Tyra of Denmark (''Tyri Haraldsdatter'', ''Thyri'' and ''Thyra'') was a 10th-century Danish princess. She was the spouse of both King Olav I of Norway and of Styrbjörn Starke, prince of Sweden. Tyra was daughter of the Danish king

Harald Bluetooth Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson ( non, Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson; da, Harald Blåtand Gormsen, died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. He was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. ...

and thus a sister to King Sweyn Forkbeard. She was first married to the Swedish prince and throne claimant Styrbjörn Starke (Styrbjörn the Strong), son of King Olof Björnsson. However Styrbjörn Starke died in the Battle of Fýrisvellir (986) near

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...

fighting with his uncle King

Eric the Victorious Eric the Victorious (Old Norse: ''Eiríkr inn sigrsæli'', Modern Swedish: ''Erik Segersäll''; c. 945 – c. 995) was a Swedish monarch as of around 970. Although there were earlier Swedish kings, he is the first Swedish king in a consecutive reg ...

for the throne of Sweden. According to Snorri Sturluson, she was next betrothed to the Wendish king

Burislav Burislav, Burisleif, Burysław (died 1008) is the name of a legendary Wendish king from Scandinavian sagas who is said to rule over Wendland. He is said to be father of Gunhild, Astrid and Geira. There are three possible hypotheses over his i ...

, as part of a Danish- Wendic peace agreement negotiated by King Sweyn Forkbeard. As part of the agreement, Sweyn married

Gunhild of Wenden Gunhilda of Wenden was a Polish princess, daughter of Mieszko I of Poland according to Chronicles of Thietmar of Merserburg, Adam von Bremen and Acta Cnutonis regis princess and Danish Viking Age queen consort, the supposed spouse of 10th-centur ...

who was the sister of Burislav. However, after her hunger strike, Burislav sent her back to Denmark. She subsequently arranged to have herself married to

Olaf Tryggvason Olaf Tryggvason (960s – 9 September 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken ( Vingulmark, and Rånrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of N ...

, King of Norway, to the displeasure of her brother Sweyn. When Olaf married her, Sweyn refused to pay her promised dowry. Olaf subsequently set out for

Wendland The Wendland is a region in Germany on the borders of the present states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Its heart is the Hanoverian Wendland in the county of Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower Saxony. In ...

to seek allies for a war on Denmark. On the way Olaf was ambushed by Sweyn and an alliance which included Olof Skötkonung, King of Sweden, and Eirik Hákonarson, Jarl of Lade. The resulting

Battle of Svolder The Battle of Svolder (''Svold'' or ''Swold'') was a large naval battle during the Viking age, fought in September 999 or 1000 in the western Baltic Sea between Olaf Tryggvason, King Olaf of Norway and an alliance of the Kings of Denmark and Swe ...

ended in the death of the Norwegian king (c. 1000). According to legend, Queen Tyra subsequently committed suicide by starvation after receiving news of her husband's death at the battle.

References

Other sources

* Alf Henrikson: ''Dansk historia'' (Danish history) (1989) * Sven Rosborn: ''När hände vad i Nordens historia'' (When did what happen in the history of the Nordic countries) (1997) * Åke Ohlmarks: ''FornNordiskt Lexikon'' (Ancient Nordic dictionary) (1994)

External links

''Queen Thyri and the Angelica Stalks''
fro
''The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf''
by

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...

(1863) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyra Of Denmark Norwegian royal consorts Danish princesses Swedish princesses House of Knýtlinga 10th-century Norwegian people 10th-century Norwegian women 10th-century Danish people 10th-century Danish women Daughters of kings