Edla (10th11th century) was a

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

woman during the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

. She was the mother of King Emund of Sweden and Queen

Astrid Astrid is a given name of Scandinavian origin, a modern form of the name Ástríðr. Derived from the Old Norse Ássfriðr, a compound name composed of the elements (a god) and (beautiful, fair). Variants * * Assan (diminutive) (Swedish) ...

of Norway. According to tradition, Edla was the daughter of a Lechitic

tribal chief A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

who ruled the region between the

Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...

and

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

rivers, in what is now

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...

. She was brought to Sweden as a prisoner of war sometime between 995-1000, likely before the arrival of

Estrid of the Obotrites Estrid of the Obotrites ( 979 – 1035) was queen consort of Sweden, Queen of Sweden in the Viking age, a West Slavs, West Slavic princess married to the King of Sweden, Olof Skötkonung c. 1000–1022. She was the mother of King Anund Jacob ...

(). King

Olof Skötkonung Olof Skötkonung (; – 1022), sometimes stylized as Olaf the Swede, was King of Sweden, son of Eric the Victorious and, according to Icelandic sources, Sigrid the Haughty. He succeeded his father in c. 995. He stands at the threshold of record ...

took Edla as his concubine. Later he married Estrid. Edla became the mother of Emund, Astrid, and likely Holmfrid.

Snorre Sturlasson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

notes that her children were sent to foster parents away from the royal court because Queen Estrid was unkind to them. This may suggest that Edla died while her children were still young.

Children

Emund the Old Emund the Old (Old Norse: ''Eymundr gamli''; Old Swedish: ''Æmunðær gamlæ'', ''Æmunðær gammal'', ''Æmunðær slemæ''; Swedish: ''Emund den gamle''; died c. 1060) was King of Sweden from c. 1050 to c. 1060. His short reign was characteri ...

, King of Sweden *

Astrid Olofsdotter Astrid Olofsdotter ( Norwegian: ''Astrid Olavsdatter''; English: ''Aestrith''; died 1035) was the queen consort of Saint Olaf, who reigned over Norway from 1019 to 1028. She is the only woman to have a surviving skaldic praise-poem dedicated t ...

, married King

Olav II of Norway Saint Olaf ( – 29 July 1030), also called Olaf the Holy, Olaf II, Olaf Haraldsson, and Olaf the Stout or "Large", was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he w ...

* Holmfrid, wife of Sven Ladejarl

References

* Ohlmarks, Åke ''Alla Sveriges drottningar'' * Lagerqvist, Lars O. ''Sverige och dess regenter under 1.000 år'' (Albert Bonniers Förlag AB, 1982) {{ISBN, 91-0-075007-7. Mistresses of Swedish royalty 11th-century Swedish women House of Munsö 10th-century Swedish people 11th-century Swedish people 10th-century Swedish women Mothers of Swedish monarchs