[ Jordanes | Procopius | Venantius Fortunatus | Gregory of Tours (and related) | Beowulf | 8th-Cen. Geographers ]
The sixth century seems to have been a watershed in the emergence of the Danes as a people. As Ulf Näsman argues, "the Danes in the sixth century had won hegemony in South Scandinavia, and in the Merovingian period there is no reason to doubt that the Danes led the most powerful kingdom in South Scandinavia" ("The Justinianic Era of South Scandinavia," in Hodges and Bowden [eds.], The Sixth Century: Production, Distribution, and Demand, [Leiden: Brill, 1998], p. 273). This page collects the earliest references to Danes in literary sources.
This sixth-century historian, writing in Latin, mentions the Danes among many other peoples of "Scandza."
(23) sunt et his exteriores Ostrogothae, Raumarici, Aeragnaricii, Finni mitissimi, Scandzae cultoribus omnibus mitiores; nec non et pares eorum Vinoviloth; Suetidi, cogniti in hac gente reliquis corpore eminentiores: quamvis et Dani, ex ipsorum stirpe progressi, Herulos propriis sedibus expulerunt, qui inter omnes Scandiae nationes nomen sibi ob nimia proceritate affectant praecipuum. (24) sunt quamquam et horum positura Grannii, Augandzi, Eunixi, Taetel, Rugi, Arochi, Ranii, quibus non ante multos annos Roduulf rex fuit, qui contempto proprio regno ad Theodorici Gothorum regis gremio convolavit et, ut desiderabat, invenit. hae itaque gentes, Germanis corpore et animo grandiores, pugnabant beluina saevitia.
(23) And there are beyond these the Ostrogoths, Raumarici, Aeragnaricii, and the most gentle Finns, milder than all the inhabitants of Scandza. Like them are the Vinovilith also. The Suetidi are of this stock and excel the rest in stature. However, the Dani, who trace their origin to the same stock, drove from their homes the Heruli, who lay claim to preëminence among all the nations of Scandza for their tallness. (24) Furthermore there are in the same neighborhood the Grannii, Augandzi, Eunixi, Taetel, Rugi, Arochi and Ranii, over whom Roduulf was king not many years ago. But he despised his own kingdom and fled to the embrace of Theodoric, king of the Goths, finding there what he desired. All these nations surpassed the Germans in size and spirit, and fought with the cruelty of wild beasts.
The sixth-century Byzantine historian, in connection with the travels of some of the Heruli to their "ancestral land" to get a new king, mentions the Danes.
(2) Οὗτοι γοῦν πολλῶν ἐκ τοῦ βασιλείου αἵματος ἡγουμένων σφίσιν ἤμειψαν μὲν τὰ Σκλαβηνῶν ἔθνη ἐφεξῆς ἅπαντα, ἔρημον δὲ χώραν διαβάντες ἐνθένδε πολλὴν ἐς τοὺς Οὐάρνους καλουμένους ἐχώρησαν. (3) μεθ' οὓς δὴ καὶ Δανῶν τὰ ἔθνη παρέδραμον οὐ βιαζομένων σφᾶς τῶν τῇδε βαρβάρων. (4) ἐνθένδε τε ἐς ὠκεανὸν ἀφικόμενοι ἐναυτίλλοντο, Θούλῃ τε προσχόντες τῇ νήσῳ αὐτοῦ ἔμειναν... (28) ἐπεί τε οἱ ἄνδρες οὗτοι ἐν τῇ νησῳ ἐγένοντο, πολλοὺς μὲν ἐνταῦθα γένους τοῦ βασιλείου εὗρον, ἕνα μέντοι ἀπολέξαντες ὅσπερ αὐτοῖς μάλιστα ἤρεσκεν, ὀπίσω ἀναστρέφοντες ξὺν αὐτῷ ᾔεσαν. (29) ὃς δὴ ἐπεὶ ἐν Δανοῖς ἐγένετο, τελευτᾷ νόσῳ. διὸ δὴ αὖθις οἱ ἄνδρες οὗτοι ἐν τῇ νήσῳ γενόμενοι ἕτερον ἐπηγάγοντο Δάτιον ὄνομα...
(2) [T]hese men, led by many of the royal blood, traversed all the nations of the Sclaveni one after the other, and after next crossing a large tract of barren country, they came to the Varni, as they are called. (3) After this, they passed by the nations of the Dani, without suffering violence at the hands of the barbarians there. (4) Coming thence to the ocean, they took to the sea, and putting in at Thule, remained there on the island... (28) And when these men reached the island, they found many there of the royal blood, but they selected the one man who pleased them most and set out with him on the return journey. (29) But this man fell sick and died when he had come to the country of the Dani. These men therefore went a second time to the island and secured another man, Datius by name...
