Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ''Ingiríðr Rögnvaldsdóttir'') (1100/1110 – after 1161 AD) was born a member of the Swedish royal family, became a member of Danish royalty by marriage and later was

Queen consort of Norway This is a list of Queen consort, queens consort of Norway. This list covers a large time span and the role of a queen has changed much over the centuries, with some individual queens also shaping their own roles. Many have ruled the country side b ...

as the spouse of Harald IV of Norway. Married four times, Ingrid had a number of children who played prominent roles in Norwegian, Danish and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

history.

Biography

Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter was born between 1100 and 1110. History has not recorded either the name nor background of Ingrid's mother. She was the daughter of Ragnvald Ingesson, the only known son of King

Inge I of Sweden Inge the Elder (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Inge Stenkilsson''; Old Norse: ''Ingi Steinkelsson''; died c. 1105–1110) was a king of Sweden. In English literature he has also been called ''Ingold''. While scant sources do not allow a full pictur ...

. Other than him being the son of king Inge, nothing is known about Ragnvald. Historian Mona Ringvej suggests that this was because he died early and never succeeded as king. Other historians have speculated that he could have been the

Ragnvald Knaphövde Ragnvald Knaphövde was a King of Sweden whose reign is estimated to have occurred in the mid-1120sRagnvald knaphövde'' at the site of the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities, retrieved January 20, 2007. or c. 1130.Ragnvald Knaphöfde' in ''Nor ...

who appear in the regnal lists a little later.. Though there is no evidence of a link between this Ragnvald and Inge I in the source materials. Ingrid first married

Henrik Skadelår Henrik Svendsen (; unknown - 4 June 1134), better known as Henrik Skadelår or Henrik the Lame, was a Danish prince and pretender through his father, Svend Tronkræver, an illegitimate son of King Sweyn II. He died in the Battle of Fotevik befo ...

(''Henrik Svendsen Skadelår''), son of Svend Svendsen of Denmark, who was one of the bastard sons of King

Sweyn II of Denmark Sweyn II ( – 28 April 1076), also known as Sweyn Estridsson (, ) and Sweyn Ulfsson, was King of Denmark from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard through ...

. Svend Svendsen was an unsuccessful pursuer to the throne, who died when he was at a point of being elected as king. Henrik was crippled and not considered a candidate for kingship. Instead he was a frequent schemer and plotter, generating a number of enemies. Four sons of Henrik and Ingrid are recorded, including King

Magnus II of Sweden Magnus Henriksson (; c. 1130 – 1161), also known as Magnus II, was a Danish lord and King of Sweden between 1160 and 1161. He is often seen by posterity as a usurper. Background The mother of Magnus was Ingrid Ragvaldsdotter, a granddaugh ...

. Saxo describes the marriage as tempestuous, and recounts a story where she, disguised as a man, attempts to elope with a lover. Ingrid is known to have intrigued for her son Magnus to obtain the Swedish throne, in Ingrid's opinion her late father's rightful inheritance. She reportedly suggested that her son Magnus employ the man who would kill

Sverker I of Sweden Sverker the Elder (Old Swedish: ''Swærkir konongær gambli''; c. 1100 - 25 December 1156), also known as Sverker I, was King of Sweden from about 1132 until his murder. Of non-royal descent, he founded the House of Sverker, the rulers of which ...

. Henrik Skadelår died on 4 June 1134 at the

Battle of Fotevik Battle of Fotevik () was fought between forces of King Niels of Denmark and his son Magnus Nielsen, against those of Erik Emune on 4 June 1134 at the bay of Fotevik in Skåne. At his death, King Eric I of Denmark had two known sons who w ...

in the Bay of Fotevik near

Vellinge Vellinge is a locality and the seat of Vellinge Municipality, Skåne County, 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 ...

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

. Ingrid soon after married King

Harald Gille Harald Gille (, c. 1102 − 14 December 1136), also known as Harald IV, was king of Norway from 1130 until his death. His byname Gille is probably . Background Harald was born ca. 1102 in Ireland or the Hebrides, more likely the former. Accord ...

of Norway. By him, Ingrid had a son who later became King

Inge Haraldsson Inge Haraldsson (; 1135 – 3 February 1161) was king of Norway (being Inge I) from 1136 to 1161. Inge’s reign fell within the start of the period known in Norwegian history as the civil war era, and he was never the sole ruler of the country. ...

of Norway. When King Harald was murdered in 1136, Ingrid played a prominent part in having her son, Inge, and her stepson,

Sigurd Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...

, proclaimed co-rulers, and in waging the ensuing war against the attempted usurper,

Sigurd Slembe Sigurd Magnusson Slembe (or Slembedjakn) (died 12 November 1139) was a Norwegian pretender to the throne. He was the subject of '' Sigurd Slembe'', the historical drama written by the Norwegian playwright Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1862. Biogr ...

. She remained one of the most important advisors of King Inge throughout his reign. Her third husband was Ottar Birting (''Óttarr Birtingr''), a prominent

lendmann Lendmann (plural lendmenn; ) was a title in medieval Norway. Lendmann was the highest rank attainable in the hird of the Norwegian king, and a lendmann stood beneath only earls and kings. In the 13th century there were between 10 and 20 ''lendme ...

