Kristin Sigurdsdatter (1125 - 1178)

Born 1125 in Trondheim, Trøndelag, Norway

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1178 at about age 53 in Trondheim, Trøndelag, Norway

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Kristin Sigurdsdatter was a member of the aristocracy in Europe.

Biography

Princess. Parents: King Sigurd Magnusson I Jorsalfare (1090-1130) and Queen Malmfrid , daughter of Grand Duke Mstislav in Kijev-Novgorod. Married to Erling Ormsson Skakke (died 06/19/1179). Mother of King Magnus Erlingsson V (1156-1184); cousins ​​to the Danish king Valdemar I the Great (1131-1182) and King Magnus IV Sigurdsson, Queen Kristin Knutsdatter (mentioned 1131-1141).

Kristin was a daughter of King Sigurd I of Norway and Malmfred of Kiev. She married Erling Skakke, a Norwegian nobleman who earned his reputation crusading with Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, the Earl of Orkney. They had a son, Magnus Erlingsson, who ruled as king of Norway from 1161 to 1184.

Kristin was the only legitimate child of King Sigurd. In 1130, King Sigurd died with no legitimate sons and an illegitimate son, Magnus Sigurdsson, became king of Norway together with his uncle Harald Gille. Harald Gille had four sons, Inge, Eystein, Sigurd and Magnus Haraldsson, all of whom became kings of Norway. Following the death of Inge in 1161, Kristin's son Magnus Erlingsson was named king and crowned in 1163, at the age of eight.

Kristin was the only child of King Sigurd the Crusader and Queen Malmfrid and must be born before Sigurd separated from Malmfrid in the second half of 1120 . Malmfrid after Sigurd's death in 1130 remarried Danish king Erik Emune (Danish king from 1134 to 1137), and it may be that Kristin grew up with her mother in Denmark. If so, she later returned to Norway. Here she would have a son, Harold, with her cousin King Sigurd Haraldsson Munn.

If this is more than than gossip story, which can not be excluded, there was time that Sigurd Munns royal half-brother, Inge Haraldsson gave Kristin his trusted liegeman Erling Skakke in marriage. Maybe this happened after summer in 1155, the same year as Erling returned home from the crusade. Saga chronology is still unclear at this point, and it can not be excluded that Kristin was married to Erling before he went on crusade 1153. With Erling, Kristin bore his son Magnus (born 1156) and daughter Ragnhild, later married lendermen Jon Torbergsson of Randaberg Rogaland and later Halkel Jonsson of Blindheim, Sunnmøre.

It still seems that the relationship between Erling and Kristin was not the warmest. Lack of precise saga chronology makes it difficult to get to the bottom of the issue. But Erling took and brutally killed Sigurd Munns son Harald, and it is correct that Kristin was his mother, it could not have improved the relationship between the spouses. Erling had on his side four sons with three other women, among them a former mistress. According to Heimskringla ended with Kristin when he went to Constantinople along with a Grim Stroll, which she had some kids with. It must in that case have occurred after the conclusion of peace in 1170, when Kristin was at least mid forties. For that reason, the authenticity of the story has been questioned but, it can not be dismissed.

According to Icelandic Annals died Kristin 1178, but, it is not know how.

Sources

• Orkneyinga saga
• Morkinskinna
• Fagrskinna
• HKR.
• Isl.Ann.
• NFH, part 2-3, 1855-1857
• H. Koht, biography in NBL1, Vol. 8, 1938
• K. Helle: "Erling Ormsson Skakke" in NBL2, Vol. 2, 2000
• https://nbl.snl.no/Kristin_Sigurdsdatter
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristin_Sigurdsdatter