Åsta Gudbrandsdatter

Saint Olaf with his half-brothers
Halfdan Egedius, illustration for Olav den helliges saga. 1899

Åsta Gudbrandsdatter (c. 975/980 – c. 1020/1030) was the mother of two Norwegian kings, King Olaf II of Norway and King Harald III of Norway.

According to the sagas, Åsta Gudbrandsdatter was from Vestfold. Åsta's father was Gudbrand Kula from Oppland. Åsta may have been baptised at Ringerike by Olav Tryggvason, circa 998.

Åsta Gudbrandsdatter was married to Harald Grenske (Grenski). Their son was King Olaf II , renowned as St. Olaf, who reigned as King of Norway from 1015 to 1028.

From her second marriage to Sigurd Syr, she became the mother King Harald III, famous in the Heimskringla as Harald Hardrada, who reigned from 1047 to 1066.

According to the sagas, Åsta and Sigurd Syr had the following children:

1. Guttorm
2. Gunnhild - married Ketil Kalv of Ringnes in Stange
3. Halfdan
4. Ingerid - married Nevstein, mother of Tore, foster-father of King Magnus Barefoot
5. Harald- future King of Norway

Other Source

• Weis, Frederick Lewis Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 (Genealogical Publishing Company. 1992)
• Koht, Halvdan The Old Norse Sagas (Periodicals Service Co. 1931)