Forkbeard is never known to have officially made use of this Christian name. Sweyn's elder son, Harald II, succeeded him as King of Denmark, but the Danish fleet in England proclaimed his younger son Cnut king. The given name Haraldr (also Haralldr) is the equivalent of Old English Hereweald, Old High German Heriwald, from hari "army" and wald- "rule". [13] but Lund (2001) argues that the main motivation for the raids was more likely the prospect of revenue. He came to the help of Richard the Fearless of Normandy in 945 and 963, while his son conquered Samland, and after the assassination of King Harald Greycloak of Norway, managed to force the people of that country into temporary subjugation to himself. 1 Appearance 2 Personality 3 History 4 References King Sweyn is an old man with multiple skin problems. [16], A cleric named Poppa, perhaps the same one, also appears in Adam of Bremen's history, but in connection with Eric of Sweden, who had supposedly conquered Denmark (the fact that Eric conquered Denmark during the realm of Sweyn Forkbeard is explained by Saxo as a punishment of Sweyn's apostasy). "Religions Old and New". One of them, Margaret of Denmark, married James III of Scotland in 1469, introducing Sweyn's bloodline into the Scottish royal house. However, the English nobility sent for Æthelred, who upon his return from exile in Normandy in the spring of 1014 managed to drive Cnut out of England. AKA Svein Otto Haraldsson. [14], Adam of Bremen, writing 100 years after King Harald's death in "History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen", finished in 1076, describes Harald being forcibly converted by Otto I, after a defeat in battle. All five fortresses had similar designs: "perfectly circular with gates opening to the four corners of the earth, and a courtyard divided into four areas which held large houses set in a square pattern. She married Pallig, Jarl and Ealdorman of Devonshire. Sweyn acquired massive sums of Danegeld through the raids. "The armies of Swein Forkbeard and Cnut: leding or li(th)", https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205808/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2, Northvegr (Scandinavian) – A History of the Vikings (Search), Vikingworld (Danish) – Swein Forkbeard (Svend Tveskæg), Sweyn Forkbeard: The Viking King of England, List of English words of Old Norse origin, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sweyn_Forkbeard&oldid=1001197390, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the ODNB, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2020, Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 18 January 2021, at 17:37. Today, he is remembered as Cnut the Great with good reason. His son Canute would go on to create a Nordic empire after his … He is believed to have died in 986, although several accounts claim 985 as his year of death. Sweyn's father, Harald Bluetooth, was the first of the Scandinavian kings to officially accept Christianity, in the mid-960s. 968/72 - d. ca. It suggested that Sweyn was seeking to pre-empt any diminution of his independence, by German leaders. According to Adam of Bremen, an 11th century historian, Harald's son Sweyn was baptised Otto, paying tribute to the German king Otto I who was Holy Roman Emperor. Sweyn Forkbeard was and remains a powerful symbol of Scandinavia's transitional era at the turn of the Eleventh Century. Æthelred's 37-year combined reign was the longest of any Anglo-Saxon king of England, and was only surpassed in the 13th century, by Henry III. Sweyn Forkbeard. Sweyn Forkbeard (960-1014) was the king of Denmark from 986 to 1014 (succeeding Harald Bluetooth and preceding Harald II of Denmark), King of Norway from 1000 to 1014 (succeeding Olav Tryggvason and preceding Olaf II of Norway), and King of England from 1013 to 1014 (succeeding Æthelred the Unready and preceding Æthelred). The text reads: In 1013 Sweyn Forkbeard King of Denmark, sailed up the River Trent and camped his armies at Gainsborough. King Æthelred sent his sons Edward and Alfred to Normandy, and himself retreated to the Isle of Wight, and then followed them into exile. He was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. [7], During his reign, Harald oversaw the reconstruction of the Jelling runic stones, and numerous other public works. Tradition locates this church in Roskilde,[14] but it is more plausible that it was actually located in Lund in Scania (now part of Sweden).