Inga Olafsdatter of Varteig (''Inga Olafsdatter fra Varteig'') (

Varteig Varteig is a village in Sarpsborg and a former municipality in Østfold County, Norway. Summary Varteig is located north of the city of Sarpsborg and east of the Glomma river. Varteig was part of the Tune municipality until 1861. It was designat ...

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...

, 1183 or 1185 – 1234 or 1235) was the mistress of King

Haakon III of Norway Haakon Sverresson (Norwegian: ''Håkon Sverresson'', Old Norse: ''Hákon Sverrisson''; c. 1183 – 1 January 1204) was King of Norway (being Haakon III) from 1202 to 1204. Biography Haakon was born as the second illegitimate son of the future King ...

and the mother 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 ...

Biography

Inga, from

, maintained a relationship with King Haakon III who visited nearby in Borg (now

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neigh ...

) during late 1203. King Haakon subsequently died in early 1204. His reign had been marked by competition between the

Bagler The Bagli Party or Bagler (Old Norse: ''Baglarr'', Norwegian Bokmål: ''Bagler'', Norwegian Nynorsk: ''Baglar'') was a faction or party during the Norwegian Civil Wars. The Bagler faction was made up principally of the Norwegian aristocracy, clerg ...

and

Birkebeiner The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar (; no, Birkebeinarane (nynorsk) or (bokmål)) was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla. The name has its origins in propagand ...

factions for control of Norway during a period of civil war. King Haakon was succeeded as King of Norway, first by his nephew Guttorm Sigurdsson and later by the appointment of Inge Bardsson. Shortly after the death of King Haakon, Inga gave birth to a son who she claimed was the child of the recently deceased king. Inga's claim was supported by several of King Haakon's Birkebeiner followers. However, her claim placed both her and her son in a dangerous position. Consequently, a group of

loyalists fled with Inga and her son from

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

in eastern Norway over the mountains during the mid-winter 1205–06. The

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

trip continued north through

Østerdalen Østerdalen () is a valley and traditional district in Innlandet county, in Eastern Norway. This area typically is described as the large Glåma river valley as well as all its tributary valleys. It includes the municipalities Rendalen, Alvdal, F ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

, where they came under the protection of King Inge. After King Inge died in April 1217, Inga successfully performed a

trial by ordeal Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. In medieval Europe, like trial by combat, tri ...

to prove her son's right of

succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

. Her son Haakon succeeded to the Norwegian throne at the age of 13. Reportedly Inga became seriously ill and died before Christmas in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

during 1234.

Primary Source

The primary source of information regarding Inga of Varteig is from the Saga of Haakon Haakonarson which was written following the death of King Haakon IV.''Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar'' (Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages)
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References

Other sources

* Jakobsson, Ármann (2005) ''Royal Biography, in A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture'' (Blackwell) * Thuesen, Nils Petter (1991) ''Norges dronninger gjennom tusen år'' (Oslo: Tiden Norsk Forlag) * Tordarson, Sturla (2008) ''Håkon Håkonssons saga'' (Thorleif Dahls Kulturbibliotek)

Biography

See also

Primary Source

References

Other sources

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