Emund the Old

Who was Emund the Old?

Emund the Old or Edmund was king of Sweden 1050–1060.

Emund was an illegitimate son of Olof Skötkonung. Emund's wife was Astrid Njalsdotter of Skjalgaätten. Astrid was the daughter of Norwegian nobleman Nial Finnsson and Gunhild Halvdansdotter of the Skjalga family in Hålogaland, Norway. They became the parents of three known children: sons Anund and Ingvar, who both died before their father, and a daughter, whose name is not known but who was the Queen Consort of King Stenkil of Sweden and mother of the two more Swedish kings Inge I, Alstan.

Emund succeeded his brother Anund Jakob c. 1050. Emund was reportedly called Slemme, meaning the bad, because he actively opposed the priests from the Archbishopric of Bremen in favour of the English missionary Osmundus. The Westrogothic law states that Emund was a disagreeable man when wanting to pursue a goal, and that he marked the border between Sweden and Denmark.

The cognomen "Gamle" is known from Adam of Bremen, although he mistakes it as a proper name and mentions in one episode a "King Gamle" when it is in fact Emund. The name means "old" and could signify that he was old when he became king or that he was the older brother to his predecessor Anund Jakob.