Schleswig in the context of "Duke of Schleswig"

The history of Denmark as a unified kingdom began in the 8th century, but historic documents describe the geographic area and the people living there—the Danes—as early as 500 AD. These early documents include the writings of Jordanes and Procopius. With the Christianization of the Danes c. 960 AD, it is clear that there existed a kingship. King Frederik X can trace his lineage back to the Viking kings Gorm the Old and Harald Bluetooth from this time, thus making the Monarchy of Denmark the oldest in Europe. The area now known as Denmark has a rich prehistory, having been populated by several prehistoric cultures and people for about 12,000 years, since the end of the last ice age.

Denmark's history has particularly been influenced by its geographical location between the North and Baltic seas, a strategically and economically important placement between Sweden and Germany, at the center of mutual struggles for control of the Baltic Sea (dominium maris baltici). Denmark was long in disputes with Sweden over control of Skånelandene and with Germany over control of Schleswig (a Danish fief) and Holstein (a German fief).

The Schleswig–Holstein question (German: Schleswig-Holsteinische Frage; Danish: Spørgsmålet om Sønderjylland og Holsten) was a complex set of diplomatic and other issues arising in the 19th century from the relations of two duchies, Schleswig (Sønderjylland/Slesvig) and Holstein (Holsten), to the Danish Crown, to the German Confederation, and to each other.

Schleswig was part of Denmark during the Viking Age, and became a Danish duchy in the 12th century – legally part of Denmark, but in many ways autonomous. Denmark repeatedly tried to fully reintegrate the Duchy of Schleswig into the Danish kingdom. Holstein, just on the other side of the Danish border from Schleswig, was in the Middle Ages a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1460 on, the two had been ruled together by a common Duke, who in practice was also the King of Denmark. The Treaty of Ribe, agreed to by the Danish King in order to gain control of both states, seemed to indicate that Schleswig and Holstein were to remain united, though that interpretation was later challenged.

The Eider (German: Eider [ˈaɪdɐ] ; Danish: Ejderen; Latin: Egdor or Eidora) is the longest river in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The river starts near Bordesholm and reaches the southwestern outskirts of Kiel on the shores of the Baltic Sea, but flows to the west, ending in the North Sea. The lower part of the Eider was used as part of the Eider Canal until that canal was replaced by the modern Kiel Canal.

In the Early Middle Ages the river is believed to have been the border between the related Germanic tribes, the Jutes and the Angles, who along with the neighboring Saxons crossed the North Sea from this region during this period and settled in England. During the High Middle Ages the Eider was the border between the Saxons and the Danes, as reported by Adam of Bremen in 1076. For centuries it divided Denmark and the Holy Roman Empire. Today it is the border between Schleswig, Holstein and Eiderland, the northern and southern parts, respectively, of the modern German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (2 January 1783 – 22 July 1853) was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Duchy of Schleswig (now in Aabenraa Municipality, in the southern part of Jutland in Denmark). He went on to lay the foundation for the period of art known as the Golden Age of Danish Painting, and is referred to as the "Father of Danish painting".

53°57′20″N 11°28′53″E / 53.95556°N 11.48139°E / 53.95556; 11.48139

Reric or Rerik was one of the Viking Age multi-ethnic Slavic-Scandinavian emporia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, located near Wismar in the present-day German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Reric was established probably in 735 shortly after Slavs of the Obodrite tribe had started to settle the region. At the turn of the 9th century, the citizens of Reric allied with Charlemagne, who used the port as part of a strategic trade route that would avoid areas of Saxon and Danish control. It was destroyed in 808 AD by the Viking (Danish) king Gudfred. The destroyed place was rebuilt by the Obodrites and continued to operate for a short until Drasco was murdered in Reric in 810 at the instigation of Gudfred. After that, the tradespeople were reportedly moved by the king to the Viking emporium of Hedeby (also Haithabu) near modern Schleswig.

This is a list of monarchs of Denmark, that is, the kings and queens regnant of Denmark. This includes:

• The Kingdom of Denmark (up to 1397)
  • Personal union of Denmark and Norway (1380–1397)
• The Kalmar Union (1397–1536)
  • Union of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1397–1523)
  • Union of Denmark and Norway (1523–1536/1537)
• The United Kingdoms of Denmark–Norway (1536/1537–1814)
• The Kingdom of Denmark (1814–present)
  • Iceland (since the union between Denmark and Norway in 1380; independent kingdom in a personal union with Denmark 1918–1944; a sovereign republic since 1944)
  • Greenland (since the union between Denmark and Norway in 1380; effective Danish–Norwegian control began in 1721; integrated into the Danish realm in 1953; internal home rule introduced 1979; self-rule assumed in 2009; Greenland has two out of 179 seats in the Danish parliament Folketinget)
  • Faroe Islands (since the union between Denmark and Norway in 1380; County of Denmark 1816–1948; internal home rule introduced 1948; The Faroe Islands have two out of 179 seats in the Danish parliament Folketinget)

The House of Oldenburg held the Danish Crown between 1448 and 1863, when it passed to the house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a cadet branch of the same house, patrilineally descended from King Christian III of Denmark. The kingdom had been elective (although the eldest son or brother of the previous king was usually elected) until 1660 when it became hereditary and absolutist. Until 1864, Denmark was also united in a personal union with the duchies of Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg (1815–1864), and in a political and personal union with the Duchy of Schleswig.

The coat of arms of Schleswig or Southern Jutland (Danish: Sønderjylland or Slesvig ) depicts two blue lions in a golden shield. It is the heraldic symbol of the former Duchy of Schleswig, originally a Danish province but later disputed between Danes and Germans. The region has been divided between Germany and Denmark since 1920 and the symbol consequently appears in official heraldry in both countries. It is derived from the national coat of arms of Denmark and has been dated to the middle of the 13th century, first known from the arms of Erik Abelsøn, Duke of Schleswig. Throughout the ages, the design has featured both crowned and uncrowned lions, the lions have occasionally been accompanied by heraldic hearts, and usage between heraldic lions and leopards has shifted. The far most common version was to omit both crowns and hearts and this version has been used exclusively for several centuries.

The blazon in heraldic terms is: Or, two lions passant in pale Azure armed Or langued Gules.