Ingerd Erlendsdotter (1440–1526) was a Norwegian noblewoman and landowner during the 15th century, who through inheritance and marriage, became one of the largest landowners in Norway.

Life

Ingerd Erlendsdotter was born in 1440 to Erlend Eindridsson (died ) and Gudrun Olavsdotter (). Her father was the last known male-line member of the Losnaætten family. Her family estate,

Losnegard Losnegard is a very small village in the municipality of Solund in Vestland county, Norway. Constituting the easternmost point of the municipality, it is located near the mouth of the Sognefjorden river, about northeast of the municipal center of ...

(''Losnaætten''), which she later inherited, was located on the island of Losna at the mouth of the

Sognefjord The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, ), nicknamed the King of the Fjords (), is the list of Norwegian fjords, longest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the small village ...

in Sogn. After her father's death, her mother married

Jon Svaleson Smør Jon Svaleson Smør (c. 1420–1483) was a Norwegian people, Norwegian knight, Rigsraadet, riksråd and regent. Jon was a son of the knight Svale Jonson Smør and his wife Sigrid Gunnarsdotter Kane. He was a knight from 1449, and cabinet minister f ...

. She was commonly known as "Lady Ingerd the Elder" to distinguish her from her relative

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

, the landowner of

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 ...

. Her first marriage was to Olav Guttormsson (died before September 1485), who owned the Hananger estate in

Lista Lista is a former municipality located in the old Vest-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1965. The administrative centre was the village of Vanse where Vanse Church is located. Lista municip ...

. When he died, his estate went to his aunt Botild Svalesdotter, however, Erlendsdotter was given the right to dispose Hananger and the other farms Guttormsson owned during her lifetime. She married for the second time to armourer and Privy Councillor Arald Kane (died ). She remained childless after both of her marriages. After her mother's cousin junker Hans Sigurdsson died childless in 1466, Erlendsdotter's mother became one of his three heirs to his large estates. However, the inheritance was not finalised until 1490. Erlendsdotter and her sister Sigrid were allocated Sigurdsson's Northern and North-West estates. In about 1497, her second husband Arald Kane and his sons-in-law were murdered during an assembly in

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 ...

. After his death, Erlendsdotter donated several of her properties in

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 ...

and

Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag (; ) was a Counties of Norway, county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag () county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. ...

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral () is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II ( 995–1030, reigned 1015–1028), who became the patron saint of th ...

for an annual memorial for herself and her late husband. At the end of her life, she felt the loss of her husbands and lack of children. In a letter to archbishop

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 ...

in May 1526 in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, she wrote that she felt like a "wild bird". Her closest helper was her great-nephew Otte Holgerssøn Rosenkrantz, who she called "my dear son". Erlendsdotter died in summer 1526, and the prospect of inheriting her assets affected the political acts of the nobility of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. But ultimately her inheritance was granted to Holgerssøn Rosenkrantz's children.

References

External links

''Riddarane av Losna''
Gaute Losnegård, Berit Gjerland and Rolf Losnegård (Selja forlag, 2003)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erlendsdotter, Ingerd 1440s births 1526 deaths 15th-century Norwegian nobility 16th-century Norwegian nobility 16th-century Norwegian women 15th-century landowners 16th-century landowners 15th-century women landowners 16th-century women landowners