# Gudfred

_Danish king_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/gudfred
Last updated: 2026-11-05

> Gudfred was a ninth century Danish king who reigned from at least 804 to 810. Alternate spellings include Godfred (Danish), Göttrick (German), Gøtrik (Danish), Gudrød (Danish), and Godofredus (Latin). He stands at the threshold of the history of Denmark in the sense that he is the first ruler about whom there is substantial knowledge from contemporary sources. He waged offensive war against the Carolingian Empire with some success, but was murdered under murky circumstances before a major confrontation had taken place. There is no unambiguous trace of Gudfred in the later Norse sagas, and his history can only be traced from the hostile Frankish texts which makes an assessment of his role problematic. His paternity is unknown but he may have been closely related to Sigfred, who preceded him as king of Denmark c. 770–804. He was the uncle of the later Danish King Hemming (810–812) and the father of King Horik I (813–854).

## Quick facts

- **Place of birth:** Denmark ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q461614#P19))
- **Died:** 810 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q461614#P570))
- **Place of death:** Denmark ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q461614#P20))
- **Citizenship:** Kingdom of Denmark ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q461614#P27))
- **Occupation:** sovereign ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q461614#P106))
- **Positions held:** Monarch of Denmark (0800–0810) ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q461614#P39))

## Questions

**What positions has Gudfred held?**  
Positions held by Gudfred include: Monarch of Denmark (0800–0810).

## Related

- [Christian X](https://diginpl.com/people/christian-x)
- [Frederik X](https://diginpl.com/people/frederik-x)
- [Harald Klak](https://diginpl.com/people/harald-klak)
- [Halfdan the Old](https://diginpl.com/people/halfdan-the-old)
- [Sigfred](https://diginpl.com/people/sigfred)
- [Randver](https://diginpl.com/people/randver)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Gudfred](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gudfred) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q461614](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q461614) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Kong Gøtrik den Gavmilde.jpg by Erico Olai Tormio (publisher) (Public domain)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kong_G%C3%B8trik_den_Gavmilde.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Gudfred, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Kong Gøtrik den Gavmilde.jpg — Erico Olai Tormio (publisher), Public domain.

## Cite this page

"Gudfred". DigiNepal. Last updated 5 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/gudfred. Retrieved 5 November 2026.