The Danes were the Vikings closest to the Frankish empire, and the most organised. Their kings built the Danevirke and the port of Hedeby, and from the 830s their fleets worked the coasts of Frisia, Francia and England. The Great Heathen Army of 865 was largely Danish and created the Danelaw; Harald Bluetooth made the kingdom Christian about 965; and his son Sweyn and grandson Cnut conquered England itself. After Cnut IV's failed invasion plan of 1085 the Danes turned to the Baltic.
- Denmark to the Humber and York sea
- Jutland along Frisia to the Thames and the Channel sea
- Up the Seine to Rouen and Paris river
- Wulfstan's voyage: Hedeby to Wolin and Truso sea
Key dates
Dates that define them
Journeys
Where they went
- Frisia
- England (the Danelaw)
- Francia and Normandy
- the southern Baltic
- Cnut's North Sea Empire
The Kingdom of Denmark; the Anglo-Danish population of eastern England; part of the ancestry of the Normans.
Famous people
Faces of the Danes
Kings, raiders, poets and explorers of this branch. Legendary and semi-legendary figures are labelled.
Harald Bluetooth
King of Denmark and Norway
died c. 985/986
Sweyn Forkbeard
King of Denmark and England
c. 960 – 1014
Cnut the Great
King of England, Denmark and Norway
c. 990–995 – 1035
Guthrum
Viking king of East Anglia
c. 835 – c. 890
Ivar the Boneless
Leader of the Great Heathen Army
died c. 873
Halfdan Ragnarsson
Great Army commander; king in Northumbria
died 877
Related events
On the timeline
Key events first, shown in date order. Each opens on the timeline.
- 808 CE Gudfred Destroys Reric and Builds Up Hedeby
- March 845 CE Siege of Paris
- 865 CE Great Heathen Army Lands
- 1 November 866 CE Great Army Captures York
- May 878 CE Battle of Edington
- November 885 CE Siege of Paris
- 886 CE Alfred Takes London; the Danelaw Defined
- c. 965 CE Conversion of Harald Bluetooth
- 1013 Sweyn Forkbeard Conquers England
- 18 October 1016 Battle of Assandun
- 10 July 1086 Cnut IV Murdered at Odense
- 1103 Archbishopric of Lund Founded