Vikings / Famous Vikings / Aud the Deep-Minded
Aud the Deep-Minded
Matriarch and settler of Iceland
- In Old Norse
- Auðr (Unnr) djúpúðga Ketilsdóttir
- Lived
- 9th century; settled in Iceland c. 890s
- Role
- Matriarch and settler of Iceland
Aud was a daughter of the Norwegian chieftain Ketill Flatnose, ruler in the Hebrides, and by saga tradition wife of Olaf the White, Viking king of Dublin. After her son Thorstein the Red was killed in northern Scotland she secretly had a ship built and sailed with her household, marrying off granddaughters in Orkney and the Faroes on the way. In Iceland she claimed the Dalir district, gave land to her followers and freed slaves, and lived at Hvammur. Landnámabók says she was a baptised Christian.
Known for
- Led her own settlement expedition to Iceland, c. 890s
- Claimed the Dalir district; freed and endowed slaves
- Ancestress of the Laxdæla saga families
In the story
Aud the Deep-Minded: from Dublin to Iceland
Saga-based. Aud, daughter of Ketill Flatnose and by tradition wife of the Viking king of Dublin, lost her…
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