1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,720 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:11,320 Speaker 1: a show that flies the flag of history every day 4 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 1: of the week. I'm Gay Bluzier and today we're looking 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: at the legendary story of the Danibro, the national flag 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: of Denmark that supposedly appeared out of thin air. The 7 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 1: day was June twelve, nineteen. According to Danish legend, the 8 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: country's familiar red and white flag fell from the sky 9 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: as a sign of God's favor. The miracle banner arrived 10 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: just in the nick of time, too, as the Danes 11 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: were currently locked in a losing battle against the Estonians. 12 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: They rallied at the sight of the flag, though, and 13 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: the Danish army was ultimately victorious that day. The banner 14 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: that had changed their fortunes became known as at Dannebro, 15 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:05,479 Speaker 1: the cloth or banner of the Danes. Soon after, it 16 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: was adopted as a royal symbol, then as a trading banner, 17 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 1: a military endsign, and later as the official flag of Denmark, 18 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: making it one of the oldest national flags in continuous use. 19 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: The popular legend of how the beloved flag came to 20 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,679 Speaker 1: be begins in twelve nineteen with the Danish invasion of 21 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: present day Estonia. Danish King Valdemar the Second led the 22 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 1: campaign with a threefold purpose in mind. First, he hoped 23 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: to put an end at the pirate attacks that had 24 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:43,319 Speaker 1: long plagued Denmark's otherwise thriving sea trade. Second, he sought 25 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,120 Speaker 1: to bring northern Estonia under Danish rule, a claim that 26 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:51,919 Speaker 1: even the Pope had recognized. And third, and perhaps most importantly, 27 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: he wished to convert the Estonians from their pagan religion 28 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: to Christianity. However, on the afternoon of June fifteens, it 29 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: didn't look like King Valdemar would achieve any of his goals. 30 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: The Estonians had caught the Danes off guard, attacking from 31 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: five different directions while the crusaders rested in the castle 32 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:16,799 Speaker 1: they had constructed. This put the Danish army on the defensive, 33 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: and they quickly found themselves overwhelmed. Luckily, it wasn't just 34 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: soldiers on the battlefield that day. Archbishop sun Nissen had 35 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 1: accompanied King Valdemar on his crusade, and when he saw 36 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 1: how badly the Danes were faring, he raised his arms 37 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: to the sky and began to pray for some heavenly assistance. Suddenly, 38 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: a red lambskin banner bearing a white Nordic cross began 39 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: fluttering down from the sky. King Valdemar took up the flag, 40 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: waved it above his head, and urged his troops to 41 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: fight on. Now believing that God was on their side, 42 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: the Danish forces pressed forward with renewed strength, eventually pushed 43 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:04,519 Speaker 1: back the Estonians and capturing the city of Lundanissa now 44 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 1: known as Talin today. The Danes victory established a foothold 45 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: in northern Estonia, and they went on to rule that 46 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: territory well into the fourteenth century, converting many Estonians to 47 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: Christianity in the process. As you probably guessed, there's little 48 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:27,079 Speaker 1: historical evidence to support the story of divine intervention. King 49 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:31,919 Speaker 1: Valdemar's crusade definitely happened, but his victory was due more 50 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: to the aid of nearby allies than it was to 51 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: a heavenly flag. In fact, contemporary accounts of the Battle 52 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: of Lundanissa don't mention a falling flag at all. That 53 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: detail didn't appear until the fifteenth century, when monks began 54 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 1: recording wildly different versions of the story. By the early 55 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: sixteenth century, even historians had begun, including the miracle of 56 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: the flag and their accounts of the battle. Still, none 57 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: of that's to say there wasn't a falling flag that day. 58 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: Red and white flags with crosses were frequently used by 59 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: various European crusaders between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. The 60 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: motif was a symbol of Christianity rather than a specific 61 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: nation or people. With that in mind, it's entirely possible 62 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: that such a flag was there during the Battle of Lundanissa. 63 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,160 Speaker 1: Maybe it even fell onto the battlefield from atop the 64 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:31,919 Speaker 1: Danes castle and then provided some much needed inspiration to 65 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: the weary troops. Either way, the flag didn't become a 66 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,719 Speaker 1: royal symbol of Denmark until around the mid fourteenth century, 67 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 1: and it wasn't viewed as a symbol of the entire 68 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: nation until the early nineteenth century. The flag of Denmark 69 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,600 Speaker 1: may not have started out is inherently Danish, but it 70 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: certainly is today. In fact, the Danes used their national 71 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 1: flag in more ways than the people of most countries. 72 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: It's used not only for a fish a functions and ceremonies, 73 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:07,720 Speaker 1: but for all kinds of occasions, including birthday parties, graduation ceremonies, funerals, 74 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: and even at Christmas time. It might sound kind of 75 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: random too, for instance, put little paper Danish flags on 76 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,239 Speaker 1: the cake at an office birthday party. But for many 77 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:21,159 Speaker 1: people in Denmark, displaying the flag is a way to 78 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 1: express festivity rather than nationalism. After all, the design of 79 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: the flag has been ingrained in Danish culture for centuries, 80 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,479 Speaker 1: over eight hundred years, well before it was officially adopted 81 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:37,160 Speaker 1: as a state symbol. As a result, it represents not 82 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: only the government or nation of Denmark, but the Danish 83 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:45,479 Speaker 1: spirit the people in the history they share. According to 84 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: Torben kierskar Nielsen, an author and historian at Aalbor University 85 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: in Denmark, the different perceptions of the Danish flag are 86 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 1: what make it such an effective and compelling symbol. As 87 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:02,280 Speaker 1: he said quote, everyone uses and interprets the Danish flag 88 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,159 Speaker 1: in their own way. Paradoxically, this is what makes it 89 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: a uniting symbol. That's also why it doesn't matter if 90 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: the legend of the Danna bro is true or not. 91 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 1: The story and the sharing of it is now woven 92 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,280 Speaker 1: into the fabric of the culture, just like the flag itself. 93 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: I'm Gade Lucier and hopefully you now know a little 94 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. You can 95 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:35,040 Speaker 1: learn even more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, 96 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d i HC Show, and if 97 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: you have any comments or suggestions, you can always send 98 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: them my way at this Day at I heart media 99 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:48,919 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 100 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 101 00:06:51,760 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: here again tomorrow for another day in history class.