Astrid Njalsdotter of Skjalgaätten (also Aestrith) (died 1060) was a Swedish queen, consort of king Emund the Old of Sweden and mother-in-law of king Stenkil of Sweden.

Biography

Astrid was born child of the Norwegian nobleman Nial Finnsson (d. 1011) and Gunhild Halvdansdotter of the Skjalga family in Hålogaland

Hålogaland

Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces in the mediaeval Norse sagas. In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hålogaland was a petty kingdom extending between Namdalen in Nord-Trøndelag and Lyngen in Troms.-Etymology:...

 in Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. In about 1035, she married the Swedish jarl Ragnvald Ulfsson in his second marriage. After his death in about 1040, she married Prince Emund Olofsson of Sweden. In 1050, Emund became king, and she became the queen of Sweden. She became the mother of two sons, who both died before their father, and one daughter, known by legend

Legend

A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...

 as Ingamoder

Saint Ingamoder Emundsdotter of Sweden

Ingamoder is a name invented in modern times for the wife of King Stenkil of Sweden.Ingemo was a local saint only known from customs at the Ingemo Well near Skövde in Sweden. Modern genealogical speculation made her the daughter of King Emund the Old who was married to King Stenkil, and whose...

.

Because Ragnvald Ulfsson has sometimes been regarded as the father of Stenkil, Astrid has sometimes been regarded as the mother of Stenkil. In reality, she was his step-mother. In c. 1058, her daughter married Stenkil. As Queen Astrid was the former step-mother of Stenkil, it was against the law of the Christian church for her daughter to marry her former step-son. This has been suggested as a reason as to why Ingamoder is not mentioned by name in the documents.

Queen Astrid is believed to have died in 1060, one year before her husband. In 1061, her son-in-law

Son-in-Law

Son-in-Law was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire, especially for sport horses.The National Horseracing Museum says that Son-in-Law is "probably the best and most distinguished stayer this country has ever known." Described as "one of the principal influences for stamina in...

 Stenkil became king due to the marriage of her daughter, and Astrid was succeeded as queen by her own daughter, who became the queen of her own country.

Succession