Wulfhild of Norway (1020 – 24 May 1071),

Old West Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

: ''Úlfhildr Ólafsdóttir'',

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: ''Ulfhild Olofsdotter'', was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

princess, and a

duchess of Saxony This is a list of the Duchesses, Electresses and Queens of Saxony; the consorts of the Duke of Saxony and its successor states; including the Electorate of Saxony, the Kingdom of Saxony, the House of Ascania, Albertine, and the Ernestine duchies, ...

by marriage to Ordulf, Duke of Saxony.

Life

Wulfhild was born in 1020 as the only legitimate child of King

Olaf II of Norway Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...

and his wife

Astrid Olofsdotter of Sweden Astrid Olofsdotter ( Norwegian: ''Astrid Olavsdatter''; English: ''Aestrith'') (died 1035) was the queen consort of King Olaf II of Norway. Biography Astrid was born to King Olof Skötkonung of Sweden and his Obotritian mistress Edla. She was t ...

. Her illegitimate half-brother was

Magnus the Good Magnus Olafsson (Old Norse: ''Magnús Óláfsson''; Norwegian and Danish: ''Magnus Olavsson''; – 25 October 1047), better known as Magnus the Good (Old Norse: ''Magnús góði'', Norwegian and Danish: ''Magnus den gode''), was King of Norwa ...

. She was likely born and raised in

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neigh ...

. In 1028, she accompanied her parents to

Vestlandet Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrati ...

, and in 1029, she left Norway for Sweden with them. It is not determined whether she followed her father and half-brother on their trip to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

or remained in Sweden with her mother, but she did live in Sweden between the death of her father in 1030 until she returned with her half-brother Magnus to Norway in 1035, when he became king. Wulfhild is described as a beauty, and is thought to have been greatly respected as the only legitimate child of her father and daughter of a saint. On 10 November 1042, she was married to Ordulf, son of Bernard II, Duke of Saxony. This marriage was supposed to strengthen the alliance between

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

; her half-brother expected the support of her consort to strengthen his position in Denmark by fighting the

Wends Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various peopl ...

. The marriage ceremony was celebrated in

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

during these political negotiations, officiated by the archbishops of Schleswig and Bremen. Her husband did remain loyal to the alliance, but the information about Wulfhild is limited and nothing is known about any of her opinions. Wulfhild and Ordulf had a son, Magnus, Duke of Saxony.

References

Sources

References

Norsk biografisk leksikon. Den store norske
* Bratberg, Terje. (2009, 13. februar). Ulvhild Olavsdatter. I Norsk biografisk leksikon. Hentet 24. februar 2018 fra https://nbl.snl.no/Ulvhild_Olavsdatter. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wulfhild Of Norway 1020 births Fairhair dynasty 1071 deaths Norwegian princesses 11th-century Norwegian nobility 11th-century German nobility 11th-century German women 11th-century Norwegian women Daughters of kings