In this talk, Judith Jesch introduces Astrid, a Swedish princess married to King, later Saint, Olaf of Norway, and her remarkable political intervention to ensure that her stepson succeeded to the throne in 1035 CE. Her actions are immortalised in a contemporary poem, composed in a genre previously reserved for male rulers, which shows how both she and the poet Sigvatr were pioneers in the transformation of the Norwegian monarchy at the end of the Viking Age.

An annotated text and translation of the poem in praise of Astrid is available.

A related article by Judith is also available: ‘In praise of Ástríðr Óláfsdóttir’, Saga-Book 24 (1994), 1-18.

Speaker: Professor Judith Jesch FBA, Professor of Viking Studies, University of Nottingham

Image: Astrid Olofsdotter of Sweden as imagined by artist Christian Krohg in 1899.

Transcript: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/podcasts/10-minute-talks-praise-queen-astrid-norway