Estrid of the Obotrites, Queen Consort of Sweden

Female ~979 - 1035


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  • Name Estrid of the Obotrites 
    Suffix Queen Consort of Sweden 
    Birth ~979  (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3
    Gender Female 
    Death 1035  (Sweden) Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Person ID I51086  The Hennessee Family
    Last Modified 3 Nov 2019 

    Family Olof Skotkonung, King of Sweden,   b. ~980, (Sweden) Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1022, Husaby, Sweden Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Marriage (Sweden) Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Children 
     1. Ingigerd Olofsdottir, Princess of Sweden,   b. ~1001, Sigtuna, Sweden Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 10 Feb 1050, Kiev, Ukraine Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 48 years)
     2. Anund Jacob, King of Sweden,   b. ~1010, (Sweden) Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1050, (Sweden) Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 39 years)
    Family ID F19026  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 30 Apr 2023 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - ~979 - (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 1035 - (Sweden) Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - - (Sweden) Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Photos
    The Obotrite Confederacy
    The Obotrite Confederacy

  • Notes 
    • Estrid (or Astrid) of the Obotrites (c. 979 – 1035) was a Viking age Swedish queen and West Slavic princess, married to Olof Skčotkonung, the King of Sweden, c. 1000–1022, mother of King Anund Jacob of Sweden and the Kievan Rus' saint and grand princess Ingegerd Olofsdotter.

      Biography
      Legend says that Estrid was taken back to Sweden from a war in the West Slavic area of Mecklenburg as a war-prize. She was most likely given by her father, a tribal chief of the Polabian Obotrites, as a peace offering in a marriage to seal the peace, and she is thought to have brought with her a great dowry, as a great Slavic influence is represented in Sweden from her time, mainly among craftsmen.

      Her husband also had a mistress, Edla, who came from the same area in Europe as herself, and who was possibly taken to Sweden at the same time. The king treated Edla and Estrid the same way and gave his son and his two daughters with Edla the same privileges as the children he had with Estrid, though it was Estrid he married and made queen.

      Queen Estrid was baptised with her husband, their children and large numbers of the Swedish royal court in 1008, when the Swedish royal family converted to Christianity, although the king promised to respect the freedom of religion - Sweden was not to be Christian until the last religious war between Inge the Elder and Blot-Sweyn of 1084-1088.

      Snorre Sturlasson wrote about her, that Estrid was unkind to the children (Emund, Astrid and Holmfrid) of her husband's mistress Edla;

      " Queen Estrid was arrogant and not kind towards her stepchildren, and therefore the king sent his son Emund to Vendland, where he was brought up by his maternal relatives".
      Not much is known of Estrid as a person. Snorre Sturlasson mentions her as a lover of pomp and luxury, and as hard and strict towards her servants.

      Children
      Ingegerd Olofsdotter (c. 1001-1054), Grand Princess of Kiev, in Kievan Rus' called Anna, married Yaroslav I the Wise, prince of Novgorod and Kiev.
      Anund Jacob (c. 1010-1050), king of Sweden, succeeded Olof as king in c. 1022.
      References
      ęAke Ohlmarks: "Alla Sveriges drottningar" (All the queens of Sweden) (In Swedish)
      Snorri Sturluson

      end of this biography [3]

  • Sources 
    1. [S12490] "Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden", Biography, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingegerd_Olofsdotter_of_Sweden, abstracted by.

    2. [S12531] "Astrid (Ingegerda) (Princess) of the OBOTRITES", https://fabpedigree.com/s071/f035040.htm, by David A. Hennessee, info@.

    3. [S14792] "Estrid of the Obotrites", Biography, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrid_of_the_Obotrites, This person, place, event,.