Ólöf Loftsdóttir (c. 1410 – 1479), was a politically active Icelandic woman. She was the daughter of

Loftur ríki Guttormsson Loftur is an Icelandic masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Loftur Þorsteinsson (born 1702, ), Icelandic person known for his supposed mastery of Old Norse sorcery * Loftur Sæmundsson (died 1163), Icelandic chieftain * ...

and Ingibjörg Pálsdóttir and married to

Björn Þorleifsson hirðstjóri Bjorn, Bjorne (English, Dutch), Björn (Swedish, Icelandic, Dutch, and German), Bjørn (Danish, Faroese and Norwegian), Beorn (Old English) or, rarely, Bjôrn, Biorn, or Latinized Biornus, Brum (Portuguese), is a Scandinavian male given name, or ...

. She resided at Skarth in Skarthströnd.

Kidnapping

In 1455, the couple was robbed and abducted by Scottish

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s outside Orkney and imprisoned in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. They were released by a ransom paid by the Danish monarch King Christian I, who gave them the task of expelling all British traders from

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

on his behalf (''the English had begun fishing & trading in Iceland in the early 1400's''). The couple issued a feud with the British traders working in Iceland upon their return. In 1467, her spouse was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

and her son was captured by British traders. She bought back her son and continued the war by herself as the representative of the Danish monarch, capturing numerous British traders, and ships, either enslaving them as a source of labor or expelling them from the island. Her activities caused British traders to flee the island en masse.

Sources

„Ólöf ríka á Skarði. Sunnudagsblað Tímans, 28. júní 1964.“, {{DEFAULTSORT:Loftsdottir, Olof 1410s births 1479 deaths Olof Loftsdottir Olof Loftsdottir Formerly missing people Olof Loftsdottir Women in 15th-century warfare Women in medieval European warfare

Kidnapping

See also

Sources