Gyda Torgilsdatter ^{1 2}

   Another name for Gyda was Gytha Thorkelsdóttir.

  General Notes:

Gyda flyktet i 1067 til en klippeøy i Bristolfjorden sammen med flere høvdinger. Hun måtte så flykte videre til St. Omer i Flandern, hvor hun døde.
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Gyda Torkelsdotter was the daughter of Torkel Styrbjörnsson. Consequently she was the granddaughter of the disinherited Swedish prince Styrbjörn Starke, the conqueror of Jomsborg, and Tyra, the daughter of Harold Bluetooth king of Norway and Denmark.

In 1019, she married the Anglo-Saxon nobleman Godwin of Wessex. Among their children were Harold II of England and Tostig Godwinson, who later faced each other at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

Gyda married Gudine jarl Ulvnadsson, son of Wulfnoth Cild and Unknown, in 1019 in Halland, Sweden. (Gudine jarl Ulvnadsson was born about 992 in Wessex, England and died on 15 Apr 1053 in Winchester, Hampshire, England.) The cause of his death was apoplexy.

  Marriage Notes:

The marriage resulted in the birth of at least twelve children:
Driella of Wessex (c. 1019);
Edith of Wessex, (c. 1020 - December 19, 1075), queen consort of Edward the Confessor;
Sweyn Godwinson, Earl of Mercia (c. 1021 - 1052). At some point he declared himself an illegitimate son of Canute the Great but this is considered to be a false claim;
Harold II of England (c. 1022 - October 14, 1066);
Gungilda of Wessex, a nun (c. 1024 - 1080);
Ylgiva of Wessex (c. 1025);
Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria (c. 1026 - September 25, 1066);
Ydgiva of Wessex (c. 1028);
Gyrth Godwinson (c. 1032 - October 14, 1066);
Leofwine Godwinson , Earl of Kent (c. 1035 - October 14, 1066);
Wulfnoth Godwinson (c. 1036 - 1087);
Ylfgar of Wessex (c. 1038). ³