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According to the ''Heimskringla'' and ''Egil's Saga'', Gunnhild was the daughter of [[Ozur Toti]], a [[hersir]] from [[Halogaland]] in northern [[Norway]].<ref>''E.g.,'' "Harald Fairhair's Saga" § 34.</ref> Accounts of her early life vary between sources. ''Egil's Saga'' relates that "Eirik fought a great battle on the [[Northern Dvina]] in Bjarmaland, and was victorious as the poems about him record. On the same expedition he obtained Gunnhild, the daughter of Ozur Toti, and brought her home with him."<ref>''Egil's Saga'' § 37.</ref>
According to the ''Heimskringla'' and ''Egil's Saga'', Gunnhild was the daughter of [[Ozur Toti]], a [[hersir]] from [[Halogaland]] in northern [[Norway]].<ref>''E.g.,'' "Harald Fairhair's Saga" § 34.</ref> Accounts of her early life vary between sources. ''Egil's Saga'' relates that "Eirik fought a great battle on the [[Northern Dvina]] in Bjarmaland, and was victorious as the poems about him record. On the same expedition he obtained Gunnhild, the daughter of Ozur Toti, and brought her home with him."<ref>''Egil's Saga'' § 37.</ref>
[[Image:Shaman.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Copper carving (1767) by O.H. von Lode showing a Saami [[shaman]] with his [[rune drum]] (meavrresgárri)]]
[[Image:Shaman.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Copper carving (1767) by O.H. von Lode showing a Saami [[shaman]] with his [[rune drum]] (meavrresgárri)]]
''Heimskringla'' relates that Gunnhild lived for a time in a hut with two [[Saami|Finnish]] wizards and learned [[seithr|magic]] from them. The two wizards demanded sexual favors from her, so she induced Erik, who was returning from an expedition to [[Bjarmland]], to kill them. Erik then took her to her father's house and announced his intent to marry Gunnhild.<ref>''Harald Fairhair's Saga'' § 34.</ref> The older ''Fagrskinna'', however, says simply that Erik met Gunnhild during an expedition to the [[Finnish people|Finnish]] north, where she was being "fostered and educated by Mottull, King of the [[Saami|Finns]]."<ref>''Fagrskinna'' § 8.</ref>
''Heimskringla'' relates that Gunnhild lived for a time in a hut with two [[Saami|Finnish]] wizards and learned [[seithr|magic]] from them. The two wizards demanded sexual favors from her, so she induced Erik, who was returning from an expedition to [[Bjarmland]], to kill them. Erik then took her to her father's house and announced his intent to marry Gunnhild.<ref>''Harald Fairhair's Saga'' § 34.</ref> The older ''Fagrskinna'', however, says simply that Erik met Gunnhild during an expedition to the [[Finnish people|Finnish]] north, where she was being "fostered and educated ... with Mǫttull, king of the [[Saami|Finns]]".<ref>''Fagrskinna'' § 8.</ref>


The 12th or 13th century [[Historia Norvegiae]], on the other hand, asserts that Gunnhild was the daughter of [[Gorm the Old]], king of [[Denmark]], and that Erik and Gunnhild met a feast given by Gorm. Modern scholars have largely accepted this second version as accurate.<ref>''E.g.'', Bradbury 38; Orfield 129; Ashley 444; Alen 88.</ref> In their view, her marriage with Erik was a dynastic union between two houses, that of the Norwegian [[Ynglings]] and that of the early [[List of kings of Denmark|Danish monarchy]] (who may have claimed descent from [[Ragnar Lodbrok]]), in the process of unifying and consolidating their respective countries.<ref>Jones 94–95. The purported descent of Gorm from King Ragnar through his son [[Sigurd Snake-eye]] comes from, ''inter alia'', ''[[Ragnarssona þáttr]]'' §§ 3-4; but many modern scholars regard the tales of Ragnar and his family as confused and unreliable. ''See, e.g.'', Jones 204-211; Forte 69.</ref>
The 12th or 13th century [[Historia Norvegiae]], on the other hand, asserts that Gunnhild was the daughter of [[Gorm the Old]], king of [[Denmark]], and that Erik and Gunnhild met a feast given by Gorm. Modern scholars have largely accepted this second version as accurate.<ref>''E.g.'', Bradbury 38; Orfield 129; Ashley 444; Alen 88.</ref> In their view, her marriage with Erik was a dynastic union between two houses, that of the Norwegian [[Ynglings]] and that of the early [[List of kings of Denmark|Danish monarchy]] (who may have claimed descent from [[Ragnar Lodbrok]]), in the process of unifying and consolidating their respective countries.<ref>Jones 94–95. The purported descent of Gorm from King Ragnar through his son [[Sigurd Snake-eye]] comes from, ''inter alia'', ''[[Ragnarssona þáttr]]'' §§ 3-4; but many modern scholars regard the tales of Ragnar and his family as confused and unreliable. ''See, e.g.'', Jones 204-211; Forte 69.</ref>

Revision as of 18:50, 18 July 2007

Gunnhildr konungamóðir
Queen of Norway; later Queen of Orkney, Queen of Jorvik, and Queen Mother of Norway
Gunnhild convinces Erik Bloodaxe to kill the Finnish wizards. From an illustration by Christian Krohg.
Reign 931-934 (Norway); c. 937–54 (Orkney); 948–49 and 952–54 (Jorvik)
Halogaland or Denmark
Died c. 980
Orkney or Denmark
Buried unknown
Consort to Erik Bloodaxe
Father Ozur Toti or Gorm the Old
Mother unknown, possibly Thyra

Gunnhildr konungamóðir (mother of kings) or Gunnhildr Özurardóttir[1] (c.900 – c.980) was the wife of Erik Bloodaxe (king of Norway 930–34, "king" of Orkney c. 937–54, and king of Jorvik 948–49 and 952–54). Gunnhild is a prominent figure in many Norse sagas, including Fagrskinna, Egil's Saga, Njal's Saga, and Heimskringla. Many of the details of her life are disputed, including her parentage. What little we know about her comes largely from these primarily Icelandic sources; and the Icelanders were generally hostile to her and her husband, making some of the more negative episodes suspect.[2]

Origins

According to the Heimskringla and Egil's Saga, Gunnhild was the daughter of Ozur Toti, a hersir from Halogaland in northern Norway.[3] Accounts of her early life vary between sources. Egil's Saga relates that "Eirik fought a great battle on the Northern Dvina in Bjarmaland, and was victorious as the poems about him record. On the same expedition he obtained Gunnhild, the daughter of Ozur Toti, and brought her home with him."[4]

Copper carving (1767) by O.H. von Lode showing a Saami shaman with his rune drum (meavrresgárri)

Heimskringla relates that Gunnhild lived for a time in a hut with two Finnish wizards and learned magic from them. The two wizards demanded sexual favors from her, so she induced Erik, who was returning from an expedition to Bjarmland, to kill them. Erik then took her to her father's house and announced his intent to marry Gunnhild.[5] The older Fagrskinna, however, says simply that Erik met Gunnhild during an expedition to the Finnish north, where she was being "fostered and educated ... with Mǫttull, king of the Finns".[6]

The 12th or 13th century Historia Norvegiae, on the other hand, asserts that Gunnhild was the daughter of Gorm the Old, king of Denmark, and that Erik and Gunnhild met a feast given by Gorm. Modern scholars have largely accepted this second version as accurate.[7] In their view, her marriage with Erik was a dynastic union between two houses, that of the Norwegian Ynglings and that of the early Danish monarchy (who may have claimed descent from Ragnar Lodbrok), in the process of unifying and consolidating their respective countries.[8]

Gwyn Jones in particular supported the identification of Gunnhild as the daughter of Gorm, and regarded the stories of her origins in Halogaland and her tutelage by Finnish wizards as part of a general Icelandic hostility towards Gunnhild and Erik.[9] However, both Theodoricus monachus and the Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum report that when Gunnhild was at the court of Harald Bluetooth after Erik's death, the Danish king offered marriage to her; these accounts call into question the identification of Gunnhild as Harald's sister.[10]

Marriage with Erik

Harald I's division of Norway c. 930 CE.
Yellow areas are petty kingdoms assigned to Harald's kinsmen.
Purple - the domain of the jarls of Hlaðir.
Orange - the domain of the jarls of Møre.

Erik's kinslaying and exile

Gunnhild and Erik had the following children: Gamle, the oldest; then Guthorm, Harald, Ragnfrod, Ragnhild, Erling, Gudrod, and Sigurd Sleva.[11] Egil's Saga mentions a son named Rögnvald, but it is not known whether he can be identified with one of those mentioned in Heimskringla, or even whether he was Gunnhild's son or Erik's by another woman.

Gunnhild was widely reputed to be a völva, or witch.[12] Prior to the death of Harald Fairhair, Erik's popular half-brother Halfdan Haraldsson the Black died mysteriously, and Gunnhild was suspected of having "bribed a witch to give him a death-drink."[13] Shortly thereafter, Harald died and Erik consolidated his power over the whole country. He began to quarrel with his other brothers, egged on by Gunnhild, and had four of them killed, beginning with Bjørn Farmann and later Olaf and Sigrød in battle at Tønsberg.[14] As a result of Erik's tyrannical rule (which was likely greatly exaggerated in the sagas) he was expelled from Norway when the nobles of the country declared for his half-brother, Haakon the Good.[15]

Orkney and Jorvik

Erik, his family and his retainers set sail to Orkney, where they settled for a number of years. During that time Erik was acknowledged as "King of Orkney" by its de facto rulers, the jarls Arnkel and Erlend Turf-Einarsson.[16] Gunnhild went with Erik to Jorvik when, at the invitation of Bishop Wulfstan, the erstwhile Norwegian king settled as client king over northern England.[17] At Jorvik, both Erik and Gunnhild may have been baptized.[18]

Baptism of Gunnhild. Illustration by Krohg.

Following Erik's loss of Jorvik and subsequent death at the Battle of Stainmore (954), the survivors of the battle brought word of the defeat to Gunnhild and her sons in Northumberland.[19] Taking with them all that they could, they set sail for Orkney, where they exacted tribute from the new jarl, Thorfinn Skullsplitter.[20] Ultimately, however, Gunnhild decided to move on; marrying her daughter Ragnhild to Jarl Thorfinn's son Arnfinn, she took her other children and set sail for Denmark.[21]

Conflict with Egil Skallagrimsson

The following is based largely on the Icelandic family saga "Egils saga"; like all such sagas, it may be unreliable as a source of historical fact.

Gunnhild was the nemesis of Egil Skallagrimsson, and his saga and poetry present her in a particularly negative light. Egil was introduced to Erik by his older brother Thorolf, who was a friend of the prince, and the brothers were originally on good terms with Erik and Gunnhild.[22] However, during a sojourn in Norway around 930, Egil got into an inheritance dispute with certain members of Erik's court, during which he killed Bárðr of Atley, one of the king's retainers.[23] Gunnhild ordered her two brothers to kill Egil and Thorolf. Egil killed the pair when they confronted him, greatly increasing the Queen's thirst for revenge.[24]

Picture of Egil in a 17th century manuscript of Egils Saga.

