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Ingegerd Olofsdotter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ingegerd Olofsdotter (1001 - 10 February 1049) was the daughter of Swedish King Olof Skötkonung and Estrid of the Obotrites. She was born in Sigtuna, Sweden, and was engaged to be married to Norwegian King Olaf II, but when Sweden and Norway got into a feud, Swedish King Olof Skötkonung wouldn't allow for the marriage to happen.
Instead, Ingegard's father quickly arranged for a marriage to the powerful Yaroslav I the Wise of Novgorod. Once in Russia, her name was changed to the Greek Irene. According to several sagas, she was given as a marriage gift Ladoga and adjacent lands, which later received the name Ingria (arguably a corruption of Ingegerd's name). She set her friend jarl Ragnvald Ulfsson to rule in her stead.
Ingegard initiated the building of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev that was supervised by her husband, who styled himself czar. They had six sons and four daughters, the latter of whom became Queens of France, Hungary, Norway, and (arguably) England. The whole family is depicted in one of the frescoes of the Saint Sophia. Upon her death, Ingegard was buried in the same cathedral. She was later declared a local saint in Novgorod because of her initiative to build the Saint Sophia.
Ingegerd-Irene is sometimes confused with Yaroslav's first wife, whose name was Anna.