Ólöf Loftsdóttir

Ólöf Loftsdóttir (c. 1410 – 1479), was a politically active Icelandic woman. She was the daughter of judge Loftur ríki Guttormsson and Ingibjörg Pálsdóttir and married to judge Björn Þorleifsson hirðstjóri.

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Ólöf.

In 1455, the couple was robbed and abducted by Scottish pirates outside Orkney and imprisoned in Scotland. They were released by a ransom paid by the Danish monarch King Christian I, who gave them the task of expelling all British traders from Iceland on his behalf. The couple issued a feud with the British traders working in Iceland upon their return. In 1467, her spouse was killed in action and her son was captured by British traders. She bought back her son and continued the war by herself as the representative of the Danish monarch, capturing numerous British traders, either enslaving them as a source of labor or expelling them from the island. Her activities caused British traders to flee the island en masse.

Notes

    Sources

    „Ólöf ríka á Skarði. Sunnudagsblað Tímans, 28. júní 1964.“,

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