| Hemming | |
|---|---|
 Hemming as depicted in 1670 | |
| King of the Danes | |
| Reign | 810–812 |
| Predecessor | Gudfred |
| Successor | Sigfred and Anulo |
| Born | Late 8th century Denmark |
| Died | 812 Denmark |
| Dynasty | Sigfredian |
Hemming I (died 812) was a king in Denmark from 810 until his death. He was the successor of King Gudfred, his uncle. [1]
Hemming I is mentioned in the Royal Frankish Annals as son to an unnamed brother of Gudfred. Though Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum by Adam of Bremen considers Hemming and Gudfred to be "patruelis", paternal cousins. Gudfred had several sons who served as co-rulers of the Danes. However, they are typically called "sons of Gudfred" without mention of their names or personal histories. The sole exception was Horik I who seems to have survived his siblings and was sole ruler by 827. They can all be considered paternal cousins of Hemming.
Another nephew of Gudfred, Reginold, is mentioned in the Royal Frankish Annals. He is also identified as son to an unnamed brother of Gudfred. He could be a sibling to Hemming. Assuming Gudfred had more than one sibling, Hemming and Reginold could also be paternal first cousins. Reginold appears in an 808 entry detailing a campaign of Gudfred against the Obotrites. Gudfred reportedly "made two-thirds of the Obodrites tributary. But he lost the best and most battle-tested of his soldiers. With them he lost Reginold, his brother's son, who was killed at the siege of a town along with a great number of Danish nobles." [2]
Hemming had two siblings identified in the Annals, Hankwin and Angandeo. [3] Sigifrid, one of his two rival successors on the throne, is also mentioned as a nephew of Gudfred. He could also be either a sibling or cousin to Hemming. Less clear is the relation of Hemming to the other rival successor, Anulo, and to the siblings of Anulo. Adam of Bremen considered Sigifrid and Anulo to be members of the same family, identifying both as nephews of Gudfred. The relation does not appear in the Royal Annals. However, there is an obscure phrase of the Annals which could support the relation. "Anulo, the nephew of Heriold and of the former king". [4] The vague Latin phrase "Herioldi, et ipsius regis" [5] has been translated variously as "Harald, and the king himself" and "Harald, previous king".
Various attempts have been made to harmonize these kings from the Frankish annals with the legendary kings found in the accounts of traditional historians such as Saxo Grammaticus and the sagas. History of the Northmen, or Danes and Normans, from the earliest times to the Conquest (1831) by Henry Wheaton suggested that Hemming was a direct descendant of Ragnar Lodbrok, equating Sigefrid of the annals with Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, the traditional son of Lothbrok, while making successor Gudfrid Sigurd's brother. [6] An alternative reconstruction would make Gudfred identical to the Gudröd of Ynglingatal, semi-legendary king of Vestfold and himself son of Halfdan the Mild, who would then be the grandfather of Hemming. [7] Other scholars reject these identifications and the legends to which they attempt to link, only crediting the annals as representing authentic history. [8]
The Royal Frankish Annals recorded the brief reign of Hemming. In 810, Charlemagne and Gudfred were in conflict. Gudfred had invaded Frisia and imposed tribute on its local population. He had then returned to Denmark. Charlemagne was preparing a retaliation campaign, gathering troops in the area of the Rhine. He led the assembled troops in the area where the Aller flows into the Weser River. There news reached him that Gudfred had died. "The fleet which ravaged Frisia had returned home and King Godofrid had been murdered by one of his retainers". Charlemagne called off the campaign. [9]
The last entry for year 810 mentions "After the death of Godofrid, king of the Danes, Hemming, the son of his brother, succeeded to his throne and made peace with the emperor." The entries for 811 include detailed accounts of the negotiations between Hemming and Charlemagne. "The peace announced between the emperor and Hemming, the king of the Danes, was only sworn on arms because of the severity of the winter, which closed the road for traveling between the parties. Only with the return of spring and the opening of the roads, which had been closed because of harsh frost, did twelve magnates of each party and people, that is of Franks and Danes, meet on the River Eider at Heiligen and confirm the peace by an exchange of oaths according to their customs." [3]
"The nobles of the Frankish side were Count Walach, son of Bernard, Count Burchard, Count Unroch, Count Odo, Count Meginhard, Count Bernard, Count Egbert, Count Theothari, Count Abo, Count Osdag, and Count Wigman. On the Danish side there were Hankwin and Angandeo, Hemming's brothers, and in addition, other men distinguished among this people: Osfrid nicknamed Turdimulo, Warstein, Suomi, Urm, another Osfrid, son of Heiligen, and Osfrid of Schonen, and Hebbi and Aowin. [3]
New envoys of Hemming are reported meeting Charlemagne in Aachen during November, 811. "About the middle of November he [Charlemagne] came to Aachen. The envoys of King Hemming, Aowin and Hebbi, came to meet him and brought presents and assurances of peace." [4] The entries in 811 end by mentioning the death of Charles the Younger (4 December 811) and Charlemagne wintering in Aachen. The entries in 812 begin with mention of the situation in Denmark. "Not much later the news arrived that Hemming, king of the Danes had died. Sigifrid, the nephew of King Godofrid, and Anulo, the nephew of Heriold and of the former king, both wished to succeed him. Being unable to agree on who should be king, they raised troops, fought a battle, and were both killed. The party of Anulo won, however, and made his brothers Heriold and Reginfrid their kings. The defeated party out of necessity had to go along with Anulo's party and did not reject the brothers as their kings. They say that ten thousand nine hundred and forty men died in that battle." Heriold, usually translated Harald, this man was Harald Klak. [4]
The Annales Fuldenses give an almost identical account of this reign. This is not surprising as the entries of the Annales Fuldenses from 714 to the 830s were adopting material from earlier sources, including the Royal Frankish Annals. [10] Hemming also appears in an 810 entry of the Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum by Adam of Bremen. "After their king Gudfred (Latin: Gotafridus) had subjected the Frisians and likewise the Nordalbingians, the Abodrites, and other Slavic peoples to tribute, he threatened even Charles with war. This strife very seriously retarded the emperor's purpose with respect to Hamburg. When at length, by the dispensation of Heaven, Gudfred died, Hemming, his cousin, succeeded and soon made peace with the emperor, accepting the Eider River as the boundary of the kingdom." [11] The term used in Latin was "patruelis" which would mean a paternal cousin.
Year 812 (DCCCXII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Ragnar Lodbrok, according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Swedish and Danish king. He is known from Old Norse poetry of the Viking Age, Icelandic sagas, and near-contemporary chronicles. According to traditional literature, Ragnar distinguished himself by conducting many raids against the British Isles and the Holy Roman Empire during the 9th century. He also appears in Norse legends, and according to the legendary sagas Tale of Ragnar's Sons and a Saga about Certain Ancient Kings, Ragnar Lodbrok's father has been given as the legendary king of the Swedes, Sigurd Ring.
Gudfred was a ninth century Danish king who reigned from at least 804 to 810. Alternate spellings include Godfred (Danish), Göttrick (German), Gøtrik (Danish), Gudrød (Danish), and Godofredus (Latin). He stands at the threshold of the History of Denmark in the sense that he is the first ruler about whom we have substantial knowledge from contemporary sources. He waged offensive war against the Carolingian Empire with some success, but was murdered under murky circumstances before a major confrontation had taken place. There is no unambiguous trace of Gudfred in the later Norse sagas, and his history can only be traced from the hostile Frankish texts which makes an assessment of his role problematic. His paternity is unknown but he may have been closely related to Sigfred, who preceded him as king of Denmark c. 770–804. He was the uncle of the later Danish King Hemming (810–812) and the father of King Horik I (813–854).
