The Danish Identity: A Critique

National Identities, 2009

This article provides a review of the debate among Danish historians on the emergence of the Danish nation. It places this debate in the context of the distinction between patriotism and nationalism, much discussed by many scholars of nationalism.

Historical Social Research, 2020

This paper takes its point of departure from an observation made by Norbert Elias in his book The Germans. Many (smaller) European states were confronted by Germany in various wars and conflicts and states such as Denmark suffered defeats. Following from this, Elias poses the question as to how the Danish people came to terms with this reality-shock. This paper claims that the unintended consequence of the Danish defeat was the development of a new national habitus with a strong and particular form of nationalism. This nationalism not only tied the nation to the state but went much further by defining the nation as the people and the civil society. It became a deeply sedimented form of nationalism, which provided Denmark with a very strong social cohesion. The central argument concerns this strong Danish habitus linked to this form of nationalism. This paper argues that this habitus has become more problematic during the last 30 years in the era of globalisation. The strong Danish habitus generates resistance towards immigration, acceptance of refugees, the EU, and the internationalisation of education-just to mention some problematic areas. Consequently, Denmark, as a small open economy depending on multilateralism and internationalisation, has difficulties fully embracing globalisation.

History of European Ideas, 2009

2007

'Denmark proper' to refer to Denmark without including Norway), or the term 'Oldenburg state' when discussing the entire conglomerate state. For place names, I have generally employed common English-language equivalents where they exist-e.g. Copenhagen instead of København-with the single exception of Helsingør, which for various reasons I prefer to the English 'Elsinore'. The same holds true for titles of Danish and Norwegian political offices, except for rigshofmester, simply because it does not translate well into English. See the Glossary for brief explications of such terms. For the spellings of personal names, I have relied on the standard versions employed in Povl Engelstoft and Svend Dahl (eds.), Dansk biografisk leksikon, 23 vols. (Copenhagen: Gad, 1933-44). Since Denmark did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1700, I have kept all dates in the Old Style, in accordance with the Julian calendar. The basic monetary unit used in this text is the Danish rigsdaler, closely equivalent both to the Swedish riksdaler and the German Reichsthaler; four Danish rigsdaler were the rough equivalent of one English pound. Scandinavian orthography can cause some problems for those not familiar with the language, especially since Nordic characters have changed over time. 'Å' is a modern convention for 'aa' (pronounced much like a long 'o' in English); 'ø' is close to the German 'ö'; and the 'ae' ligature is very similar to the German 'ä'. In Icelandic names and terms, I have retained both the 'eth', or soft 'd' ('ð'), and the 'thorn' ('þ', instead of the transliteration 'th'). I would like to express my gratitude to the many individuals who have made this work possible, through gifts of time, advice, and encouragement. My friends in Denmark have been the most important source of counsel for me over the twenty years in which I have pursued the study of Danish history. I cannot possibly name all of them here, but I should extend special thanks to:

The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 2011

1993

2011

For most of the Viking Age, Denmark's internal political structures are only exposed through their interactions with those of other states in possession of a textual tradition, and its contemporary systems of economic activity can largely be inferred only from the archaeological record. However, by applying an interpretive framework which relates these two aspects of social activity, it may be possible to make inferences regarding gaps in the historical record concerning each.

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 1997

Historians traditionally have viewed the emergence of Denmark as a nation-state through western European primary sources, inferring a fragmented, politically divided region between AD 800 and AD 1050. Conversely, archaeologists using local-scale, single-site data argue for unification by ca. AD 800. An altemative is offered, combining regional-scale archaeological methods (rank-size analyses) and consideration of western and northern European texts. This approach reveals that as disparate polities unified, the "homelands" of ruling dynasties came under control quickly, while peripheral areas remained largely autonomous. To incorporate peripheral areas, rulers manipulated the location and function of political and economic centers. Local resistance to change is reflected in slow, uneven unification, interregional elite competition, and eventually, armed rebellion. The apparent discrepancies between historic and prehistoric data are no error; in fact, they mirror the inherent conflicts of this profound social transformation.

2018

In the following essay, I want to point out the changes in the Scandinavian countries, that came with the process of Christianization and through important events who were crucial for these changes.