Harald Bluetooth

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Harald Bluetooth
Harald Blaatand.jpg
King of Denmark
Reign c. 958 – c. 986
Predecessor Gorm the Old
Successor Sweyn Forkbeard
King of Norway
Reign c. 970 – c. 975/986
Predecessor Harald Greycloak
Successor Sweyn Forkbeard
Regent Haakon Sigurdsson (de facto ruler)
Spouse Gyrid Olafsdottir (m)
Tove (m)
House House of Gorm
Father Gorm the Old
Mother Thyra
Died 986/87

Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson (Old Norse: Haraldr blátǫnn Gormsson, Danish: Harald Blåtand Gormsen) (probably born c. 935) was a King of Denmark and Norway. He was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. He died in 985 or 986 having ruled as King of Denmark from c. 958 and King of Norway for a few years probably around 970. Some sources say his son Sweyn Forkbeard forcibly deposed him as King.

The Jelling stones[edit]

Harald had the Jelling stones erected to honour his parents.[2] The Encyclopædia Britannica considers the runic inscriptions as the most well known in Denmark.[3] The biography of Harald Bluetooth is summed up by this runic inscription from the Jelling stones:


Denmark's conversion to Christianity[edit]

The larger Jelling stone, showing the inscription concerning Harald



Adam of Bremen, writing 100 years after King Harald's death in "History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen", finished in 1076, describes Harald being forcibly converted by Otto I, after a defeat in battle.[5] However, Widukind does not mention such an event in his contemporary Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres or Deeds of the Saxons, which, considering Widukind was at least partly writing to promote Otto I and his family, is damning to Adam of Bremen's claims.







Harald's kingdom (in red) and his vassals and allies (in pink), as set forth in Heimskringla, Knytlinga Saga, and other medieval Scandinavian sources.

During his reign, Harald oversaw the reconstruction of the Jelling runic stones, and numerous other public works. Some believe these projects were a way for him to consolidate economic and military control of his country. Ring forts were built in five strategic locations: Trelleborg on Sjælland, Nonnebakken on Fyn, Fyrkat in central Jylland, Aggersborg near Limfjord, and a second Trelleborg near the modern town of Trelleborg in Scania in present-day Sweden. All five fortresses had similar designs: "perfectly circular with gates opening to the four corners of the earth, and a courtyard divided into four areas which held large houses set in a square pattern."[11] A sixth Trelleborg of similar design, located at Borgeby, in Scania, has been dated to about 1000 and may also have been built by King Harald.

He constructed the oldest known bridge in southern Scandinavia, the 5 meters wide, 760 meters long Ravninge Bridge at Ravninge meadows.




From 1835 to 1977 it was believed that Harald ordered the death of Haraldskær Woman, a bog body thought to be Gunnhild, Mother of Kings until radiocarbon dating proved otherwise.[12]

Marriages and children[edit]

  1. Gyrid Olafsdottir, probably by 950.

The nickname "Bluetooth"[edit]

Harald's nickname "Bluetooth" first documented appearance is in the Chronicon Roskildense from 1140.[13] The usual explanation is that Harold must have had a conspicuous bad tooth that has been "blue" (i.e. black, as "blue" meant dark).

Another explanation, is that he was called Thegn in England (corrupted to "tan" when the name came back into Old Norse) — in England, Thane meant chief. Since blue meant "dark", his nickname was really "dark chieftain".[14]

A third theory, according to curator at the Royal Jelling Hans Ole Mathiesen, was that Harald went about clothed in blue. The blue color was in fact the most expensive, so by walking in blue underlined Harald his royal dignity.[15]

Bluetooth communication protocol[edit]

Bluetooth logo with runes H and B, referring to Harald Bluetooth

"Bluetooth" now commonly refers to the Bluetooth wireless specification design started by Ericsson, Nokia, Intel, Toshiba and IBM, to enable cable-free connections between computers, mobile phones, PDAs, printers, etc. The Bluetooth communications protocol in these devices is named after this king, ostensibly due to his abilities to make diverse factions communicate with each other.

The Bluetooth logo consists of the Nordic runes for his initials, H (Runic letter ior.svg) and B (Runic letter berkanan.svg) (Long-branch runes version).[16]


  1. ^ "Tamdrup Kirke". Den store danske. 
  3. ^ books.google.com Encyclopædia Britannica
  6. ^ [emotionalliteracyeducation.com "Heimskringla"]. 
  13. ^ Roskildekrøniken - heimskringla.no
  16. ^ Bluetooth, About the Bluetooth SIG.

External links[edit]

Regnal titles
Preceded by
Gorm the Old
King of Denmark
Succeeded by
Sweyn Forkbeard
Preceded by
Harald Greycloak
King of Norway
(Haakon Sigurdsson was de facto ruler)