Geyra (fl. 980s)

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Geyra (fl. 980s)

Princess of Wendland. Name variations: Geira. Flourished in the 980s; daughter of King Burislaf of Wend-land; married Olav I Tryggvason (968–1000), king of Norway (r. 995–1000).

One of Olaf I Tryggvason's marauding expeditions took him to Wendland, an area of northern Germany occupied by a fierce Slavic people in the late 10th century. There, King Burislaf, allowed his daughter Geyra to marry Olaf. The union was brief, however, as Geyra died three years later. Olaf's response to her death was to initiate another round of plundering, this time concentrating on areas from Frisia to Flanders.