Sigrid the Haughty

Sigrid appears in the 12th-century saga, Yngvars saga víðförla, which when speaking of Swedish King Eric the Victorious says: She also receives brief mention in the genealogical appendix to , which likewise when discussing Eric states "He married Sigrith the Ambitious" (''). This appendix is not found in the earliest-surviving manuscripts of the saga, rendering its dating uncertain. == Accounts given in the Heimskringla and Separate Saga ==

Using earlier sagas as his sources, Snorri Sturluson gives a much more detailed account of Sigrid in several sagas within his 13th-century compilation, the Heimskringla. He first introduces her in Haralds saga gráfeldar, where he describes the upbringing of the Norwegian prince Harald Grenske, who fled to Sweden and there joined the raiding band of Skoglar Toste, described as the richest and most distinguished untitled man in the country, and staying with him the following winter. The saga then relates that Toste had a daughter Sigríd, who was young, fair and very haughty, and who later would marry Swedish king Eric the Victorious and become mother of King Olaf the Swede. Snorri returns to Harald and Sigrid in the next saga in the Hemskringla, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar. Now a wealthy queen dowager and mother of King Olaf, and described by Snorri as "the wisest of women and prophetic about many things", she learns that her foster-brother Harald is nearby on his way to raid in the Baltic Sea, and she invites him to a banquet, and afterwards personally serves him in his chamber. However, Harald took offence the next day when she favorably compared her own possessions and power in Sweden to his in Norway, leaving Harald sullen in spite of the great gifts she gave him. After stewing over this for a season, Harald again raided the Baltic and visited Sweden on his return. Sending for Sigrid, he proposed that they marry. She dismissed this, pointing out that he already had a wife, Asta, who seemed compatible with him, but he insisted Asta, though noble and good, was not as high-born as he. After a few further cursory words, Sigrid rode away, and Harald again turned sullen before deciding to ride to her home to press his case. Taking a large body of men, he arrived to find another suitor also present, a king called Vissavaldr from Garðaríki. Both were housed in the same quarters, and served large quantities of drink, and then in the night she had her people set fire to the structure and kill anyone who made it out, declaring that this should prevent other petty kings from coming to her country to seek her hand. Snorri says that from thenceforth she was called Sigríðr in stórráða, "Sigrid of the Great Undertakings". Sigrid makes one further brief appearance in the Heimskringla, in Magnúss saga ins góða. There she is described as mother of Estrid Svendsdatter, the paternal (half-)sister of Cnut the Great and maternal half-sister of Swedish king Olaf. == Other appearances ==

The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus has similar information as the Heimkringla, writing that Eric the Victorious' widow Syritha had married Sweyn Forkbeard after having spurned Olaf Trygvasson. One further point that has been cited in favor of Sigrid's historical existence is that the holdings of the Danish kings in medieval Sweden were known as "Syghridslef"—'the legacy of Sigrid'. == Contemporary chroniclers ==

There is scant material in medieval chronicles to provide details regarding the marriages of Sweyn of Denmark and Erik of Sweden: • Thietmar of Merseburg mentions that the daughter of Mieszko I of Poland and sister of Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland married Sweyn Forkbeard and gave him two sons, Cnut the Great and Harald II of Denmark, but he does not mention her name. Thietmar is probably the best informed of the medieval chroniclers addressing the question, since he was contemporary with the events described and well-informed about the events in Poland and Denmark. The assertion that Harald's and Canute's mother was Boleslaw's sister may explain some mysterious statements which appear in medieval chronicles, such as the involvement of Polish troops in invasions of England. • Adam of Bremen writes almost a century later that a Polish princess—the sister or daughter of Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland—was the wife of Eric the Victorious and by this marriage the mother of Olof Skötkonung of Sweden, before she became mother of Cnut the Great and Harald II of Denmark in her second marriage with Sweyn. Adam's claims about the marriage to Eric are considered unreliable by many historians, since he is the only source to state this relationship and because he is writing several generations later. The scholia of Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum mentions that it was the Polish king Boleslaw who gave the princess' hand in marriage. One problem is that Olof was born at latest in the early 980s, before Boleslaw Chrobry came to power, and therefore was too old to be the unnamed princess's son. During this time, marriages between Nordic monarchs and Vendic nobles was reoccurring for political reasons. For instance, Tove of the Obotrites, daughter of the Vendic lord Mistivoj, married King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark in the 960s. • Gesta Cnutonis regis mentions in one short passage that Canute and his brother went to the land of the Slavs, and brought back their mother, who was living there. This does not necessarily mean that his mother was Slavic, but nevertheless this chronicle strongly suggests that she was. == Modern reconstructions ==

There are many alternative reconstructions. Some interpret the saga accounts of Sigrid as a confused rendering of a woman appearing in the historical record. Chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg reported that a daughter of first duke of the Polans Mieszko I, unnamed in the original source but hypothesized to have been named 'Świętosława' by some modern historians, married Sweyn, and by him was mother of Harald and Cnut, while writing slightly later Adam of Bremen reported that this same Polish princess had earlier married Eric, having Olaf by him. Sigrid could be either a contemporary name adopted by the Princess to conform to her new linguistic context, or else simply a name invented by saga writers who did not know or could not comprehend her Slavic name. This solution may further make her identical to the woman that the same saga gives as Sweyn's first queen, 'Gunhild', daughter of 'Burislav', suggested to be a confused rendering of the same historical marriage to the sister of Boleslav of Poland. This is not certain: the attributed Polish marriages of Sweyn and Eric may have been to different women, with Gunhild being the daughter of Mieszko, while Eric's widow, a distinct princess, may simply have been the dramatic model for Sigrid. Finally, some consider Sigrid to be a fictional character created by Scandinavian saga writers. == Suggested resting places ==

Further confusion has been introduced by outdated interpretations of an archaeological discovery. In 1835, the Haraldskær Woman was discovered in a peat bog in Jutland. When originally found in the nineteenth century, this female body was dated to the 11th century, and it was identified as Sigrid (or Gunhild). Radiocarbon dating later proved this was incorrect, however, showing the remains are much older and probably not those of Sigrid. Despite this, the erroneous dating became intertwined with numerous episodes of Scandinavian intrigue, as the theory was elaborated to serve a variety of agendas of kings and nobles prior to its redating. Other legend states that Sigrid is buried at the Puke Stone (Swedish: Pjukesten) along the hiking trail. Near the half-way point of the twelfth stage of that trail lies an ancient monumental stone just off the path in the forest. It is said to be the burial place of Queen Sigrid, erected by her son. == In literature ==

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow composed a poem with the title "Queen Sigrid the Haughty" of which this is the first verse: : Queen Sigrid the Haughty sat proud and aloft : In her chamber, that looked over meadow and croft. : Heart's dearest, : Why dost thou sorrow so? Karen Blixen, in the short story "The Deluge at Norderney" in Seven Gothic Tales, refers to Sigrid, claiming that she invited all her suitors to her house and burned them in order to discourage other suitors. The story of Sigrid's life, loosely based on the Saga materials, is the focus of two novels by the Swedish writer and journalist, Johanne Hildebrandt: "Sigrid" (2014) and its sequel "Estrid" (2016). There are three novels about the life and times of Sigrid the Haughty (treating her as identical to Świętosława): • Elżbieta Cherezińska "Harda" (2016) ("The Haughty") and "Królowa" (2016) ("The Queen"), • Maria Rawska-Mrożkiewicz "Świętosława: Córka Mieszka I, żona, matka skandynawskich Konungów" (1987) ("Świętosława: Daughter of Mieszko I, Wife, Mother of Scandinavian Kings") ==Bibliography==