Jon Ragnvaldson Smør was a Norwegian knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

 and riksråd

Rigsraadet

Rigsraadet, or Riksrådet, , is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that ruled the countries together with the kings from late Middle Ages to the 17th century...

 (cabinet minister). He was also the gjaldker (city recorder) of Bergen

Bergen

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....

.

In 1295 he was present at Hindsgavl castle where he cosigned a truce between Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 and Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. The year later he confirmed, together with king Eric II of Norway, a settlement between the archbishop of Nidaros

Nidaros

Nidaros or Niðarós was during the Middle Ages, the old name of Trondheim, Norway . Until the Reformation, Nidaros remained the centre of the spiritual life of the country...

 and his Chapter

Chapter (religion)

Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....

. In 1297 he was present at multiple major cases in Trøndelag

Trøndelag

Trøndelag is the name of a geographical region in the central part of Norway, consisting of the two counties Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The region is, together with Møre og Romsdal, part of a larger...

, and in 1305 he witnessed about the dowry

Dowry

A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...

 of princess Euphemia of Rügen. Jon owned land among other places in outer Sunnfjord

Sunnfjord

Sunnfjord is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Sogn og Fjordane county. It includes the municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, Flora, Førde, Gaular, Jølster, Naustdal, and the southernmost parts of Bremanger...

. He is regarded to likely have had three known sons, Ragnvald, Hallvard

Hallvard Jonson Smør

Hallvard Jonson Smør was a Norwegian knight.Hallvard was a son of Jon Smør. In 1368 Hallvard owned Røken and Hurum in Oslo syssel, which Gaute Eriksen of the Galte-family had owned the year before. He later gave land in "Refvolom" in Romerike for a Requiem Mass, which was confirmed by King Haakon...

 and Torgaut

Torgaut Jonson Smør

Torgaut Jonson Smør was a Norwegian nobleman and riksråd .Torgaut was probably the son of the knight Jon Smør. According to historian P. A. Munch, Torgaut may have had his home in Borgsyssel. He did at least own land in Romerike, Oslo syssel and in Vestfold. He was in queen Blanche of Namur's...

.

Jon's ancestry is not known, and he is therefore considered to be the first known member of the Smør family. Historian P. A. Munch did however claim that Jon's father could have been Ragnvald Urka who joined king Haakon IV of Norway

Haakon IV of Norway

Haakon Haakonarson , also called Haakon the Old, was king of Norway from 1217 to 1263. Under his rule, medieval Norway reached its peak....

 on his trip to Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

in 1263, but no real evidence is known to support this theory.

Sources

• Handegård, Odd (2008), "Vår felles slektshistorie. Hardanger, Sunnhordland og Ryfylke m.m. 1170-1650", p. 107