Echoes of the North: The Viking Kings of Sweden

Journey back in time with Ancestors as we uncover a fascinating chapter of our family's heritage. This page delves into the lineage of the Viking Kings of Sweden, a history deeply intertwined with the legendary House of Munso. Discover the ancient roots that connect us to these formidable Norse rulers.

The Royal Lineage of Munso

 Our research reveals a direct ancestral connection to the illustrious House of Munso, a powerful dynasty that shaped the early history of Sweden. We've meticulously traced the threads of time to bring these stories to life, exploring the sagas and historical records that illuminate their reign and influence.

Unearthing my Viking Heritage

This isn't just history; it's my history. As part of the Ancestors project, we proudly share the journey of uncovering our own lineage, showcasing the depth of research and dedication involved in connecting modern-day family trees to ancient royal houses. Explore the fascinating facts we've unearthed from my ancestors.

Discover your own Ancestral Saga

 Are you curious about your own family's past? The tales of the Viking Kings of Sweden and the House of Munso are just one example of the incredible journeys hidden within family history. We invite you to contact us to discuss our findings or to explore how we can assist you in tracing your own extraordinary heritage.

Ragnar Lodbrok 39x Great Grandfather:

Via the Jones' and Rounding family's.
 Myth, Legend, Saga, so much as been written about Ragnar and his descendant , that I have no idea the facts from the fiction. Even the lifespan are questionable. Ragnar born about 755 at Uppsala, Dacia in Sweden, the son of King Sigurd Ring of Denmark and Sweden, with two death dates of 845 or 865, making him 90 or 110?

Bjorn "Ironside" Ragnarsson 38x Great Grandfather:

From modest beginnings, we've grown through unwavering dedication and a commitment to continuous improvement. Each step has reinforced our core belief in the power of collaboration and the importance of integrity. We're passionate about what we do, and we're excited to share our story with you.

Erik Bjornsson 37x Great Grandfather, House of Munso:

It was said he dead at a very young age, dates unknown, but still had two sons to his credit. Bjorn at Haugi, and Anund Uppsale,

 Anund Uppsale 36x Great Grandfather:

 Lived from about 821AD., to about 880AD., was Anund leading the Mediterranean expedition of 859-861? 

 Anund Uppsale or Anoundus (Old Norse: Önundr Uppsali) ruled Sweden together with his brother Björn at Haugi, according to Rimbert and Hervarar saga (he and Björn are also mentioned by Adam of Bremen). He is probably called Uppsale because he stayed at Gamla Uppsala, the religious centre.
 Rimbert recounts that Anoundus and his brother Björn, succeed king Erik and that Anund was driven away from his country. The reason is unknown, but Rimbert relates that Björn invited the Christian missionary Ansgar. Adam of Bremen relates that a king named Anund accepted the faith and was driven away after refusing to sacrifice at the Temple at Uppsala.
 

Some of the above information was taken from wikipedia.org.

 Eric Anundsson 35x Great Grandfather:

Lived from about 840AD., to about 882AD.,  Eric Anundsson or Eymundsson was a semi-legendary Swedish king who supposedly ruled during the 9th century. The Norse sagas describe him as successful in extending his realm over the Baltic Sea, but unsuccessful in his attempts of westward expansion. There is no near-contemporary evidence for his existence, the sources for his reign dating from the 13th and 14th centuries. These sources, Icelandic sagas, are generally not considered reliable sources for the periods and events they describe. Controversially, older Swedish historians have identified Eric with another legendary Swedish king, Erik Weatherhat, who is mentioned in some medieval king-lists as the predecessor of Eric the Victorious. However, Saxo Grammaticus identifies Erik Weatherhat with another figure, a son of the legendary Viking Ragnar Lodbrok. I believed that Eric Anundsson and Erik Weatherhat are but one.

Bjorn Eriksson 34x Great Grandfather:

 lived from about 860 to 932AD., he reigned for over 50 years' from 882-932. The father of Ring of Sweden, Olof Bjornsson and Eric the Victorious. 

Eric the Victorious 33x Great Grandfather:

 

Eric was born in about 925 in Sweden, the son of Bjorn Eriksson, and the brother of Ring of Sweden and Olof Bjornsson. He became King of Sweden after the death of his brother Olof in 975, and earned the nickname "The Victorious" after slaying his nephew Styrbjorn the Strong, at the Battle of Fyrisvellir in 988. He married Sigrid the Haughty 922-1013. He was briefly King of Denmark after defeating Sweyn Forkbeard, (Sigrid his wife married Forkbeard, after the death of Eric.) having allied with the free farmers against nobility. Eric founded the town of Sigtuna.
Eric died in about 995 at Old Uppsala, in Sweden.

Olof Skotkonug 32x Great Grandfather:

 

Lived from about 980AD., to about 1022, the son of Eric the Victorious; the first Christian king of Sweden and the first Swedish king to mint coins; sometimes considered to be Sweden's first king. Earliest king who can be proven to have ruled both Svealand and Götaland, the core territories of Sweden. Married Estrid of the Obotrites, born about 979AD., at Mecklenburg, Northern Germany, to about 1035, in Sweden.

