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Number 3 – September 4, 2023
Newly Added Viking Ancestors
After some careful review of available and reliable modern resources, together with a bit of online sleuthing, I have added two more Vikings and another Valkyrie to our list of propositi. They have been added to our list found elsewhere on this site, and the list has been alphabetized to make it easier to locate your Viking or Valkyrie of choice. The “new three” are
Åsta Gudbrandsdottir of the Upplands (Harald Grönske’s wife)
Bjørn “the Merchant,” Under-king of Vestfold
Harald Grönske (the Grenlander), Viking Under-king of Vingulmark, Vestfold and Agdir
Conveniently, all of these new Viking ancestors are behind our Viking ancestor King St. Olaf II “the Stout” of Norway, so with descent from King Olaf, descent from these is automatically established.
Our Merchant Viking, Bjørn, traveled many times to foreign lands for commercial advantage, dying around 955. His grandson, Harald Grönske, the Grenlander (not Greenlander) and his wife, Åsta, flourished in the 10th Century, and are the parents of King St. Olaf II “the Stout” of Norway (can. 1164).
These new additions, reachable by a great percentage of Gateway descents, bring the total number of accepted Viking/Valkyrie ancestors to 25.
END.
Number 2 – December 11, 2021
While perusing Facebook recently about Vikings pages, I came across a page that had some very interesting (and brief! we like brief!) historical articles of interest to Viking followers (and descendants). On contacting the author, she graciously consented to my reproducing her writings here. At the end of this brief missive, I have provided a hyperlink to her site where one may find additional interesting reads about Vikings and Valkyries.
Secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry: “The Viking Raven Flag”
by Emma Boast
“The famous Norman ‘comic strip’ tells the story of William the Conqueror’s invasion of England, culminating in the Battle of Hastings. There are many secrets of the tapestry including the depiction of the famous Viking pagan ‘Raven banner.’ Although the Normans became Christian within a generation after Rollo’s warband settled down in North Western France, old habits die hard and the use of pagan symbolism can be seen on the Bayeux tapestry, created some 150 years later. In two panels of the famous tapestry, there are shown what appear to be raven banners.
“The Bayeux tapestry was commissioned by Bishop Odo (Eudes), the half-brother of William the Conqueror. As one of the combatants at the Battle of Hastings, Odo would have been familiar with the standards carried into the fight. One of the panels depicts a Norman cavalry charge against an English shield-wall, includes a charging Norman knight carrying a semi-circular banner emblazoned with a standing black bird. In a second, illustrating the deaths of Harold Godwinson’s brothers, a triangular banner closely resembling that shown on Olaf Cuaran’s coin lies broken on the ground. Scholars are divided as to whether these are simply relics of the Normans’ Scandinavian heritage (or for that matter, the Scandinavian influence in Anglo-Saxon England) or whether they reflect an undocumented Norse presence in either the Norman or English army. We know the raven banner was still used by the Norse in this period. The Landøyðan (Landravager) of Harald Hardrada was flown at both the battles of Fulford and Stamford Bridge (1066 AD), described by Snorri Sturluson in the Heimskringla.
“Early 11th century
“The army of King Cnut, “the Great,” of England, Norway and Denmark bore a raven banner made from white silk at the Battle of Ashingdon in 1016. The Encomium Emmae reports that Cnut had a banner that gave a wonderful omen. This may seem incredible to the reader, but nevertheless appears to be true. The banner was woven of the cleanest and whitest silk, and no picture of any figures was found on it. In case of war, however, a raven was always to be seen, as if it were woven into it. If the Danes were going to win the battle, the raven appeared, beak wide open, flapping its wings and restless on its feet. If they were going to be defeated, the raven did not stir at all, and its limbs hung motionless.
“The Lives of Waltheof and his father, Siward Digri, ‘the Stout,’ Earl of Northumberland, was chronicled by a monk of Crowland Abbey (possibly the English historian William of Ramsey). His work reports that the Danish jarl of Northumbria, Sigurd, was given a banner by an unidentified old sage. The banner was called ‘Ravenlandeye.’
