Windh/Freise/Maurstad genealogy - Person Sheet
Windh/Freise/Maurstad genealogy - Person Sheet
NameKing Sigurd “Syr” HALVDANSSON King of Opplandene
Birth970, Rise, Ringerike, Buskerud, Norway
Death10 Feb 1018, Stein i Hole, Ringerike, Buskerud, Norway
Educationstepfather of King Olaf II and the father of King Harald III
Religionclick his name for a Wikipedia entry
OccupationKing of Opplandene
MotherTora RANESDATTER (ca950-ca970)
Misc. Notes
Sigurd Syr - Wikipedia

Åsta Gudbrandsdatter first appears in Snorri's 'Saga of King Olaf Tryggvason' as the wife of Harald Grenske (Grenski), ruler of Vestfold. But soon after Harald Grenske died, Åsta married Sigurd Syr, a petty king of Ringerike, and brought her child Olaf (Harald Grenske’s son) with her to be raised in the home of his stepfather. When King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway arrived in 998 to convert the populace of Ringerike to Christianity, Sigurd, Åsta, and Olaf were all baptized, with the king himself acting as Olaf's godfather.

According to the sagas, Åsta and Sigurd Syr were good and noble rulers and had the following children together:
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 III 'Hardrada'- King of Norway from 1047 to 1066, sometimes called 'the last great Viking'
Spouses
Birth970, Vestfold, Norway
Death1030
Religionclick her name for a big Wikipedia entry
Educationand Harald III (Harald Hardrada)
Occupationmother of two Norwegian Kings, Olaf II (Saint Olaf)
Misc. Notes
Åsta Gudbrandsdatter - Wikipedia

In the summer of 994, although already married to Åsta, Harald traveled to the Baltic and proposed marriage to his foster-sister Sigrid. He had learned that her landholdings in Sweden were no less extensive than his own in Norway, and promised to abandon Åsta, who although "good and clever" was not as well-born as he was. Sigrid refused, objecting that Harald should feel fortunate in his existing marriage and that Åsta was carrying Harald's child. When she rode off, Harald pursued her back to her estate. That evening, Sigrid hosted a lavish feast at which Harald and his companions became drunk. Under cover of darkness, she ordered her armed men to set fire to the hall in which Harald slept, and he was killed; those of his companions who escaped the flames were put to the sword.

Following this episode, Sigrid was called Storråda, 'the Haughty.'

On learning of her husband's death, Åsta was outraged both by Harald's infidelity and his murder. She returned immediately to the home of her father Gudbrand Kula in Oppland, where later that year she gave birth to a son, whom she named Olaf. He would later be renowned as St. Olaf, King of Norway from 1015 to 1028.

Soon after Harald Grenske's death, Åsta married Sigurd Syr, king of Ringerike, and brought the child Olaf with her to be raised in the home of his stepfather. When King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway arrived in 998 to convert the populace of Ringerike to Christianity, Sigurd, Åsta, and Olaf were all baptized, with the king himself acting as Olaf's godfather.
Marriageca 997
ChildrenHalvdan (995-1047)
 Gunnhild (ca1000-)
 Guttorm (Gudrød) (ca1006-1047)
 Ingrid (ca1010-ca1070)
Last Modified 23 Nov 2023Created 1 Dec 2024 using Reunion for Macintosh