Ingerd Ottesdotter (Rømer) (c. 1475–1555) was her era's wealthiest landowner in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. She was the ultimate heiress of the noble Rømer family and a political intriguer. Lady Ingerd is noted for having orchestrated her powerful sons-in-law to support her goals. Her fame was the inspiration for

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's play '' Lady Inger of Ostrat''.

Life

She was the daughter of Otte Matsson Rømer (1437-1508) and Ingeborg Lydersdatter Struds von Bergen (c. 1451–1512). Lady Ingerd's parents had her marry Lord

Nils Henriksson Nils Henriksson (or Niels Henrikssøn, circa 1455–1523) was a Norwegian knight, landowner, National Counselor and Lord High Steward of Norway who married Ingerd Ottesdatter (''fru Inger til Austrått''). He was the son of National Counselor ...

, whose family also had some claim to

Austrått Austrått or Austrått Manor () is a manor in Ørland Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. Since the 10th century, Austrått has been the residence for many noblemen, noblewomen, and officials who played a significant role in Norwegian hist ...

Manor in the

Trondheimsfjord The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's List of Norwegian fjords, third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from Ørl ...

. Thus the important manor of Austrått, with its associated lands, were settled to be Ingerd's share of the family inheritance. Her husband became both Chancellor and High Steward of Norway (''rikshovmester''). She was widowed in 1523. Her interests also targeted Swedish politics, in addition to Norwegian. In 1526 she received the exiled Swedish chancellor Peder Sunnanväder, who had been implicated in the Dalecarlian rebellions. Later she practically joined attempts to dethrone King

Gustav I of Sweden Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföreståndare'') from 1521, during the on ...

. In 1528 the knight who claimed to be Nils Sture, the elder son of

Sten Sture the Younger Sten Sture the Younger () (1493 – 3 February 1520), was a Swedish nobleman who served as the regent of Sweden, during the era of the Kalmar Union. Biography Sture was born in 1493, as the son of Svante Nilsson (regent of Sweden) and Iliana G ...

, the 1512–20

Regent of Sweden This list records the Monarchy of Sweden, monarchs of Sweden, from the late Viking Age to the present day. Sweden has continuously been a monarchy since the country's consolidation in the Viking Age and early Middle Ages, for over a thousand year ...

(the boy's identity remains controversial to this day: he may have been was the authentic Nils or an impostor), fled to Norway after his defeat and enjoyed the hospitality of Lady Ingerd. She had plans to obtain the crown of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

for him, taking it from the

Sture Sture () was a name borne by three distinct but interrelated noble families in Sweden in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. It was originally a nickname, meaning 'haughty, proud' (compare the Swedish word ''stursk'' and the Old Norse ...

s' kinsman King

Gustav Vasa Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (''Reichsverweser#Sweden, Riksföreståndare'') fr ...

. And, more importantly to her, she was planning to marry his daughter, Eline Nilsdatter to the young pretender and make her the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. Ultimately, nothing came of this and the so-called ''Daljunkern'' was executed later in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

at request of King Gustav. From earlier property disputes and such, Lady Ingerd was an enemy of the Roman Catholic prelate

Olav Engelbrektsson Olav Engelbrektsson (, Trondenes, Norway – 7 February 1538, Lier, Belgium, Lier, Duchy of Brabant, Habsburg Netherlands) was the 28th Archdiocese of Nidaros, Archbishop of Norway from 1523 to 1537, the List of Norwegian monarchs, Regent of Norwa ...

, Primate of Norway and

Archbishop of Nidaros The Archdiocese of Nidaros (or Niðaróss) was the metropolitan see covering Norway in the later Middle Ages. The see was the Nidaros Cathedral, in the city of Nidaros (now Trondheim). The archdiocese existed from the middle of the twelfth cent ...

. Archbishop Engelbriktsonn was also a rival in Norway's government with Lady Ingerd's son-in-law Lord

Vincens Lunge Vincens Lunge (sporadically referred to as ''Vincents Lunge''; – 3 January 1536) was a Danish- Norwegian noble, member of the Norwegian realm council (''Riksråd'') and the foremost representative of King Christian III of Denmark in Norway. ...

. Lady Inger and her family joined the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

and promoted it extensively. That served as an important impetus for

Protestantism in Norway Religion in Norway is dominated by Lutheran Christianity, with 61.7% of the population belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway in 2024.

Personal life

Ingerd Ottesdotter Rømer and Nils Henriksson had five daughters, all of whom married Danish-Norwegian noblemen: *Margrete Nilsdatter (c. 1495–1550), married to

, nobleman and member of the Norwegian national council (''Riksråd'') *Eline Nilsdatter (c. 1504–1532), married with

Nils Lykke Nils Lykke ( – 24 December 1535) was a Danish-Norwegian nobleman, feudal lord (''lensherre'') and member of the Riksråd in Norway. He was the son of Danish Riksråd member and landowner Joachim Lykke and Maren Bille. In 1528 he married Eline N ...

, feudal lord at

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, ) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities () of Fjord, Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Sande, Haram, Stranda Mu ...

and

Nordmøre Nordmøre () is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norway, Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. The area comprises the northern third of the county including the List of municipalities of Norway, municipalities of Kristiansund Mu ...

*Anna Nilsdatter (c 1505–1557), married to Erik Ugerup, feudal lord in

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

*Ingeborg Nilsdatter (c. 1512–1597), married to Peder Hanssøn Litle, feudal lord of

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

*Lucie Nilsdatter (d. 1555), married

Jens Tillufssøn Bjelke Jens Tillufssøn Bjelke (died in Copenhagen, 14 October 1559) was a Denmark–Norway, Danish-Norwegian nobleman and a feudal lord of Jämtland, Jemtland, Norway, was originally from Denmark, Danish Skåne (now Sweden, Swedish). Jens Tillufssøn Bje ...

, feudal lord of Jemtland Lucie Nilsdatter had been the center of a social scandal of some substance in those times. Nils Lykke had married Eline Nilsdatter, the elder sister of Lucie. After her sister Eline's death in 1532, Lucie cared for Eline's children and ultimately conceived a child by Nils Lykke. Nils was subsequently put to death for incest by Archbishop Engelbrektsson in 1535. Lucie married

in 1540, and his correspondence thereafter came from Austrått Manor. Lady Ingerd formally transferred the title of Austrått to Lucie and Jens; records show that the transfer was confirmed by the king in 1552. There has been speculation that Lucie's scandal allowed Jens, who descended from lesser nobility, to be considered socially acceptable for Lucie. In 1555 she and her daughter Lucie Jensdatter died in a

shipwrecking Shipwrecking is any event causing a ship to wreck, such as a ship collision, collision causing the ship to sink; the stranding of a ship on rocks, land or shoal; poor maintenance, resulting in a lack of seaworthiness; or the destruction of a sh ...

off the coast of North-

Western Norway Western Norway (; ) is the Regions of Norway, region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the Counties of Norway, counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative fu ...

Later fame

In 1857, playwright

, then in his early career, wrote the play " Lady Inger of Ostrat" which loosely utilizes her intrigues towards Swedish throne as basis of drama. The play is not fully accurate on historical and genealogical details.

References

External links

''Fru inger til Østråt''
by Henrik Ibsen {{DEFAULTSORT:Romer, Inger Ottesdatter 1470s births 1555 deaths People from Ørland Norwegian landowners Converts to Lutheranism from Roman Catholicism 16th-century Norwegian nobility 15th-century Norwegian nobility 15th-century Norwegian women 16th-century Norwegian women Deaths due to shipwreck at sea 16th-century women landowners