Onward: Norway, King Relations

We are taking a quick trip to Norway to visit in and around Oslo. We found the best way to visit Oslo from Sweden is by air. A quick hour flight gets you there. And we are meeting our friends from Paris in Oslo!

There are two reasons we are going to Norway. First, ever since I wrote a fifth grade report on Norway, I've wanted to visit.

The second reason is it turns out my hubs is Norwegian before Swedish. While researching his family tree before the trip we found that his family lineage on his father's, mother's side was Swedish going back to the 1300s. Then it ran into Norway and Denmark from 700-1300. It turns out he is related to over a dozen Norwegian Kings (his link to the kings was through an illegitimate daughter of King Haakon V of Norway her name was Agnes Håkonsdotter aka Agnes Princess of Norway) and thanks to marriages he is also related to a bunch of Danish and Swedish kings and queens. He is even related to two Viking kings and two Emperors from the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople!

These are the kings from Norway the hubs is related to, they were part of the Fairhair Dynasty (in order from oldest to most recent):

Norwegian Kings
1. King Harold Klak (whose son was King Sigurd Rise of Norway whose son was King Halfdan Hadafylke Sigurdsson of Norway)
2. King Sigurd Syr
3. King Harald Hardrada (founded Oslo, Norway in 1048)
4. King Olaf III of Norway (he founded Bergen, Norway in 1070)
5. King Magnus III of Norway (Barefoot) (he got his name for fleeing an attack on his bare feet)
6. King Harald IV of Norway (Gille) (illegitimate son of Magnus III with a commoner from Ireland)
7. King Sigurd II of Norway (Munn) (illegitimate son of Harald IV with commoner Tora Guttormsdotter)
8. King Sverre of Norway
9. King Hakon III of Norway (illegitimate son of King Sverre with commoner Astrid Roesdatter; rumors say he was murdered by his step-mother)
10. King Haakon IV of Norway (illegitimate son of Hakon III of Norway with Inga of Varteig)
11. King Magnus VI of Norway (married Ingeborg of Denmark who became the Queen of Norway)
12. King Haakon V of Norway (who had an illegitimate daughter named Agnes Princess of Norway with commoner Cathrine Sigurdsdtr. Agnes married a commoner where the royal lineage ended until Agnes' son married a woman named Birgitta Knudsdtr Lejon who came from royal lineage.) Haakon V of Norway is buried at Akershus Fortress in Norway, which he helped build in Oslo (he is credited for Oslo becoming the capital of Norway), we plan to go see the fortress. Side note: Eric of Pomerania was a descendant of Haakon V of Norway, Eric's castle is Helsingor famous for the setting of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, which we also plan to go see, it is in Denmark).

The following are names of other royal people my hubs is related to through marriages with the kings and their children:

King Magnus VI of Norway married Ingeborg of Denmark. The following is her family lineage:
1. Ingebord of Denmark / Queen of Norway
2. Eric IV of Denmark
3. Albert I, Duke of Saxony
4. Bernhard, Count of Anhalt
5. Albert I “The Bear”
6. Sophie von Wizenburg
7. Mieszko III “The Old”
8. Elizabeth of Hungary
9. Leopold VI of Austria “The Glorious”
10. Theodora Angelina, Duchess of Austria
11. Leopold V of Austria “The Virtuous”
12. Helena of Hungary
13. Leopold III, Margrave of Austria (Patron Saint of Austria, canonized by the Pope)
14. Theodora Komnene (daughter of Andronikos Komnenos from Byzantine Empire)
15. Andronikos Komnenos (son of John II)
16. John II Komnenos (Byzantine Emperor)
17. Irene of Hungary (wife of John II Komnenos)
18. Alexois I Komnenos (Byzantine Emperor)
19. Irene Doukaina (wife of Alexois I Komnenos)
20. Anna Dalassene (wife of John Komnenos, their child was Alexios I Komnenos)

Haakon IV of Norway married Margret Skuladottir, this is some of her family lineage:
• Margret Skuladottir (wife of King Magnus VI; together they had a son who married Rikitsa Birgersdottir, daughter of  Jarl Birger Manusson who founded and named Stockholm, Sweden)
• Skule Bardsson (father of Margret Skuladottir)

Princess Agnes (the illegitimate daughter of King Magnus V), her son married Birgitta Knudsdtr Lejon. The following people are part of Birgitta’s lineage:

Sweden:
• Folke the Fat Earl of Sweden (1078-1133)
• Erik IX Jevardsson “The Saint” King of Sweden (1115-1159) (he is buried at Uppsala Cathedral which we plan to visit).
• Charles the Deaf aka “Karl Dove” Jarl of Sweden (1139-1220) (the oldest seal from the 12th century is at The Swedish Museum of Antiquities and it is the seal of Charles the Deaf, which we plan to go see).

Denmark:
• Sweyn Forkbeard I Haraldsson King of Denmark and Norway (960-1014)
• Harald III Gormsson “Blue Tooth” King of Denmark and Norway (910-986) (king "Blue Tooth" is a descendent of the Vikings listed below.) Funny note: Bluetooth wireless designed by Ericsson named the hands free device after this king.

Vikings:
• Ragnar “Lodbrok” Sigurdsson King of the Vikings (770-840)
• Sigurd “Ring” Randersson also known as Sigurd Hring (he was the father of Ragnar Lodbrok) (750)

Next stop Denmark! When I'm back home I'll write up some Play.Shop.Eat. posts on my discoveries in Scandinavia!

P.S. Check out this crazy road in Norway.

Photo: Zanthia