Family Card - Person Sheet
Family Card - Person Sheet
NameGorm “the Old” , King of Denmark
Birthabt 890, Denmark
Deathabt 958, Denmark
FatherHarthacnut (Hardeknud) (~870-~947)
Misc. Notes
Gorm the Old (Gorm den Gamle) was King of Denmark in the mid-900s.

The son of Danish king Harthacnut, Gorm is one of the most misinterpreted figures in Danish history. Often maligned as a cruel old dotard and a staunch heathen, Gorm was born in the late 800s, and died in 958 according to dendrochronological studies of the wood in his burial chamber.

His ancestry may lie with the Danish rulers in East Anglia, one of which was named Guthrum, a form of the name Gorm. His father came to Denmark around 916 or 917 and deposed the young king Sigtrygg Gnupasson, and when Harthaknut died, probably in 947, Gorm ascended to the throne.

Gorm was neither old nor unwise; when correctly interpreted, early sources point to him as being open-minded and pragmatic as far as Denmark's relationship with the Christian neighbors to the south was concerned, but earlier historians often confused him with his father who supposedly withstood the coming of Christianity for as long as he lived.

His skeleton is believed to have been found at the site of the first Christian church of Jelling. During the reign of Gorm, most Danes still worshipped the Norse gods, but during the reign of Gorm's son Harold Bluetooth, Denmark officially converted to Christianity. Harold supposedly moved the skeleton of his father from its original resting place into the church, but left the hill where Gorm had originally been interred as a memorial.
Spouses
Birthabt 890, Jutland
Deathabt 940, Denmark
FatherHarold Klak of Jutland (~852-~895)
ChildrenHarald “Bluetooth” (911-986)
Last Modified 1 Apr 2006Created 12 Oct 2023 using Reunion for Macintosh
Created Thursday, October 12, 2023 by Mike Perry

using Reunion for Macintosh