Gunnhild—often remembered as Gunnhild “Mother of Kings”—stands at the dark heart of early Norwegian politics, where family, vengeance, and legitimacy were sharper than any sword. The problem is that much of what we “know” about her comes through sagas written by male authors long after her lifetime, and those sources frequently frame powerful women as dangerous: witches, manipulators, poisoners. With Gunnhild, that labeling is practically the point. What can be said with confidence is that she w