(Image Credit: Fabrik Brands)
For such a modern technology, the Bluetooth logo is a lot older than you may think. It actually dates back to the Viking era! The symbol is made by superimposing two Nordic runes: Hagall (ᚼ) and Bjarkan (ᛒ). Those runes stand for the initials “H B,” a nod to King Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson of 10th-century Denmark, after whom the Bluetooth wireless standard is named.
In 1996, American engineer Jim Kardach and Swedish engineer Sven Mattisson used “Bluetooth” as the working codename for a new short-range wireless technology. They drew a parallel between Harald’s unification of the disparate Scandinavian tribes into a single kingdom through the building of transportation and trade infrastructure, and the technology’s goal of uniting computers and mobile phones under one short-range radio link for seamless connectivity.
But what most people don’t know is that Harald was also the first Danish king to convert to Christianity!
King Harald Bluetooth’s reign marked a transformative period in Denmark as the people moved away from the old Norse gods. Bluetooth founded Christian churches (even reburying his pagan father in a church), sponsored bishops, and gave his citizens the freedom to adopt this new faith at their own pace. Harald Bluetooth’s legacy is preserved on the Jelling Stones, large rune stones that record the spread of Christianity in Scandinavia.
Harald Bluetooth’s name was largely forgotten for many centuries until the inventors of the wireless communication technology named their invention after him. Although originally meant to be a temporary moniker, “Bluetooth” eventually became the official name of the global wireless standard when the marketing people couldn’t come up with anything better. It’s certainly a more colorful name than “PAN” or “RadioWire” – the two possibilities that they were considering.
And why was King Harald nicknamed Bluetooth anyway??? Some say he had a dead tooth, which was a dark blue/grey color, while others say that the blue color was due to the king’s fondness of blueberries. Whatever the reason, Bluetooth is one of Denmark’s most important historical figures, representing the political unification of Denmark as well as the cultural shift from paganism to Christianity in Scandinavian society. The name of this Christian king now echoes throughout the modern world as a symbol of seamless connectivity.
The Ultimate Ears Portable Bluetooth Speakers even have a cross design on them!
