Ragnvald Heidumhære (or Rognvald) was a semi-historical petty king or chieftain of Vestfold in what is today Norway in the 9th century, according to Ynglingatal and to Ynglinga saga in Heimskringla.
His name Heiðumhæri could be translated as highly honoured[1] His greatest contribution to posterity was that he asked the skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir to compose a poem about his ancestry.
Þjóðólfr ended the poem with these lines: Under the heaven's blue dome, a name I never knew more true to fame Than Rognvald bore; whose skilful hand Could tame the scorners of the land, — Rognvald, who knew so well to guide The wild sea-horses through the tide: The Heidumhære was the proud name By which the king was known to fame.
A dubious, later pedigree[citation needed] attributes to Ragnvald a daughter, Åsa Ragnvaldsdatter (Aseda Rognvaldsdatter), who married Eystein Ivarsson.
It is through this line that Ragnvald Heidumhære is a purported ancestor of William the Conqueror (and subsequent British royal houses).