Ingeborg of Norway
Ingeborg of Norway | |
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Euphemia of Rügen |
Ingeborg of Norway (
Life
Early life
Ingeborg was born in 1301 as the only legitimate daughter of King
Leader of the Ducal party
Upon the imprisonment of her spouse and her brother-in-law, she and her cousin and sister-in-law, Ingeborg Eriksdottir, became the leaders of their spouses' followers. On 16 April 1318, the two duchesses Ingeborg made a treaty in Kalmar with the Danish duke Christoffer of Halland-Samsö and archbishop Esgar of Lund to free their husbands and not to make peace with the kings of Sweden and Denmark before they agreed to this, and the two duchesses promised to honor the promises they gave in return in the names of their husbands. Later the same year, their husbands were confirmed to have died.
Regency
Her son
The exact position of Ingeborg in the regency council is hard to define properly due to the documentation. Mats Kettilmundsson, her ally, presided over the Swedish regency council "alongside" the two "duchesses Ingeborg"; Ingeborg Håkansdotter and her cousin and sister-in-law Ingeborg Eiriksdottir. Magnus, already King of Norway, was elected King of Sweden with the approval of the Norwegian council in her presence. Ingeborg was the only one with a seat in both the Swedish and the Norwegian minor regency and council of state. She was duchess of her own fiefs, which were autonomous under her rule, and a large number of castles which controlled big areas thanks to their strategic positions.
"Ingeborg's position at court was not well-defined: she was the king's mother (Kongemor), but without being a dowager queen."[2]
Favourites
She was criticized for her way of conducting her own politics without the counsel of the Swedish and Norwegian councils, and for using the royal seal of her son for her own wishes. 1 October 1320, she liberated Riga from its debts in her name on behalf of her son. She was known to make large donations to her supporters.
The Scania affair
Ingeborg and Canute had the ambition to make the then
Conflict with the councils and diminished power
In 1322, open conflict broke out between Ingeborg and the Swedish regency council. The council of state made an agreement that no order from Ingeborg should thereafter be accepted without the approval from the entire council, and all agreements made with her by individual councillors were annulled. In 1323, Ingeborg was forced to accept the terms and give up several of her strategical castles and fiefs.
On 20 February 1323, the Norwegian regency council rebelled against Ingeborg. She was accused of misusing the royal seal, to have broken the peace with Denmark and for greater costs, and was replaced as head of the regency. After 1323, Ingeborg's power was limited to what was approved by votes in the councils, which in practice had deposed her. On 14 February 1326, in exchange for having her debts paid, Ingeborg gave up several fiefs, was forced to send Canute into exile and was stripped from all political authority in the Swedish regency council. In the Norwegian regency council, however, her signature was still needed in the 14 June 1327 peace treaty between Norway and Sönderjylland.
Ingeborg married her lover
Later life
Her husband was made Duke of Estonia in 1329. In 1330, she again became a widow on 30 May 1330 because Canute got murdered. Her younger sons became dukes of Halland. Her eldest son became an adult in 1332, and the same year, Ingeborg secured Swedish superiority (until 1360) over Scania. After the death of her second husband, Ingeborg again took an important position in the life of her son the king, but it is not known how much influence she had on him.
In 1336, Ingeborg welcomed her daughter Euphemia and her son-in-law Albert of Mecklenburg, Rudolf I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg and Henry of Holstein with her own fleet to the coronation of her son and his wife in Stockholm. In 1341, Ingeborg and the counts Henry and Claus of Holstein went to war against Valdemar of Schleswig, John of Holstein and the Hanseatic league in Denmark. Ingeborg was residing at Kalundborg in Denmark at the time and was attacked by King Valdemar IV there; after two years of alternating conflicts and agreements the matter was settled against King Valdemar, who however regained Copenhagen Castle.[3] King Magnus sealed the peace by telling Valdemar to keep the promise he had made to Ingeborg in the peace treaty. In 1350, she inherited the title and position of Duke of Halland from her younger son.
Children and family
With
- Magnus VII of Norway(1316–1374)
- Euphemia of Sweden, duchess of Mecklenburg (1317–c. 1370)
With
- Haakon, Duke of Halland, died 1350
- Canute, Duke of Halland, died 1350
- Bridget,[4] married Jon Hafthorsson and had issue
Legacy
Along with Swedish-Italian Saint Bridget and reigning Queen Margaret of Scandinavia, Ingeborg has been called one of the three most extraordinary Scandinavian historical women in European history.[5]
The controversy around Ingeborg's second marriage and the potential succession of her son Haakon to the Norwegian throne are an important part of the plot of the novel Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset.
References
- ISBN 82-519-1117-6p. 43
- ^ Professor Grete Authén Blom in Ingebjørg med Guds misskunn Kong Håkons datter, Hertuginne i Sviarike: Brudstykker av et politisk kvinneportrett Norsk Historisk Tidskrift, Oslo 1981 p. 425
- ISBN 9189080262pp. 147-149 (in Swedish)
- ^ Dronning Margrete: Valdemar danekonges datter : hendes ungdom
- ISBN 978-1328595904pp 173 & 176-178
Further reading
- Den svenska historien. Medeltid 1319-1520 (Stockholm:Bonniers 1966), s. 14-18
- Nordberg, Michael (1995). I kung Magnus tid. Norstedts. ISBN 91-1-952122-7.
- Jerker Rosén : Den svenska historien 2. Medeltiden 1319-1520 (1966)
- Nationalencyklopedin, Bokförlaget Bra Böcker AB, Höganäs (1992)
- Ingeborg of Norway at Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon