Ragnhildis Olafdottir, also known as Ragnhild, (c.1115 - unknown) was the daughter of king Óláfr Guðrøðarson of the Kingdom of Mann and Ingibiorg Hakonsdottir,[2] making her a granddaughter of Haakon Paulsson.
| Ragnhildis Olafdottir | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 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,[3][4] king of the Kingdom of the Isles. As the mother of Dubgall, Ragnall, and Aonghas,[5] 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.[6]
Legacy
editRagnhild 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,[7] because her father Óláfr Guðrøðarson was the son of Godred Crovan.[5] This is one of the ways in which Somerled's expansion is politically legitimised.[8] Ragnhild's place in Manx dynastic politics also strengthened claims by further descendants.[9]
Historian R. Andrew Macdonald recounts how the Chronicles of Mann describes how the wife of Somerled was the "cause of the collapse of the entire kingdom of the Isles" because the kingdom would fall under the control of Clann Somhairle and would become divided which ultimately led to its collapse in the mid 13th century.[10]
Fictional depiction
editRagnhild was an important character in the novel Summer Warrior by Regan Walker.[11]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Flateyjarbok (1862) p. 508 ch. 439;
- ^ McDonald, RA (2000) p. 175 n. 55; McDonald, A (1995) p. 206; Anderson (1922) p. 255 n. 1; Vigfusson (1887) p. 210 ch. 110; Flateyjarbok (1862) p. 508 ch. 439; Anderson; Hjaltalin; Goudie (1873) p. 181 ch. 104. Most indirectly reference Ragnhild being a daughter of Ingibiorg.
- ^ Power, R (2005), p. 33
- ^ Moore, Arthur W. (1906). "The Connexion between Scotland and Man". The Scottish Historical Review. 3 (12): 399. ISSN 0036-9241. JSTOR 25517762.
- ^ a b 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
- ^ Ellis, Caitlin. "Impressions of a twelfth‐century maritime ruler—Somerled: Viking warrior, clan chieftain or traitor to the Scottish king." Northern Studies 51 (2020): 1-14.
- ^ The Book of Clanranald p. 157
- ^ McDonald, R. Andrew (2020-05-28). The Sea Kings: The Late Norse Kingdoms of Man and the Isles c.1066–1275. John Donald. ISBN 978-1-78885-148-0.
- ^ Schairer, Sandy (October 10, 2020). "Summer Warrior by Regan Walker-Dual Review & Interview". The Reading Cafe.
References
edit- 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.
- Ragnhild ." Encyclopedia.com