Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women (2006)
- Acknowledgements The New Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women (2018)
- Advisers to the Project (2006)
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Readers’ Guide
- New Entries
- Joint and Co-subjects
- Preface to The New Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women
- Introduction to The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women (2006)
- The New Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Y
- Z
- Thematic Index
- Plate section
I
from The New Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2019
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women (2006)
- Acknowledgements The New Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women (2018)
- Advisers to the Project (2006)
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Readers’ Guide
- New Entries
- Joint and Co-subjects
- Preface to The New Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women
- Introduction to The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women (2006)
- The New Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Y
- Z
- Thematic Index
- Plate section
Summary
INGIBJORG (‘mother of earls', jarlamodir), Queen of Scotland, Countess of Orkney, fl. c. 1025-58 (?). Daughter of Bergliot daughter of Halvdan, and Finn Arnesson of Giske.
Ingibjorg was probably born on Giske, an island in Romsdal Fjord, west Norway. Most of her family were strong supporters of Olaf Haraldsson (St Olaf) in his struggle to maintain power in Norway. He was the brother of Ingibjorg's grandfather, Halvdan son of Sigurd Syr. Olaf probably arranged her marriage to Earl Thorfinn of Orkney, in the late 1020s, to help tie the Earl into his circle. Thorfinn and Ingibjorg named their eldest son Paul, the first Christian name in the earldom family, perhaps reflecting a commitment to the new religion. The comment in Orkneyinga Saga that the Earl loved Paul and his brother Erlend dearly is unusual, suggesting a close family relationship. So does the remarkable story of Thorfinn's flight from his burning house, when he broke through a wooden partition wall and is credited with having escaped ‘carrying his wife Ingibjorg in his arms’ (Palsson and Edwards 1978, Ch. 28), a rare personal detail.
According to the saga, after Thorfinn's death Ingibjorg married Malcolm III of Scotland (r. 1058—93), and bore a son, Duncan. Duncan's legitimacy has been doubted -a later chronicler refers to him as a bastard. However, he was important enough to be taken as a hostage to England by King William (the Conqueror) after William's 1072 expedition to Scotland. The absence of any other record of the marriage must reflect the fact that Malcolm's second marriage, to *Margaret (later Saint Margaret), established the medieval Scottish royal line. It has been questioned whether Ingibjorg's marriage to Malcolm was possible, and there has been unwarranted surmise that it must have been Thorfinn's daughter, rather than his widow, who was meant. Ingibjorg may also have borne Donald, mentioned in one Irish source as Malcolm's son.
In 1066, the earls Paul and Erlend Thorfinsson joined Harald Hardraada's army. They survived his defeat at Stamford Bridge and returned to Orkney. After William's victory at Hastings, the survivors of the Anglo-Saxon royal house fled to Scotland.
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- The New Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women , pp. 210 - 216Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2017