Denmarl
Denmarl
Denmarl
Article
Talk
Read
View source
View history
Tools
Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about metropolitan Denmark. For the sovereign state, see Danish
Realm. For all other uses, see Denmark (disambiguation).
This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. Please consider
splitting content into sub-articles, condensing it, or adding subheadings. Please
discuss this issue on the article's talk page. (June 2023)
Denmark
Danmark (Danish)
Constituent part of the Kingdom of Denmark
Flag of Denmark
Flag Official seal of Denmark
Coat of arms
Motto: Guds hjælp, folkets kærlighed, Danmarks styrke (Danish)[N 1]
(English: "God's help, the love of the people, Denmark's strength"[1])
Anthem: Der er et yndigt land (Danish)
(English: "There is a magnificent country")
1:20
National and royal anthem: Kong Christian stod ved højen mast (Danish)[N 2]
(English: "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
1:11
Location of metropolitan Denmark[N 3] (dark green) – in Europe (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (green)
Location of metropolitan Denmark[N 3] (dark green)
– in Europe (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (green)
As of 2013, the Kingdom of Denmark, including the Faroe Islands and Greenland, has
a total of 1,419 islands above 100 square metres (1,100 sq ft); 443 of which have
been named and of which 78 are inhabited.[16] Spanning a total area of 42,943 km2
(16,580 sq mi),[9] metropolitan Denmark consists of the northern part of the
Jutland peninsula and an archipelago of 406 islands.[17] Of these, the most
populated island is Zealand, on which the capital Copenhagen is situated, followed
by Funen, the North Jutlandic Island, and Amager.[18] Denmark's geography is
characterised by flat, arable land, sandy coasts, low elevation, and a temperate
climate. It had a population of 5.935 million (1 February 2023), of which 800,000
(2 million in the wider area) live in the capital and largest city, Copenhagen.[19]
Denmark exercises hegemonic influence in the Danish Realm, devolving powers to
handle internal affairs. Home rule was established in the Faroe Islands in 1948 and
in Greenland in 1979; the latter obtained further autonomy in 2009.
Etymology
Main article: Etymology of Denmark
The etymology of the name "Denmark", the relationship between "Danes" and
"Denmark", and the emergence of Denmark as a unified kingdom are topics of
continuous scholarly debate.[20][21] This is centred primarily on the morpheme
"Dan" and whether it refers to the Dani or a historical person Dan and the exact
meaning of the -"mark" ending.
Most etymological dictionaries and handbooks derive "Dan" from a word meaning "flat
land",[22] related to German Tenne "threshing floor", English den "cave".[22] The
element mark is believed to mean woodland or borderland (see marches), with
probable references to the border forests in south Schleswig.[23]
The first recorded use of the word Danmark within Denmark itself is found on the
two Jelling stones, which are runestones believed to have been erected by Gorm the
Old (c. 955) and Harald Bluetooth (c. 965). The larger of the two stones is
popularly cited as the "baptismal certificate" (dåbsattest) of Denmark,[24] though
both use the word "Denmark", in the accusative ᛏᛅᚾᛘᛅᚢᚱᚴ tanmaurk ([danmɒrk]) on the
large stone, and the genitive ᛏᛅᚾᛘᛅᚱᚴᛅᚱ "tanmarkar" (pronounced [danmarkaɽ]) on the
small stone, while the dative form tąnmarku (pronounced [danmarkʊ]) is found on the
contemporaneous Skivum stone. The inhabitants of Denmark are there called tani
([danɪ]), or "Danes", in the accusative.
History
Main article: History of Denmark
Also related: History of the Faroe Islands and History of Greenland
Prehistory
The gilded side of the Trundholm sun chariot dating from the Nordic Bronze Age
The earliest archaeological finds in Denmark date back to the Eem interglacial
period from 130,000 to 110,000 BC.[25] Denmark has been inhabited since around
12,500 BC and agriculture has been evident since 3900 BC.[26] The Nordic Bronze Age
(1800–600 BC) in Denmark was marked by burial mounds, which left an abundance of
findings including lurs and the Sun Chariot.
During the Pre-Roman Iron Age (500 BC – AD 1), native groups began migrating south,
and the first tribal Danes came to the country between the Pre-Roman and the
Germanic Iron Age,[27] in the Roman Iron Age (AD 1–400).[26] The Roman provinces
maintained trade routes and relations with native tribes in Denmark, and Roman
coins have been found in Denmark. Evidence of strong Celtic cultural influence
dates from this period in Denmark and much of North-West Europe and is among other
things reflected in the finding of the Gundestrup cauldron.
The tribal Danes came from the east Danish islands (Zealand) and Scania and spoke
an early form of North Germanic. Historians believe that before their arrival, most
of Jutland and the nearest islands were settled by tribal Jutes. The Jutes migrated
to Great Britain eventually, some as mercenaries of Brythonic King Vortigern, and
were granted the south-eastern territories of Kent, the Isle of Wight and other
areas, where they settled. They were later absorbed or ethnically cleansed by the
invading Angles and Saxons, who formed the Anglo-Saxons. The remaining Jutish
population in Jutland assimilated in with the settling Danes.
A short note about the Dani in Getica by the historian Jordanes is believed to be
an early mention of the Danes, one of the ethnic groups from whom modern Danes are
descended.[28][29] The Danevirke defence structures were built in phases from the
3rd century forward and the sheer size of the construction efforts in AD 737 are
attributed to the emergence of a Danish king.[30] A new runic alphabet was first
used around the same time and Ribe, the oldest town of Denmark, was founded about
AD 700.