[17]. [22] The biography of Harald Bluetooth is summed up by this runic inscription from the Jelling stones:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}. Born about 960. Cnut soon returned and became king of all England in 1016, following the deaths of Æthelred and his son Edmund Ironside; he succeeded his brother as King of Denmark in 1019 and eventually also ruled Norway, parts of Sweden, Pomerania, and Schleswig. [citation needed], He had the Jelling stones erected to honour his parents. [10] According to Adam, Sweyn was punished by God for leading the uprising which led to king Harald's death, and had to spend fourteen years abroad (i.e. Opes 21:55, 7 April 2006 (UTC) Have changed all the Sven/svend entries to Sweyn as this not only creates a consensus but also agrees with the name of the article! Adam also suggests that Sweyn in his youth lived among heathens, and only achieved success as a ruler after accepting Christianity. According to Adam of Bremen he died in Jumne/Jomsborg from his wounds. England’s first Danish King died of apoplexy soon after his success, and thus Ethelred was reinstated as King after managing to drive Sweyn’s son Canute, who was proclaimed King by the Danish fleet in England to flee the country. However, Sweyn's preference for the English church may also have had a political motive, because German bishops were an integral part of the state. See more ideas about viking history, vikings, norse. Usually given as the son of Harald and Gunhild, though it is said in some of the older sagas that he was an illegitimate son. "[8] A sixth Trelleborg of similar design, located at Borgeby, in Scania, has been dated to about 1000 and may have been built by King Harald and a second fort named Trelleborg is located near the modern town of Trelleborg in Scania in present-day Sweden, but is of older date and thus pre-dates the reign of Harald Bluetooth. The Kings' sagas ascribe the causes of the alliance to Olaf Tryggvason's ill-fated marriage proposal to Sigrid the Haughty and his problematic marriage to Thyri, sister of Svein Forkbeard. It is thought that they both died in the St. Brice's Day massacre in November 1002. His son was King Canute (Knut) "The Great". He was the father of King Harald II of Denmark, King Cnut the Great and Queen Estrid Svendsdatter.. Sweyn I "Forkbeard" (Old Norse Sveinn tjúguskegg; Danish: Svend Tveskæg, originally Tjugeskæg or Tyvskæg, Norwegian: Svein Tjugeskjegg) (c. 960 – February 3, 1014).Sweyn succeeded his father Harald I "Blåtand" (Bluetooth) as king of Denmark, probably in late 986 or early 987.Sweyn had coins made with his likeness, being the first Danish king to do so. In the mid-980s, Sweyn re­volted against his fa­ther and seized the throne. Søre… Sweyn Forkbeard was famous for his conquers, beard and immaculate hair even in battle. (2015)", History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen, "Tech History: How Bluetooth got its name", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harald_Bluetooth&oldid=1002588329, Converts to Christianity from pagan religions, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Old Norse-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2017, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from February 2019, Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 January 2021, at 03:53. His father, Harald Bluetooth, was the first Danish King that unified the Danes under a banner. [19] Adam of Bremen's claim regarding Otto I and Harald appears to have been inspired by an attempt to manufacture a historical reason for the archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen to claim jurisdiction over Denmark (and thus the rest of Scandinavia); in the 1070s, the Danish king was in Rome asking for Denmark to have its own arch-bishop, and Adam's account of Harald's supposed conversion (and baptism of both him and his "little son" Sweyn, with Otto serving as Sweyn's godfather) is followed by the unambiguous claim that "At that time Denmark on this side of the sea, which is called Jutland by the inhabitants, was divided into three dioceses and subjected to the bishopric of Hamburg. [10], Sweyn campaigned in Wessex and East Anglia in 1003–1004, but a famine forced him to return to Denmark in 1005. "The Danish Empire and the End of the Viking Age", Lund, Niels (1986). Further raids took place in 1006–1007, and in 1009–1012 Thorkell the Tall led a Viking invasion into England. 1016), perhaps married firstly with Eric the Victorious, King of Sweden and later wife of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark by whom she is said to have been mother of … After he came over Watling Street, they went to Oxford, and the town-dwellers soon bowed to him, and gave hostages. [citation needed]. Sweyn was the son of King Harold Gormson Bluetooth of Denmark and Aesa, according to the Jomsvikinga Saga, though more probably his mother was Queen Gunild. "[15], As noted above, Harald's father, Gorm the Old, had died in 958, and had been buried in a mound with many goods, after the pagan practice. Sweyn Forkbeard (/ s v ɛ n /; [citation needed] Old Norse: Sveinn Haraldsson tjúguskegg; Danish: Svend Tveskæg; c. 960 – 3 February 1014) was king of Denmark from 986 to 1014. Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson (Old Norse: Haraldr Gormsson;[2] Danish: Harald Blåtand Gormsen, died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. Birthplace: Denmark Location of death: Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England Cause of death: unspecified. [14] [28], For the wireless technology standard, see. According to the account of the Heimskringla, Sweyn Forkbeard, son of King Harald Bluetooth. Sons of Valhalla is a sidescrolling base building strategy game. While quiet prevailed throughout the interior, he turned his energies to foreign enterprises. A painting and text about Forkbeard. (2001). [5] Clac Harald appears to be a confusion of Harald Bluetooth with the legendary or semi-legendary Harald Klak, son of Halfdan. Sweyn Haroldson (Forkbeard) Son of King Harold Gormsson, and father of Knut the Great. In normalized Old Norse, this would correspond to Haraldr konungr, i.e. In 986 A.D. Sweyn Forkbeard, who was known for his navigational expertise, revolted against his father, King Bluetooth, and eventually became his successor. He overthrew his father and took the throne of king of the Danes (c. 987). The contemporary Peterborough Chronicle (part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) states: before the month of August came king Sweyn with his fleet to Sandwich. Harald Bluetooth had already established a foothold in Norway, controlling Viken in c. 970. The byname is given as Blachtent and explicitly glossed as "bluish or black tooth" (dens lividus vel niger) in a chronicle of the late 12th century, Wilhelmi abbatis regum Danorum genealogia. According to Adam, Sweyn was sent into exile by his father's German friends and deposed in favour of king Eric the Victorious of Sweden, whom Adam wrote ruled Denmark until his death in 994 or 995. He was forced twice to submit to the renegade Swedish prince Styrbjörn the Strong of the Jomsvikings- first by giving Styrbjörn a fleet and his daughter Thyra, the second time by giving up himself as hostage, along with yet another fleet. Sweyn had eight children with Sigrid the Haughty and Gunhild of Wenden: King Sweyn Forkbeard is played by Ernest Graves in the 1970 film The Ceremony of Innocence. Adam's account is thus not seen as entirely reliable; the claimed 14-years' exile of Sweyn to Scotland does not seem to agree with Sweyn's building churches in Denmark throughout the same period, including the churches in Lund and Roskilde. Harold was a son of Godwin (c. 1001 –1053), the powerful earl of Wessex, and of Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, whose brother Ulf the Earl was married to Estrid Svendsdatter (c. 1015/1016), the daughter of King Sweyn Forkbeard (died 1014) and sister of King Cnut the Great of England and Denmark. Sweyn’s son Cnut even makes him Jarl in 1017. Not only did he defeat Edmund Ironside, he also inherited the kingdom of Denmark and conquered Norway. The Harald who won the whole of Denmark and Norway and turned the Danes to Christianity. Sweyn Forkbeard (/ s v ɛ n /; Old Norse: Sveinn Haraldsson tjúguskegg; Danish: Svend Tveskæg; c. 960 – 3 February 1014) was king of Denmark from 986 to 1014. Anders Winroth, Viking Sources in Translation, in text drawing on a caption by Anders Winroth in Barbara Rosenwein, Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres, "A unique object from Harald Bluetooth´s time. He also believes the Lincolnshire town could have been where Sweyn's son, Canute, attempted to hold back the waves of the Aegir - a tidal bore, … Sweyn Forkbeard was the eldest son of King Harald Bluetooth and his mother's identity has been a debate for the historians. [2], In the mid-980s, Sweyn revolted against his father and seized the throne. "[20], After his conversion, around the 960s, Harald had his father's body reburied in the church next to the now empty mound. The Londoners then followed suit, fearing Sweyn's revenge if they resisted any longer. Sweyn married the widow of Erik, king of Sweden, named "Gunhild" in some sources,[8] or identified as an unnamed sister of Boleslav, ruler of Poland. Most sources say that they adopted Christianity but allowed the people religious freedom, leading to a backlash against Christianity which undid much of Olaf Tryggvason's missionary work.[11]. 26 The Sweyn Forkbeard Pub in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire (Source: Flickr / Brian). [6] Conflicting accounts of Sweyn's later life also appear in the Encomium Emmae Reginae, an 11th-century Latin encomium in honour of his son king Cnut's queen Emma of Normandy, along with Chronicon ex chronicis by Florence of Worcester, another 11th-century author. 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