Maria Haraldsdotter (died 25 September 1066) was a Norwegian princess, as the daughter of

Harald Hardrada Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' in the sagas, was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. He unsuccessfully claimed the Monarchy of Denma ...

and

Elisiv of Kiev Elisiv of Kiev (c. 1025 – c. 1067) was a princess of Kiev and the queen consort of Harald III of Norway. Biography Elisaveta was the daughter of the grand prince of Kiev, Yaroslav the Wise, and his consort Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden, t ...

. She is the first known Norwegian to have been named Maria. According to ''

Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...

'', Maria, together with her sister Ingegerd and mother, went with Harald on his expedition to Britain in 1066. Maria, Ingegerd and Elisiv were however left behind at

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

, where Harald gathered reinforcements. By the

Battle of Stamford Bridge The Battle of Stamford Bridge () took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, in England, on 25 September 1066, between an English army under Harold Godwinson, King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force l ...

, in which Harald was killed, Harald had promised Maria away for marriage to Eystein Orre (brother of Harald's concubine or second wife Tora Torbergsdatter), who also died at Stamford Bridge. When Harald's son

Olaf Olaf or Olav (, , or differences between General American and Received Pronunciation, British ; ) is a Dutch, Polish, Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ances ...

and the rest of his fleet arrived back in Orkney, they learned that Maria had suddenly died on the same day that her father had died in battle.Sturluson, p. 17

References

Bibliography

* 1066 deaths 11th-century Norwegian women Year of birth unknown Norwegian princesses Fairhair dynasty Daughters of kings {{Europe-royal-stub