Møn

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The Viking Age

800 - 1050 CE

The Viking age, about 800 - 1.050 CE, was an unsettled time and people had to bury their gold and silver, so that it wouldn't be stolen. Two silver treasures on Møn are the evidence - one which only consisted of silver and gold jewelry and one of a gold bracelet with fine engraved ornaments.

The Island of today was in it´s origin divided into smaller islands which each had a Ruler, these rulers later took other names such as "County-kings" who then again had rulers beneath them called "Under-kings". Møns last "Under-king" was a man called Hemming, son of Sigvard Snogøje, and reigned on Møn in the beginning of the 800´s. Under his reign the people of Møn went on Viking-raids.
The Vendians, especially those from Rügen and Femern, already then troubled Møn with their Viking-raids, but it was first around the 12th century that the raids really began to destroy Denmark and Møn.

Though Møn itself does not have any runicstones to tell about the heroic actions the vikings on Møn might have done, Ulfshale has been mentioned on a fragment of a runicstone from Gotland. The inscription reads as followed:

... auk sunnarla sat mith skinnum auk han entathis at ulfshala ...

The text is about a man who traded with furs in the south and ended (died) at Ulvshale, which is assumed to be most probably Ulvshale on Møn. The stone fragment is assumed to be from about 1100 CE The present place of the stonefragment is also somewhat interesting, it's behind the organ in the tower of Stenkumla Church!

During the years 900-1100 CE the clearing of the forest speeds up as it becomes profitable to grow corn for export to the Baltic countries. That Møn early on was a highly populated island can be seen from the many churches which have been built here, as they required many wealthy residents in order to pay for them. But the high amount of wealth and the big population also increased the threat of Vendian raids. Thanks to these threats the forests facing the sea have been spared, though the soil was highly fertile. The Vendians did not dare to go into these forests because it was impossible to see if the Danes were lying in an ambush between the trees. But the forest did not protect Møn forever, just go on to the next age and see for yourself...

Additions and Corrections made: 16/3-2003
Additions about the runestone by Joachim Henkel