, but she was again widowed when he was killed in

Nidaros Nidaros, Niðarós or Niðaróss () was the medieval name of Trondheim when it was the capital of Norway's first Christian kings. It was named for its position at the mouth (Old Norse: ''óss'') of the River Nid (the present-day Nidelva). Althou ...

at some point in the 1140s. Between her third and fourth husband, Ingrid bore a child out of wedlock, Orm Ivarsson, by an otherwise unknown man called Ivar Sneis. Ingrid's fourth and last husband was Arne Ivarsson of

Stårheim Stårheim (or ''Torvika'') is a village in the municipality of Stad in Vestland county, Norway. Stårheim is located in the central part of Stad Municipality on the north shore of the Nordfjorden, about west of the municipal center of Nordfjor ...

, (''Árni Ívarsson á Stoðreimi''), another prominent

with whom she had four children. Arne Ivarsson was subsequently called ''Kongsmåg'' meaning in-law of the king. As an advisor to her son King Inge, Ingrid played a prominent part in many of the events of the early

civil war era in Norway The civil war era in Norway (, ''borgarkrigstidi'', ''borgerkrigstida'' or ''borgerkrigstiden'') began in 1130 and ended in 1240. During this time in Norwegian history, some two dozen rival kings and pretenders waged wars to claim the throne. ...

. On 3 February 1161, King Inge was defeated and killed, leading his men into battle against King Haakon the Broadshouldered. In the saga ''

Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...

'', Ingrid is last mentioned when she and her husband left Norway for exile in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Notes on name

Ingrid's name can be found in a wide variety of spellings in the modern Scandinavian languages and English. Her first name, in Old Norse ''Ingiríðr'', is rendered as ''Ingrid'' or ''Ingerid''. Her

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, ...

, in Old Norse ''Rögnvaldsdóttir'', can be rendered as ''Ragnvaldsdotter'', ''Ragvaldsdotter'' or ''Ragnvaldsdatter''.

Issue

by Henry Sweynson (''Henrik Skadelår'')

* King

(''Magnus Henriksson'') - who arranged the murder of Saint

Eric IX of Sweden Saint Erik ( 1125 - 18 May 1160), also called Eric IX or Erik Jedvardsson was King of Sweden from 1156 until his death in 1160. The ''Roman Martyrology'' of the Catholic Church names him as a saint memorialized on 18 May. He was the founder of ...

, and possibly also

; was himself murdered; and was regarded a usurper afterwards * Jarl Ragnvald Henriksson (''Ragvald Henriksson'') -

Riksjarl Jarl was a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia during the Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Eur ...

of Sweden during his brother's brief reign. * Canute Henriksson (''Knud Henriksen''), Duke of Southern Jutlandhttps://lex.dk/Knud_-_hertug_af_S%C3%B8nderjylland * Burits Henriksson (also Buris/Boris; likely 1130–1167, murdered), Duke of Southern Jutland, in 1166 married with a daughter (b. 1150) of Luitgard of Stade and Hermann II, Count of Winzenburg.

by Harald Gille (''Haraldr Gilli'')

* King

of Norway (''Ingi Haraldsson'')

by Ivar Sneis (''Ívarr Sneis'')

* Orm Ivarsson (''Ormr konungsbróðir'') (illegitimate) - prominent leader during the reign of king

Magnus Erlingsson Magnus Erlingsson (, 1156 – 15 June 1184), also known as Magnus V, was a king of Norway during the civil war era in Norway. He helped to establish primogeniture in royal succession in Norway. King Magnus was killed in the Battle of Fimreite i ...

, and after the death of

Erling Skakke Erling Ormsson (1115 – 18 June 1179), known as Erling Skakke, was a Norwegian Jarl during the 12th century. He was the father of Magnus Erlingsson, who reigned as King of Norway from 1161 to 1184. Biography Erling Ormsson was born at Etne in ...

, next to the king in power.

by Arne Ivarsson of Stårheim (''Árni Ívarsson á Stoðreimi'')

* Inge Arnesson (''Ingi Árnason'') * Bishop Nicholas Arnesson (''Nikolás Árnason'') - co-founder of the

Bagler The Bagli Party or Bagler (Old Norse: ''Baglarr'', Norwegian Bokmål: ''Bagler'', Norwegian Nynorsk: ''Baglar'') was a faction or party during the Norwegian Civil Wars. The Bagler faction was made up principally of the Norwegian aristocracy, cle ...

party * Philip of Herdla (''Philippus í Herðlu'') * Margrete Arnesdotter (''Margrét Árnadóttir''), who became mother of the Bagler king

Philip Simonsson Philip Simonsson (Old Norse: ''Filippus Símonsson'') (ca. 1185-1217), also known as Philip of the Crozier-men, was a Norwegian aristocrat and from 1207 to 1217 was the Bagler party pretender to the throne of Norway during the civil war era in Norw ...

References

Sources

*Lagerqvist, Lars O ''Sverige och dess regenter under 1000 år'' (Stockholm: Albert Bonniers Förlag AB. 1982) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter 12th-century births 12th-century deaths Ingrid 1110 Norwegian royal consorts Civil wars in Norway Norwegian exiles House of Stenkil House of Estridsen Fairhair dynasty 12th-century Swedish people 12th-century Norwegian people 12th-century Norwegian women 12th-century Swedish women Remarried queens consort Norwegian queen mothers Mothers of Swedish monarchs