Biography
Ingegerd was born in Sigtuna, Sweden. She was engaged to be married to Norwegian King Olaf II, but when Sweden and Norway got into a feud, Swedish King Olof Skötkonung would no longer allow for the marriage to take place.
Instead, Ingegerd's father quickly arranged for a marriage to the powerful Yaroslav I the Wise of Novgorod. The marriage took place in 1019. Once in Kiev, she changed her name 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 placed her friend, jarl Ragnvald Ulfsson, to rule in her stead.
Ingegerd initiated the building of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev that was supervised by her husband, who styled himself tsar. She also initaited the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod. 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.
Read more about this topic: Ingegerd Olofsdotter Of Sweden
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