They Only Came to Pillage

The government of Denmark has apologized for the unseemly behavior of its Viking forebears in Ireland.

The apologetic gesture came as a replica Norse warrior ship arrived in Dublin after a voyage across the North Sea.

Danish Culture Minister Brian Mikkelson said his country was proud of the ship, Havhingsten (The Sea Stallion).

"But we are not proud of the damages to the people of Ireland that followed in the footsteps of the Vikings," he said. [Link]

Those "damages to the people of Ireland" did not involve the wholesale transfer of DNA. A genetic study by Trinity College scientists of a "cohort of Irish men bearing surnames of putative Norse origin" found "little trace of Scandinavian ancestry."

Europe's Marriage Mill

Couples from around the European Union—and even American servicemen and women stationed abroad—are flocking to Denmark to get hitched.

"It's not as easy as in Vegas," said a spokesperson for the Danish Ministry of Interior and Health. "But it is easier than other places in Europe."

While nations like France and Germany put up hurdles designed to weed out fake marriages, Denmark requires little more than proof of European residency, a birth certificate and a passport copy, plus 70 euros ($95) for a marriage license. [Link]

Name Deemed Insufficiently Royal

Denmark's newest princess was christened Sunday evening Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe. The unwashed masses have threatened revolt.

Members of the congregation gasped when the unexpected choice was revealed and members of the public were non-plussed.

The unexpected name Isabella is the 21st most popular name for girls in Denmark but many do not consider it "royal enough". [Link]

Yeah, they should have named her something royal like Urhines, or at least Yourhighness.

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Something Is Not Rotten in the State of Denmark

James Hepburn—the fourth Earl of Bothwell and husband of Mary, Queen of Scots—died in a Danish prison and was entombed in a nearby church. Now his descendants want to bring what's left of the earl back to Scotland.

Bothwell's mummified body is currently in the vault of Farevejle church on the Danish east coast, where it has been preserved in remarkably good condition in an atmosphere rich in sea salt. Until 1975, when the Danish royal family intervened after pleas from Bothwell supporters, it was on open display as a grisly tourist attraction. [Link]

Posh Pop Star Proud of Pillaging Progenitors

From The (London, U.K.) Sun Online of Oct. 12, 2005:

Blunt: I'm Bayeux-tiful

By MARTEL MAXWELL
and ELISE JENKINS

POSH singer James Blunt has revealed he is related to Danish royalty — and that his ancestors fought at the Battle of Hastings.

[snip]

Blue-blooded James, 28, who attended Harrow private school, is a descendant of Viking Gorm the Old, who ruled Denmark in the middle of the tenth century.

He said: “I’m related to King Gorm the Old — and my ancestors left Denmark in 1066 to fight in the battle of Hastings. Our family name was Blond.”

[snip]

[Read the whole story]