Estrid (Obodritin)

Estrith's grave in Husaby

Estrid (also Astrid , Estrith; old Icelandic Esrið ) (* around 979, † around 1035) was the wife of Olof Skötkonung , King of Sweden and mother of Anund Jakob , King of Sweden and von Ingegerd , Grand Duchess of Kiev .

Life

Estrid was of Obodritic origin. After a war she came to Sweden. What war it was about is not mentioned. Saxo Grammaticus describes in his work Gesta Danorum ( The Deeds of the Danes ) around the year 1200 a fabulous sea battle between Swedes and Danes, in which the Obodrites took part on the side of the Danes. The story is based on the events of the naval battle of Svold on September 9, 1000, from which Estrid's later husband Olaf Skötkonung emerged victorious. In an Icelandic saga from the 14th century, the leader of the Obodrites is called Milwa. This is probably the Obodritischen prince Mistislaw . According to this, Estrid's marriage to Olof could have served to secure peace between the two ruling groups.

Estrid would have been a Christian as a member of the Obodritic princely house of the Naconids . Olof was the first Swedish king to be baptized together with his family and the court around 1008. A change of faith after marriage to a Christian woman would correspond to a medieval conversion pattern that has also been documented in other cases.

The Olof saga reports about Estrid that she loved luxury, was arrogant and strict with her subordinates and unfriendly to the children of Olof's concubine Edla .

progeny

Anund Jakob (around 1010-1050), King of Sweden (1022-1050)
Ingegerd (around 1001-around 1050), wife of Yaroslav the Wise , Grand Duke of Kiev

swell

Snorri Sturluson , Saga of Saint Olaf
Adam of Bremen , Church History II, 27

literature

Herman Lindqvist : Histories om Sveriges drottningar. Från myt och helgon till drottning i tiden. Norstedt, Stockholm 2006, ISBN 91-1-301524-9 ( History of the Queens of Sweden ).
Åke Ohlmarks: Alla Sveriges drottningar. Geber, Stockholm 1973, ( The Queens of Sweden. ).

Web links

Genealogy of the Swedish Kings (Swedish)

Remarks

^ Adam of Bremen II, 37.
↑ Saxo 8.2.5.
↑ Sögubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum
^ Robert Beltz : Mistewoi (Mistizlav). In: Quarterly report of the Association for Meklenburg History and Antiquity. Vol. 61, 3, 1896, ZDB -ID 542818-x , pp. 30-36, here p. 35 online ; Richard Wagner : The turning point (= Mecklenburg history in individual representations. Issue 2, ZDB -ID 982989-1 ). Süsserott, Berlin 1899, p. 93.
^ Sven Wichert: The Doberan Cistercian Monastery in the Middle Ages. (= Studies on the history, art and culture of the Cistercians, Volume 9. ) Lukas, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-931836-34-7 , p. 15 ( Google Books ).

personal data
SURNAME	Estrid
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Astrid; Esrið
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Wife of Olof Skötkonung, King of Sweden
DATE OF BIRTH	at 979
DATE OF DEATH	around 1035

[1] Adam of Bremen II, 37.

[2] Saxo 8.2.5.

[3] Sögubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum

[4] Robert Beltz : Mistewoi (Mistizlav). In: Quarterly report of the Association for Meklenburg History and Antiquity. Vol. 61, 3, 1896, ZDB -ID 542818-x , pp. 30-36, here p. 35 online ; Richard Wagner : The turning point (= Mecklenburg history in individual representations. Issue 2, ZDB -ID 982989-1 ). Süsserott, Berlin 1899, p. 93.

[5] Sven Wichert: The Doberan Cistercian Monastery in the Middle Ages. (= Studies on the history, art and culture of the Cistercians, Volume 9. ) Lukas, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-931836-34-7 , p. 15 ( Google Books ).