Sigurd Ring according to legend was a king of the Swedes, being mentioned in many old Scandinavian sagas. According to these sources he was granted rulership over Sweden as a vassal king under his uncle Harald Wartooth. Later he would take up arms against his uncle Harald in a bid to overthrow him and take the crown of Denmark, a conflict which Sigurd eventually won after the legendary Battle of the Brávellir, where it is said that Odin himself intervened and killed Harald. In the Sagas, Sigurd is also known for being the father of the Norse Viking hero and legendary king of Denmark and Sweden, Ragnar Lodbrok. According to Bósa saga ok Herrauds, there was once a saga on Sigurd Ring, but this saga is now lost.
Halfdan the Mild was the son of king Eystein Halfdansson, of the House of Yngling and he succeeded his father as king, according to Heimskringla. He was king of Romerike and Vestfold.
The Royal Frankish Annals, also called the Annales Laurissenses maiores, are a series of annals composed in Latin in the Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state of the monarchy from 741 to 829. Their authorship is unknown, though Wilhelm von Giesebrecht suggested that Arno of Salzburg was the author of an early section surviving in the copy at Lorsch Abbey. The Annals are believed to have been composed in successive sections by different authors, and then compiled.
Harald 'Klak' Halfdansson was a king in Jutland around 812–814 and again from 819–827.
Sigfred was an eighth century Danish king who is known to have reigned from before 777 to after 798. Fragments of his reign can be traced via Frankish sources.
Horik I or Hårik was a king of the Danes. He was co-ruler from 813, and sole king from c. 828 until his violent death in 854. His long and eventful reign was marked by Danish raids on the Carolingian Empire of Louis the Pious, son and successor of Charlemagne.
Halfdan was a leading person among the Danes and the first known Scandinavian to enter Frankish service. Onomastics links him to the Danish royal family since the name "Halfdan" was commonly employed both historically and in the legendary royal lineage.
Hemming Halfdansson was "of the Danish race, a most Christian leader". He was probably a son of Halfdan, a leading Dane who became a vassal of Charlemagne in 807. He was probably related to the Danish royal family, as "Hemming" was one of their favoured names. The onomastic evidence includes the Danish king Hemming I and then a Hemming II, who was recalled to Denmark from Francia by his brothers Harald Klak and Reginfrid after Hemming I's death. This Hemming was probably the same person as Hemming Halfdansson. He probably soon returned to Francia, since there is no evidence of him in Danish politics after he and his brothers were driven out by the sons of Godfrid in 813.
Reginfrid was a co-King of Denmark from 812, when Hemming I died, to 813, when he and his brothers were ousted by the sons of a previous king, Gudfred. He was probably a son of Halfdan, a Danish leader who became a vassal of Charlemagne in 807, and brother of Anulo, Hemming, and Harald Klak. He was probably also related to the Danish king he succeeded.
The Smeldingi were a small group of Polabian Slavs living on the border of the Old Saxony in the 9th century, probably between the Elbe and the Havel. They were a sub-group of the Hevelli. Their name is etymologically related that of the South Slavic Smolyani and the East Slavic city of Smolensk.
The terms Danish March and March of Schleswig are used to refer to a territory in modern-day Schleswig-Holstein north of the Eider and south of the Danevirke. It was established in the early Middle Ages as a March of the Frankish Empire to defend against the Danes. The term "Danish March" is a modern designation not found in mediaeval sources. According to the Royal Frankish Annals the Danish King led his troops "into the March" in 828. In the 852 Yearbook of Fulda there is mention of a "Guardian of the Danish Border".
Helge was a Danish king who ruled at the end of the 9th century. There is no contemporary evidence for his existence, since he is only mentioned in a source from the 11th century.
Sigfred was a competitor for the Danish throne in 812. His brief appearance inaugurated a period of throne struggles in Denmark which lasted until 827.
Anulo or Ale was a pretender-king who vied for the Danish throne in 812. He represents the appearance of the House of Harald which competed with the House of Gudfred for power in Denmark until c. 857 and possibly longer.
The Linones were a small Slavic people first recorded in the early 9th century. They lived north and east of the Elbe, across from Höhbeck in the region around Lenzen, south of the Wilzi and Obotrites, north of the Hevelli and northeast of the Saxons. They may have been a sub-group of the Wilzi and were often under Obotrite control. They may be associated with the medieval Gau Liezizi.