charles the Simple](/source/Charles_the_Simple) made a [treaty in Saint-Clair-sur-Epte](/source/Treaty_of_Saint-Clair-sur-Epte) with the Viking chieftain of [Rollo](/source/Rollo) in 911, granting Rollo and his Danish men authority over the area now known as [Normandy](/source/Normandy). This prompted Scandinavian settlers to establish themselves here and in the course of the next couple of centuries, the Norman culture emerged in Normandy.[12][note 2][13]

## Historical texts

Beowulf: "*dena land*", 'the Danes land'. From a copy around the year 1000.

Important historical documents that tell about the tribal Danes include:

- *[Widsith](/source/Widsith)*

- *[Beowulf](/source/Beowulf)*. This poem describes an event in [Lejre](/source/Lejre) around the year 500 CE and was probably originally written shortly after.

- Saxo Grammaticus: *"[Gesta Danorum](/source/Gesta_Danorum)"* (Deeds of The Danes) written in the 12th century.

## See also

- [Danes](/source/Danes), the present inhabitants of Denmark.

- [Getae](/source/Getae)

- [Dacians](/source/Dacia_(disambiguation))

- [Normans](/source/Normans)

- [Norsemen](/source/Norsemen)

- [Rus' people](/source/Rus'_people)

- [Varangians](/source/Varangians)

- [Vikings](/source/Vikings)

- [Danegeld](/source/Danegeld)

- [List of ancient Germanic peoples](/source/List_of_ancient_Germanic_peoples)

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** The Vikings in Dorset might perhaps have originated from Norway and the exact time of the event is unclear, it took place between 786-793 AD. See *"The Vikings in History"*.[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Rollo was most likely from Norway himself and the new settlers in Normandy were not Danes exclusively. See *"A History of the Vikings"*.[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Speidel, Leo; Silva, Marina; Booth, Thomas; Raffield, Ben; Anastasiadou, Kyriaki; Barrington, Christopher; Götherström, Anders; Heather, Peter; Skoglund, Pontus (January 2025). ["High-resolution genomic history of early medieval Europe"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11693606). *Nature*. **637** (8044): 118–126. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2025Natur.637..118S](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025Natur.637..118S). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1038/s41586-024-08275-2](https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fs41586-024-08275-2). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [11693606](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11693606). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [39743601](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39743601).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["THE ORIGIN AND DEEDS OF THE GOTHS"](http://www.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/texts/jordgeti.html#III). *Ucalgary.ca*. Retrieved May 23, 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Anderson, Carl Edlund (2000). [*The Danish Tongue and Scandinavian Identity*](http://www.bdae.org.br/handle/123456789/2974) (Thesis). p. 1. Icelandic writers (who provide the bulk of our surviving documentation) commonly employed the term dǫnsk tunga (literally 'Danish tongue') to identify the language not just of those who were ruled by the Dana konungr, but of all Germanic-speaking Scandinavians.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Hvad_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Hvad_4-1) Described in *"Hvad troede de på?"*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** In northern Germany, the North Sea Empire included the area we now know as [Schleswig-Holstein](/source/Schleswig-Holstein) and the island of [Rügen](/source/R%C3%BCgen).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELogan201322–24_6-0)** [Logan 2013](#CITEREFLogan2013), pp. 22–24.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Flores Historiarum: Rogeri de Wendover, Chronica sive flores historiarum, pp. 298–9. ed. H. Coxe, [Rolls Series](/source/Rolls_Series), 84 (4 vols, 1841–42)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["The Vikings in Ireland: 800 AD–1169"](http://www.dochara.com/the-irish/ireland-history/vikings/). *DoCharra.com*. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** See *"Viking Trade and Settlement in Continental Western Europ"* - Frisia in Carolingian Times (Egge Knol), p. 43ff

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Peter Hunter Blair (1990). *The World of Bede* (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 28ff.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELogan201397–120_12-0)** [Logan 2013](#CITEREFLogan2013), pp. 97–120.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [T. D. Kendrick](/source/T._D._Kendrick) (2004). *A History of the Vikings*. Dover Publications. p. 221.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** See *"Viking Trade and Settlement in Continental Western Europe"*.[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*]

## Sources and further reading

- Niels Hybel, ed. (2003). *Danmark i Europa (750-1300)* (in Danish). [Museum Tusculanum Press](/source/Museum_Tusculanum_Press), University of Copenhagen.

- Mads Lidegaard (2004): *"Hvad troede de på? – religiøse tanker i oldtid og vikingetid" [What did they believe in? – religious thoughts in ancient times and the Viking Age]*, Gyldendal, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [87-02-02703-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/87-02-02703-8) (in Danish) [Mads Lidegaard](http://www.lidegaard.dk/Familie/Mads.htm) (1915–2006) was a prolific writer, teacher and theologian from Denmark.

- Klæsøe, Iben Skibsted (2010). *Viking Trade and Settlement in Continental Western Europe*. Museum Tusculanum Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-87-635-0531-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-87-635-0531-4).

- Logan, F. Donald (2013). *The Vikings in History*. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.4324/9781315017174](https://doi.org/10.4324%2F9781315017174). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-136-52709-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-136-52709-8).

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