more on Bestemor's Family

Bestemor was an avid genealogist, and was quite interested in her family's origins.  She worked with a professional genealogist for a while, but never got very far.  I suspect that the man discovered she was LDS and declined to work with her any more. 

Within the last 20 or 30 years, Sigrid's cousin's family has completed family history research which links her mother's mother's mother clear back to Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria, who, together with the Norwegian King, tried to wrest the Kingdom of England from Tostig's brother Harold, King of England, in a very famous battle in northern England near Stamford bridge, in 1066.  Tostig died in the battle, and although his brother Harold's forces won the day, it was a sad one.  Harold and his army, already battle weary, made a quick, forced march to the south, to fight off the invading William of Normandy.  Harold lost his life and the battle at Hastings, England.  The rest, as they say, is history.

In the meantime, Tostig had a son named Skule (born 1052), who was around 14 years old.  Skule was left behind with the forces at the seashore, watching the ships, as the army went off to battle at Stamford bridge.  His valor so impressed the King of Norway, that Skule was taken home to Norway, adopted by the king (Kongsfoster), given a princess in marriage, and a sizeable portion of land around the King's holdings in Eidsvoll.  Bestemor's family is descended from Skule.  Skule's brother, Ketil Tostigson (born 1054) was also sent to live with the Norwegian king.

Skule's mother, Judith, later married Duke Welf of Bavaria.  She was a princess of Flanders, daughter of Count Baldwin IV (Badouin), and an aunt of Mathilda who married William the Conqueror.  Flanders no longer exists as a kingdom, it was in what is now northern France, and Belgium.

Skule and his brother, Ketil, did well in Norway.  According to Wikipedia:

Skuli Tostisson Kongsfostre (born 1052) - Whose great-great-granddaughter Helena Guttormsdotter was the mistress of Valdemar II of Denmark and mother of Valdemar's son Canute, Duke of Reval. He was also the patrilineal great-great-grandfather of king Inge II of Norway and duke Skule Bårdsson, father of the Norwegian Queen Consort Margrét Skúladóttir, spouse of king Haakon IV of Norway.