Ragnvald Eysteinsson
Ragnvald "the Wise" Eysteinsson (
830–
890) (
Old Norse:
Rögnvaldr MÅ"rajarl Norwegian:
Ragnvald Mørejarl), was
jarl (earl) in the northwest coast of Norway, called More, approximately of the Norwegian county today known as
Møre og Romsdal. He died at the
Orkney Islands.
He was son of King
Eystein "Glumra (the Noisy)" Ivarsson of
Oppland. His maternal grandfather was King
Ragnvald the Mountain-High of
Vestfold. One of his paternal great-grandfathers was King
Halfdan the Old of Oppland. Mythical material (saga) postulate that his line was a male-line descent from
Ancient kings of Finland.
His second wife was Ragnhild Hrolfsdottir (
Raghildr (Hildr) Hrolfsdóttir), daughter of Hrolf Nefia (
Hrolfr Nefja). Ragnvald was the father of
Hrolf Ganger, who according to Norse-Icelandic tradition was the founder of
Normandy, (from his marriage), and
Turf-Einar, ancestor of the jarls of
Orkney (from a concubine).
If Hrolf Ganger was indeed the founder of Normandy, that would mean that Ragnvald's male-line descent ruled Normandy and England until 1135, and Orkney until 1130's. After that, each of those territories continued to be ruled by their descendants in female line.
Earl Ragnvald would thus be a direct ancestor of
Thorfinn II, Earl of Orkney,
William I of England,
Edward III of England,
James I of England, and
Elizabeth II of the
United Kingdom of
Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. He is therefore an ancestor of most of the royal families of
Europe.
The legend says he was the one to cut the hair of king
Harald HÃ¥rfagre (
Haraldr hinn hárfagri) after he became
king over all of
Norway.
