A woman kept her birth name all her life in Scandinavia and did not take on her husband's last name as her own until about 100-200 years ago.
Astrid was born about 997. [5] Wikipedia gives an alternate birth year of 990, but with weak sourcing. [6]
Cawley notes that Estrid was the only child of King Svend & his second wife. [7] Lundy elaborates that she was the daughter of Sveyn I 'Forkbeard' Haraldsson, King of Denmark and England and Sigrid 'the Haughty' (?) [8][9]
According to other researchers [10] Estrid was the daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard and Sigrid the Haughty, herself the daughter of Skagul Toste, making Olof Skötkonung, the son of Sigrid the Haughty and Eric the Victorious, Estrid's half-brother and Canute the Great, Harald and Świętosława her other half-siblings, as children of Sweyn Forkbeard and the Polish princess Gunhild, daughter of Mieszko I of Poland. [3]
Assuming the correctness of a Russian marriage, Wikipedia states that "Astrid was a Danish princess and titular Queen, a Russian princess and, possibly, Duchess of Normandy by marriage." [3]
She was known in Denmark as Dronning Estrid, (Queen Estrid), despite the fact that she was not married to a King and not a queen regnant.[3]
The dynasty that ruled Denmark in 1047–1412 was named after her. [11]
She was reportedly married briefly to an unnamed Russian Prince (perhaps Vsevolod, Prince of Vladimir-Volynsk, son of Grand Prince Vladimir I the Great), [12]who died following the Rus' war after the death of the Grand Prince in 1015. [3]
Documentation for such a marriage, however, is very weak and she is not linked to Vsevolod as her spouse. If such a marriage occurred, it would need to have occurred 1014, when Astrid would have been about 17 years of age, in order for her chronology to accommodate other events.
Numerous sources agree that there was an intended marriage between Astrid and a Duke of Normandy. There is disagreement, however, as to whether the intended husband was Robert of Normandy or his father Richard.
Baldwin states that Robert (or his father Richard II) was the spouse or intended spouse of Estrid/Margaret, daughter of Svend I, king of Denmark. [13]
Charles Cawley presents citations for a marriage or engagement of Astrid to Richard of Normandy:
Baldwin also notes that
M. K. Lawson asserts that after Estrid's brother Cnut's elevation to the throne of England in 1016, Cnut made an agreement with Richard II of Normandy that Estrid was to marry Richard's son Robert. It is not known whether this marriage ever took place.
Wikipedia quotes Ralph Glaber in his Historiarum libri quinque [14] [15] as reporting that an unnamed sister of Cnut married Robert, but Adam of Bremen reports a marriage of Estrid (calling her Margaret) to Richard II, indicating that after he went to Jerusalem she married Ulf, yet although Richard never went to Jerusalem Robert did. [16]
Alison Wier reports that Astgrid married Richard II, 4th Duc de Normandie, son of Richard I, 3rd Duc de Normandie and Gunnor de Crêpon, between 1017 and 1027. [2] , but another side reports that Estrid and Richard II, 4th Duc de Normandie were divorced before 1024. [9]
Norman sources do not mention such a marriage between Astrid and either duke, and historians disagree whether it was a short-lived marriage, a betrothal, or a result of confusion. [3]
Stewart Baldwin in the Henry Project concludes that "Unfortunately, there are significant problems with the statement that Estrid married either Richard or Robert, discussed in detail by Douglas [Douglas (1950), 292-5]. Nevertheless, despite the problems, it is difficult to believe that there is nothing to these two similar, and apparently independent, accounts of two near contemporary writers. Given the difficulty of reconciling a marriage with the evidence, a possible betrothal of Estrid to either Robert or Richard II would seem like a reasonable alternative." [13]
A marriage for Astrid was arranged by her brother Cnut with Ulf, Jarl of Orkney. [3] Ulf Thorgilson, Earl in England, was the son of Thorgils 'Sprakalegg' Styrbjornson and Sigrid of Halland, circa 1018. [9]
Ulf's sister was Gytha married to Earl Godwin, and put her family firmly in the Anglo-Scandinavian camp. [17]
Snorre names "Astrid, a daughter of King Svein Forkbeard" as wife of Earl Ulf, specifying that she was "a sister of Canute the Great by the father's side and of the Swedish king Olaf Eirikson by the mother's side, for her mother was Queen Sigrid the Haughty, a daughter of Skoglar Toste". [4]
Morkinskinna names “the lady Ástrídr…sister of two kings, Knútr the Great and Óláfr the Swede” as daughter of “King Sveinn Forkbeard…and Sigrídr en stórráda” who had previously been married to King Eirikr enn sigrsæli” and wife of “Jarl Úlfr sprakalegge”. [4]
She married ULF Thrugilson Jarl [Wulfsige Sprakling], son of THORGILS Sprakling [THRUGILS Sprakaleg] & his wife [4]
In 1026, Ulf was killed by the order of Cnut. It is possible that the murder took place with Astrid's consent. She did not lose her brother's trust, and was granted large lands by him. She gave her son an education by the church, made donations to the church and is believed to have founded the first church made of stone in Denmark (Roskilde Cathedral). [3]
More details of the murder are provided by Anette Kruse: At Christmas in 1026, Ulf the Earl was murdered by one of Cnut the Great's housecarls. Though the sources differ, this happened either inside the church (Chronicon Roskildense) or at the royal farm (Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum). Ulf had been married to Cnut the Great's sister Estrid, who was outraged by the murder and demanded a weregild. [18]
Ulf, murdered at Roskilde in 1026, was buried in Roskilde). [4]
Estrid supported her sons's struggle to gain dominance over Denmark. [3]
Estrid herself was granted the honorary title of Queen (not Queen mother), the very same variation of the title normally reserved for the consort of the king, and became known as "Queen Estrid", despite the fact that she was not a monarch nor the spouse of one. [3]
In 1047, her son became king in Denmark due to his mother's descent, and is hence known as Sven Estridssen (son of Estrid). [3]
The date of Estrid's death is unknown, but it can be no earlier than 1057, or later than 1073, as Bishop William of Roskilde (in office 1057–73), the capital of Denmark, officiated at her funeral.[3]
Without citing a year, Cawley states that her death occurred on the 9th of May and she was buried in Roskilde. [4]
"She was widely believed to have been buried in the northeastern pier of the Roskilde Cathedral, but a DNA test in 2003 dispelled the myth as the remains belonged to a woman much too young to be Estrid. The new theory is that the sign on the pier refers to Margareta Hasbjörnsdatter, who was also known as Estrid and who married Harald III Hen, the son of Sweyn Estridsen." [19]
Children of Astrid Sveynsdottir and Ulf Thorgilson, Earl in England would have been born between 1019, the year after their marriage, and 1026, the year of Ulf's murder.
With the exception of Neils Ulfsson, all of these were ostensibly born outside the years when there could have been children of Estrid and Ulf.
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S > Sveinsdóttir | S > Svendsdatter > Æstriðr (Sveinsdóttir) Svendsdatter
Adam of Bremen reports a marriage of Estrid (calling her Margaret) to Richard II, indicating that after he went to Jerusalem she married Ulf, yet although Richard never went to Jerusalem Robert did.[9] Norman sources do not mention such a marriage for either duke, and historians disagree whether it was a short-lived marriage, a betrothal, or a result of confusion.