Olav den helliges saga - Ragnvald jarl og Astrid - H

Ragnvald Ulfsson the Old () was a jarl of

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

or Östergötland and was married to a sister of King Olav Tryggvason.Winroth 1995–1997:616

Biography

According to Snorri, Ragnvald was the son of jarl Ulf Tostesson. He was also the foster-son of Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker. Through his aunt Sigrid the Haughty, he was the cousin of Swedish King Olof Skötkonung. He was married to Ingeborg Tryggvasdotter, daughter of Tryggve Olavsson, son of Olaf Haraldsson Geirstadalf and grandson of King Harald Fairhair. When Olaf Haraldsson became king of Norway in 1015, a war erupted with Sweden and

Norwegians Norwegians () are an ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the Norsemen, Norse of the Early ...

forces had pillaged in

. But then Norwegian King Olaf proposed to the Swedish princess Ingigerd Olofsdotter, the daughter of Sweden's King Olof Skötkonung. This would result in peace and a royal alliance which would favor Ragnvald who was related to both parties. However, at the Thing at

Gamla Uppsala Gamla Uppsala (, ''Old Uppsala'') is a parish and a village outside Uppsala in Sweden. It had 17,973 inhabitants in 2016. As early as the 3rd century AD and the 4th century AD and onwards, it was an important religious, economic and political c ...

, Ragnvald and his foster-father Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker had to persuade King Olof Skötkonung to promise his daughter to King Olaf, whom he did not like. When the Swedish king failed to deliver his daughter, Ragnvald realized that he was in trouble. He has not only fallen out of grace with the Swedish king, but he could also expect the revenge of the Norwegians. During a visit by the

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally compo ...

Sigvatr Þórðarson, Ragnvald learned that Prince Yaroslav I the Wise of

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

had proposed to Ingigerd, and so he developed the idea that King Olaf should marry Astrid Olofsdotter, an illegitimate daughter of Olof Skötkonung, who was staying with Ragnvald. Sigvat promised to deliver the proposal and the Norwegian king accepted. Ragnvald delivered Astrid at

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsbor ...

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 ...

and she married the King Olaf after Christmas of 1019. King Olof Skötkonung was now so upset that he intended to hang Ragnvald at the next Thing. However, when Ingigerd Olofsdotter married Yaroslav I the Wise, she received Staraja Ladoga (''Aldeigjuborg'') and

Ingria Ingria (; ; ; ) is a historical region including, and adjacent to, what is now the city of Saint Petersburg in northwestern Russia. The region lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian ...

(''Ingermanland'') as a wedding gift from Yaroslav. Ingigerd managed to arrange that Ragnvald became the jarl of both Staraja Ladoga and Ingria. Consequently Olof Skötkonung let Ragnvald depart with Ingigerd in the summer of 1019.

Marriage

Married to Ingeborg Tryggvasdotter. Children: #

Uleb Ragnvaldsson Uleb (Ulf) Ragnvaldsson () was a '' posadnik'' and military leader of Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest citi ...

Jarl # Eilif Ragnvaldsson Jarl #Ostrida Ragnvalsdatter He has been considered to have fathered king Stenkil,The entry Stenkil in Larsson 2000:33 with Astrid Nialsdotter from Norway. However this is based on later Icelandic sources,Lagerquist 1997:41 and the identification of Ragnvald with Ragnvald the Old of '' Hervarar saga''.Larsson 2002:154–157

Saga sources

Ragnvald is mentioned in the

ic poem '' Austrfaravísur'', ascribed to Sigvatr Þórðarson,

of King Olaf Haraldsson of Norway (''Olaf the Holy''), who had been on a diplomatic mission to Sweden. This poem is quoted in the 13th century sagas '' Fagrskinna'' and

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

's '' Heimskringla''. In addition to the poem, ''Fagrskinna'' only briefly mentions Ragnvald, while ''Heimskringla'' contains a more elaborate account of him. This 13th-century prose text is not considered historically reliable. ''Fagrskinna's'' account of Olaf the Holy's betrothal to Ingigerd, and eventual wedding with Astrid, differs significantly from the account in ''Heimskringla''. In ''Fagrskinna's'' account, Ragnvald is not given a prominent role in the proceedings.

Notes

Literature

*Larsson, Lars-Ove (1993, 2000). ''Vem är vem i svensk historia, från år 1000 till 1900''. Prisma, Stockholm. *Larsson, Mats G (2002). ''Götarnas Riken : Upptäcktsfärder Till Sveriges Enande''. Bokförlaget Atlantis AB *Lagerquist, Lars O. (1997). ''Sveriges Regenter, från forntid till nutid''. Norstedts, Stockholm. * Winroth, Anders (1995–1997) "Ragnvald Ulfsson", ''Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon'', volume 29, page 616. * Wisén, Theodor, revised by Erik Brate (1915),
Ragnvald Ulfsson
, '' Nordisk familjebok'', volume 22, 913–914 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ragnvald Ulfsson Geats Swedish nobility 11th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Swedish jarls