Ragnvald Knaphövde

Ragnvald Knaphövde was a King of Sweden whose reign is estimated to have occurred in the mid-1120s or c. 1130. His cognomen Knaphövde is explained as referring to a drinking vessel, the size of a man's head but the coins on the left have been shown to have been minted for King Magnus IV of Sweden; Brenner's methods are not considered reliable on early medieval Swedish coins.

His parentage is uncertain: King Inge the Elder of Sweden had a son named Ragnvald, and historian Sven Tunberg has suggested him as identical with Ragnvald Knaphövde. However, another tradition presents King Ragnvald as the son of an Olof Näskonung

However, the king of Sweden was dead and in spite of the fact that it was the privilege of the Swedes to elect a new king, the Geats arrogated this dignity by putting aside the right of others and ventured to give the kingship to Magnus. The Swedes did not want to allow the Geats any kind of right in this respect and considered it improper that a lesser nation should claim a right that had belonged to the Swedes since time immemorial. As they claimed their old rights, they declared the election of Magnus invalid, because the Geats had no right to elect king, and elected a new one. This new king was soon killed by the Geats and at his death the dominions passed to Magnus.

In the following century, in the Westrogothic law, the Geats would acknowledge that it was the Swedes who were entitled to elect and depose the king. In the regnal list of this law, they ignored the existence of any Magnus, but instead they defended the murder of Ragnvald as follows:

Tiundi war Rangwaldær konongær. baldær oc huxstor. reð .a. karllæpitt at vgisllædhu. oc fore þa sæwirðnigh han giorðhe allum wæstgötom. þa fek han skiæmðær döðhæ. styrðhi þa goðhær laghmaðþær. wæstrægötllandi. oc lanz höffhengiær. oc waru þa allir tryggir landi sinu.

'The tenth (Christian king) was Ragnvald king, bold and proud. He rode to Karleby without hostage, and for the disrespect that he showed all the West Geats, he was given a death in shame. Then a good lawspeaker and chieftain ruled Västergötland. And everyone was safe in their country.'

The 16th-century Swedish King John III would later have a damaged tombstone replaced for Ragnvald, over a grave at Vreta Abbey. This is considered the family grave of King Inge the Elder, named for that king's son mentioned above.