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Ragnheithr Thorbjarnardottir

Ragnheiðr vísakona Þórbjarnardóttir (she/her) is a 9th-century Norwegian Norse woman. She was born in the Oseberg region of Norway around 857 CE and emigrated to Iceland around 874 CE. She returned to Norway within a decade. She rarely uses titles, preferring to be known simply as Heithr. (A note on Norse titles: they generally follow the given name, and are not capitalized. For Viscountess, Heithr's preferred title is vísakona, which means “female chieftain”.)

Whereabouts

Heithr and her husband, Vali inn svartr fleikingr, now reside in the Barony of Castel Rouge in the Kingdom of Northshield. After leaving Ealdormere the couple moved to the Shire of Lionsdale, in the Principality of Tir Righ, which lies in the realm of the Kingdom of An Tir, where they lived for a decade. Val and Heithr visit their home Kingdom of Ealdormere as often as possible, and stay in touch with their many friends by magical means.

Heraldry

  • Device: Argent, a sledgehammer bendwise sinister inverted sable, on a chief embattled purpure three roses argent, for augmentation the central rose charged with a wolf's head cabossed sable.
  • Badge: Argent, a sledgehammer bendwise sinister inverted sable within an orle purpure.

SCA History

Heithr has ranged far and wide, and had many adventures. She hid out in her cousin Thrym’s lands of Castel Rouge under the name Thora Halldorsdottir from A.S. 9 through A.S. 14. Thora was kidnapped by a Norman, Robert Leybourne, in August of A.S. 14 and transported to the wilds of Septentria where she languished for many years before finding the civilization of Vest Yorvik in A.S. 19. By this time Heithr had given birth to her daughter, Luta hinn draumspaki, called Siobhan Gildenwode while under capture of the Leybourne.

Heithr made many good friends in the civilized lands of Septentria. With the help of her friends - most especially Olwen de Montgomery, Terence Kirkpatrick and Michel Dark - Heithr was able to escape the clutches of the Leybourne in August of A.S. 24. The Leybourne had set a clever trap, and held Luta hostage until March of A.S. 29.

In November of A.S. 24, Heithr met her true soulmate Vali inn svartr fleikingr at Binbrook, but in the newness of her freedom did not recognize the fact and told him to cease his flirtations and go away, as he was much too young to pay her such attentions.

At Murder Melee in A.S. 25, Heithr’s grandfather Cordigan in House Faeringold (who was to become her father in the Line of Ramshaven) introduced her to his son, Osis o’the Livery o’Faeringold (called Os), a dashing fellow who quite stole her heart. Os courted Heithr for many months before they married in the Old Norse tradition.

Heithr’s mother, Gytha, and her father, Mikhael of Novgorod, grudgingly gave the match their blessing, at the urging of Grandpa Cord, who always said “The boy is so much better behaved now that he’s with Heithr.” Mikhael and Gytha’s misgivings stemmed from the fact that Mikhael used to raid under the name of Thorbjorn, a name he used when he captured her mother Gytha (“..or was that captured her heart? No, it must be captured, as I distinctly remember Mom telling me that Dad let her go when she made a good point… in his chest, with her knife.”).

For those less learned who do not understand the point of these misgivings, Heithr’s patronymic Thorbjarnardottir stems from Mikhael’s using his brother Thorbjorn’s name while he was with her mother Gytha. As all good Ealdormereans know, Os first went by his nickname (Osis means iceberg in Norse). His given name was Thorbjorn, as Heithr discovered in A.S. 27, when she researched her husband’s name with the College of Heralds. Os was the son of Dianne d’Arnot and Sir Brandr Halfdanr. Mikhael was the son of Dianne and Cordigan. So, Heithr married her half-uncle with the blessings of her grandparents and over the misgivings of her parents.

Wanting to please Cordigan, who had raised him as his own, Os asked Heithr if he could fight for her in the Ealdormere Coronet Tourney in April of A.S. 25. He assured Heithr he was only going in to act as a spoiler for Cord. As this would be the first Tourney that Os was to enter, Heithr agreed, feeling safe that he would never get anywhere near the finals. To her great surprise, Grandpa Cord was eliminated early on, and Os just kept on winning his fights. With the end of the Tourney coming dangerously close, Os approached Heithr, got down on one knee, looked up at her with his great puppy-dog eyes, and softly asked, “Can I win, huh, please, can I?” Never able to resist those eyes, Heithr sighed and said “OK…” and a few minutes later, boom! She was kneeling in front of King Dag and his Herald was asking whether she would accept the duties of Princess.

Heithr was always quick on the uptake. She’d seen Dag just put the coronet on Os’s head without once asking if he’d accept. Heithr realized that she had a choice, and so she took some time to think. At the same time Heithr realized she had a choice, King Dag also realized what Heithr had just discovered. With a concerned look on his face as the pause after question lengthened, King Dag leaned close in to Heithr and asked, “You are going to say yes, aren’t you?” Allowing a full twinkle to reach her eyes, and the silence to last a second longer, Heithr glanced up at Os and said, “Yes, I guess so.” And smiled at King Dag.

