Cecilía Sigurðardóttir

Cecilía Sigurðardóttir ( Norwegian Cecilia Sigurdsdatter ; * around 1150/55; † after 1185) was a king's daughter and king's mother.

Her father was King Sigurd II (1133–1155). Her mother is not known, but she probably belonged to the family of Sigurd II's foster father, the Trønder feudal man Sáða-Gyrðr Bárðarson, because he too had a daughter with the rare name Cecilía. Cecilía was raised at Gjølme Farm in Orkdal . In her first marriage she was married by Erlingr skakki Ormsson and King Magnus V to the Lagmann in Värmland Folkviðr (occupied between 1181 and 1184). So they wanted to prevent her from becoming a liaison for their opponents in Norway. Her son from this marriage was Hákon jarl galinn († 1214). When Sverre Sigurdsson came to Värmland on New Year 1177, Cecilía recognized him as her brother according to Sverris saga and supported him in his endeavors to become King of Norway. It helped that the Birkebeiner defeated at Re in January 1177 , whose pretender to the throne Eysteinn meyla had fallen in battle, moved to Värmland and made Sverre in Hammarö their new pretender to the throne, where Folkviðr and Cecilía probably lived.

When Sverre had established a foothold in Trøndelag, Cecilía left Folkviðr, because she apparently did not love him, as the Bǫglunga sǫgur report, and went back to the Gjølme farm, which her brother had given her. From there she secretly taught the Birkebeiner Bárðr Guthormsson von Rein († 1194), son of Guthormr Ásólfsson and his wife Sigríðr Þorkelsdóttir, about the movements of the enemies around King Magnus V. Bárðr Guthormsson came to Gjølme, where he met Cecilía.

After his victory over Magnus V in 1184, King Sverre Cecilía wanted to marry Bárðr Guthormsson, whose first wife Úlfhildr Pálsdóttir had died. But Archbishop Eysteinn Erlendsson insisted that the first marriage to Folkviðr was still valid and that Cecilía had to return to him. But Cecilía was able to prove with witnesses that she had been married to Folkviðr against her will, so that the first marriage was invalid under canon law. Eysteinn Erlendsson now gave his consent. Nevertheless, her son tried with Folkviðr, Hákon jarl galinn in 1212, doubts about the legitimacy of her son with Bárðr Guthormsson, the later King Inge II. (1185-1217), by pointing out that she married Bárðr while Folkviðs was still alive. He found the support of Archbishop Eysteinn's successor, Archbishop Eiríkr Ívarsson and his successor Þórir Guðmundarson and other bishops.

In 1185 Cecilía died soon after the birth of her son Inge. She was buried in the Kristkirke in Trondheim on the north side of the choir.

literature

• Knut Helle: Cecilia Sigurdsdatter. In: Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved October 23, 2010.