by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

1860 painting by Danish artist August Thomsen of Thyra Dannebod informing King Gorm the Old of the death of their son Knud Danaast; Credit – Wikipedia

Gorm the Old, King of Denmark reigned from 936 to 958. The exact date of the Kingdom of Denmark’s origin is unknown, but names of Danish kings began to appear in foreign sources in the 8th century. The current Kingdom of Denmark was founded by the Viking kings Gorm the Old and his son Harald Bluetooth in the 10th century. Gorm the Old is the earliest reliably verified Danish ruler. The kings who preceded Gorm the Old are called the Legendary Kings of Denmark. These kings may be partly historical, especially those close to Gorm the Old’s time, semi-legendary, or entirely mythological.

Gorm the Old’s father was supposedly Harthacnut who reigned in the early 10th century. A Norse saga says that Harthacnut was the son of legendary Danish king Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, one of the sons of legendary Danish king Ragnar Lodbrok. In the History Channel’s TV series Vikings, Ragnar Lodbrok (played by Australian actor Travis Fimmel) was the main character.

Gorm was probably born around 900. The chronicler Adam of Bremen says that Gorm’s father Harthacnut came from Northmannia, the original name of Normandy, a region in northern France, to Denmark and seized power in the early 10th century by deposing King Sigtrygg Gnupasson, who reigned in western Denmark. When Harthacnut died, his son Gorm became king. It is speculated that Gorm only ruled in the Jutland area of present-day Denmark,  from Jelling, the royal seat of the first monarchs of the Kingdom of Denmark. Runestones state that Gorm’s son Harald Bluetooth “conquered all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian”, therefore there is speculation that Gorm was only King of Jutland

Gorm married Thyra Dannebod whose existence is documented in Viking Age runestone inscriptions, but very little is known about her. Medieval historians and 12th and 13th-century Icelandic sagas disagree with her origin, describing her as the daughter of an English king, the daughter of an Earl of Jutland, or from the area of present-day Germany.

Gorm and Thyra had four children:

• Harald Bluetooth, King of Denmark and Norway (? – 985/986), married three times, had at least four children including Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Norway, and England
• Knud Danaast (circa 920 – 962), killed during a military campaign in Dublin, Ireland
• Gunnhild (circa 910 – circa 980), married Eric Bloodaxe, King of Norway, King of Northumbria, had seven children, including Harald II Greycloak, King of Norway
• Toke Gormsson (? – 986), killed in the Battle of Fýrisvellir

The North Mound where Gorm was originally buried; Credit – By Hjart – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71808578

Gorm was first buried in the North Mound in Jelling, Denmark. Today, Jelling is the site of a large stone ship, two large burial mounds, the Jelling stones (massive carved runestones from the 10th century), and the Jelling Church.

Gorm’s burial site in the Jelling Church; Credit – Wikipedia

Gorm’s son Harald Bluetooth became a Christian around 965, and after his conversion, Harald had his father’s body reburied in the wooden church he built next to the North Mound in Jelling. Harald Bluetooth erected Jelling stones for his father and mother with the inscription: “King Harald bade these memorials to be made after Gorm, his father, and Thyra, his mother. The Harald who won the whole of Denmark and Norway and turned the Danes to Christianity.” It is speculated that Gorm died in the winter of 958 – 959, based on dendrochronology, the scientific method of dating tree rings, showing that the tomb in the North Mound in Jelling was made from wood felled in 958.

The Jelling stone erected by Harald Bluetooth in memory of his father Gorm;  Credit – By Casiopeia – fotografiert von Casiopeia, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=197286

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Bidragsydere til Wikimedia-projekter. (2003, November 18). dansk dronning i 10. århundrede. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyra_Dannebod
• Bidragsydere til Wikimedia-projekter. (2002). Konge af Danmark (0900-0964). Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorm_den_Gamle
• Gorm the Old (899-958) – Find a Grave Memorial. (2024). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/84801088/gorm-the_old
• ‌Gorm the Old. (2023). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorm_the_Old
• Thyra. (2024). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyra
• Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Harthacnut I of Denmark. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.