Gunhild of Wenden facts for kids

Gunhilda of Wenden was a princess from Poland. She was believed to be the wife of King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark, who lived around 960 to 1014. Sweyn was a famous Viking Age king.

Historians are not completely sure about Gunhilda. Different old writings tell different stories about Sweyn's wife or wives. Some say he married a woman named Sigrid the Haughty. Because of these different stories, experts have wondered if Gunhilda was actually the Polish princess Świętosława, just known by another name in Norse stories.

Stories from the Past

Old stories and chronicles give us clues about Gunhilda. These writings help us learn about her, even though they sometimes disagree.

The Heimskringla Saga

A collection of old Norse stories from the 1200s, called Heimskringla, tells us about Gunhilda. The writer, Snorri Sturluson, says that King Sweyn Forkbeard was once captured. This happened during a fight against a group of warriors called the Jomsvikings.

Sweyn was given to Burislav, the king of Wenden. To make peace, Sweyn agreed to marry Burislav's daughter, Gunhild. In return, Burislav married Sweyn's sister, Tyri. The story says that Gunhild and Sweyn had two sons: Harald II of Denmark and Cnut the Great. While some parts of this story match history, others are different.

What Chroniclers Wrote

Very old historical records, called chronicles, don't give many details about Sweyn's marriages. Here's what some of them say:

• Thietmar of Merseburg was a writer who lived at the same time as these events. He knew a lot about Poland and Denmark. He wrote that the daughter of Mieszko I of Poland married King Sweyn Forkbeard. She was also the sister of Bolesław I of Poland. Thietmar said she was the mother of Sweyn's sons, Cnut and Harald. However, he did not mention her name. This idea might explain why Polish soldiers sometimes helped in invasions of England.
• Adam of Bremen wrote that a Polish princess first married Eric the Victorious. With him, she had a son named Olof Skötkonung of Sweden. Later, she married Sweyn and became the mother of Cnut and Harald of Denmark. So, Adam said that Cnut and Olof were half-brothers. Some historians think Adam's story might not be fully accurate because he is the only one who says this.
• The Gesta Cnutonis regis is another old writing. It briefly mentions that Cnut and his brother visited the land of the Slavs (where Poland is). They brought their mother back from there. This doesn't prove she was Slavic, but it strongly suggests it.
• An old book from Winchester, England, called "Liber vitae," has an interesting note. It says that King Cnut's sister was named "Santslaue." This is definitely a Slavic name. Some historians believe that Cnut's mother might have named her daughter after herself. This led to the idea that Gunhilda's original Old Polish name was Świętosława. This is a widely accepted idea today, but it's based on a guess from her daughter's name.

Who Was Gunhilda Really?

Historians have thought about different ways to understand these old stories.

Gunhild might have been the real historical wife of Sweyn. Also, Adam of Bremen's idea of two marriages matches the Heimskringla story about Sigrid the Haughty. This could mean that people got two wives mixed up, or that Sigrid was just a confused memory of the same real wife. If so, the woman called Gunhild in the sagas would have been Eric's widow. Many historians believe this. It is also possible that Gunhild is just a made-up character from legends, not directly based on Sweyn's known Polish wife.