DENMARK

kingdom, N. Europe| is partly mainland, partly archipelago. | The mainland part, Jutland, is the N. | pees of the long peninsula extending -W. of Germany, between the North} 8ea and the Baltic, the S. part being| occupied by Schleswig and Holstein.| It is divided from Norway by the|/and Skager-Rack, from Sweden by the] Kattegat and the Sound. The larger! islands are Zealand and Fiinen, the|of Moen, and, 90 m. to the E., Bornholm. | The surface is generally low, and in laces is protected by dykes; many lakes. he climate is temperate and damp;|ruler about half of the country is in pasture,|upon - most of the remaining available land | being arable; chief crops, wheat, rye, | barley, oats, potatoes, sugar beet; beech| flourishes better than anywhere else in| Europe. Industries include distilling, | brewing, sugar refining, and margarine | making, The principal exports are butter, eggs, pork, bacon, besides sheep, hides, wool, | cereals, fish, margarine. The enormous | amount of dairy produce is obtained | largely by the co-operative butter | factories and excellent methods of} preservation. Imports include coal,|in manufactured goods, and raw products. | The W. coast is largely usele owing to the shallow sea; the rapidly-growing port of Esbjerg, however, is on that side; the more important ports are on the E. There are 2,645 m. of railway (largely owned by the state) connected by steamboats or in winter by iceboats, etc. History.—In early 9th cent. the semi mythical Norwegian dynasty of the Ynglinger was ruling over Denmark, and one of its members, King Harold Klak, was baptized, with many of his nobles, at Ingelheim in 826. The pagan Gorm the Old (d. 936) expelled this dynasty; but his son, King Harold Bluetooth, accepted Christianity in 960. Harold’s son, Sweyn I., conquered England in 1013; Sweyn’s son Canute (or Cnut) the Great (1014-35) ruled over England, Norway, and Denmark, and was the most powerful monarch of his time. Denmark finally lost England in 1042. Canute’s sister’s son, Svend Estridsen, 1047-76, succeeded in founding the dynasty of the Ulfinger, who ruled for four centuries. Valdemar I. defeated the Wends, acquired Rugen, and again reduced Norway. Valdemar II. 1202-41, ruled over the N. almost as Canute the Great had done. After his death, 1241, Denmark was torn by strife for a Oud aoe IV., are again establi rm rule, increased the royal demesnes, and codified the laws. His famous daughter Margaret, 1375- | 1412, widow of Haakon VI. of Norway, ruled over Denmark and Norway, and by the Union of Calmar, 1397, persuaded | Sweden to agree to the hegemony of Denmark. Her death brought the feeble Eric VII. (deposed in 1439) to the throne. After the disasters of his reign that of his nephew, Christopher of Bavaria, 1439-48, the Rigsraad elected a descendant of Valdemar II., Christian Oldenburg, 1448-81. Norway and | Sweden chose other rulers, and the union came to an end. The Oldenburg Dynasty ruled until | 1863. Christian II. 1513-23, was elected of Norway, and forced his rule Sweden. He sought to crush the nobles as the Tudors in England were doing, tried to make the Church, while still R. C.. Danish and national. The result, unfortunately, was the triumph of the favor of his uncle, Frederick I. 1523-33, the long Adelsvzlde (rule of the nobles) was established. Norway remained te | Denmark, but Sweden was finally separated. Christian III. 1536-59, ended the revolt of the counts by capturing Copenhagen, 1536, and made Luther an ism the state religion. Christian IV. 1588-1648, was a gifted monarch, and saved Denmark the Thirty Years’ War from the aggre ion of Sweden, until, hampered in every way by the factious nobles, he was fo to surrender islands and provinces and open the Sound to Swed. trade, 1645. This marked the end of Dan. supremacy in the N. In 1658 Denmark was forced to make further humiliating conce ions to Sweden at Réskilde, only partially redeemed at Copenhagen, 1660. The latter treaty was largely due to the king, and in alliance with clergy and burge es, in opposition to the nobles, the crown was able to establish in 1660 an hereditary, absolute monarchy. Despite frequent wars with Sweden, Denmark prospered until the coalition of the N. powers against Britain in the Napoleonic wars. The Brit. fleet bombarded Copenhagen in 1801 and in 1807, and confiscated the Dan. fleet until the end of the war, when Denmark, having been driven to support Napoleon, was compelled to cede Norway