Ásthildur the Great

Ásthildur I (Ásthildur Þórvaldsdattir; 1 July 309 BC – 24 September 266 BC), most commonly known as Ásthildur the Great (), is a Velkanian legendary figure who is believed to be the first Queen of Velkania. According to traditions, she reigned from 289 BC until her death in 266 BC, and is also credited with founding the House of Ásthildur.
While historians agree that it is likely Ásthildur did exist and was the first monarch of the Kingdom of Velkania, there is little agreement as to specific biographical details of her life, and most exist in the form of myth and lore. Ásthildur is believed to have been born in the Kingdom of Molvanger to parents Þórvald Hnikarrsson and Geirþrúður Snæhólmsdattir as their eldest of five daughters. After her mother died during the birth of Ásthildur's youngest sister in 298 BC, her father left her sisters in the care of relatives and left with Ásthildur to the newly discovered Velkanian Isles, settling in the farming village of Kristðurbakkihöfn to begin a new life.
After arriving in Kristðurbakkihöfn, Ásthildur and her father established themselves as a successful farming family, raising sheep and a number of crops. She married her neighbor Harald Daðason in 293 BC, and they had one daughter together: Hjálmdís I. In 290 BC, bandits swept through her family farm, killing her father, husband, and a number of their sheep, and pillaging their home for supplies and coins. Determined to put an end to the lawlessness of the region and avenge her loved ones' deaths, Ásthildur put together a group of neighborhood women similarly affected by bandits, and traveled Velkania, recruiting new members and executing bandits on the way. A trained markswoman, Ásthildur rode on horseback throughout the island for a period of five months while on this mission.
Creating a movement advocating for an organized system of rules and government in order to keep people safe, Ásthildur managed to unify the island of Velkania and proposed herself as its first ruler. She was officially coronated as queen in 289 BC, setting into place the matriarchal and monarchial system of government that the kingdom had in place for more than a millennium. Ásthildur died on 24 September 266 BC, of what is now expected to have been breast cancer. She was succeeded as queen by her only child Hjálmdís I, and her body was cremated in an ancient Laposcandian funeral service. Ásthildur's legacy has continued to endure as a legendary figure within Velkanian lore; she has been cited as an icon for women and modern feminism, in addition to being a fair and just ruler for all people.
Category:309 BC births
Category:266 BC deaths
Category:Cancer-related deaths in the Kingdom of Velkania
Category:Deaths from breast cancer in the Kingdom of Velkania
Category:House of Ásthildur
Category:Monarchs of the Kingdom of Velkania
Category:People from Kristðurbakkihöfn
Category:People from Oshammar
Category:Queens regnant
Category:Velkanian monarchs
Category:Velkanian royalty