Åsa Haraldsdottir of Agder

Åsa Haraldsdottir of Agder (died ca. 834?) was a semi-legendary Norwegian Viking age Queen regnant of the petty kingdom Agder and mother of Halfdan the Black and grandmother of Harald Fairhair, according to the sagas of the Yngling clan.

Biography

Åsa was the daughter of King Harald Granraude of Agder and a reputed beauty. King Gudrød the Hunter of Borre in Vestfold proposed marriage to her after the death of his first wife, but her father refused the marriage. Gudrød Veidekonge then killed her father and her brother, abducted her and married her. One year later, she became the mother of Halfdan the Black. One year after this, Åsa took her revenge and had her servant kill her husband. She left the kingdom of Borre to her stepson Olaf Geirstad-Alf and took her own son with her to the kingdom of Agder, her birth country, where she took power. Åsa ruled Agder for twenty years, and after this she left the throne to her son. He also demanded half of his father's kingdom from his halfbrother.

There are theories that queen Åsa is the woman buried with the famous Oseberg ship from 834, but this is not confirmed.

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