Kongehusets digitale julekalender 2021.
Dansk
Solen er kun lige stået op over det danske landskab, da Nissefar og Juleenglen lander ovenpå Jellingmonumenterne, der består af to runesten, som vikingekongerne Gorm den Gamle og sønnen Harald Blåtand rejste i 900-tallet.
På dette historiske sted har Nissefar taget hul på sin julerejse gennem Kongerækken, som han inden juleaften har lovet alle at få styr på. For det er en Kongehusnisses fornemmeste pligt at kende alle danske konger og dronninger til fingerspidserne (eller rettere: huespidserne), men nissefar har desværre sovet det meste af tiden, mens Danmarkshistorien har udspillet sig. Det skal han nu råde bod på, inden Dronningens store 50-års Regeringsjubilæum næste måned.
”Disse runesten er Kongerækkens første fysiske spor,” fortæller Juleenglen til Nissefar, der allerede er godt i gang med at nærstudere dem. Juleenglen kan fortælle, at den mindste runesten er den ældste og blev rejst af kongen Gorm den Gamle til minde om hustruen Dronning Thyra, og at den anden og største runesten blev rejst af deres søn Kong Harald Blåtand omkring år 965.
”Det er meget fint, men hvad står der?” spørger Nissefar undrende, da han desværre aldrig har lært at tyde runer. Heldigvis kan Juleenglen læse og tale alle verdens sprog og skrifter, og da engle altid gerne vil hjælpe mennesker og væsner, der har noget godt i sinde, fortæller englen, at der på den lille sten står at Dronning Thyra havde tilnavnet “tanmarkar but”. Juleenglen lader Nissefar forstå, at flere tolker og læser dronningetilnavnet som "Danmarks bod/pryd", og det er interessant, for det er det første sted, at Danmark er mejslet i sten.
Nissefar fornemmer, at han er på sporet af noget rigtig, og han får derfor Juleenglen til at læse, hvad den store Jellingsten fortæller. Englen læser højt, at ”Kong Harald opførte dette gravmæle efter Gorm, hans far, og Thyra, hans mor, Harald der vandt Danmark - det hele - og Norge og gjorde danerne kristne.” Det går pludselig op for Nissefar, at han befinder sig der, hvor det danske kongehus har sine rødder. For en Kongehusnisse, der både elsker konger og dronninger, er det noget af en ”ud af papkroppen”-oplevelse. Juleenglen er da også stolt:
”Tillykke, Nissefar, du har fundet frem til, hvor den røde tråd i Kongerækken begynder! Som belønning vil jeg tage dig til et særligt sted, og jeg håber ikke, at du bliver søsyg”.
English
The sun has just risen up over the Danish landscape when Elf Father and the Christmas Angel land on top of the Jelling monuments, which consist of two rune stones that the Viking kings Gorm the Old and his son Harald Bluetooth erected in the 900s.
At this historical place, Elf Father has started his Christmas journey through the Royal Lineage, which he has promised to get a grip on before Christmas Eve. That’s because it’s a Royal House elf’s noblest duty to have knowledge about all of the Danish kings and queens at his fingertips (or rather: his hat tip). But unfortunately, Elf Father has been asleep most of the time while Denmark’s history has unfolded, and now he has to make up for that before the big 50th anniversary of The Queen’s accession to the throne next month.
“These rune stones are the first traces of the Royal Lineage,” the Christmas Angel tells Elf Father, who has already begun to take a close look at them. The Christmas Angel says the smaller rune stone is the oldest and was erected by the king Gorm the Old to commemorate his wife Queen Thyra. The other and larger rune stone was erected by their son King Harald Bluetooth around year 965.
“That’s all well and good, but what does it say?”, asks Elf Father, wondering, because he has never learned to decipher runes. Luckily, the Christmas Angel can read and speak all of the world’s languages. And since the angel likes to help people and creatures that have good intentions, she tells him that, on the small stone, it says that Queen Thyra had the byname “tanmarkar but”. The Christmas Angel lets Elf Father know that many interpret and read the queen’s byname as “Denmark’s jewel/pride”, and that’s interesting, because it’s the first place where Denmark is mentioned in a written context in this country.
Elf Father senses that he is on the right track, and so he asks the Christmas Angel to read what’s carved on the large Jelling stone. The angel reads aloud, “King Harald ordered these kumbls made in memory of Gorm, his father, and in memory of Thyra, his mother; that Harald who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian.” Suddenly, it dawns upon Elf Father that he has found himself right where the Royal House of Denmark has its roots. For a Royal House elf who loves both kings and queens, it’s something like an “out of cardboard body”-experience. The Christmas Angel is also proud:
“Congratulations, Elf Father, you have succeeding in finding where the red thread in the Royal Lineage begins! As a reward, I’m going to take you to a special place, and I hope that you don’t get seasick.”