General Notes

A.  Early legendary kings of Denmark.

The kings of Denmark, like the Saxon, Norwegian, and Swedish rulers, all claim descent from Odin.  Odin's real name, according to the old stories, was Sigge Fridulfson, but he called himself Odin so that people would worship him.

Odin is said to have come from Asgard, the legendary home of the gods. (Interestingly, the twelth-century Danish historian Saxo identifies Asgard with Byzantium.)  Traveling north from Asgard in the first century AD, Odin allegedly founded the Kingdom of the Svear in Uppsala sometime before the Christian era.

King Odin, we are told, had five sons.  They reigned over various parts of Scandinavia, and at least two of them ruled in Denmark.  (One must remember that Denmark at that time included Skane.  Although this region has belonged to Sweden in modern times, it was Danish from legendary through medieval times.)  We shall not endeavor to mention all the legendary kings of Denmark, but rather highlight some of the more famous and interesting heroes of the sagas.

The Danish kings, like those of Norway and Sweden, did not always follow a direct line of succession from father to son.  But they were required to be of noble blood, and they were elected by a gathering of nobles known as the "Thing".  [Royal Families of Medieval Scandinavia, Flanders, and Kiev]