Denmark: Called Dan-mörk in the Sagas. In old Norse mörk means a "forest," and, as forests commonly formed the boundaries of tribes, we obtain such words as mearc in Anglo-Saxon and marca in Old High German, meaning a "marsh land" or "boundary." But marca in Old Saxon means a district, and in Modern Danish mark means a "field," "plain," or "open country." Hence, Denmark probably means the "forest of the Danes," a name parallel to that of Holstein, which also was densely wooded.