This 6th-century Latin poet mentions Danes along with Saxons as enemies of the Frankish kingdom. (Judith George's translations, quoted here, appear in Venantius Fortunatus: Personal and Political Poems, Translated Texts for Historians 23 [Liverpool, 1995].)
quae tibi sit virtus cum prosperitate superna,
Saxonis et Dani gens cito victa probat.
The race of the Saxons and the Danes, speedily conquered, show what virtue is yours with blessing from above.
quem Geta, Vasco tremunt, Danus, Euthio, Saxo, Britannus,
cum patre quos acie te domitasse patet.
terror [es] extremis Fresonibus atque Suebis,
qui neque bella parant, sed tua frena rogant.
You inspire fear in the Goths, the Basques, the Danes, the Jutes, the Saxons, and the Britons. With your father, as men know, you vanquished them in battle. You are a terror to the furthest Frisians and the Suebi, who seek your rule rather than prepare to fight you.
Gregory of Tours in the late 6th century tells about a raid on the Frankish kingdom by Danes under a king Chlochilaichus. There are two other Latin texts on this incident, and then a much more highly elaborated account in Old English, which forms part of the text of Beowulf: Here (as in one of the Latin texts), the king's name is Hygelac, and he is identified as a leader of Geats (like Beowulf himself) rather than Danes. For analysis in historical context, cf. D. Melleno, Before They Were Vikings (Diss. Berkeley 2014), pp. 26ff.
His ita gestis, Dani cum rege suo nomen Chlochilaichum evectu navale per mare Gallias appetunt. Egressique ad terras, pagum unum de regno Theudorici devastant atque captivant, oneratisque navibus tam de captivis quam de reliquis spoliis, reverti patriam cupiunt; sed rex eorum in litus resedebat, donec navis alto mare conpraehenderent, ipse deinceps secturus. Quod cum Theudorico nuntiatum fuisset, quod scilicet regio eius fuerit ab extraneis devastata, Theudobertum, filium suum, in illis partibus cum valido exercitu ac magno armorum apparatu direxit. Qui, interfectu rege, hostibus navali proelio superatis oppraemit omnemque rapinam terrae restituit.
The next thing which happened was that the Danes sent a fleet under their king Chlochilaich and invaded Gaul from the sea. They came ashore, laid waste one of the regions ruled by Theuderic and captured some of the inhabitants. They loaded their ships with what they had stolen and the men they had seized, and then they set sail for home. Their King remained on the shore, waiting until the boats should have gained the open sea, when he planned to go on board. When Theuderic heard that his land had been invaded by foreigners, he sent his son Theudebert to those parts with a powerful army and all the necessary equipment. The king was killed, the enemy fleet was beated in a naval battle and all the booty was brought back to the land once more.
In illo tempore Dani cum rege suo nomine Chochilaico cum navale hoste per alto mare Gallias appetent, Theuderico paygo Attoarios vel alios devastantes atque captivantes, plenas naves de captivis alto mare intrantes, rex eorum ad litus maris resedens. Quod cum Theuderico nuntiatum fuisset, Theudobertum, filium suum, cum magno exercitu in illis partibus dirigens. Qui consequens eos, pugnavit cum eis caede magna atque prostravit, regem eorum interficit, preda tullit et in terra sua restituit.
At that time the Danes under their king Chlochilaich with a naval host invaded Gaul from the deep sea. They laid waste Theuderic's Attoarios region or others and captured some of the inhabitants. Their ships full of the men they had seized, they enter the deep sea. Their King remaining on the shore. When Theuderic heard this, he sent his son Theudebert to those parts with a great army. He, pursuing them, fought against them with great slaughter and routed them, killed their king, took the booty and restored it to the land once more.
Et fiunt monstra mirae magnitudinis, ut rex Higlacus, qui imperauit Getis et a Francis occisus est, quem equus a duodecimo anno portare non potuit. Cuius ossa in Rheni fluminis insula, ubi in Oceanum prorumpit, reseruata sunt, et de longinquo uenientibus pro miraculo ostenduntur.
And there are monsters of an amazing size, like King Hygelac, who ruled the Geats and was killed by the Franks, whom no horse could carry from the age of twelve. His bones are preserved on an island in the river Rhine, where it breaks into the Ocean, and they are shown as a wonder to travellers from afar.
