Misplaced Pages

Ongendus

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
This article may require cleanup to meet Misplaced Pages's quality standards. The specific problem is: References. Please help improve this article if you can. (December 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This article needs attention from an expert in History. The specific problem is: Name of successor, clearing up the vagueness. WikiProject History may be able to help recruit an expert. (December 2022)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)
King of the Danes
Ongendus
King of the Danes
Reignc. 710 – 738
SuccessorUnknown, possibly Harald Wartooth
Born7th century
Denmark (presumed)
Died8th century
Denmark (presumed)
Issue?
Dynasty?
ReligionNorse paganism

Ongendus (perhaps Angantyr in Danish) was a king of the Danes, reigning c. 710, the first Danish king known from contemporary literature.

Historical background

He was presumably king of a stronger and more unified Denmark that rose at the end of the 7th century.

Ongendus' reign probably followed the rise of a strong kingdom in central Jutland which lasted from about 200 to 600 CE, and from 400 also included Kent and Isle of Wight.

Given the time, it is assumed that Ongendus was involved with the construction of the Danevirke, as it was under construction at this time.

He may have founded Ribe, and reinforced Danevirke in 737.

Literal knowledge

About 710, Saint Willibrord visited the Danes whilst Ongendus was ruling and returned with 30 boys to instruct in missionary work. No further details are given about Ongendus, other than that he was "more savage than any beast and harder than stone" — the ideal of man in the Viking Age. Against Willibrord's account, however, one should also consider that he was apparently well received, could travel in peace through Ongendus' realm and was allowed to return with his potential disciples, so the savagery of Ongendus may well be overstated. It may just have been the obligatory classification of any heathen ruler.

Further reading

  • Alcuin's Life of St. Willibrord, translated in C. H. Talbot, "The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany" (London and New York, 1954), especially pp. 9–10.

See also

Footnotes

  1. Voss, Olfert (2011), "Skalk 2011:6", Jernstudier (in Danish), pp. 18–23
  2. Myhre, Bjørn (2003), "The Iron Age", The Cambridge History of Scandinavia, p. 87, ISBN 0-521-47299-7
  3. Skovgaard-Petersen, Inge (2003), "The making of the Danish kingdom", The Cambridge History of Scandinavia, p. 172, ISBN 0-521-47299-7
Categories: