King Olof Skötkonung (980–1022) and Queen Estrid of the Obotrites

[Blog Real]

Olof Skötkonung, (c. 980–1022) sometimes stylized as Olaf the Swede, was King of Sweden, son of Eric the Victorious and, according to Icelandic sources, Sigrid the Haughty. He succeeded his father in c. 995. He stands at the threshold of recorded history, since he is the first Swedish ruler about whom there is substantial knowledge. He is regarded as the first king known to have ruled both the Swedes and the Geats, and the first king in Sweden to have minted coins. In Sweden, the reign of Olof Skötkonung is considered to mark the transition from the Viking Age to the Middle Ages. He was the first Christian king in central Sweden. Norse beliefs persisted in parts of Sweden until the 12–13th century, with some keeping the tradition into modern times.
More information: Olof Skötkonung - Wikipedia

King of Sweden:
Reign: c. 995–1022
Predecessor: Erik the Victorious
Successor: Anund Jacob
Born: c. 980
Died: 1022 (aged 41–42)
Wife: Estrid of the Obotrites
Children:
Anund Jacob, King of Sweden
Ingegerd, Grand Princess of Kiev
Illegitimate:
Emund the Old
Astrid, Queen of Norway
House: Munsö
Father: Erik the Victorious
Mother: Sigríð Storråda/Świętosława?

Estrid of the Obotrites (c. 979 – 1035) was Queen of Sweden in the Viking age, a West Slavic princess married to Olof Skötkonung, King of Sweden c. 1000–1022. She was the mother of King Anund Jacob of Sweden and the Kievan Rus' saint and grand princess Ingegerd Olofsdotter.
More information: Estrid of the Obotrites - Wikipedia

Queen consort of Sweden:
Tenure: 1000–1022
Born: 979
Died: 1035 (aged 55–56)
Spouse: Olof Skötkonung
Children:
Anund Jacob, King of Sweden
Ingegerd, Grand Princess of Kiev
Father: A tribal chief of the Polabian Obotrites

Grave suggested to be that of Queen Estrid at Husaby Church.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Husaby_kyrka_gravkista.jpg

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Illustration of King Olof Skotkonung

Olof Skotkonung, King of Sweden, b 980 – Black Family

 

[Meraude]

Olof Skötkonung had a co-wife, Edla, the mother of two, possibly three, of his children. She was the daughter of a local chief in the same area as from where Queen Estrid came from, and Edla was brought to Sweden at about the same time as Estrid.

Edla - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

In Viking and early medieval times highranking men in Sweden/Scandinavia often had a frilla beside their legal wife. The frilla was more a co-wife than a mistress, and she and her children had legal rights, for example stated in the 1350's Magnus Eriksson's Landslag (Law of the Land). That is a reason why Edla's son Emund the Old was chosen as King after the death of his half-brother Anund Jacob.