Prominent Poles
Swietoslawa (Sigrid?, Gunhild), Polish Princess, Queen consort of Sweden, Queen consort of Denmark, mother of Knud den Store (Canute the Great)- King of Denmark, England and Norway, mother of Olof III, King of Sweden.
Born: ca.970, Poznan, Poland
Died: after 2/2/1014, Kamien Pomorski, Poland
Parents. Marriages.Father: Mieszko I, Duke of Poland; mother Dobrava Czech Princess. Very little is known about Swietoslawa’s life except for her marriages and her children and even this information is not 100% sure. In ? she allegedly married Olav I Trygvasen, King of Norway (this is disputed). In ca.988 she married Erik VIII Sejrsael (Eric the Victorious) Bjoernsson, King of Sweden who died in 995. In 998 she married Svend I Tveskaeg (Forkbeard) Haraldsen, King of Denmark who died in 1013/1014 ( a Danish source says:” Første ægteskab: Gunhild af Venden, datter af polsk hertug” that is “First marriage [of Svend]: Gunhild of Venden, daughter of Polish duke”. “Venden” was often used in reference to Polish tribes; Gunhild is the other name almost always used in association with Swietoslawa; Polish duke is Mieszko I). It must be added that this marriage was not a merely trivial historical event, considering the fact that Swietoslawa was the daughter and sister of the rulers of Poland, and also the wife and mother of the rulers of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and even England. Swietoslawa is also considered to be the very first more notable Polish national to have made a trans-sea voyage. She must have definitively not been the only Pole on board her ship, as there must have been some other Poles who were chosen to accompany the princess on her journey. In Scandinavia Swietoslawa became known as Sigrid (or sometimes also as Storrad), and under that name she figures in the Norse sagas.
Children:
With Erik
Olof III Eriksson Skoetkonung, King of Sweden
With Svend
c.995 Knud II det Store (Canute I the Great) Svendsen, King of Denmark, England and later Norway.
Very little is known about Knud's life before 1013. He may have spent some time in Poland with his mother, Gunhild, after his father, King Svend, divorced her to marry the Swedish Queen Sigrid and supposedly expelled her from Denmark to Poland. After his death her sons made it possible for her to return to Denmark
Harald Svendsen. (?)
Estrid Margaret Svendsdatter
Swietoslawa Svendsdatter (?)
Sources
William Bakken
Misbach
Genealogy of Piasts
Polish Resistance Movement
Gary Jacobson
Elkemann-Reusch (German)
David Beckwith
Under Lykkens Sejl (Danish)
Archeology Science One
Dynastic Genealogy (Polish)
HighBeam Research
Encyklopedia PWN (Polish)
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Prominent Poles
