Ragnhildis Olafsdottir
Ragnhildis Olafdottir, also known as Ragnhild, was the daughter of king Óláfr Guðrøðarson of the Kingdom of Mann and Ingibiorg Hakonsdottir, making her a granddaughter of Haakon Paulsson.
| Ragnhildis Olafdottir | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) The name Ragnhildr, as it appears on the Flateyarbók: "Ragnhilldi".[1] | |
| Born | est. 1115 |
| Died | uncertain |
| Spouse | Somerled (m. 1140) |
| Issue | Dubgall, Ragnall, Aonghas |
| House | Crovan Dynasty (Uí Ímair) |
| Father | Óláfr Guðrøðarson |
| Mother | Ingibiorg Hakonsdottir of Orkney |
Ragnhild married the Norse-Gaelic lord Somerled,[2] king of the Kingdom of the Isles. As the mother of Dubgall, Ragnall, and Aonghas,[3] Ragnhild was the progenitor of Clann Somhairle and the ancestor of Clan MacDonald, Clan MacDougall, Clan MacAlister, and many other clans. Little is known about her life apart from her marriage to Somerled and her being a part of the royal lineage of the Crovan Dynasty.[4]
Ragnhild is important to Clann Somhairle because she gives the clan and its descendants royal status on the basis of their descent from the Crovan Dynasty and the Uí Ímair Dynasty,[5] because her father Óláfr Guðrøðarson was the son of Godred Crovan.[3]
Fictional depiction
Ragnhild was an important character in the novel Summer Warrior by Regan Walker.[6]
Notes
- Flateyjarbok (1862) p. 508 ch. 439;
- Power, R (2005), p. 33
- Entry for the year 1102, Chronica Regum Manniæ et Insularum
- Clarkson, Tim (2023). A Mighty Fleet and King's Power: The Isle of Man, AD 400 to 1265. John Donald. ISBN 978-1-78885-532-7.
- Woolf, A (2005), p. 13
- Schairer, Sandy (October 10, 2020). "Summer Warrior by Regan Walker-Dual Review & Interview". The Reading Cafe.
References
- MacPhee, Kathleen M. (2004). Somerled: Hammer of the Norse. Glasgow: NWP. ISBN 1-903238-24-2.
- Marsden, John (2000). Somerled and the emergence of Gaelic Scotland. Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 978-1-904607-80-9.
- Munch, Peter A., ed. (1874). Chronica Regum Manniæ et Insularum: The Chronicle Of Man And The Sudreys. Vol. 22. Douglas, Isle of Man: Manx Society. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-4326-8438-9.
- Power, Rosemary (2005). "Meeting in Norway: Norse-Gaelic Relations in the Kingdom of Man and the Isles, 1090–1270" (PDF). ISSN 0305-9219.
- Woolf, Alex (2004). "The Age of Sea-Kings, 900–1300", in Omand, D (ed.) The Argyll Book.
- Woolf, Alex (2005). "The Origins and Ancestry of Somerled: Gofraid mac Fergusa and 'The Annals of the Four Masters'". Medieval Scandinavia.