Erik then declared Egil an outlaw in Norway. Berg-Önundr gathered a company of men to capture Egil, but was killed in his attempt to do so.[25] During his escape from Norway, Egil killed Rögnvald Eriksson, Erik's son.[26] He then cursed Erik and Gunnhild by setting a horse's head on a pole in a shamanic ritual (the pillar was a níðstöng or "níð-pole"; níð translates, roughly, to 'scorn' or 'curse'.) and saying:

"Here I set up a níð-pole, and declare this níð against King Erik and Queen Gunnhildr," — he turned the horse-head to face the mainland — "I declare this níð at the land-spirits there, and the land itself, so that all will fare astray, not to hold nor find their places, not until they wreak King Erik and Gunnhild from the land." He set up the pole of níð in the cliff-face and left it standing; he faced the horse's eyes on the land, and he rist runes upon the pole, and said all the formal words of the curse.[27]

The last encounter between Egil and Gunnhild occurred around 948 in Jorvik. Egil was shipwrecked on a nearby shore and came before Erik, who sentenced him to death. But Egil composed a drápa called "Höfuðlausn" in Erik's praise over a single night.[28] When he recited it in the morning, Erik gave him his freedom and forgave the killing of Rögnvald, against Gunnhild's wishes.[29]

Life after Erik

In Denmark

Gunnhild learns that Erik is dead. Illustration by Krohg.

After the death of her husband, Gunnhild took refuge with her sons at the court of Harald Bluetooth at Roskilde.[30] Tradition ascribes to Gunnhild the commissioning of the skaldic poem Eiríksmál in honor of her fallen husband.[31]

In Denmark, Gunnhild's son Harald was fostered by the king himself, and her other sons were given properties and titles.[32] As King Harald was involved in a war against Haakon's Norway, he may have sought to use Gunnhild's sons as his proxies against the Norwegian king.[33] One of her sons, Gamle, died fighting King Haakon around 960.[34]

Return to Norway

Battle between Gunnhild's sons and the army of Haakon. Illustration by Krohg.

Gunnhild returned to Norway in triumph when her remaining sons killed King Haakon at the Battle of Fitjar in 961. Ironically, the battle was a victory for Haakon's forces but his death left a power vacuum which Gunnhild's son Harald, with Danish aid, was able to exploit.[35] With her sons now ensconced as the lords of Norway, Gunnhild was from this time known as konungamóðir, or "Mother of Kings."[36] During the reign of Harald Greyhide, Gunnhild dominated the court; according to Heimskringla she "mixed herself much in the affairs of the country."[37] Gunnhild's sons killed or deposed many of the jarls and petty kings that had hitherto ruled the Norwegian provinces, seizing their lands. Famine, possibly caused or exacerbated by these campaigns, plagued the reign of Harald.[38] Among the kings slain (around 963) was Tryggve Olafsson, whose widow Astrid Eriksdotter fled with her son Olaf Tryggvason to Sweden and then set out for the eastern Baltic.[39] According to Heimskringla Astrid's flight and its disasterous consequences were in response to Gunnhild having sent soldiers to kidnap or kill her infant son.[40]

Gunnhild and her sons. Illustration by Krohg.

Gunnhild was the patron and lover of Hrut Herjolfsson, an Icelandic chieftain who visited Norway during the reign of Gunnhild's son Harald.[41] Laxdaela Saga in particular describes the extent to which she became enamored of Hrut:

Gunnhild, the Queen, loved him so much that she held there was not his equal within the guard, either in talking or in anything else. Even when men were compared, and noblemen therein were pointed to, all men easily saw that Gunnhild thought that at the bottom there must be sheer thoughtlessness, or else envy, if any man was said to be Hrut's equal.[42]

She helped Hrut take possession of an inheritance by arranging the death of a man named Soti at the hands of her servant, Augmund and her son Gudrod.[43] When Hrut returned home, Gunnhild gave him many presents, but she cursed Hrut with priapism to ruin his marriage to Unn, daughter of Mord Fiddle; the two ultimately divorced.[44]

Gunnhild also showed great favor to Olaf the Peacock, Hrut's nephew, who visited the Norwegian court after Hrut's return to Norway. She advised him on the best places and items to trade and even sponsored his trade expeditions.[45]

Exile

Haakon Sigurdsson. Illustration by Krohg.