(See further discussion of the context at "The Beowulf Connection")
Þone hring hæfde, Higelac Geata,
nefa Swertinges, nyhstan siðe,
siðþan he under segne sinc ealgode,
wælreaf werede. Hyne wyrd fornam,
syþðan he for wlenco wean ahsode,
fæhðe to Frysum. He þa frætwe wæg,
eorclanstanas ofer yða ful,
rice þeoden. He under rande gecranc.
Gehwearf þa in Francna fæþm feorh cyninges
breostgewædu 7 se beah somod.
Wyrsan wigfrecan wæl reafeden
æfter guðsceare. Geata leode
hreawic heoldon.
Hygelac the Geat, grandson of Swerting,
wore this neck-ring on his last raid;
at bay under his banner, he defended the booty,
treasure he had won. Fate swept him away
because of his proud need to provoke
a feud with the Frisians. He fell beneath his shield,
in the same gem-crusted, kingly gear
he had worn when he crossed the frothing wave-vat
So the dead king fell into Frankish hands.
They took his breast-mail, also his neck-torque,
and punier warrior plundered the slain
when the carnage ended; Geat corpses
covered the field.
No þæt læsest wæs
hondgemota, þær mon Hygelac sloh,
syððan Geata cyning, guðe ræsum,
freawine folca, Freslondum on,
Hreðles eafora, hiorodryncum swealt,
bille gebeaten. Þonan Biowulf com
sylfes cræfte, sundnytte dreah.
Hæfde him on earme ealra þritig
hildegeatwa, þa he to holme giong.
Nealles Hetware hremge þorfton
feðewiges, þe him foran ongean
linde bæron. Lyt eft becwom
fram þam hildfrecan hames niosan.
One of [Beowulf's] cruellest
hand-to-hand encounters had happened
when Hygelac, king of the Geats, was killed
in Friesland: the people's friend and lord,
Hrethel's son, slaked a sword blade's
thirst for blood. But Beowulf's prodigious
gifts as a swimmer guaranteed his safety:
he arrived at the shore, shouldering thirty
battle-dresses, the booty he had won.
There was little for the Hetware to be happy about
as they shielded their faces and fighting on the ground
began in earnest. With Beowulf against them,
few could hope to return home.
...þenden þis sweord þolað.
Þæt mec ær 7 sið oft gelæste,
syððan ic for dugeðum Dæghrefne wearð
to handbonan, Huga cempan.
Nalles he ða frætwe Frescyninge,
breostweorðunge bringan moste,
ac in cempan gecrong cumbles hyrde,
æþeling on elne. Ne wæs ecg bona,
ac him hildegrap heortan wylmas,
banhus gebræc.
Beowulf: ...as long as this sword
shall last, which has stood me in good stead
late and soon, ever since I killed
Dayraven the Frank in front of the two armies.
He brought back no looted breastplate
to the Frisian king, but fell in battle,
their standard-bearer, high-born and brave.
No sword-blade sent him to his death,
my bare hands stilled his heartbeats
and wrecked the bone-house.
Nu ys leodum wen
orleghwile syððan underne
Froncum 7 Frysum, fyll cyninges
wide weorðeð. Wæs sio wroht scepen
heard wið Hugas, syððan Higelac cwom
faran flotherge on Fresna land.
Þær hyne Hetware hilde gehnægdon,
elne geeodon mid ofermægene,
þæt se byrnwiga bugan sceolde.
Feoll on feðan. Nalles frætwe geaf,
ealdor dugoðe. Us wæs a syððan
Merewioingas milts ungyfeðe.
[With Beowulf dead:] Now war is looming
over our nation, soon it will be known
to Franks and Frisians, far and wide,
that the king is gone. Hostility has been great
among the Franks since Hygelac sailed forth
at the head of a war-fleet into Friesland:
there the Hetware harried and attacked
and overwhelmed him with great odds.
The leader in his war-gear was laid low,
fell amongst followers; that lord did not favour
his company with spoils. The Merovingian king
has been an enemy to us ever since.
(1.11) ...Quarta ut hora noctis Northomanorum est patria, quae et Dania ab antiquis dicitur...
About the fourth hour of the night is the country of the Northmen, which is also called Dania by the ancients.
(1.12) ...Octava ut hora noctis Roxolanorum est patria. cuius post terga inter Oceanum procul magna insula antiqua Scythia reperitur. quam insulam plerique philosophi historiographi conlaudant; quam et Iordanus sapientissimus cosmographus Scanzam appellat [cf. 5.30]. ex qua insula pariterque gentes occidentales egressae sunt: nam Gotthos et Danos, imo simul Gepidas, ex ea antiquitus exisse legimus...
