What happened to the corpse of the Christian Viking king

Even IT specialists are familiar with history. When Scandinavian inventors developed a new industry standard for radio-based data transmission in the 1990s, they remembered the Danish Viking king Harald Bluetooth (ca. 910-985/87) for the naming. He had once turned out to be a communication genius when he not only united Denmark and Norway under his rule, thus connecting the North and Baltic Seas, but also included the heavenly hosts in his kingdom by accepting Christianity. In this sense, the king's runic initials became the logo for "Bluetooth".

However, King Harald, who probably got his nickname because of the coloring of a dead tooth, could not escape the fate of a Viking leader, which is usual in the industry. One of his sons, Sven Gabelbart, rose up against him and defeated him in the famous naval battle of Helgenes. Then Blauzahn's track is lost in the mouth of the Oder.

Numerous scientists followed him in search of Harald's grave. Most agreed with the chronicler Adam von Bremen, who, a hundred years after the death of the king, records Roskilde Cathedral, which he built, as his final resting place. A Polish historian and a Swedish archaeologist have now objected to this. Bluetooth is said not to have been buried on the island of Zealand, but in the village of Wiejkowo (Groß Weckow) not far from the east coast of the Szczecin Lagoon in north-western Poland.

The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary was built there in the 19th century. The elevation on which the crypt of a previous building rests is the burial mound of Harald Bluetooth, writes the historian Marek Kryda in a new essay. On the one hand, he substantiates his thesis with satellite images that show a round structure, as is usual for Viking graves of high-ranking personalities. On the other hand, he refers to a spectacular treasure trove that was made in Wiejkowo in good time.

Sven Rosborn, former director of the Malmö City Museum, also considers Wiejkowo to be Harald's burial place, but does not locate it under the church, but rather considers the cemetery to be the place of royal rest. Because in the 10th century there was no church in the village. Although the Christianization of Poland began in 966 with the baptism of the Piast Prince Mieszko I, his lands lay further to the east.

Rosborn came to the fore a few years ago with the publication of the so-called Curmsun disc. This piece of gold, about 4.5 centimeters in diameter, is said to have been found in the medieval crypt in 1841 along with four other objects. The disc came into the possession of a family at the end of the Second World War and was presented to a puzzled history teacher by a young great-granddaughter in 2014.

The solid gold disc bears the Latin inscription: "Harald Gormsøn King of the Danes, Scania, Jomsburg, Stadt Aldinburg." Scania is likely to stand for Scania in southern Sweden, Aldinburg for Oldenburg in Holstein. Jomsburg could be the main town of the Jomsvikings, who established their dominion around the mouth of the Oder. It was probably identical to the Jumne trading center where Adam of Bremen gave refuge to the defeated Harald after he had escaped defeat at the hands of his son, badly wounded, with some of his followers.

Rosborn argues that the Curmsun disc was created by Frankish monks for Harald's burial. Other scholars believe the play was written a little later to promote the king's canonization. Both would speak for his burial in Wiejkowo. For Marek Kryda, the pagan rituals such as mounds, chamber graves and grave goods do not speak against the burial of a Christian ruler. In an environment still shaped by pagan traditions, that would have been entirely possible.

But how does the Wiejkowo tomb fit in with the news from Adam of Bremen and others that Harald was laid to rest in the heartland of his kingdom at Roskilde? Kryda and Rosborn point to similar examples of Viking princes who converted to Christianity and whose graves became places of pilgrimage. One of Harald's successors may have followed suit and dedicated a tomb in Roskilde Church for the famous ancestor - without bothering to transport the royal body.

Anders Winroth, Viking specialist at the University of Oslo, sees things differently. According to this, Harald's son Sven Gabelbart could have brought his father's body to Denmark after it had initially been buried abroad. However, the dead did not end up in Roskilde, but in Jelling on Jutland. Next to his residence, Harald had erected a monumental rune stone there. He then let the world know that he "won all of Denmark and Norway to himself". A real communicator.

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