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Elisiv of Kiev

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Elisiv of Kiev
Queen consort of Norway
Tenure1045–1066
Born1025
Diedc. 1067 (aged 41–42)
SpouseHarald III of Norway
IssueMaria Haraldsdotter
Ingegerd, Queen of Denmark and Sweden
Names
Elisaveta Yaroslavna
DynastyVolodimerovichi
FatherYaroslav I of Kiev
MotherIngegerd Olofsdotter

Elisiv of Kiev(Old Norse:Ellisif[ˈelːisiv];Norwegian:EllisiforElisiv;Russian:Елизавета Ярославна;Ukrainian:Єлизавета Ярославна;1025 – c. 1067) was a Princess ofKievandQueen Consortof KingHarald III of Norway.[1]

Biography[edit]

Elisiv portrayed in a 2016 Ukrainian stamp

Elisaveta was the daughter of theGrand PrinceofKievan Rus,Yaroslav the Wiseand his consort PrincessIngegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden,the daughter ofSwedishKingOlof SkötkonungandEstrid of the Obotrites. Elisaveta was the sister ofAnastasia of Kievwho married the futureAndrew I of Hungary,Anne of Kievwho marriedHenry I of Franceand possibly ofAgatha, wife of Edward the Exile[2]Her brothers includedVladimir of Novgorod,Iziaslav I of Kiev,Sviatoslav II of Kiev,Vsevolod I, Prince of KievandIgor Yaroslavich.[3][4]

During the winter of 1043–44, Elisaveta was married to Prince Harald Sigurdsson of Norway. Harald had left Norway in 1030 after having participated in theBattle of Stiklestadon the side of his half-brother, KingOlav II of Norway.Harald had since then served under the protection of her father as well as that of theByzantinemonarch.[5]

Elisaveta was the addressee of Harald's surviving poems where he lamented her suggested lack of affection towards him (no implications about their actual affections can be derived, as this might well be a poetic cliche). In 1045, she followed Harald to Norway, where he became co-king with his nephew, KingMagnus the Good.In Norway, Elisaveta was known as Queen Elisiv. The marriage is best documented by the court poetStuv den blinde(Stúfr blindi Þórðarson kattar). There are no other existing documentation about her stay in Norway.[6][7]

In 1047, King Harald became the sole ruler of Norway after the death of King Magnus. In 1048, Harald took another wife,Tora Torbergsdatterwith whom he had two sons, Magnus and Olaf. The marriage can largely be explained by politics and alliance building. The chiefs of the Giske family (Giskeætten) played a key role in power politics. It is possible, that Elisiv stayed in Rus', or that she died on her way to Norway. However, that would mean that the daughters of Harald, Ingegerd and Maria, who are attributed to her, must have been Tora's, which is not considered likely, as Maria was engaged to Øystein Orre fra Giske, who would have been her uncle had she been the daughter of Tora. It is therefore possible, that Tora was Harald's concubine. Tora became the mother of both KingOlav Kyrreand KingMagnus II Haraldsson.[8][9]

In 1066, Harald invadedEngland,where he was killed in theBattle of Stamford Bridge.Tradition says that Elisiv and her daughters followed Harald to England, where Maria died, as it was said, at the news of her father's death. Afterward Elisiv and her second daughter, Ingegerd, returned to Norway with the Norwegian fleet. Elisiv was to have stayed at theOrkney Islandsduring this trip. However, the oldest of the sagas claim that it wasTora Torbergsdatterand not Elisiv who accompanied Harald on the trip, which is considered more likely, as Tora was the cousin ofThorfinn Sigurdsson,Earl of Orkney.[10][11]

According toAdam of Bremen,the mother of KingOlav Kyrreremarried either KingSweyn II of Denmarkor an unnamed Swedish king as a widow, but this is unconfirmed. It is also unknown whether this refers to the actual mother of Olav Kyrre, which would mean Tora Torbergsdatter, or his stepmother, which would mean Elisiv. The date and place of the death of Queen Elisiv is unknown.[12]

Children[edit]

Elisiv and Harald had two daughters:

  • Ingegerd(c. 1045 – 1120); married first toOlaf Hungerthe future king of Denmark, and after his death, toPhilip,the future king of Sweden.[13][14]
  • Maria(died 25 September 1066); promised in marriage to Eystein Orre (brother ofTora Torbergsdatter), but reportedly died on Orkney the same day that Harald and Eystein died.

References[edit]

  1. ^"Ellisiv – norsk dronning(Per Sveaas Andersen. Store norske leksikon) ".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-10-19.Retrieved2015-01-18.
  2. ^Ellisiv (Elisabeth), Dronning(Dansk biografisk Lexikon / IV. Bind)
  3. ^"Yaroslav I Vladimirovich Mudrii, 1019-1054".xenophon-mil.org. Archived fromthe originalon March 7, 2016.RetrievedMay 20,2016.
  4. ^"Ingegerd Olofsdotter, ett kvinnoöde från vikingatiden".historiska-personer.nu.RetrievedMay 20,2016.
  5. ^Stiklestad(Knut A Rosvold. Store norske leksikon)
  6. ^Stúfr enn blinde Þórðarson kattar(heimskringla.no)
  7. ^"Stúfr inn blindi Þórðarson kattar(Old Norse Teaching Texts) ".Archived fromthe originalon 2015-01-18.Retrieved2015-01-18.
  8. ^Tora Torbergsdatter(Merete Røskaft. Store norske leksikon)
  9. ^Terje Bratberg."Giskeætten".Store norske leksikon.RetrievedMay 20,2016.
  10. ^"Blundell, Michael C. 2012.The Battle of Stamford Bridge 1066 A.D.: An Alternative Interpretation) ".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-15.Retrieved2015-01-19.
  11. ^Earl Thorfinn the Mighty(Orkneyjar)
  12. ^Ellisiv – utdypning(Claus Krag. Norsk biografisk leksikon)]
  13. ^"Oluf 1. Hunger".Den Store Danske.RetrievedMay 20,2016.
  14. ^"konung Filip".Svenskt biografiskt lexikon.RetrievedMay 20,2016.

Other sources[edit]

Note[edit]

  • This article includes a translation of its equivalent on Bulgarian Wikipedia.
Eliza Yaroslavna
Born:1025Died:c. 1067
Norwegian royalty
Preceded by Royal Consort of Norway
(Queen consort)
1045–1066 		Succeeded by
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