Os and Heithr reigned as Territorial Prince and Princess of Ealdormere during the Pennsic War of A.S. 26, which was Pennsic 20. That same year, Os’s Uncle David Martin Failsworth was King of the Midrealm with his lady wife Tangwystl by his side as Queen. Some Midrealmers were heard to make such comments as “The Faeringolds have taken over the Midrealm” and “The Anti-Christ is Prince in Ealdormere”, but Heithr paid these remarks no heed. She was happily in the service of her Principality and in the good care of her chief ladies in waiting: Luta hinn draumspaki (still hostage to the Leybourne), Adrielle Kerrec, and Olwen de Montgomery; in the good guard of her Champion, Gunter von Wieselberg; and the head of her Princess’s Guard, Tarketai Bahadur.

Os and Heithr encountered many political strains on their patience, which eventually affected their marriage. Heithr divorced Os in public (as is the Norse way) at the spring Coronet Tourney of A.S. 27.

Finding the love of his life free, and not wanting to chance her eye would be captured by another, Vali (known as Val) accepted Heithr’s offer of hospitality in her camp at Murder Melee of A.S. 28. Val captured Heithr’s heart as no other ever had, and the two were married on March 18th, A.S. 29 in the City of Eoforwic, as witnessed by Randall Talan Darkwind, Judith and Nikolas of Castel Rouge, Luta hinn draumspaki, Daffydd and Caitrin of Chalcewell, (now Duchess) Rustique du Sworde, and Fiona der Welfengau. The newlyweds announced their marriage in the Norse Way at College Royal in der Welfengau later that morning (to the disbelief of many). Proud Grandpa Cordigan promptly arranged a party to celebrate the nuptials at a nearby tavern.

A few short months later, in January A.S. 30, Val and Heithr were finally able to rescue the hostage Luta from the Leybourne, and bring her to live with them at their new home in der Welfengau.

In A.S. 31 a poll was held for the High Seats of Ramshaven. The Crown, with the advice of the populace, chose Heithr and Val to succeed Cordigan and Dianne, and on August 10th, A.S. 32 (which happened to be Luta’s birthday), Val and Heithr were invested as Baron and Baroness of Ramshaven in the Midrealm Royal encampment of King Edmund Longshanks, as witnessed by Baron Tarketai and Baroness Thyra of Ben Dunfirth, absent the populace of Ramshaven. As no preparations had been allowed them, the good King Palymar hosted a second investiture for the pair on Ealdormerean soil in Heithr’s old home of Vest Yorvik, on October 4th, A.S. 32 (which happened to coincide with Heithr’s 40th birthday).

Val and Heithr held to a true Norse presence, but welcomed folk from all places and times into their Barony. During their tenure, the Barony of Ramshaven grew from the three cantons of Trinovantia Nova, Bryniau Tywynnog and der Welfengau to include the Incipient Cantons of Afon Araf and An Tallamah. The folk of Trinovantia Nova, though well pleased to be under their Excellencies’ care, requested leave to form a Barony of their own. Recognizing the strength of the area, Val and Heithr agreed, and gave the area their blessing to begin the process. The Kingdom Seneschal, like Thrym of old however, decreed that the area needed to take the step of becoming a shire before petitioning to become a barony, and a shire Trinovantia has remained to this day.

Ealdormere became a Kingdom in its own right, and its first monarchs were crowned up October 24th, A.S. 33. King David and Queen Elina chose to elevate a Laurel as the first Peer of the Kingdom. On December 12th, A.S. 33, Heithr was elevated as the premier Peer of Ealdormere to the Order of the Laurel. Her former Laurels, Master Hector of the Black Heights and Aibhilin kennari, said that Heithr was the first Baroness to be elevated during her tenure on her own soil. Whether this is true or not, Heithr was proud to be elevated at Wassail in Bryniau Tywynnog.

Heithr’s belt children were THL Arnora Dunestan, Master Martin Bildner (made a Laurel on April 28th, A.S. 41), THL Brigit Larkin (shared with Duchess Tangwystl), Mistress Aurelia Gabraina (made a Laurel on March 2nd, A.S. 47 and now sadly missed), Lord Yrick de Mornay (sadly missed), and Lady Inēs de Freitas (since AS 56). Arnora and Heithr amicably ended their belt relationship in A.S. 48. Heithr still counted Arnora as her daughter, and Arnora still called Heithr “Mom”. The two renewed their belt relationship in AS 58. Heithr currently has two apprentice daughters, the Honourable Baroness Arnora Dunestan and the Lady Inēs de Freitas.

Heithr’s husband, Val, was elevated to the Order of Chivalry as a Knight of the Society by Queen Caitlin on the field at Murder Melee on June 18th, A.S. 34. Although an event of another Barony, the site was located in Everton that year, on Ramshaven soil. Thus His Excellency was also elevated on his own soil during his tenure. Val, when he uses a title, is known as Val riddari.

Val and Heithr nurtured their Barony through Leith and Jol, Thing and Wars, until they received a request for aid from Heithr’s relatives in Iceland in A.S. 36. The couple asked the Kingdom to select heirs for them so that they could move to Iceland. Val and Heithr stepped down from the High Seats on May 17th, A.S. 37, becoming Barons of the Court of Their Majesties Sarnac and Joleicia.

Awards

Contact Information

Arms: Argent, a sledgehammer bendwise sinister inverted sable, on a chief embattled purpure three roses argent, for augmentation the central rose charged with a wolf's head cabossed sable.
Badge: Argent, a sledgehammer bendwise sinister inverted sable within an orle purpure.
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people/ragnheithr_thorbjarnardottir.txt · Last modified: 2023/06/09 17:17 by Dorianne Lafontaine
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