About the eighth hour of the night is the country of the Roxolani. Behind it, in the Ocean, far away is found the great ancient island, Scythia. Very many philosophers and historians praise this island. The most wise cosmographer Jordanes calls it Scanza. From this island and similarly came forth the western peoples. For we read that the Goths and Danes, indeed at the same time the Gepids, went forth from it in ancient times.
(4.13) Iterum iuxta ipsos Serdefennos litus Oceani est patria quae dicitur Dania. quae patria ut ait supra scriptus Aitanaridus et Eldevaldus et Marcomirus Gothorum philosophi super omnes nationes velocissimos profert homines. et hoc affati sunt in sua problemata:
Laudabatur Parsus Marco dum non venerat Gothus.
Sed o ubi est Danus?
Quae Dania modo Nordmanorum diditur [sic -- corr to dicitur?] patria. per quam Daniam plurima transeunt flumina, inter cetera quae dicitur Lina, quae in Oceano ingreditur.
Again, next to the Serdefenni themselves is the shore of the Ocean, the country which is called Dania. This country, as the aforementioned Aitanaridus and Eldevaldus and Marcomirus, the philosophers of the Goths, produces people who are swiftest of all nations. And they addressed this in their "Problemata":
The Persian (?) and Marcoman (?) was praised, when the Goth had not yet come.
But where is the Dane?
This Dania is said to [have been] the country of the Northmen. Through Dania very many rivers flow, among others one which is called Lina, which flows into the Ocean.
(4.17) Confinalis praenominatae Daniae est patria quae nominatur Saxonia, quae antiquitus et ipsa ex Dania pertinere dicebatur. quae patria ut ait Marcusmirus Gothorum philosophus doctissimos quidem profert homines et audaces, sed non sic veloces ut si sunt Dani qui iuxta Dina fluvium stant.
Adjacent to the aforementioned Dania is the country which is called Saxonia, which in ancient times itself also was said to stretch out from [or "belong to"?] Dania. This country, as Marcusmirus the philosopher of the Goths, produces people who are most learned indeed, and bold, but not so swift as are the Danes who stand next to the river Dina.
(4.23) ...quam praedictam Frigonum patriam praedicti philosophi que de supra scripta Saxonia et Danorum patria scripserunt, ipsi eandem Frigonum patriam designaverant...
The aforementioned country of the Frigones [i.e., "of the Frisians"], the aforementioned philosophers who wrote about the aforesaid Saxony and the country of the Danes, they called the same the country of the Frigones.
(4.46) ...postmodum tangit ipse Oceanus Roxolanos nec non Sarmatas, iterum Scythas, postmodum Rerefennos et Serdefennos, verum etiam Danos necnon Saxones, etiam Frisones...[cf. 5.28]
Afterwards, Ocean itself touches the Roxolani and also the Sarmatians, and again the Scythians, afterwards the Rerefenni and Serdefenni, but also the Danes and indeed also the Saxons, and also the Frisians.
A passage on Germany and the North, from a very strange text -- see in general now the edition, translation, and commentary by M. W. Herren:
Sic et Vafros, Fricontas, Murrinos, Alapes, Turchus, Alanus, Meotas, Chugnos, Frigis, Danus, Vinnosus, Rifeos, Olches, quos uulgus in illis regionibus "Orcus" appellant, gentes spurcissimas ac uita inmundissima degentes ultra omnia regna terrarum, sine deo, sine lege uel caerimonias. Nam et illarum regionum pagi omnes Germania est appellata, eo quod <gentes> sint inmania corpora inmanesque nationes, seuissimis moribus duratae; adeo indomiti, frigore et rigore ferentes ultra omnes gentes. Centum pagos dicit esse inter <plagas> habitabiles et inhabitabiles a Reno fluuio usque oceanum, insolas plurimas et Meotidas paludes.
Likewise, too, the Vafri, Friconti, Murrini, Alapes, Turks, Alani, Meotae, Huns, Frisians, Danes, Vinnosi, Riphaeans, and Olches, whom the folks in those parts call orci, very filthy peoples leading the most foul life -- worse than all the kingdoms of the world -- without a god, or law, or rituals. Moreover, all the districts of those lands are called Germania, because the <peoples> are immense in body and are monstrous races, hardened by the most savage folkways; moreover, they are indomitable, bearing cold and hardship better than all {other} peoples. He claims that there are one hundred districts between the inhabitable and uninhabitable <regions> from the River Rhine to Ocean, numerous islands, and the Meotidan Swamps.