Gudfred
Encyclopedia
King Gudfred was a Danish
king during the Viking era. Gudfred was the younger son of King Sigfred
. Alternate spelling include Godfred, Göttrick (German), Gøtrik (Danish), Gudrød (Danish), and Godofredus (Latin).
with a navy in 804 AD where diplomacy took place with the Franks
. It is believed that Gudfred's brother Halfdan
became earl of some wealthy market towns south of the river Ejder, occupying what became known as North Frisia
. Refusing to pay tax to Gudfred, Halfdan swore his allegiance to Charlemagne
in 807 to get his protection. In 798, the Obodrites had defeated the Saxons
in the battle on Swentana river. The Saxons were dispersed by the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne. The part of their former land in Holstein
north of Elbe
was awarded to the Obotrites in 804, as a reward for their victory. In 804, a Frankish army penetrated as far as the Ejder, Denmark's traditional boundary at the time.
Fearing an invasion by the Franks
, who had conquered heathen Frisia
over the previous 100 years and Old Saxony
in 772 to 804, Godfred began work on an enormous structure to defend his realm, separating Jutland
from the northern extent of the Frankish Empire
. The Frankish invasion never materialized, but it caused Gudfred to construct the first sections of the Danevirke
, which ran from the Schlien
toward the west coast of Denmark by means of the river Trende. The wall was built with an earthen embankment topped by a wooden stockade and protected from the south by a deep ditch. Denmark's most important town, Hedeby
, which apparently already existed on the Schlien, was expanded and garrisoned with Danish soldiers and the early sections of the wall were designed to protect it.
In 808, King Gudfred forced the Obodrites to acknowledge him as their overlord. The citizens of Reric
(modern Lübeck
), were allied with Charlemagne, who used the port as part of a strategic trade route. King Gudfred attacked Reric burnt it down, killed Chief Drożko
and ordered the merchants to resettle at Hedeby
, which was being integrated into the Danevirke defensive line.
In 809, King Godfred and emissaries of Charlemagne failed to negotiate peace. In 810, Gudfrid led 200 ships to plunder the Frisia
n coast, and forced the merchants and peasant to pay 100 pounds of silver and claimed Northern Frisia as Danish territory. To protect the northern coast of the Frankish Empire, Charlemagne began paying Viking chieftains to protect sections of the coast from the Schlei
east to the Weser River
. That same summer King Godfred was killed by one of his housecarl
s. According to Notker of St Gall
, the bodyguard who murdered King Gudfred was one of his own sons.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
king during the Viking era. Gudfred was the younger son of King Sigfred
Sigfred
Sigfred was possibly the second official king of Denmark whose reign started no later than the 770s and ended around 800. The precise dates remains unknown....
. Alternate spelling include Godfred, Göttrick (German), Gøtrik (Danish), Gudrød (Danish), and Godofredus (Latin).
Biography
King Gudfred appeared in present day HolsteinHolstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
with a navy in 804 AD where diplomacy took place with the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
. It is believed that Gudfred's brother Halfdan
Halfdan
Halfdan was a late 5th and early 6th century legendary Danish king of the Scylding lineage, the son of king named Fróði in many accounts, noted mainly as the father to the two kings who succeeded him in the rule of Denmark, kings named Hroðgar and Halga in the Old English poem Beowulf and named...
became earl of some wealthy market towns south of the river Ejder, occupying what became known as North Frisia
North Frisia
North Frisia or Northern Friesland is the northernmost portion of Frisia, located primarily in Germany between the rivers Eider and Wiedau/Vidå. It includes a number of islands, e.g., Sylt, Föhr, Amrum, Nordstrand, and Heligoland.-History:...
. Refusing to pay tax to Gudfred, Halfdan swore his allegiance to Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
in 807 to get his protection. In 798, the Obodrites had defeated the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
in the battle on Swentana river. The Saxons were dispersed by the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne. The part of their former land in Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
north of Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
was awarded to the Obotrites in 804, as a reward for their victory. In 804, a Frankish army penetrated as far as the Ejder, Denmark's traditional boundary at the time.
