Tyra of Denmark (''Tyri Haraldsdatter'', ''Thyri'' and ''Thyra'') was a 10th-century Danish princess. She was the wife of both King

Olav I of Norway 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 ...

and of Styrbjörn Starke, prince of Sweden. Tyra was daughter of the Danish king

Harald Bluetooth Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson (; , died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. The son of King Gorm the Old and Thyra Dannebod, Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 958 – c. 986, introduced Christianization of Denmark, Christianity to D ...

and thus a sister to King

Sweyn Forkbeard Sweyn Forkbeard ( ; ; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 until his death, King of England for five weeks from December 1013 until his death, and King of Norway from 999/1000 until 1014. He was the father of King Ha ...

. She was first married to the Swedish prince and throne claimant Styrbjörn Starke (Styrbjörn the Strong), son of King

Olof Björnsson Olof Björnsson, in legend, was a Swedish king who was referenced in several Old Norse Sagas including '' Hervarar saga'', ''Saga of Harald Fairhair'' and the ''Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa''. Reconstructions that place him as a historical kin ...

. However Styrbjörn Starke died in the

Battle of Fýrisvellir The Battle of Fýrisvellir was fought in the 980s on the plain called Fýrisvellir, where modern Uppsala is situated, between King Eric the Victorious and an invading force. According to Norse sagas, this force was led by his nephew Styrbjörn ...

(986) near

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

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 re ...

for the throne of Sweden. According to

Snorri Sturluson 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 ...

, she was next betrothed to the Wendish king

Burislav Burislav, Burisleif, Burysław (died 1008) is the name of a Wends, Wendish king from Scandinavian sagas who is said to rule over Wendland. He is said to be the father of Gunhild of Wenden, Gunhild, Astrid of Wenden, Astrid and Geira. There are t ...

, 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-century ...

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 ...

, 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. ...

to seek allies for a war on Denmark. On the way Olaf was ambushed by Sweyn and an alliance which included

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 ...

, 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 1000 in the western Baltic Sea between King Olaf of Norway and an alliance of the Kings of Denmark and Sweden and Olaf's enemies ...

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 the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

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