ASTRID EIRIKSDATTER: HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY AND CHARACTERS IN VIKINGS - ARTE - 2025

Astrid Eiriksdatter (934-968) was a queen consort of the Viking King Tryggve Olafsson, son of Olaf Haraldsson and grandson of Harald I of Norway. Daughter of Eirik Bjodaskalle and mother of the King of Norway Olav Tryggvason.

King Tryggve was killed in an ambush by Gottorm Eriksson, who was the brother of Harald II of Norway. Later, Harald II found out that Astrid was pregnant and sent spies to search for her, supposedly because she wanted to sponsor the child. Gunnhild, a prolific character who appears in various Norse sagas and the mother of King Harald, sent for Astrid, but to no avail.

Astrid. Source:

Then he sent thirty men to the estate of Eirik Bjodaskalle, Astrid's father, to capture her and her son, but Eirik had everything prepared for the escape, as he would take them away from the house in the company of Thorolf Lusarskeg, his adoptive father.

History of the historical character

Help from Erico the Victorious

The trip took them to the estate of the Swedish leader Hakon Gamle, who was a close friend of his father, and there she was sheltered for two years. Gunnhild later sent an ambassador to King Erico to help him bring Astrid and her son to the Norwegian court.

The king sent several men to Hakon's house, where he demanded that both of them be handed over, even threatening that if necessary he would use force.

Gardariki Travel

Astrid thought, with what was happening, that it was better to go to Gardariki and put herself under the protection of Sigurd Eriksson, her brother. Luck was not on their side, because during the trip they were intercepted by Vikings, who captured the entire crew. A few died, others were sold as slaves, as was the case with Astrid and her young son, Olav.

Lothin

A few years later, Lothin, a merchant, was traveling and found Astrid, recognized her and was able to free her by buying her freedom. He demanded that she return to Norway and marry him.

For Astrid the decision was not difficult, because she knew Lothin, she knew that he was a brave Viking, rich and of noble lineage, so, battered as she was, she did not hesitate to go with him to Norway.

Upon arriving in the country, they obtained the consent of both families, and as a result of that union, three children were born, Thorfel Nefja and two girls: Ingiríth and Ingigerth. Later she decided to return to the throne she had abandoned in the past, at the age of just 18. She already had three children and was a widow.

Astrid in the Vikings series

She is a strong shield maiden, inspired by Lathgertha. She's smart and apparently loyal to the queen. She is envious of Torvi for being Lathgertha's advisor.

Season 4

In the second half of season 4, Astrid is introduced to Lathgertha's court in Hedeby. Astrid will be trained in the arts of love and war. When Ragnar arrives at Hedeby, she tells him that her nurse has told her a lot about him.

While there, Ragnar apologizes to Lathgertha for not accompanying him to England. Astrid and Lathgertha continue to have passionate sex. For her part, Lathgertha wants to see Björn so that she can send messengers to Rollo to England.

Lathgertha's Revenge

Ragnar and three of his sons have sailed to England and it is the perfect occasion for Lathgertha's plans. It is Astrid who lures Ubbe and Sigurd and sets a trap for them, threatening to kill them when she sees that Ubbe does not attack Lathgertha's men.

In the end, Lathgertha manages to regain Kattegat which brings peace to the queen and herself. Also, kill Aslaug.

Ragnar dies

It's the end of Ragnar. The news finally reaches Lathgertha. Astrid is tasked with comforting her lover for the death of her ex-husband. Lathgertha is not sure she can trust a man again, so this new love for Astrid is satisfying for her, taking an interest in a girl is quite interesting for her.

Once Björn arrives home, she becomes Astrid's lover. There is an obvious discomfort in her that Lathgertha has not wanted to tell her about her plans and, for her part, Björn is tired of being told what to do.

Björn's relationship with Astrid seems to be well known to Lathgertha. He is even interested in Astrid one night, after he has had sex with Björn, when he asks her if she has enjoyed meeting her son.

Then comes Egil's attack on Kattegat. The one who ordered the action is Harald. Lathgertha, Astrid and Torvi are responsible for repelling the attack.

Astrid comes into confrontation with Egil and hits him; she wants to kill her, but Lathgertha stops her; instead, what they do is torture you in order to obtain valuable information. Astrid is seen in a long scene, in the chapter "The Count", speaking with Lathgertha, Torvi and Margrethe.

Season 5

Astrid is kidnapped by Harald and takes her to his kingdom, forces her to marry him to make her queen of Vestfold and Rogaland. Astrid's relationship with Harald is still a bit strange, especially in a scene where he chases her through the woods and then does not have sex with her. They are listening to the sound of horns in the distance.

Later Astrid is raped by a group and shortly after she tells Harald that she is pregnant, although it is not known if the child is the product of the rape or of her relationship with Harald.

In the middle of the battle he meets Lathgertha, his old lover, and tells him that he has to kill her, or else she will kill her. Lathgertha is confused, she knows that Astrid has not betrayed her, but the warriors of the north know that their destinies belong to supernatural powers.

Astrid takes a violent step forward and Lathgertha's sword pierces her, in turn dying the child she carries. Then she yells for Freya to pick her up and take her to her living room. Finally, she kisses Astrid one last time.

References

1. Franich, D. (2018). Vikings Recap: Moments of Vision. Recovered from ew.com
2. FANDOM (sf). Astrid. Recovered from vikings.fandom.com
3. Kain, E. (2017). "Vikings" Season 5, Episode 6 Review: "The Message." Recovered from Forbes.com
4. LGBT FANS Deserve Better (2017). Astrid, Vikings. Recovered from lgbtfansdeservebetter.com
5. Wikipedia (2018). Astrid Eiriksdotter. Retrieved from Wikipedia