Anund Jocab 32x Great Uncle 1008-1050, Anund Jacob or James, Swedish: Anund Jakob was King of Sweden from 1022 until around 1050. He is believed to have been born on 25th July, in either 1008 or 1010 as Jakob, the son of King Olof Skötkonung and Queen Estrid. Being the second Christian king of the Swedish realm, his long and partly turbulent reign saw the increasing dissemination of Christianity. He is referred to in positive terms in German and Norse historical sources. Was according to later sources given the epithet Kolbränna ("coal-burner") because of allegedly burning down the houses of his opponents. Most early Swedish and German sources speak favourably of him.

Emund the Old 32x Half Great Uncle. Illegitimate son of Olof Skötkonung; the last king of the dynasty. Upon his death, Stenkil of the House of Stenkil became Sweden's king. Stenkil might have been related in some form, possibly either through a female line or through marriage, to the Munsö dynasty. Reigned from 1050-1060.

Sigrid the Haughty, 33x Great Grandmother:

 Aso known as Sigríð Storråda, was a queen of contested historicity appearing in Norse sagas as wife first of Eric the Victorious of Sweden, and then Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark.
 Sigrid as the beautiful but vengeful daughter of Skogul-Tosti, a powerful Swedish nobleman. As widow of Eric the Victorious, she held many great estates, and was living with her son Olav the Swede, when her foster-brother Harald Grenske, a king in Vestfold sought her hand. She had him and another royal wooer, Vissavald of Gardarik, burned to death in a great hall following a feast to discourage other suitors.
 

She next refused Olaf Trygvasson, the king of Norway, proposal after he required her to convert to Christianity. She told him to his face, "I will not part from the faith which my forefathers have kept before me." In a rage, Olaf struck her with a glove, and Sigrid calmly told him, "This may some day be thy death."

 She allied Sweden with Denmark, marrying the widower Sweyn Forkbeard who had already been feuding with Olaf. Swein had sent his sister Tyri to marry the Wendish king Burislav, who had been father of Swein's first wife, Gunhild. Tyri fled and married Olaf, goading him into conflict with her brother, while Sigrid inflamed Swein against her former suitor. This shared animosity would lead to the Battle of Swold, in which Olaf fell.

 Source Findagrave.com 

Skoglar Toste or Skoglar Tosti (there are several variations) 34x Great Grandfather:

 A legendary 10th century chieftain from the Swedish province of West Gothland. Snorri Sturlusson recounts in Heimskringla that he was a great Viking who often waged war and that is why he was called "Skagul's Tosti". Skagul was a Valkyrie.
 Toste is mentioned in several sagas, most notable in Heimskringla. According to Snorri Sturluson, he was the father of Sigrid the Haughty. For some time he gave refuge to Harald Grenske, who later came back to woo Sigrid, only to be killed by her for his persistence. According to the sagas, Skoglar Toste was also the father of Ulf Tostesson, father of Ragnvald Ulfsson and grandfather of Stenkil who became the King of Sweden in 1060.

Wikipedia.org

Estrid of the Obotrites 32x Great Grandmother:

 The wife of Olof Skotkonung.  Legend says that Estrid was taken back to Sweden from a war in the West Slavic area of Mecklenburg as a war-prize. She was most likely given by her father, a tribal chief of the Polabian Obotrites, as a peace offering in a marriage to seal the peace, and she is thought to have brought with her a great dowry, as a great Slavic influence is represented in Sweden from her time, mainly among craftsmen.
 Her husband Olof also had a mistress, Edla, who came from the same area in Europe as herself, and who was possibly taken to Sweden at the same time. The king treated Edla and Estrid the same way and gave his son and his two daughters with Edla the same privileges as the children he had with Estrid, though it was Estrid he married and made queen.
 Queen Estrid was baptised with her husband, their children and large numbers of the Swedish Royal Court in 1008, when the Swedish Royal Family converted to Christianity, although the king promised to respect the freedom of religion. Sweden was not to be Christian until the last religious war between Inge the Elder and Blot-Sweyn of 1084-1088.
 Not much is known of Estrid as a person. Snorre Sturlasson mentions her as a lover of pomp and luxury, and as hard and strict towards her servants, he also wrote about her, that Estrid was unkind to the children of her husband's mistress Edla; (Emund, Astrid and Holmfrid.) 
 "Queen Estrid was arrogant and not kind towards her stepchildren, and therefore the king sent his son Emund to Vendland, where he was brought up by his maternal relatives". 

Wikipedia.org

Ingegerd Olofsdotter 31x Great Grandmother:

 Ingegerd was born a Princess in the Court of King Olof Skötkonung in abt 1001. In 1015, after Olaf II of Norway assumed the throne as King of Norway, he proposed a royal marriage alliance. In 1016, Noblemen of both countries tried to arrange a marriage between King Olaf and Princess Ingegerd. Olof Skötkonung agreed at first but later he reneged. Rather he agreed to the marriage of his daughter, Astrid Olavsdatter to King Olaf.


 Olof Skötkonung subsequently arranged for the marriage of Princess Ingegerd to the powerful Grand Prince Yaroslav I the Wise of Novgorod with whom Sweden had a flourishing trade relationship. The marriage took place in 1019. 

 Once in Kiev, Ingegerd had her name changed to the Greek Irene. According to several sagas, she received as a marriage gift Ladoga and adjacent lands, which later became known as Ingria, arguably a corruption of Ingegerd's name. She arranged for her father's cousin, Jarl Ragnvald Ulfsson, to rule in her stead.
 Together Ingegerd and Yaroslav had six sons and four daughters; three of the latter becoming Queens of France, Hungary, and Norway. The whole family is depicted in one of the frescoes of the Saint Sophia. 

 Next up come the Russians.