King of the wireless

Harald Blåtand Gormsen, or if we want Aroldo "blue tooth" Gormsson was the first King of Denmark. Well technically not the first, but let's say we can consider it as such.

He becomes King at 23 and in his first part of his reign he will dedicate himself to restoring and restoring the churches that were looted and destroyed by his father. This altruistic gesture will lead him to mature that religion could be the means by which to create and strengthen popular identity.

And so it was, in fact he managed to unify what today is roughly Denmark also because in addition to religion there was a common enemy, namely the Germanic people of the end of 900 AD.

Among the most tangible testimonies is the Rune, or a huge boulder, where he had a Christ depicted and then became one of the best-known Christian relics in northern Europe.

Less well known is the nickname, blue tooth, which is given various explanations, from the fact that he liked blueberries, to the appearance and even the legend of a rotten tooth. However, from recent excavations and examinations on human remains it seems that at that time it was customary to color one's teeth blue, probably as a scenic effect of war. In fact, it seems that this custom was in existence only for warriors, not for the civilian population.

A thousand years later in a Swedish company, Eriksson, some engineers who were fascinated by the events of Aroldo decided that he was the perfect example for what they were doing. That is to merge the devices just like Harald Bluetooth Gormsen had done with his people.

Using the letters of the Nordic runes relating to H ( Haglaz ) for Harald and the letter B ( Berkanan ) for Blåtand (i.e. blue tooth) we obtain from their fusion the symbol of Bluetooth. And behind it that rounded square symbolizes the runestone that has come down to us.

So if you have ever wondered why that strange name for a wireless technology, here is the meaning that at first glance seems to have none.

Cover image by Wikimedia Commons