Fearing an invasion by the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
, who had conquered heathen Frisia
Frisia
Frisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...
over the previous 100 years and Old Saxony
Old Saxony
Old Saxony is the original homeland of the Saxons in the northwest corner of modern Germany and roughly corresponds today with the contemporary Lower Saxony, Westphalia and western Saxony-Anhalt....
in 772 to 804, Godfred began work on an enormous structure to defend his realm, separating Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
from the northern extent of the Frankish Empire
Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the...
. The Frankish invasion never materialized, but it caused Gudfred to construct the first sections of the Danevirke
Danevirke
The Danevirke The Danevirke The Danevirke (modern Danish spelling: Dannevirke; in Old Norse Danavirki ; in German Danewerk ; is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein (Northern Germany). This important linear defensive earthwork was constructed across the neck of the Cimbrian...
, which ran from the Schlien
Schlei
The Schlei is a narrow inlet of the Baltic Sea in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It stretches for approximately 20 miles from the Baltic near Kappeln and Arnis to the city of Schleswig. Along the Schlei are many small bays and swamps...
toward the west coast of Denmark by means of the river Trende. The wall was built with an earthen embankment topped by a wooden stockade and protected from the south by a deep ditch. Denmark's most important town, Hedeby
Hedeby
Hedeby |heath]]land, and býr = yard, thus "heath yard"), mentioned by Alfred the Great as aet Haethe , in German Haddeby and Haithabu, a modern spelling of the runic Heiðabý was an important trading settlement in the Danish-northern German borderland during the Viking Age...
, which apparently already existed on the Schlien, was expanded and garrisoned with Danish soldiers and the early sections of the wall were designed to protect it.
In 808, King Gudfred forced the Obodrites to acknowledge him as their overlord. The citizens of Reric
Reric
Reric or Rerik was one of the Viking Age multi-ethnic Slavic-Scandinavian emporia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, located near Wismar in the present-day German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Reric was built around 700, when Slavs of the Obodrite tribe settled the region...
(modern Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
), were allied with Charlemagne, who used the port as part of a strategic trade route. King Gudfred attacked Reric burnt it down, killed Chief Drożko
Drozko
Drożko or Drażko - kniaź of the Obotrites in the 9th century, son of Witzlaus II of Obotrites...
and ordered the merchants to resettle at Hedeby
Hedeby
Hedeby |heath]]land, and býr = yard, thus "heath yard"), mentioned by Alfred the Great as aet Haethe , in German Haddeby and Haithabu, a modern spelling of the runic Heiðabý was an important trading settlement in the Danish-northern German borderland during the Viking Age...
, which was being integrated into the Danevirke defensive line.
In 809, King Godfred and emissaries of Charlemagne failed to negotiate peace. In 810, Gudfrid led 200 ships to plunder the Frisia
Frisia
Frisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...
n coast, and forced the merchants and peasant to pay 100 pounds of silver and claimed Northern Frisia as Danish territory. To protect the northern coast of the Frankish Empire, Charlemagne began paying Viking chieftains to protect sections of the coast from the Schlei
Schlei
The Schlei is a narrow inlet of the Baltic Sea in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It stretches for approximately 20 miles from the Baltic near Kappeln and Arnis to the city of Schleswig. Along the Schlei are many small bays and swamps...
east to the Weser River
Weser River
The Weser is a river in north-western Germany. Formed at Hann. Münden by the Fulda and Werra, it flows through Lower Saxony, then reaching the historic port city of Bremen before emptying into the North Sea 50 km further north at Bremerhaven, which is also a seaport...
. That same summer King Godfred was killed by one of his housecarl
Housecarl
In medieval Scandinavia, housecarls and sometimes spelled huscarle or houscarl) were either non-servile manservants, or household troops in personal service of someone, equivalent to a bodyguard to Scandinavian lords and kings. This institution also existed in Anglo-Saxon England after its...
s. According to Notker of St Gall
Notker of St Gall
Notker the Stammerer , also called Notker the Poet or Notker of Saint Gall, was a musician, author, poet, and Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Saint Gall in modern Switzerland...
, the bodyguard who murdered King Gudfred was one of his own sons.