Tryggve Olafsson (; ; born c. 928 in Ringerike – died 963 in Sotnes,

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

, Västra Götaland,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

) was the king of

Viken, Norway Viken (Old Norse: Vík or Víkin), or Vika, was the historical name during the Viking Age and the High Middle Ages for an area of Scandinavia that originally surrounded the Oslofjord and included the coast of Bohuslän. Its definition changed ove ...

(

Vingulmark Vingulmark (Old Norse ''Vingulmǫrk'') is the old name for the area in Norway which today makes up the counties of Østfold, western parts of Akershus (excluding Romerike), and eastern parts of Buskerud ( Hurum and Røyken municipalities), and i ...

and

Rånrike Ranrike (Old Norse ''Ránríki'') was the old name for a part of Viken, corresponding to southeast Norway (Oslofjord area) and the northern half of the modern Swedish (Norwegian until 1658) province of Bohuslän (roughly identical with ''Álfheimr' ...

).''Tryggve Olavsson'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref>

Biography

Tryggve Olafsson was the son of Olaf Haraldsson, king of

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

and

, and grandson of King

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

. According to the ''

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 ...

'', Tryggve performed Viking expeditions in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. In 946 King

Haakon I of Norway Haakon Haraldsson (c. 920–961), also Haakon the Good (Old Norse: ''Hákon góði'', Norwegian: ''Håkon den gode'') and Haakon Adalsteinfostre (Old Norse: ''Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri'', Norwegian: ''Håkon Adalsteinsfostre''), was the king o ...

went north, and set Tryggve to defend

Viken Viken may refer to: *Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region *Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020 *Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden *Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the Göta canal *IF Viken, ...

against his enemies in the south. He also gave him all that he could reconquer of land in the area which the summer before, King Haakon had subjected to payment of taxes. Historically the Danish kings had had dominion over the area. King Haakon was mortally wounded at the Battle of Fitjar in an engagement with Eirik’s sons. After Haakon's death,

Harald Greycloak Harald Greycloak (Old Norse: ''Haraldr gráfeldr'', lit. "Harald Grey-hide"; Norwegian: ; Danish: ; c. 935 – c. 970) was a king of Norway from the Fairhair dynasty. Harald acquired his nickname "Gray-hide" after an encounter with the crew o ...

, third son of Eirik Bloodaxe, jointly with his brothers became kings of Norway. Tryggve was subsequently killed by Harald Greycloak as part of Harald's effort to establish his own rule over Norway. Reportedly Tryggve was lured into a trap. His wife, the widow with issue of Lodin fra Viken (

, ca. 940 -), Magnat/Kjøpmann i Viken, Astrid Eiriksdatter ( Obrestad,

Nærbø Nærbø is the largest village in Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located in the district of Jæren, about half-way between the town of Bryne and the village of Varhaug. The village sits about south of Norway's fourth ...

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

, ca. 925 - Ringerike, 968), daughter of Eirik Bjodaskalle Kåresson, av Obrestad ( Obrestad på Jæren,

Hå Hå is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is the southernmost municipality in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the v ...

, Rogaland, 902 - Obrestad på Jæren, Hå, Rogaland, 964) and wife, by whom he already had two daughters, Ingeborg Tryggvesdotter (ca. 960 -

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, 1019), wife of Ragnvald "the Old" Ulfsson (

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

, aft. 948 - executed by son-in-law after watching forced "marriage" of daughter, Västergötland, ca. 1045), Jarl av Västergötland, "Jarl i Västergötland & Aldeigjuborg, Ryssland", with issue, and Astrid Tryggvesdotter ( Ringerike,

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

, ca. 962 -

Sola Sola may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Saints of Los Angeles'', a 2008 album by Mötley Crüe * ''Sola'', an album by Olga Tañón * ''Sola'', an album by Zayda y los Culpables Songs * Sola (Becky G song), "Sola" (Becky G song ...

, Rogaland, ca. 1006), wife of

Erling Skjalgsson Erling Skjalgsson, på Sola (Sola, Rogaland, 975 – Boknafjorden, 21 December 1028, bur. Sola, Rogaland), "Rygekongen", Herse/Høvding i Rogaland, was a Norwegian political leader of the late 10th and early 11th centuries. He has been commonly ...

, på Sola (Sola, Rogaland, 975 - Boknafjorden (Falt I Slaget Mot Olav Den Hellige På Boknafjorden), 21 December 1028, bur. Sola, Rogaland), "Rygekongen", Herse/Høvding i Rogaland, with issue, gave birth to their only son shortly after his killing. Tryggve's son,

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 ...

, later became king of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, and his daughter

Ingeborg Tryggvasdotter Ingeborg Tryggvasdotter was the daughter of Tryggve Olafsson (died 963), the great-granddaughter of Harald Fairhair, and the sister of Olaf I of Norway. She married the Swedish earl Ragnvald Ulfsson, first the earl of Västergötland and later of ...

married

Ragnvald Ulfsson Ragnvald Ulfsson the Old () was a jarl of Västergötland or Östergötland and was married to a sister of King Olav Tryggvason.Winroth 1995–1997:616 Biography According to Snorri, Ragnvald was the son of jarl Ulf Tostesson. He was al ...

, the

Jarl Jarl was a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. The institution evolved over time and varied by region. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", specifically one appointed to rule a territory in a king's stea ...

and later the ruler of Staraja Ladoga.

References

Norwegian petty kings 963 deaths Year of birth unknown 920s births {{Europe-royal-stub