Lange Publisher has inspiration from solid geological research, dating back to the 900s! We are very proud of our history! Our family weapon has inspired us to have the logo that we have and the weapon is from 1315 or even longer back. Our oldest ancestor in a direct line, Gorm the old (also Vurm) was born sometime in the late 800s and died in 958. Gorm was the first official king of Denmark and ruled from 936 to 958. (Gorm’s father was probably Knud I Hardeknut) Gorm ruled the land from Jelling, Denmark. He married Thyra Danebod from England and was the father of Knud Gormsson (Knud Dana-Ast), Harald Bluetooth, and Gunhild Gormsdotter. Gorm raised one of the Jelling Stones in honor of his wife. Written on the stone; “ᚴᚢᚱᛘᛦ ᚴᚢᚾᚢᚴᛦ ᚴ(ᛅᚱ)ᚦᛁ ᚴᚢᛒᛚ ᚦᚢᛋᛁ ᛅ(ᚠᛏ) ᚦᚢᚱᚢᛁ ᚴᚢᚾᚢ ᛋᛁᚾᛅ ᛏᛅᚾᛘᛅᚱᚴᛅᛦ ᛒᚢᛏ” The text on the stone has got two interpretations, partly “King Gorm made this stone after his wife Thyra, Denmark’s protector”, but also “King Gorm, Denmark’s protector, made this stone after his wife Thyra” His son, Harald Bluetooth, took over the kingdom after Gorm died. He raised the second Jelling Stone, to honor his parents, celebrating his conquest of Denmark and Norway. In our family, women have been very strong and sometimes had rather great power. For example, legends say Queen Thyra made sure that Denmark was not invaded by extending the famous wall, Dannevirke. Grandmother, Erna Kirkegaard, did not let the German soldiers take supplies from her home during World War II. She and her husband Hans Peter Svendsen had 9 children to take care of. But even though she was very strict towards the Germans, she felt sorry for the young boys fighting and therefore gave them food and shelter the family could spare. During the little spare time they had, Erna and Hans Peter practice amateur theatre.