Astrid Olofsdotter
{{Short description|Queen of Norway from 1019 to 1028}}
{{Patronymic name|Astrid|Olofsdotter}}
{{Infobox royalty|consort=yes
| name =Astrid Olofsdotter
| succession =Queen consort of Norway
| image =Astrid olofsdatter-taler.jpg
| caption =Astrid as imagined by artist Christian Krohg in 1899
| reign =1019–1028
| spouse =Saint Olaf
| issue =Wulfhild of Norway
| house =Munsö
| father =Olof Skötkonung of Sweden
| mother =Edla
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =1035
| death_place =
| place of burial=
|}}
Astrid Olofsdotter (Norwegian: Astrid Olavsdatter; English: Aestrith{{cn|date=February 2025}}; died 1035) was the queen consort of Saint Olaf, who reigned over Norway from 1019 to 1028.[http://histvarld.historiska.se/histvarld/sok/artikel.asp?id=10053 Astrid norsk drottning (Historiska världar)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725214348/http://histvarld.historiska.se/histvarld/sok/artikel.asp?id=10053 |date=July 25, 2011 }} She is the only woman to have a surviving skaldic praise-poem dedicated to her for her decisive address of the Swedish army in support of her stepson, Magnus the Good.{{Cite journal |last=Jesch |first=Judith |date=2012 |editor-last=Whaley |editor-first=Diana |title=Sigvatr Þórðarson, Poem about Queen Ástríðr |url=https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1350&v=intro |journal=Poetry from the Kings' Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to C. 1035 |volume=1 |pages=645}}
Biography
Astrid was born to King Olof Skötkonung of Sweden and his Obotritian mistress Edla. She was the half sister of King Anund Jacob of Sweden and sister of King Emund the Old of Sweden. It is said that she and her brother Emund were not treated well by their stepmother, Queen Estrid, and that they were sent away to foster parents. Astrid was sent to a man named Egil in Västergötland.[http://www.snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Astrid_Olavsdatter/utdypning Astrid Olavsdatter – utdypning (Store norske leksikon)]
In 1016, it had been decided that Norway and Sweden should come to more peaceful relations by a royal marriage alliance. Noblemen of both countries tried to arrange a marriage between King Olaf of Norway and Astrid's legitimate half-sister, Princess Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden, but Ingegerd was instead married to Yaroslav I the Wise, Grand Prince of Novgorod and Kiev.[http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/pages/Y/A/YaroslavtheWise.htm Yaroslav the Wise (Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5. 1993)] Instead Astrid was married to King Olaf in Sarpsborg in 1019.Thunberg, Carl L. (2012). Att tolka Svitjod, p 35. Some sources say that Astrid replaced Ingegerd by the wish of her father, while others say that the marriage took place against the will of her father, through the cooperation of King Olaf and the Swedish jarl Ragnvald Ulfsson.[http://www.snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Olav_2_Haraldsson_Den_Hellige/utdypning Olav 2 Haraldsson Den Hellige – utdypning (Store norske leksikon)]
Astrid was described as beautiful, articulate and generous, and well liked by others.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}} She was the mother of Wulfhild of Norway (1020–1070), who married Ordulf, Duke of Saxony,{{sfn|Rudiger|2020|p=252}} and the stepmother of King Magnus the Good, with whom she had a good relationship. In 1030, she was widowed when her husband was killed. She left Norway and returned to the Swedish court, where she had a high position. When her stepson Magnus visited Sigtuna on his way to claim the Norwegian throne, she gave him her official support and encouraged Sweden to do so as well.
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite book |title=All the King's Women: Polygyny and Politics in Europe, 900–1250 |first=Jan |last=Rudiger |translator-first=Tim |translator-last=Barnwell |publisher=Brill |year=2020 }}
- Lagerqvist, Lars O. Sverige och dess regenter under 1.000 år. Albert Bonniers Förlag AB. 1982. {{ISBN|91-0-075007-7}}
- Thunberg, Carl L. Att tolka Svitjod [To interpret Svitjod]. Göteborgs universitet. CLTS. 2012. {{ISBN|978-91-981859-4-2}}.
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{{s-hou|House of Munsö||Unknown||1035}}
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{{succession box|before=Sigrid Storråda|title=Queen consort of Norway|years=1019–1028 |after=Emma of Normandy}}
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{{Norwegian consorts}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Astrid Olofsdotter}}
Category:Norwegian royal consorts
Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:11th-century Swedish people
Category:11th-century Norwegian people
Category:11th-century Swedish women