Draft:Yngvildr Þorgilsdóttir

Yngvildr Þorgilsdóttir (fl. 1158–1185) was a twelfth-century Icelandic woman who appears in Sturlunga saga, where she is involved in one of the feuds of Sturla of Hvamm, patriarch of the Sturlungs. She was the mistress of Bishop Klængr Þorsteinsson.

Early life
Yngvildr was the daughter of Þorgils Oddason and his wife Kolfinna. Her brothers were Oddi and Einarr Þorgilsson, and her sisters were Hallbera, Valgerðr, Óláfr, Álfdís, Ingibjorg, and Guðrún.

She married Halldór Bergsson, but the marriage was not an affectionate one and broke down after the death of her father. After Halldór’s death abroad, she lived with her brother-in-law Boðvarr barkarson, who had married her sister Ingibjörg. While living at his farm, she cared for a wounded chieftain, Þorvarðr Þorgeirsson. She then built herself a home at Ballará.

Paternity lawsuit
About 1158, Yngvildr and Þorvarðr were suspected of having an affair, and when a child was born at Ballará it was rumoured to be theirs. Yngvildr’s brother Einarr accused Þorvarðr of being the father, and the lawsuit was opposed by Þorvarðr’s kinsman Sturla. Bishop Klængr, a second cousin of Einarr and Yngvildr, was called in to oversee a trial by hot iron and ruled in Þorvarðr’s favour, imposing a fine on Einarr. Yngvildr then made Sturla responsible for collecting all debts owed to her.

That summer, Þorvarðr travelled to Eyjafjörð and Yngvildr followed him, disguised with a man’s clothing and haircut, and they departed for Norway together.

According to Guðmundar saga, Þorvarðr was eighteen years old at the time of his departure from Iceland, and went on to become a courtier of King Ingi and to marry a woman named Herdis Sighvatssdóttir. Guðmundar saga says that he and Yngvildr had a daughter who married Hjálmi Ásbjarnarson.

Relationship with Klængr and later life
Sometime between 1158 and 1164, Yngvildr had a relationship with Bishop Klængr. They had a daughter, Jóra, who married the chieftain Þorvaldr Gizurarson. Ricketts suggests that the relationship was relatively stable and may have been seen as an informal marriage.

Yngvildr was still active at the time of her brother Einarr’s death, which occurred in 1185.

Orri Vésteinsson calls Yngvildr ‘the twelfth century’s femme fatale.’