to Sweden. The chief fact of the 19th cent. was the lo of Schleswig - Holstein through the deep-laid schemes of Pru ia. ‘These were, in part, returned in 1920 by a vote of the people. See Scuiteswic-Ho.usrein. On the death of Frederick VII., in 1863, the house of Oldenburg came to an end, and under the Treaty of London, Prince Christian of Schleswig-HolsteinGliicksborg, nominee of the powers, became Ohristian IX. The new Duke of August enb org, however, whose father had agreed to the treaty, refused to acquiesce in his own disherison, and a umed the title of. Frederick VIII. The second episode of the SchleswigHolstein question followed, resulting in the lo of the duchies. Frederick VIII., brother of Queen Alexandra of Britain, succeeded his father, 1906, and was followed by his son, Christian X. 1912. The present constitution of Denmark is based on charter of 1915. Following the World War, plebiscites in N. and S, Schleswig, March 1919, resulted in the N. part reverting to Denmark while the 8. remained German. Although Denmark did not suffer as much as the other countries of Central Europe from economic conditions follow. ing the World War, there was, especially in 1922, a great deal of unemployment. There were also financial difficulties resulting from a crisis in the affairs of the Landemandsk Bank, the chief financial institution in the country. The Rigstag, in February, 1923, pa ed @ bill establishing a State guarantee for the bank, until 1928. Owing to a reduced birth rate and an increased death rate the population of Denmark decreased 1.007 per cent, from July 1921 1, 1922, or from 3,383,000 to 3,318,000, Literature.—Danish is a Scand in avian tongue akin to that of Sweden. An early writer of noté was Saxo Grammatic us 1140-1206, whose Lat. history, Gesia Danorum, although not critical, is invaluable as literature. Denmark has also a fine collection of vernacular ballads and romances, collected in the 16th cent., but composed at the height of the Middle Ages. As in other countries, vernacular prose, except for isolated documents, etc., and drama commence in the 16th cent.; poetry after the Renai ance manner is represented by the great Anders Kristensen Arrebo, 1587-1637. In the 17th cent. Thomas Kingo, 1634-1703, wrote religious verse of distinction. Ludvig Holberg, 1684. 1754, author of witty, polished comedies in the Fr. manner, has been called the Plautus of Denmark. Denmark felt the Romantic Movement very early. Johannes Ewald, by tragedy and comedy respectively, slew the Cla ical School. The movement was organized by Schack von 1779-1850, who learned in Germany ta turn back to the Middle Ages for inspiration. Blicher, 1782-1848, wrote poems and stories at the height of the new manner. The medieval revival was the great influence on Ingemann, 1789-1862, the ‘return to nature’ the motif of Winther, 1796-1876. Among the greatest of the poets was Frederick Paludan-Miiller, 1809-76. The chief prose writer of the movement was Hans Christian Andersen 1805-75, whose Fairy Tales were pub. in 1835. Like other countries, Denmark came to an end of her Romantic Movement; Schan1908; and Jacobsen, 1847-85. Side by side with these pure stylists ran the realistic movement under Georg Brandes, a critic of European renown; one of its chief exponents is Pont oppidan, b. 1857. Government is a limited monarchy; the parliament, Rigsdag, consists of the ‘House of Aristocrats’; Lands thing, and Lower House, Folkething. Lands thing consists of 72 members; the 140 members of the Lower House, who are paid, are elected under a system of universal suffrage. Denmark has a citizen army with few exemptions; the active army numbers about 14,000. <A considerable sum is spent annually on the small fleet for coast defense. Luther an ism became the state religion in 1536, but there is religious toleration. The archiepiscopal see is at Roskilde. Copenhagen Univ. dates from 1479; elementary education became compulsory in 1814; the country is strongly The Faroes are considered an integral part of Denmark, whose only colonial po e ion is Green land. St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John in the Dan. W. Indies were sold to U.S. in 1916, Chief centers of population are the cap., Copenhagen Aarhuus, Odense, Aalborg, Horsens, and Randers. Area, including the restored part of Schleswig, Fr. dramatist; wrote libretto of Gounod’s Faust, 1856. village, Brandenburg, Pru ia, Germany; scene of defeat of French by Pru ians, 13.