Ragna Nikolasdatter (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1140s – 1161) was the queen consort of King Eystein II of Norway (''Øystein Haraldsson'').

Biography

Ragna Nikolasdatter was the daughter of Nikolas Måse from Steig in

Sør-Fron Sør-Fron is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hundorp. Other villages in the municipality include Gålå, Harpe ...

Gudbrandsdalen Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending towar ...

. Her marriage to King Eystein was probably made a few years after he arrived in Norway during 1142. The saga does not mention any children in connection with their marriage. Ragna was widowed when King Eystein was captured and killed by troops of his half-brother King

Inge I of Norway Inge Haraldsson (Old Norse language, Old Norse: ''Ingi 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 ...

during the summer 1157, somewhere in the area of present-day

Bohuslän Bohuslän (; da, Bohuslen; no, Båhuslen) is a Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea ...

. Three years later in 1160, Ragna was betrothed this time with King Inge's half-brother, Orm Ivarsson, who would later become a prominent leader during the reign of King Magnus V of Norway. The wedding was scheduled to take place during February 1161, but a battle began between the forces of King Inge and King

Haakon II of Norway Haakon Sigurdsson (1147 – 7 July 1162), also known as Haakon Herdebrei, was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway (being Haakon II) from 1157 until 1162 during the Civil war era in Norway. Biography His nickname, ''Herdebrei'', means broad- ...

Bjørvika Bjørvika is a neighborhood in the Sentrum borough of Oslo, Norway. The area is an inlet in the inner Oslofjord, situated between Gamlebyen and Akershus Fortress. It serves as an outlet for the river Akerselva. Since the 2000s, it has been und ...

. King Inge was defeated and killed leading his men into battle on 3 February 1161. Nothing more is said in the sources of Ragna. Queen Ragna Nikolasdatter, alongside

Ingebjørg Guttormsdatter Ingebjørg Guttormsdatter (12th century) was a medieval Norwegian Queen consort and spouse of King Eystein I of Norway (''Øystein Magnusson''). Ingebjørg Guttormsdatter was the daughter of Guttorm Toresson from Lillehammer. Ingebjorg grandfat ...

and

Estrid Bjørnsdotter Estrid Bjørnsdotter also called ''Estrid Byrdasvend'' (12th century) was a Norwegian Queen consort, spouse of King Magnus V of Norway. Estrid Bjørnsdotter was the daughter of Björn Byrdasvend and Rangrid Guttormsdotter, who was a possible des ...

, was one of the two acknowledged queen consorts in Norway between the mid 11th century to the 13th century not to have been foreign princesses.''Ragna Nikolasdatter – utdypning'' (Store norske leksikon)
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References

12th-century births Year of death unknown People from Oppland 12th-century Norwegian women 12th-century Norwegian people {{Europe-royal-stub