Andrew Shieldband (~before 1190 – after 1229) was a liegeman, kinsman, raider, and special friend of King

Haakon IV of Norway Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; Old Norse: ''Hákon Hákonarson'' ; Norwegian: ''Håkon Håkonsson''), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 y ...

. In 1214 in response to king

Inge II of Norway Inge II (Norwegian: ''Inge Bårdsson'', Old Norse: ''Ingi Bárðarson''; 1185 – 23 April 1217) was King of Norway from 1204 to 1217. His reign was within the later stages of the period known in Norwegian history as the age of civil wars. Inge w ...

's refusal to grant him the fief of

Jämtland Jämtland (; no, Jemtland or , ; Jamtish: ''Jamtlann''; la, Iemptia) is a historical province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland to the north a ...

or any other fief, Shieldband was one of the king's kinsmen who advised Haakon to flee Inge's court and raise an army. In 1218, he fasted with the king's mother

Inga of Varteig Inga Olafsdatter of Varteig (''Inga Olafsdatter fra Varteig'') (Varteig, Østfold, 1183 or 1185 – 1234 or 1235) was the mistress of King Haakon III of Norway and the mother of King Haakon IV of Norway. Biography Inga, from Varteig in Østf ...

along with Dagfinn the Yeoman, Sigurd Kingskin and several clerks in preparation for the ordeal by hot iron which she would suffer in order to prove her son was the rightful heir to the throne. In 1218, he and Vegard of Veradale were responsible for a body guard of 12 men who followed the king at all times. Later in the same year after attacking and chasing off the Slittungene (a rival army supporting a different candidate to the throne) in naval warfare, he was one of the kingsmen (along with Dagfinn the Yeoman, Vegard of Veradale, Guttorm Gunnison) who protected the king from Earl Skule Bårdsson when he attacked to avenge the loss of a limb of one of his relatives. In 1219, he and Vegard of Veradale were given the stewardship "in the northernmost thing district" because they were "the most special friends of the king".

Murder of Vegard

In 1221 friends of Vegard of Veradale came to the king alleging that Andrew had allowed two of his men (Botolf Limb and Ozur Nit) to kill him while Vegard was staying with Andrew. The incident happened near Andrews house at Hinn. Skule Bardsson advised revenge on Andrew but the king's council advised the king not to kill Andrew but only to take away his honors (stewardship). The reason behind the advice for mercy was because the council believed that Andrew had been pressured to do the deed by those who hated Vegard and Andrew. Andrew arrived in Bergen in a 20 bench ship and repented. Andrew had his stewardship taken but strangely he was given one by Earl Skule who was probably trying to bring him into his folde.

Later voyages

In 1222, Shieldband set out on a warfare voyage to

Bjarmaland Bjarmaland (also spelt ''Bjarmland'' and ''Bjarmia''; Latin: ''Biarmia''; Old English: ''Beormaland,'' Komi: Биармия ''Biarmia,'' Old Permic: 𐍑𐍙‎𐍐𐍒‎𐍜𐍙‎𐍐) was a territory mentioned in Norse sagas since the Viking ...

with

Ivar Outwick Ivar (Old Norse ''Ívarr'') is a Scandinavian masculine given name. Another variant of the name is Iver, which is more common in Norway. The Old Norse name has several possible etymologies. In North Germanic phonology, several of the elements c ...

and four ships. The cause for the mission was apparently to take revenge on the king of Bjarmaland for killing Norwegian traders. Andrew and Ivar gained furs and silver from their raid. Ivar's ship capsized and he and one other were the only ones on their ship who survived but Shieldband made it out to

Helgeland Helgeland is the most southerly district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. It is bordered in the north by the Saltfjellet mountains and Svartise ...

with a great amount of plunder. In 1229, Shieldband made ready to go on crusade to Jerusalem through

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. He reached

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

and went on to Whitsand and was never heard from again. Haakon IV even wrote to Frederick II asking him to enquire as to Andrew's whereabouts but nevertheless he was never found.

Family

Shieldband had a wife Ingibjorg and apparently a son named Peter but Ingibjorg revealed after Andrew's disappearance that Skule was Peter's father. Skule acknowledged Peter as his son and even took him into his household.

References

12th-century births 13th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{more cats, date=December 2021