Stiorra (born 892) was the daughter of Uhtred of Bebbanburg and his second wife Gisela Harthacnutsdottir.
Biography[]
Stiorra was the daughter of the Anglo-Saxon nobleman Uhtred of Bebbanburg and his Danish wife Gisela Harthacnutsdottir, and she was also the younger sister of Young Uhtred. She was raised by her father in Cookham, although she was kept at Lady Aethelflaed's Droitwich estate during his attempt to reclaim Bebbanburg in 910 AD. During this time, she met Aethelflaed's daughter Aelfwynn (future Lady of the Mercians) and her nephew Aethelstan (the future founder of the Kingdom of England). She was a pagan like her parents, and she bore a strong resemblance to her mother. However, she got along well with her Catholic brother Uhtred, and, in 911, they worked together with Uhtred's lieutenants to mislead the West Saxon soldier Cenric so that he could not retrieve Aelfwynn and take her to Aylesbury to marry Eardwulf.
She then accompanied her father and the children as they searched for Lady Aethelflaed, travelling across Mercia before travelling to Aylesbury. After the succession dispute was settled and Aethelflaed was made the new ruler of Mercia, Uhtred and his company were sent to escort Queen Mother Ealhswith and the young Aethelstan to Bedwyn for his education, but, along the way, they were ambushed by Hastein's Vikings at Thatcham. Hastein took Ealhswith, the royal sons, and Stiorra captive, mistaking Stiorra for a servant of Ealhswith. He then took them back to Winchester, which had been captured by Sihtric Caech's army, and Eardwulf identified Stiorra as Uhtred's daughter when she was presented before Sihtric.
Sihtric took a liking to her, executing Eardwulf after he harassed her, and asking her about her father's story. Eventually, the two fell in love with each other, and, during the peace talks at the end of the Siege of Winchester, Stiorra agreed to go with Sihtric to his new homeland in Northumbria as part of the peace terms. Uhtred was reluctant to let his daughter go, but, on seeing that she was in love with Sihtric and sought to live a free life (just as her father had) among her mother's people, Uhtred gave his daughter permission to live in the Danelaw with Sihtric.