Group

Danes (Scandinavians)

Nation Active 800 CE – 2215 CE

The terms Danes and Danish people refer to the nation and ethnic group that is native to Denmark, and who speak Danish.The first mention of Danes within the Danish territory is on the Jelling Rune Stone, which mentions how Harald Bluetooth converted the Danes to Christianity in the 10th century.

Denmark has been continuously inhabited since this period and although much cultural and ethnic influence and immigration from all over the world has entered Denmark since then, Danes tend to see themselves as ethnic descendants of the early Danes mentioned in the sources.Since the formulation of a Danish national identity in the 19th century the defining criteria for being Danish has been speaking the Danish language and identifying with Denmark as a homeland.

Danish national identity was built on a basis of peasant culture and Lutheran theology, theologian N. F. S. Grundtvig and his popular movement played a prominent part in the process.

Today the main criterion for being considered a Dane is having Danish citizenship, although also people with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity, living outside of Denmark such as emigrants, descendants of emigrants or members of the Danish ethnic minority in Southern Schleswig, can be considered Danes under a wider definition taking into consideration cultural self-identification.

Member Cities

Moran, J. (n.d.). Danes (Scandinavians). History Atlas. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://www.historyatlas.com/groups/danes/

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