Gisilfrid
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| Gisilfrid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| King of Mesconia King of the Weats, Orms and Leits | |
| Reign | 1244–1271 |
| Predecessor | Position created |
| Successor | Alfgeir the Half-Blind |
| Prince of Haug | |
| Reign | 1233–1271 |
| Predecessor | Gunnulf Ormstunga |
| Successor | Æinridi |
| Born | c. 1218 Haug |
| Died | June 8, 1271 (aged 62–63) Isafiordr, Leitland |
| Spouse | Maria the Cold |
| Issue (among others) | Æinridi Alfgeir |
| House | Haug |
| Father | Gunnulf Ormstunga |
| Mother | Yngvild Waltheofdottir |
| Religion | Solarian Catholic |
Gisilfrid (c. 1218 – June 8, 1271; aged 62 or 63), sometimes Gisilfrit or Gisilfrid Bloðorn ("blood-eagle"), was the first titular King of Mesconia from 1244 to 1271. Son of Gunnulf Ormstunga, Gisilfrid inherited the princedom of Haug at 15 years old. Over the next half-decade, he defended Haug against multiple invasions in the Three Shields War. In 1240, he heeded calls by Pope Adrian III for a crusade in Leitland, becoming the first Sotirian king to conquer the territory north of Thorshjem in 1244. As such, he is generally historiographically regarded as the first Sotirian King of Scovern. The rest of his reign was marked by extensive missions to convert the Leitish people from paganism and, later, struggles with his sons Alfgeir and Æinridi.
Gisilfrid was born in 1218 in the city of Haug as the only child of Gunnulf Ormstunga and his third wife Yngvild Waltheofdottir. Gisilfrid's childhood was marred by his mother's early death in 1223 and several conflicts with the city of Tonder in his later years. At 14, he was married to Maria the Cold, daughter of Holmgeir of Tonder, as part of a peace between the two states. Gisilfrid's tumultuous relationship with his wife became the source of much unrest amongst the nobility of Haug, increasing after he took the throne in 1234. In 1240, Gisilfrid began his attacks on the Leitish pagans as part of a crusade called by Adrian III in 1240. In 1244, he declared the Leits had been sotirianised in the city of Isafiordr, taking the title of King of Mesconia.