Thyra

Thyra (Old Norse: Þyri or Þyre) was the wife of King Gorm the Old of Denmark, and one of the first queens of Denmark widely believed by scholars to be historical rather than legendary. She is presented in medieval sources as a wise and powerful woman who ordered the building or fortification of the Danevirke, consistent with her commemoration on multiple Viking Age runestones. These include those at Jelling which was the seat of power for her dynasty. When she was born and became queen is unclear, however, she likely ruled until her death in the middle of the 10 century CE. Name Thyra's name is attested in Old Norse as Þyri and Þyre and has been alternatively anglicised as Thorvi and Thyre. The Jelling 1 stone, commissioned in honour of Thyra by her husband after her death refers to her as , translating as "Denmark's adornment", "strength", "salvation" or "remedy". It has been further argued that the words instead refer to Gorm, with Thyra's importance being a later innovation by medieval writers, though this is not the scholarly consensus. This term is also used to describe her in Saga Hálfdanar svarta as (sometimes anglicised as "Dannebod"). Family