page_title: Ogier the Dane
section_title: In modern era
hierarchical_section_title: Ogier the Dane / In modern era
caption_attribution_description: Frihedskæmpere fra Holger Danske afhenter mistænkte til internering. Sted: Store Kongensgade, København Dato: Maj 1945 Se flere billeder her: erez.natmus.dk/FHMbilleder/Site/index.jsp Rights: natmus.dk/en/besoeg-museerne/frihedsmuseet/archives/photo... More about The Museum of Danish Resistance (Frihedsmuseet): natmus.dk/en/besoeg-museerne/frihedsmuseet/
context_page_description: Ogier the Dane is a legendary knight of Charlemagne who appears in many Old French chansons de geste. In particular, he features as the protagonist in La Chevalerie Ogier, which belongs to the Geste de Doon de Mayence. The first part of this epic, the enfance[s] of Ogier, is marked by his duel against a Saracen from whom he obtains the sword Cortain, followed by victory over another Saracen opponent from whom he wins the horse Broiefort. In subsequent parts, Ogier turns into a rebel with cause, seeking refuge with the King of Lombardy and warring with Charlemagne for many years, until he is eventually reconciled when a dire need for him emerges after another Saracen incursion.
  His character is a composite based on an historical Autcharius Francus who was aligned with king Desiderius of Lombardy against Charlemagne. The legend of a certain Othgerius buried in Meaux is also incorporated into the Chevalerie. In Scandinavia he was first known as Oddgeir danski in the Old Norse prose translation Karlamagnús saga, but later became more widely known as Holger Danske and was given the pedigree of being Olaf son of King Gøtrik, in a Danish translation published in the 16th century.
context_section_description: Ogier in Danish legend has is said to dwell in Kronborg Castle, his beard grown down to the floor. He will sleep there until some day when the country of Denmark is in the greatest peril, at which time he will rise up and save the nation. This is a common folklore motif, classed as Type 1960.2, "The King Asleep in the Mountain". According to the tour guides of Kronborg Castle, legend has it that Holger sat down in his present location after walking all the way from his completed battles in France. It was popularized by short story "Holger Danske" written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1845.
  The 1789 opera Holger Danske, composed by F.L.Æ. Kunzen with a libretto by Jens Baggesen, had a considerable impact on Danish nationalism in the late 18th century. It spawned the literary "Holger feud", which revealed the increasing dissatisfaction among the native Danish population with the German influence on Danish society. Danish intellectual Peter Andreas Heiberg joined the feud by writing a satirical version entitled Holger Tyske ("Holger the German") ridiculing Baggesen's lyrics. Ogier is also regarded as the symbol of national identity in Bernhard Severin Ingemann's 1837 epic poem Holger Danske. 
  During the 1940-1945 German occupation of Denmark, a patriotic presentation of Kunzen's opera in Copenhagen became a manifestation of Danish national feeling and opposition to the occupation. The largest Danish resistance group of World War II, Holger Danske, was named after the legend.
  The Hotel Marienlyst in Helsingør commissioned a statue of Holger Danske in 1907 from the sculptor Hans Peder Pedersen-Dan. The bronze statue was outside the hotel until 2013, when it was sold and moved to Skjern. The bronze statue was based on an original in plaster. The plaster statue was placed in the vaults at Kronborg Castle, also in Helsingør, where it became a popular attraction in its own right. The plaster statue was replaced by a concrete copy in 1985.
  
  In Rudyard Kipling's poem "The Land" (1916), 'Ogier the Dane' is the archetypal name used to signify Danish invaders who have overrun Sussex. The protagonist of Poul Anderson's fantasy novel Three Hearts and Three Lions (1961), World War II Danish resistance member Holger Carlsen, time warps and learns that he actually is Ogier of the legend. Per Petterson's novel I Curse the River of Time (2001) has a ferry named Holger Danske. There is Ogier story event in the video game Crusader Kings II.
caption: Holger Danske members arresting suspected Danish collaborators during the Liberation of Denmark
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