THE SCENE: The passage below provides a tantalizing look at how a woman might have risen to power in ancient Scandinavia.
THE TEXT: A king name Eirek ruled over Sweden. He had a wise and well-mannered queen. They had one child, a daughter named Thornbjorg. She was lovelier and wiser than any woman that anyone knew. She grew up at home with her own father and mother. Men have said of this maiden that she was more skilled than any woman that people had ever heard of, at any skill that a woman might turn her hand to. Besides that, she practices jousting and fencing with sword and shield. She knew these skills just as well as knights who know how to wield their weapons well and skillfully.
King Eirek wasn’t pleased that she was behaving like a man, and he asked her to stay in her bower like other princesses. She replied, “Since you have no more than one lifetime to rule the kingdom, and I am your only child and will inherit everything, I may well need to defend this kingdom from kings or princes, if I lose you. I would most likely find it bad to be married to one of them against my will, if that were to happen, and so I want to learn some knightly ways. Then I think it’s more likely that I will be able to hold this kingdom with the strength and loyalty of good followers. So I ask you, father, to give me some of your kingdom to rule in trust while you are live, and I will try my hand at ruling and overseeing such people as are given into my power. There’s also this to consider: if any men ask for my hand in marriage and I refuse consent, it’s more likely that your kingdom will be left in peace from their tyranny if I respond to them, instead of you.”
The king considered the maiden’s words, and he found her overbearing and haughty. He thought there was a good chance that he and his kingdom would get into trouble from her arrogance and ambition. He decided to give her a third of his kingdom in stewardship, and he granted her a royal seat along with that, called Ullarakr. In addition, he gave her fierce and bold men as followers, who were compliant and obedient to her will.
When she had received all of this from her father, she went to Ullarakr. At once she summoned a great assembly and had herself raised to kingship over the third of Sweden which King Eirek had agreed to let her rule in stewardship. She also gave herself the name Thorberg. No man was so bold as to call her a maiden or a woman – whoever did that would have to suffer harsh punishment. Then King Thorberg dubbed knights and appointed retainers and gave them pay, in the same way as her father King Eirek in Uppsala. Sweden maintained this arrangement for several years.
– Saga of Hrolf Gautreksson, 13th Century AD
