Godfred Radbardsson, I

Godfred (died 810), king in Denmark who halted the northward extension of Charlemagne’s empire. He may have ruled over all Denmark, but his centre of power was in the extreme south of Jutland. There Hedeby became an important station on the new Frankish trade route to the Muslim states of the East via the Baltic Sea and the Russian rivers.

In 804, during a period of intense Danish-Carolingian warfare, Godfrey destroyed the Sorbian port of Reric (near what is now Wismar, Germany) in retaliation for the Sorbs’ alliance with Charlemagne. The activity of the port was transferred to Hedeby, greatly enhancing its importance. In addition to campaigning successfully against the forces of Charlemagne and his son Louis I (the Pious), Godfrey reconstructed and enlarged the Danewirk (begun in the 7th century), the earthwork fortifications along the base of the Jutland peninsula, south and west of Hedeby. He was murdered while on campaign in Frisia.