Denmark has two officially recognised national anthems. Royal House red-letter days are marked by Kong Christian stod ved højen mast (King Christian stood by lofty mast), which sings the praises of warrior heroes of former times; the text is by Johannes Ewald, 1779, the melody by an unknown composer. The oldest known version of the melody is anonymous and is found under the title of Aria in ‘Basts Violinbog’ from the second half of the 18th century; the melody has been ascribed on to Ditlev Ludvig Rogert (regional judge in Bornholm, 1742-1813) and wrongly to Johann Ernst Hartmann; it received its final shape from Daniel Friedrich Rudolf Kuhlau, who wrote a set of piano variations on it (opus 16 from c. 1817) and used it in the overture to Elverhøi (Elfin Mound) from 1828. To mark national events use is made of Der er et yndigt land (There is a lovely land), praising the country’s gentle character; the text is by Adam Oehlenschläger, c. 1819, the melody by Hans Ernst Krøyer, c. 1835. Der er et yndigt land [56 sec - mp3] Kong Christian stod ved højen mast [47 sec - mp3]Peter Ryom, Gyldendal LeksikonPainting by Peter Christian Skovgaard: Delhoved Forest near the Skarrit Lake, 1847.Related article: National FlagThe name of the Danish flag, the Dannebrog, meaning ‘the flag of the Danes’ or ‘the red flag’, is first encountered in a Danish text from 1478 and in a Netherlandish text from 100 years before that.