“According to the Heimskringla (by Snorri Sturlason, c. 1225 AD), Harald Hardrada had a standard called ‘Landøyðan’ (or ‘Land-waster’). This is often assumed to be a raven banner based on the similarity of its name to Sigurd of Northumbria’s ‘Ravenlandeye,’ though there is no direct evidence connecting Harald’s standard with ravens. In a conversation between Harald and King Sweyn II of Denmark,
“Sveinn asked Haraldr which of his possessions he valued most highly. He answered that it was his banner (merki), Landøyðan. Thereupon Sveinn asked what virtue it had to be accounted so valuable. Haraldr replied that it was prophesied that victory would be his before whom this banner was borne; and added that this had been the case ever since he had obtained it. Thereupon Sveinn said, ‘I shall believe that your flag has this virtue if you fight three battles with King Magnús, your kinsman, and are victorious in all.’ “
Number 1: June 9, 2021
Tancred, “the Wise,” of Normandy – a “new” Viking
Occasionally, a Viking or Valkyrie is added to our list of propositi. The latest – and one now appearing elsewhere on this site – is Tancred, who flourished in the 10th Century. I have determined a line of descent from him to some Gateway ancestors who heretofore could not claim a Viking descent. If you have at least any of the following lineal ancestors, you have provable descent from Tancred:
Robert (I) de Marmion (c. 1090-1143/4) who married Milicent de Rethel
William de Beauchamp of Tamworth who married Joan de St. Valerie
Auberee/Albreda de Marmion who married William de Camville
Gateways who have descent from Tancred, but who previously could not claim a Viking descent, include:
Abigail Smith of Virginia (m. Lewis Burwell, Jr.)
James Neale of Maryland (m. Anna Maria Gill)
Humphrey Underhill of New York (m. Mrs. Sarah Smith)
Mary Underhill of New York (m. 1st Thomas Naylor, and 2nd Richard Stites). A recently developed royal descent (in 2022 by Alexander Bannerman and Gary Boyd Roberts) from Edward I, King of England, now gives her descent from many other Vikings and Valkyries.
Alice Freeman of Connecticut (m. 1st John Thompson, and 2nd Robert Parke)
Rev. William Sargent of Massachusetts (m. 1st Hannah _____, 2nd Mary _____, and 3rd Mrs. Sarah Minshall)
Margaret Frances Towneley of Maryland (m. Richard Chase)
Nathaniel Bacon (1620-1692), Acting Governor of Virginia (m. 1st Mrs. Anne Bassett Smith, and 2nd Mrs. Elizabeth Kingsmill Tayloe)
Elizabeth Symonds of Massachusetts (m. Daniel Epes, her step-brother) (a new Gateway in 2021), Dorothy Symonds of Virginia (m. Rev. Thomas Harrison) (a new Gateway in 2021, although it is not certainly known whether Dorothy came to America with her husband, who later returned to England), Harlakenden Symonds of Massachusetts (m. Elizabeth Day) (a new Gateway in 2021), William Symonds of Maine (m. Mary Wade) (a new Gateway in 2021). Each of these last four (established in 2021) find their royal descent through their mother, Dorothy Harlakenden, the first wife of Deputy Governor Samuel Symonds of Massachusetts. An article appearing in the 2021 issue of Executive Papers (a publication of the Hereditary Order of the Families of the Presidents and First Ladies of America) provides the line of descent for Dorothy.
Numerous other Gateway ancestors will also find descent from Tancred.
END.
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About the Society’s Genealogist
Alex Bannerman is a professional genealogist living in West Virginia, whose involvement in genealogy extends back to the year 1967. His involvement in lineage societies began in 1995. He has held numerous national offices of leadership in the Lineage Society Community and has founded or assisted in the founding of more than 20 such societies during that time.
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