Haakon Sigurdsson, jarl of Hlaðir, arranged the death of Harald Greyhide around 971 with the connivance of Harald Bluetooth, who had invited his foster-son to Denmark to be invested with new Danish fiefs. Civil war broke out between Jarl Haakon and the surviving sons of Erik and Gunnhild, but Haakon proved victorious and Gunnhild had to flee Norway once again, with her remaining sons Gudrod and Ragnfred.[46] They went to Orkney, again imposing themselves as overlords over Jarl Thorfinn.[47] However, it appears that Gunnhild was less interested in ruling the country than in having a place to live quietly, and her sons used the islands as a base for abortive raids on Haakon's interests; the government of Orkney was therefore firmly in the hands of Thorfinn.[48] According to the Jomsvikinga Saga, Gunnhild returned to Denmark around 977 but was killed at the orders of King Harald.[49]

Gunnhild was a villain in Robert Leighton's 1934 novel Olaf the Glorious, a fictionalized biography of Olaf Trygvasson. She is the central character of the novel Mother of Kings by Poul Anderson,[50] and also appears in Cecelia Holland's The Soul Thief.[51]

Notes

  1. ^ Or, as described in more detail below, Gunnhildr Gormsdóttir.
  2. ^ Jones 121–24.
  3. ^ E.g., "Harald Fairhair's Saga" § 34.
  4. ^ Egil's Saga § 37.
  5. ^ Harald Fairhair's Saga § 34.
  6. ^ Fagrskinna § 8.
  7. ^ E.g., Bradbury 38; Orfield 129; Ashley 444; Alen 88.
  8. ^ Jones 94–95. The purported descent of Gorm from King Ragnar through his son Sigurd Snake-eye comes from, inter alia, Ragnarssona þáttr §§ 3-4; but many modern scholars regard the tales of Ragnar and his family as confused and unreliable. See, e.g., Jones 204-211; Forte 69.
  9. ^ Jones 121–22. Jones regarded many of the traditions that grew up around Gunnhild in the Icelandic sources as fictional. Ibid.
  10. ^ Theodoricus ___; Driscoll ___.
  11. ^ Harald Fairhair's Saga § 46.
  12. ^ E.g., Harald Fairhair's Saga § 34; Njal's Saga §§ 5–8; Fox 289–310.
  13. ^ "Harald Fairhair's Saga" § 44.
  14. ^ Harald Fairhair's Saga §§ 45–46.
  15. ^ Jones 94–95.
  16. ^ Ashley 443–44.
  17. ^ According to the "Saga of Haakon the Good," it was King Athelstan of England who appointed Erik as ruler of Jorvik, but this is chronologically problematic; Athelstan died in 939. Ashley, among others, proposes that Erik received his commission from Athelstan but did not take it up until later. Ashley 443–44.
  18. ^ Saussaye 183.
  19. ^ Haakon the Good's Saga §§ 4–5.
  20. ^ Haakon the Good's Saga § 5.
  21. ^ Ashley 443; see also Haakon the Good's Saga § 5; Fagrskinna §§ 8–9. Ragnhild would later, according to the Orkneyinga Saga, murder Arnfinn, marry his brother Havard, murder him in turn, and then marry their brother Ljot. Ashley 443–44.
  22. ^ Egil's Saga § 36.
  23. ^ Egil's Saga §§ 56–58.
  24. ^ Egil's Saga §§ 59–60.
  25. ^ Egil's Saga §§ 59–60.
  26. ^ Egil's Saga § 60.
  27. ^ Egil's Saga § 60. the Icelandic source is, essentially, giving Egil credit for the ouster of Gunnhild and Erik from Norway.
  28. ^ He did so despite being pestered by the noise of a bird, which he believed was Gunnhild disguised with magic. Egil's Saga § 62
  29. ^ Egil's Saga § 64.
  30. ^ Haakon the Good's Saga § 10. As noted above, Harald may have been Gunnhild's brother or half-brother.
  31. ^ Jones 123; Fagrskinna § 8; Haakon the Good's Saga § 10.
  32. ^ Fagrskinna § 9; Haakon the Good's Saga § 10.
  33. ^ Haakon the Good's Saga § 10.
  34. ^ Haakon the Good's Saga § 26.
  35. ^ Jones 122.
  36. ^ Jones 123–24.
  37. ^ Jones 123–25; Harald Grafeld's Saga § 1.
  38. ^ Jones 123–25; Harald Grafeld's Saga §§ 2–17.
  39. ^ Jones 124–25; Olaf Tryggvason's Saga §§ 2–3.
  40. ^ Jones 131–32; Olaf Tryggvason's Saga § 3.
  41. ^ Ordower 41–61; Njal's Saga § 3
  42. ^ Laxdaela Saga § 19.
  43. ^ Njal's Saga § 5.
  44. ^ Njal's Saga §§ 5–8; Fox 289–310. In describing the problem to her father, Unn says "when he comes to me his penis is so large that he can't have any satisfaction from me, and we've both tried every possible way to enjoy each other, but nothing works." Njal's Saga § 7. Earlier, more prudish translations such as Sir George W. DaSent's 1861 edition merely reported cryptically that Hrut and Unn "did not pull together well as man and wife."
  45. ^ Laxdaela Saga § 21.
  46. ^ Olaf Trygvasson's Saga §§ 16–18.
  47. ^ Ashley 443; Olaf Trygvasson's Saga §§ 16–18.
  48. ^ Ashley 443.
  49. ^ Ashley 443; Jomsvikinga Saga §§ 4-8. Poul Anderson regarded this account as entirely unreliable. Anderson 594-595.
  50. ^ Tor Books, 2003
  51. ^ Forge Books, 2002.

