The Paganism of the Ancient Prussians.

Some contemporary fairytales have antecedents in pre-modern documents. That oral traditions lie behind much medieval literature is likely; this is no less true for the “Constance” tales (ATU 706 and ATU 706C). Through the historic–geographic method, Alexander H. Krappe determined that these plots originated in Eastern Europe. An ahistorical anecdote in The Chronicle of Morea is related to the earliest documented variants of the “Constance” group, two thirteenth-century romances, Mai und Beaflor and Le Roman de la Manekine, and two episodes in historical narratives by Matthew Paris and Jans der Enikel. In addition to the basic outline of events, the common themes of relationship between an imperial centre and outlying districts are shared. The birth of this plot type, under the influence of both western and eastern sources, may then be situated in the historical context of the Fourth Crusade's aftermath in formerly Byzantine territory.     

Analogy in Danish prehistoric studies

Ethnographic analogy has invariably been used in archaeology at a subconscious level for understanding artefacts. Alison Wylie's analysis, transferring the logical discussion of analogy from philosophy to archaeology, has, though not uncritically, been accepted by the present author as a method of assessing the strength of analogical reasoning. First, Wylie's analysis is presented and discussed. Secondly, her framework serves as a standard of reference for the Danish historical development of analogical reasoning over the past 170 years. Lastly, a contextual approach that does not entirely depart from Sophus Müller's terminology is suggested.     

The farmer interpretation of Danish history

This paper is an overview of the Anglo‐Icelandic fishery disputes from 1952–1976. Its main emphasis is on the negotiations between the British and the Icelandic governments but it also addresses other aspects of the disputes, such as the effects they had on Iceland's relations with NATO and the United States and the effect on the balance of power between the Eastern and Western bloc in the North‐Atlantic.     

The decomposition of the Danish imperial monarchy

One of the classical questions in the study of nationalism concerns the end of empires. Is nationalism, to use the phrase of Hiers and Wimmer, the cause or consequence of the end of empire? This paper considers a neglected case, that of the decomposition of the Danish imperial monarchy in the years between 1848 and 1864. We find that nationalist conflicts indisputably caused the end of this political entity. Crucially, Danish nationalists in the imperial core preferred to downsize the territories controlled by the Oldenburgs rather than to share power with German speakers in the periphery. Decomposition was not, however, inevitable: an early introduction of power‐sharing schemes might have saved the imperial monarchy.     

Sebbersund: isotopes and mobility in an 11th−12th c. AD Danish churchyard

The important Viking Age and early Medieval site of Sebbersund in northern Jutland, Denmark, contains a large churchyard from the 11th–12th century AD. Sebbersund was an important trading center in this period and the location of one of the first churches in Denmark, perhaps an entry point for the introduction of Christianity to the country. Excavations have exposed almost 500 graves of an estimated 700 individuals in the cemetery. Here we report on the analysis of strontium isotopes in human tooth enamel from burials in the cemetery as a signal of place of birth. Some 19 samples have been measured and at least three non-local outliers identified. Futhermore, six archaeological fauna samples had been analyzed in order to define the local bioavailable strontium isotope baseline range and these values were compared to the more general bioavailable baseline range values for Denmark. The burials are evaluated in light of the available archaeological, chronological, anthropological, and isotopic information.