Ragnhild of Tälje

Ragnhild of Tälje (11th century – c. 1117) is a saint whose veneration is attested in late medieval Sweden and whose name is especially associated with the church in Södertälje in the province of Södermanland and the diocese of Strängnäs. A year given for her death is 1117. According to mentions in various literature a few centuries later, she was also Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Inge the Younger. Some historians have introduced a possibility, refuted by others, that Ragnhild's father was Alstan, a son of Folke Filbyter, and that she thus belonged to the early House of Bjälbo of subsequent Swedish and Norwegian kings.

Ragnhild is said to have founded the church in Södertälje and be buried there. If she is a historical person, she probably lived during the late 11th or early 12th century, but no sources that mention her can be dated earlier than the 15th century. An epitaph in the church, probably dating from that period, was later copied by the late 17th century antiquarian Elias Palmskiöld. In various 15th century literary sources, she is claimed to have been a queen, the daughter of a certain Halsten (it is uncertain whether the king Halsten Stenkilsson is intended) and wife of either Inge the Elder or Inge the Younger (either of which would for genealogical and chronological reasons contradict her being the daughter of King Halsten). 14th and 15th century wall paintings depicting Ragnhild can be found in the churches of Börje and Viksta in Uppland, and Enånger in Hälsingland, all three in the archdiocese of Uppsala.