King of the Goths
Encyclopedia
The title of King of the Goths was for many centuries borne by both the Kings of Sweden and the Kings of Denmark, denoting sovereignty or claimed sovereignty over the antique people of the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....

.

To kings of Denmark, it chiefly meant the island of Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...

, traditionally regarded as the original home of the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....

, and to kings of Sweden, it meant the other of the two constituent parts of that kingdom (see Lands of Sweden
Lands of Sweden
The lands of Sweden are three traditional parts, essentially three collectives of provinces, in Sweden. These "lands" have no administrative function, and there is no official designation for this subdivision level...

), the Gothenland
Götaland
Götaland , Gothia, Gothland, Gothenland, Gautland or Geatland is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises provinces...

, southern "half" of Sweden.

Preludes

It is believed that a note in a papal letter from about 1100 mentions Inge and Halsten as Kings of the Goths—they had recently lost the upper svear part of their kingdom.

In a papal letter dated 5 September 1164, king Charles VII of Sweden
Charles VII of Sweden
Charles "VII" also Carl , or Karl Sverkersson in Swedish , was ruler of Gothenland, and then King of Sweden from circa 1161 to 1167, when he was assassinated....

 (Karl Sverkersson) (c 1130–67; reigned 1161–1167) was addressed as "rex Sweorum et Gothorum".

Sweden's title

The first Swedish king to regularly use the title was King Magnus III of Sweden
Magnus III of Sweden
Magnus III Ladulås of Sweden, Swedish: Magnus Birgersson or Magnus Ladulås was King of Sweden from 1275 until his death in 1290....

, particularly after he had in c 1278 had his final win over his deposed brother Valdemar who had hitherto held lands of Västergötland
Västergötland
', English exonym: West Gothland, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated in the southwest of Sweden. In older English literature one may also encounter the Latinized version Westrogothia....

. First Sveriges och Götes Konung up to later decades of Gustaf I of Sweden, then Sveriges, Götes och Vendes Konung, was used in official documentation. Between 1814 and 1905 Sveriges, Norges, Götes och Vendes Konung was used, adding Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. Sveriges, Götes och Vendes Konung was used again from 1905 up to the accession of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
Carl XVI Gustaf is the reigning King of Sweden since 15 September 1973, succeeding his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf because his father had predeceased him...

 in 1973, who was the first monarch officially proclaimed Sveriges Konung ("King of Sweden") and nothing else.

Denmark's title

The first Danish king to use the title was King Valdemar IV
Valdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark or Waldemar ; , was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375.-Ascension to the throne:...

 (reigned 1340 to 1375), who adopted it in 1362 after conquering Gotland the previous year. The Danish Kings continued to use the title over the next six hundred years until 1972, when Queen Margrethe II
Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1972 she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375-1412 during the Kalmar Union.-Early life:...

 succeeded. She abandoned the use of all her predecessors' titles except her title as Denmark's Queen, which is the royal style today.

First documented 1449, the arms of the Danish monarchs
Coat of arms of Denmark
The royal coat of arms is more complex. The shield is quartered by a silver cross fimbriated in red, derived from the Danish flag, the Dannebrog. The first and fourth quarters represent Denmark by three crowned lions passant accompanied by nine hearts; the second quarter contains two lions passant...

 contained until 1972 a subcoat representing the title King of the Goths: on gold, a blue heraldic leopard
Leopard (heraldry)
The leopard or lion passant guardant is a frequently used charge in heraldry. It mostly appears in groups of three, which are positioned over each another.-Heraldic and zoological leopards:...

 over nine red hearts. Originally derived from the arms of the dukes of Halland which again was derived from the Danish arms. This symbol is consequently unrelated to Gotland's arms featuring the Agnus Dei, although the latter symbol was also formerly represented in the arms of Denmark.

See also

  • kings of the Goths known by name before the 3rd century split into Visigoths and Ostrogoths:
    • Berig
      Berig
      Berig is a legendary king of the Goths appearing in the Getica by Jordanes. According to Jordanes, Berig led his people on three ships from Scandza to Gothiscandza...

    • Filimer
      Filimer
      Filimer was an early Gothic king, according to Jordanes.He was the son of Gadareiks and the fifth generation since Berig settled with his people in Gothiscandza. When the Gothic nation had multiplied Filimer decided to move his people to Scythia where they defeated the Sarmatians. They then named...

       son of Gadarig
    • Cniva
      Cniva
      Cniva was the Gothic chieftain who invaded the Roman Empire in the third century CE. He successfully conquered the city of Philippopolis, now present day Bulgarian city Plovdiv, and killed the emperor Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus at the Battle of Abrittus as he was attempting to leave...

  • King of the Visigoths
  • King of the Ostrogoths
  • King of the Geats
    King of the Geats
    Geatish kings , ruling over the provinces of Götaland , appears in several sources for early Swedish history...

  • King of the Wends
    King of the Wends
    The title of King of the Wends denoted sovereignty or claims over once-Slavic lands of southern coasts of the Baltic Sea, those otherwise called Mecklenburg, Holstein and Pomerania, and was used from 12th century to 1972 by Kings of Denmark and from ca 1540 to 1973 by the Kings of Sweden.The...


Source

  • http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/eurprin/denmark.html&date=2009-10-25+21:55:47
  • http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/eurprin/sweden.html&date=2009-10-25+21:55:53
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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