The people of Denmark are called Danes.

Northern Europe

Europe

• Jutland Peninsula. The main body of Denmark is formed by the Jutland Peninsula, which extends north of Germany from the Northern European Plain, reaching toward the southwestern corner of Sweden and separating the Baltic Sea to the east from the North Sea to the west.
• Fjords.
• Straits Islands.
• Bornholm.

According to medieval sources, Ragnar Lothbrok was a Danish king and Viking warrior who flourished in the 9th century. There is much ambiguity in what is thought to be known about him, and it has its roots in the European literature created after his death.

As previous and contemporary peoples of Scandinavia, the tribal Danes were practitioners of the Norse religion. Around 500 AD, many of the Gods of the Norse pantheon had lost their previous significance, except a few such as Thor, Odin and Frey who were increasingly worshipped.

The Vikings were the people who lived from the 8th century to the 11th century in Scandinavia. They came from what today is Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. During the Viking Age, they sailed around most of Europe, raiding, trading, and spreading their influence.

Ragnar Lodbrok

6 Viking Leaders You Should Know

• Rollo: First ruler of Normandy.
• Erik the Red: Founded Greenland’s First Norse Settlement.
• Olaf Tryggvason: Brought Christianity to Norway.
• Leif Eriksson: Beat Columbus to the New World by 500 years.
• Cnut the Great: England’s Viking King.
• Harald Hardrada: The Last Great Viking Leader.

No, to the extent that there are no longer routine groups of people who set sail to explore, trade, pillage, and plunder. However, the people who did those things long ago have descendants today who live all over Scandinavia and Europe.

In Viking society, infidelity was a serious crime and could often lead to fines, imprisonment, or in extreme cases execution. It was rare for men or women to share their beds with other married couples, but it is also likely that it did happen on occasion.

And experts say surnames can give you an indication of a possible Viking heritage in your family, with anything ending in ‘son’ or ‘sen’ likely to be a sign. Other surnames which could signal a Viking family history include ‘Roger/s’ and ‘Rogerson’ and ‘Rendall’.

Learn Old Norse: The Viking Language Series The Norse language is still spoken by Icelanders today in a modern style. The Old Norse language of the Viking Age is the source of many English words and the parent of the modern Scandinavian languages Icelandic, Faroese, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian.