Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir (1646–1715) was a wealthy member of the powerful Svalbarðsætt family. She was married twice, each time to a Lutheran bishop of

Hólar Hólar (; also Hólar í Hjaltadal ) is a small community in the Skagafjörður district of northern Iceland. Location Hólar is in the Hjaltadalur valley, some from the national capital of Reykjavík. It has a population of around 100. It is th ...

: Gísli Þorláksson (she was his third wife) and Einar Þorsteinsson. She survived both husbands and retired in 1685 to the farm of Gröf in Höfðaströnd, just south of the modern-day village of

Hofsós Hofsós () is one of the oldest trading ports in northern Iceland dating back to the 16th century. The tiny village Hofsós in the Northern Region in Iceland was a rather busy trading post in the 17th and 18th century, but despite the merchant a ...

, appointing her younger brother Oddur as ''ráðsmaður'' (household manager). Ragnheiður was the daughter of (1606–1673) of

Vatnsfjörður Vatnsfjörður () is a nature reserve located north-west of Breiðafjörður on the Hjarðarnes coast of northwestern Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Ice ...

, a Lutheran priest and poet, and his wife Hólmfríður Sigurðardóttir (1617–1692). She was one of 12 children, nine of whom reached maturity. Her eldest brother was

Magnús Jónsson í Vigur Magnús Jónsson í Vigur (1637–1702) was a wealthy Icelandic landowner who is best known for his patronage of manuscripts and interest in Icelandic and foreign literature. Magnús is often referred to as Magnús í Vigur because his primary resid ...

. Like Magnús, Ragnheiður was a patron of the arts, and her literary tastes are reflected in a surviving manuscript of poetry and hymns compiled for her in 1676 (cataloged in the Ny Kongelig Samling at the Royal Library in Copenhagen as "NKS 56 d 8vo"). After Gísli Þorláksson's death in 1684, Ragnheiður commissioned a large portrait of Gísli and herself, alongside his first two wives, Gróa Þorleifsdóttir (d. 1660) and Ingibjörg Benediktsdóttir (d. 1673). Ragnheiður was an expert embroiderer. After moving to Hólar, she taught needlework to young women, and she continued to work as an educator for women in later life at Gröf. Ragnheiður and her Gísli were the patrons of (–after 1703), one of the most skilled craftsman in 17th-century Iceland. They commissioned him to carve the baptismal font for the

Hólar Cathedral Hólar Cathedral (Icelandic language, Icelandic: ''Hóladómkirkja'') is a Church of Iceland cathedral church located in Hólar, Iceland. The church is the official church of the Bishop of Hólar, currently Solveig Lára Guðmundsdóttir. History ...

in 1674. Accounts vary as to whether he also constructed the church at Gröf, but he is known to have carved the alter. The building, among the smallest houses of worship in Iceland, is located just south of

5000-króna banknote

Ragnheiður is on the front of the banknote and on the reverse she is shown instructing young women in embroidery. Introduced in 1986, it was the first Icelandic banknote to depict a woman. The Central Bank of Iceland chose Ragnheiður for the note to highlight Icelandic women and their contribution to Icelandic culture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ragnheidur Jonsdottir 1646 births 1715 deaths 17th-century Icelandic people 18th-century Icelandic people 18th-century Icelandic women 17th-century Icelandic women Embroiderers