Swietoslava was said to have inherited her ‘difficult character’ from her paternal aunt, Adelajda (mother of St Stephen the Great – the first King of Hungary). What Swietoslava got up to during her time back in her homeland is unknown, but after her estranged husband’s death, her sons Canute and Harold travelled there to retrieve her.Ĭanute later went on to become King of England, Denmark and Norway, as well as governor of Schleswig and Pomerania Harold also became a ruler of Denmark. She returned to Poland, which was now under the rule of her brother Boleslav the Brave – the first official Polish monarch. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown (her restless, explosive temperament perhaps?) Swietoslava became unhappy in her marriage to Sweyn.
During her time with Sweyn, she gave birth to five children, including Canute the Great and Harold II of Denmark. She also appears to have changed her name temporarily to ‘Gunhilda’ for the purpose of this marriage, although it’s not clear why. In around 994, she remarried – this time to the infamous Viking, King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark. Sadly, Swietoslava was widowed shortly afterwards. In 980, Swietoslava married King Erik VI of Sweden, and bore his son Olav Skotkunung (who later followed in his father’s footsteps by also becoming a King of Sweden). ‘Dagome’ is a Scandinavian name, used within the document to address Mieszko I. Some definitive proof of Norse-Slav interaction exists, within a document called The Dagome Index – the first known document relating to the country of Poland. I’m not entirely sure how legitimate that theory is, though! Some German historians also came up with a theory: that Mieszko’s name – meaning ‘bear’ in Polish – may be linked to the Scandinavian name Björn, which has the same meaning. Slavic and Scandinavian relations had been very friendly for at least a few decades prior to the Princess’ birth, with some historians believing that her father’s lineage may have featured some Norse blood (although of course this is practically impossible to prove). Little is known about Swietoslava’s early years, but during adulthood she was actually quite famous, for both her relationships and her fiery temperament! Before I begin telling her story, I would like to apologise in advance for any spelling errors (I’m not Slavic myself, and there are various different spellings within my sources!) and any mistakes made with regards to the tale itself there is a fair amount of conflicting information, so I’ll do my best!īorn around 970 AD in Poznan (Poland), Swietoslava Piast Mieszkówna was the daughter of Mieszko I, Duke of Poland, and his wife Doubravka of Bohemia (an ancient kingdom which was once located in what is now known as Czech Republic). I was recently delving into historical interactions between the Vikings and Slavs, and came across an interesting yet largely overlooked character, named Swietoslava.
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