References

  • Alen, Rupert and Anna Marie Dahlquist. Royal Families of Medieval Scandanavia, Flanders, and Kiev. Kings River Publications, 1997.
  • Anderson, Poul. "Aftermath" (Historical note). Mother of Kings. Tor Books, 2003.
  • Ashley, Michael. The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens. Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1998.
  • Bradbury, Jim. The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare. Routledge, 2002.
  • Chantepie de la Saussaye, Pierre Daniël. The Religion of the Teutons. Bert J. Voss, trans. New York: Ginn & Co., 1902.
  • Driscoll, M. J., ed. Ágrip af Nóregskonungasǫgum. Viking Society for Northern Research, 1995. ISBN 090352127X
  • Finlay, Alison, ed./trans. Fagrskinna, a Catalogue of the Kings of Norway. Brill Academic Publishers, 2004. ISBN 90-04-13172-8
  • Forte, Angelo & Oram, Richard & Pedersen, Frederik. (2005). Viking Empires. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82992-2
  • Fox, Denton. "Njals Saga and the Western Literary Tradition." Comparative Literature, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Autumn, 1963), p. 289–310.
  • Jones, Gwyn. A History of the Vikings. 2nd ed. London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1984.
  • Magnusson, Magnus, and Hermann Palsson, trans. Njal's Saga. Penguin Classics, 1960.
  • Ordower, Henry. "Exploring the Literary Function of Law and Litigation in 'Njal's Saga.'" Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring – Summer 1991), pp. 41–61.
  • Orfield, Lester B. The Growth of Scandinavian Law. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 2002.
  • Sturlusson, Snorri. Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway Lee Hollander, trans. Univ. of Texas Press, 1991.
  • Theodoricus monachus (David and Ian McDougall, trans.; introduction by Peter Foote). The Ancient History of the Norwegian Kings. Viking Society for Northern Research, 1998. ISBN 0-903521-40-7
  • Thorsson, Örnólfur, et al., eds. "Egil's Saga". Bernard Scudder, trans. The Sagas of the Icelanders: a selection. Penguin Classics, 2000.
  • Tunstall, Peter, trans. The Tale of Ragnar's Sons. Northvegr, 2004.
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