Jutland

Jutland (Jylland) was historically one of the three main parts or Lands of Denmark. It is situated on the Jutland Peninsula.

Jutland in history

Some Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Vandals moved from continental Europe to Britain starting in c. 450 AD. This is thought by some to be related to the drive of the Huns from Asia across Europe, although the arrival of the Danes would more likely have been a major contributory factor, since conflicts between the Danes and the Jutes were both many and bloody. In time, however, these hostilities were decreased by intermarriage between Jutes and Danes.

The Danes took considerable steps to protect themselves from the depredations of the Christian Frankish emperors, principally with the building of the Dannevirke, a wall stretching from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea.

Charlemagne removed pagan Saxons from east Jutland at the Baltic Sea— the later Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg areas— and moved Abodrites (or Obotrites), a group of Wendish Slavs who pledged allegiance to Charlemagne and who had for the most part converted to Christianity, into the area instead.

The World War One Battle of Jutland was one of the largest naval battles in history. In this pitched battle, the Royal Navy engaged the German Navy leading to massive casualties and ship losses on both sides. Although the Royal Navy suffered greater losses, the German navy never again openly challenged Britain's, resorting instead to covert submarine warfare.