You may have heard of the Sámi girl Snøfrid, who married Norway’s first king, Harald Fairhair? 

The story of Snøfrid is one of the most central tales in the small saga Ågrip, which was written here in the city over eight hundred years ago, around 1190. The author’s name is unknown, but it is believed that the author was someone from the clergy – likely a member of the priesthood associated with the archdiocese, as the cathedral and the Archbishop’s Manor were at the center of this community in the 12th century. According to Ågrip, Harald Fairhair had many wives, but only one of them is described in detail by the author – namely Snøfrid. The reason for this is likely because the ruling royal family during the time when Ågrip was written believed they were descended from Snøfrid and Harald’s son, Sigurd Rise. Sigurd Rise was the great-grandfather of Harald Hardrada. According to Ågrip, most of the Norwegian kings traced their lineage to this Sámi matriarch. 

Here is the most famous excerpt from Ågrip’s description of the story of Snøfrid: 

“It had happened that King Harald, one winter, traveled to the Uppland region and had a Christmas feast at Tofte. On Christmas Eve, while Harald was eating, Svåse came to the door and sent word to the king, asking him to come outside to meet him. The king became angry over this message, and the same man who had brought the message took the king's anger back out. But the Sámi man didn’t give up, and sent a second invitation, offering the king a bear-skin, saying that he was the Sámi whom the king had given permission to set up his hut on the other side of the hill at Tofte. The king went out and agreed to visit Svåse in his hut; some of the men urged him to do this, but others advised against it. There stood Snøfrid, Svåse's daughter, the most beautiful girl, and she offered the king a full horn of mead, which he drank down, both the horn and her hand. And it was as if fire had come into his body; he wanted her that very night. But Svåse said it would not happen by his will, and the king should formalize their union and marry her. The king did so and wed her, and he loved her so deeply that he forgot about his kingdom and everything else that concerns a king. He stayed with her almost both day and night for as long as they lived together, and for three years after she died. He mourned her death, and all the people mourned him because he had become so lost in grief.” 

The story has some fairytale-like elements, and the actual meeting between Harald and Snøfrid likely didn’t happen as the saga portrays it. However, there are better reasons to believe that Sigurd Rise really was the great-grandfather of Harald Hardrada. In this context, his nickname is interesting; in Old Norse, it was “hrisi,” a term that can mean “half-blood.” In other words, it is reasonable to believe that Harald Hardrada was indeed of partial Sámi descent, even though the Snøfrid story itself is not entirely credible. Even today, our current king, Harald V, can trace his lineage back to Harald Hardrada’s dynasty. 

Additionally, it is interesting that Ågrip, which is one of the earliest sagas we have, was written here in the city and dedicates considerable attention to southern Sámi characters like Svåse and Snøfrid. In Ågrip, we also encounter other southern Sámi characters throughout the narrative, and the saga likely reflects, to some extent, that the southern Sámi were an important part of the society the Old Norse saga writer himself was part of. 

Sources and further reading

Eliasson, Emil M. V. (2024) “Kildene til Ågrips Hårfagresaga – Forsøk på rekonstruksjon” i Trondhjemske Samlinger (Fagfellevurdert spesialutgave), Trondheim.

Indrebø, Gustav (1936) Ågrip – ei liti norsk kongesoge, Det norske samlaget, Oslo.