Norway
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Another of Richard’s Scandinavian ancestors is King Olav II (Saint Olav) of Norway. Here is his story. Saint Olav/Olaf (c. 995 – 29 July 1030), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was canonised at Nidaros (Trondheim) by Bishop Grimketel, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030.…
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Did you know that Richard III probably has Viking Ancestry? Here is his pedigree (taken from Genealogics) showing how he is directly descended from Harald Fairhair (Harald Hårfagre in Norwegian), who was the first king to unite Norway in around 872. However, the genealogy is speculative since part of it is derived from the Icelandic…
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The Battle of Largs
Alexander II, Alexander III, Alexander of Dundonald, Battle of Largs, Chronicle of Melrose, Clan McDonald, Dal Riata, dowries, Duke of Rothesay, England, Eric II, Gaelic kingdoms, Haakon IV, Hakonar saga Hakonarsona, Hebrides, Henry III, High Steward, House of Dunkeld, Iceland, Ireland, James III, Kirkwall, Lords of the Isles, Malcolm III, McWilliams, North Sea, Norway, Orkneys, Richard III, Scotland, Scottish campaign 1482, Shetlands, siege of Berwick, Sigrid the Haughty, StewartsDuring the first quarter of the second millennium, Scotland did not have a clear northern or western border. There was the North Sea to the east and England to the south, where the exact line varied on occasion, but the status of the west coast was far more nebulous. There was a Gaelic kingdom of…
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(Before I start, I assure you I won’t mention clay pipes! 😁) A young Norwegian lady purchased a collection of cheap costume jewellery online, and when it arrived she discovered one item was the ancient ring shown above. It had once belonged to a Viking chief. Can you imagine such a stroke of luck? How…
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A contemporary of the House of York
Alexander III, Alexander Stewart Duke of Albany, Bannockburn, Berwick, Bosworth, Cecilia, Edinburgh Castle, France, House of Stewart, James II, James III, James IV, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, John Stewart Duke of Albany, John Stewart Earl of Mar, Kelso, Kennedy faction, Largs, Lauder Bridge, Lord of the Isles, Margarethe of Denmark, Marie of Guelders, Mortimer’s Cross, Norse influence, Norway, Orkneys, Pavia, Robert I, Robert Lord Boyd, Roxburgh, Sauchieburn, Scotland, Scottish campaign 1482, Shetlands, Stoke Field, Thirlstane, Wars of the RosesJames III of Scotland’s reign overlaps the whole of Yorkist rule in England, succeeding on 3rd August 1460, more than seven months before Edward IV’s first coronation, to 11th June 1488. almost three years after Richard III’s death at Bosworth and including Henry VI’s re-adeption. His uninterrupted reign spanned the decisive battles of Mortimer’s Cross…
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Dyer or Dire?
Anthony Adolph, BBC1, Berkeley Castle, Buckingham Palace, Catherine Cromwell, Chris Given-Wilson, codpieces, coinage, dancing, Danny Dyer, Danny Dyer’s Right Royal Family, Denmark, direct descent, Dover Castle, Dukes of Normandy, dyeing, Edward II, Edward III, Elizabeth Norton, fencing, France, Helmingham Hall, Henry II, Henry Percy, Henry VIII, Historyonics, horses, Hugh le Despenser, Isabella de Valois, Jane Seymour, jousting, Leeds Castle, Louis IX, Nick Knowles, Norway, Piers Gaveston, Ray Winstone, red hot poker, Roger Mortimer, Rollo the Viking, saints, Shrewsbury, Sir John Seymour, St. Margaret of Wessex, sugar banquet, Sweden, Thomas Becket, Tobias Capwell, Tower of London, Tracy Borman, West Ham, Who do you think you are?, William I, Wolf HallMany of you will remember the episode of “Who do you think you are” in which Danny Dyer was revealed as a descendant of Edward III. In this new two part series, he “meets” a few prominent ancestors, some even more distant. The first episode began with Rollo, ancestor of the Dukes of Normandy, which…
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Here is Mercedes Rochelle’s excellent post about Tostig Godwinson, brother of Harold II. He was Earl of Northumbria for ten years before the rebellion in that region in late 1065. He then tried to overthrow Harold from the south in May and from the north in September, with Norwegian support, ending in his defeat and…
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Queen Margaret (also known as Margrethe and Margareta) was a Scandinavian queen who died in the early 15th century. Briefly she was monarch of Sweden, Norway and Denmark and earned herself the title of ‘the Lady King.’ Her only son died young and hence her heir became Eric of Pomerania; it was her desire to…
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Edgar the Aetheling: Failure or Survivor?
“Perkin”, anniversaries, Battle of Hastings, Denmark, Edgar the Atheling, Edward the Exile, Edward V, exiles, Harold II, House of Wessex, Hungary, Malcolm III, Margaret of Wessex, Normandy, Normans, Norway, Richard of Shrewsbury, Scotland, St. Edward the Confessor, Stigand, Wallingford, Westminster Abbey, William I, Witangemot, youth
Originally posted on Giaconda's Blog: You could argue that Edgar was set up to fail from the start. As the last male heir of the ancient royal House of Cerdic of Wessex; Edgar had the bloodline but little else to support his claim to the English throne when his great uncle, Edward the Confessor,…