Vikings in Danish History Textbook - Continuities and changes

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Vikings in Danish history textbooks:

- Continuities and changes

Jens Aage Poulsen HistorieLab/UCL

jeap@ucl.dk

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Before the arrival of the Vikings

Purpose:

Give eleverne ”Et kort Begreb om deres Fædrelands Historie […] samt meddele dem Kundskaber, der kan tjene til Fordommes udryddelse”

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Small textbooks (60-100 pages)

 Stories about the Nordic Gods

 Ancient times – legend about chiefs and kings

 Middle Ages – introduction of Christianity -Catholic church - Ansgar

 Denmark after the Reformation

N.F.S. Grundtvig: Mundsmag af Danmarks Krønike til levende Skolebrug

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The arrival of the Vikings - around 1850

Cruel Vikings

 The Danes against Christianity

 desire for war and adventure

 horrific atrocities

(Nissen: Danmarks Historie i Udtog. 1842 ; Johannsen: Lærebog i Danmarks historie. 1870)

More positive picture

 Pirates

 Fearless

 strong sense of honor

(Frederik Barfod: Danmarks Historie. 1861; Allen: Lærebog I Danmarks Historie. 1842)

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Vikings and the nation- building

(almost) heroic narratives

 Scandinavian/Nordic. Danes – Swedes - Norweigan – But all speak Danish

 Free men.

 longing for adventures – sitting home was borring

 Like the life as warriors.

 Bravery was a virtue

 Vikings plundered => became rich

 Settled in England and Normandy

 Implementation of Christianity stopped the raids.

(Johan Ottosen: Børnenes Fædrelandshistorie. 1895; V.A.

Bloch: Mindre Lærebog i Historien. 1902; Nik. M. Helms:

Danmarks Historie fortalt for børn. 1916. Ejler Møller:

Danmarks Historie. 1916)

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Less war - more peace and culture

 history education was nationalistic

 Depicted other nations as enemies – we and the other

 A cause of wars

 glorified wars

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Vikings in bad company

”The Danish Way” 1947

 Viking Ages in Denmark

 farmer society

 groups in the society

 Less than a page about the raids and Vikings as pirates

(Kaalund-Jørgensen og Hans Kyrre: De danskes vej. 1947)

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The vikings were …. 1960- 2000

 Skilled ship-builders.

 Viking voyages

 Farmers, craftsmen, traders and warriors

 Society – towns and villages

 Art and runes

 Denmark become a kingdom (Gorm the old – Harald Bluetooth)

(Mogens Møller: Vi læser historie. 3. klasse. 1966; Nils Aage Jensen:

Historie i fjerde. 1981; Claus Buttenschøn & Olaf Ries: Ind I historien.

Danmark og verden 1, 1982; Nils Aage Jensen: Ny historie i sjette, 1995)

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The vikings were …. 2000 - now

^ First and foremost, peasants. craftsmen and

traders.

 Society - Kings, chiefs, free men, slaves

 Harald Bluetooth. Denmarks unification. Runic Stone in Jelling.

 Hedeby – trade towns

 The revival of the raids

 Vikings attack on Lindisfarne

(Thomas Meloni Røn: Indblik og udsyn. Historie for 4. klasse. 2009; Susan Paulsen:

Historie 4. 2012; Alina digital portal)

Nationalmuseum New Viking

exhibition

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