Cecilia Johansdotter of Sweden

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King Sverker I grandfather of Cecilia

Cecilia Johansdotter of Sweden (* around 1145, † after 1193) had been the wife of Knut I Eriksson from the Erik family , who ruled as King of Sweden from 1167 to 1196 , from around 1160 . Her identity is not documented, although she lived with her husband as Queen of Sweden for twenty-six years. Their marriage served primarily to at least temporarily reconcile the warring dynasties that were fighting for the royal crown in Sweden during their time - the Eriks and Sverker families.

origin

Name and origin of Cecilia Johansdotter are documented not secured, but based on how Lars O. Lagerqvist holds, let that suggest various later sources that they thus a subsidiary of the Swedish prince Jarl Johan Sverkersson († 1150) and from the House of Sverker came. This is also evident from the family tree of the Sverker family, which can be found on page 199 of the article by Adolf Schück.

Cecilia's father Jarl Johan Sverkersson was a prince of Sweden from the Sverker family, namely a younger son of Sverker I. Kolsson , who ruled as King of Sweden from around 1130 to 1156, and his wife Ulvhild Håkonsdatter (* 1095, † 1148). Cäcilia's grandmother Ulvhild was a daughter of the Norwegian magnate Hakon Finson from the von Thjotta family - a descendant of the great Norwegian skald Eyvindr Skáldaspillir (* around 920, † 990). Since Ulvhild was married to two kings of Sweden and a king of Denmark, she is sometimes seen as the “ femme fatale ” of high medieval Scandinavia.

There are no references to Cecilia's mother.

Life

In the absence of documents - the oldest Swedish documents go back to Archbishop Stefan von Uppsala (1164–1167) - only a few details of her life are known, so one can only try to shed light on her personal circumstances through the historical context. In any case, it can be seen that her life was shaped on the one hand by the dynastic ambitions of her family and on the other by the bitter rivalry with which two dynasties vied for the crown in her time in Sweden.

Dynastic connections

These dynastic ambitions, which are based on the kingship of Cecilia's grandfather, had a direct impact on the closest inner circle of her family, as two of her brothers, Karl Johansson and Burislev Johansson appeared as pretenders for the Swedish crown and paid for it with their lives.

Her father's siblings were more successful in this. Cecilia's aunt Helena Sverkerdotter, Princess of Sweden, married Knut V. Magnusson King of Denmark (1146–1157) in 1156 , but she was Queen of Denmark for hardly more than a year due to the untimely death of her husband. She left no children and entered the Vreta monastery as a widow as a nun . Cecilia's uncle Charles VII. Sverkersson ruled as King of Sweden from 1161 to 1167, and in 1163 married Christine Stigsdotter, daughter of Stig Hvitaledhr and Margaret Princess of Denmark. His son - Cäcilias cousin - Sverker II ruled as King of Sweden from 1196 to 1208.

An uncle from another relationship of Cecilia's grandfather was Sune Sik Sverkersson, the father of Ingrid Ylva († 1251), who was married to Magnus Minnesköld and who, through her son Birger Jarl, became the ancestor of the Bjälbo dynasty, later called the Folkunger dynasty . This surpassed even the boldest dynastic hopes of the Sverker family, as they ruled as kings of Sweden from 1250 to 1364 , as kings of Norway from 1380 to 1387 and as kings of Denmark from 1376 to 1387 .

Battle for the succession to the throne in Sweden

Decisive for Cecilia's life was undoubtedly the fact that in her time in Sweden after the extinction of the Stenkil family, many pretenders wrestled for the crown, of which two dynasties remained:

This was on the one hand their own family - the House of Sverker - that of himself I. Sverker , a magnate from Östergötland derived which his claim to the throne to marry Ulvhild Håkonsdatter of Norway, - the widow of Inge II. The last king from the Stenkil- Gender supported and was finally able to assert himself as King of Sweden around 1130, after his most important rival, the Danish prince Magnus I. Nilsson "Ladulas" (barn castle) (* around 1107, † 1134), who ruled in Götaland in southern Sweden , from Had driven Sweden. To consolidate his power, he then married Rikissa of Poland - the widow of his expelled rival Magnus I. Nilsson.

Erik the Saint in the city seal of Stockholm

On the other hand, there was the Eriks family , whose claim was based on the fact that they descended in the female line from Inge I. Stenkilsson King of Sweden (1080-1100) and with Erik I. Jedvarsson "the saint" who ruled Sweden from 1156 to 1159, had a saint for his progenitor.

Cecilia was directly affected by the quarrels for the throne as a child, as she was only eight or nine years old when her father, Prince Johann Sverkersson, was murdered in 1154/55. About a year later her grandfather, King Sverker I , was murdered by his own stable master at Christmas 1156 - probably not without the help of the Erik family. The future of the dynasty - and the fate of Cecilia - was completely uncertain.

After the death of King Sverker I, Cecilia's uncle - Charles VII. Sverkersson (* around 1130, † April 12, 1167) was the "natural" heir to the throne as the king's eldest son, but could only assert himself in Östergötland . However, in 1156 the throne took over the House of Eric in the person of Erik IX. Jedvardsson (* around 1120, † 1160), who had rivaled King Sverker I since 1150. He subsequently succeeded in being recognized as King of Sweden in almost all provinces.

King Erik IX the saint, Cecilia's father-in-law

Erik IX. Jedvardsson ruled as King of Sweden from 1156 to 1160. Since no documents have survived from him, his actual work was largely overlaid by later legends. The basis for the fact that he was later called Erik “the saint”, is venerated today as the national saint of Sweden and that his ideal portrait can be found in a Stockholm city seal, is the St. Erik's legend. This reports that the king was murdered on Ascension Day, May 18, 1160, at the Trinity Church of Östra Aros (Uppsala) by the Danish prince Magnus Henriksson (* around 1130, † 1161). Thereupon a miracle happened at the place of his killing, in that a spring rose there that still flows today. For Cecilia personally, King Erik IX was. although a usurper, he played a positive role in her life insofar as he - probably with the intention of relaxing the simmering rivalry with the Sverker family - caused Cäcilia to join his son and heir to the throne Knut I. Eriksson shortly before his death ( * before 1150, † 1195/96) was married.

After the assassination of King Erik IX. there was hope that his eldest son - and thus Cecilia - would ascend the Swedish throne. This hope was disappointed, however, when the murderer of her father-in-law, Magnus Henriksson , seized power in 1160 and ruled Sweden as King Magnus II. He did not see himself as a usurper, but as a legitimate heir to the throne, since his mother Ingrid Ragvaldsdotter was a granddaughter of the Swedish King Inge I. Stenkilsson of the Stenkil family. However, his reign was to prove to be very short-term.

King Charles VII of Sweden, uncle of Cecilia

Cäcilia's uncle Karl Sverkersson had never given up his claims to the crown and had already accepted the title of King of Östergötland in 1158. He saw after the assassination of King Erik IX. the chance to finally get the crown of Sweden to which he is entitled. He therefore gathered an army and on February 4, 1161 defeated the troops of his rival Magnus Henriksson, who lost his life in the battle at Örebro . This cleared the way for Karl Sverkersson to finally ascend the throne of his father, King Sverker I, as Karl VII. Sverkersson, King of Sweden.

Cäcilia may have received her uncle's success with mixed feelings, as it meant that although a representative of her own family sat on the Swedish throne, her husband Knut I. Eriksson - and thus herself - continued to rule in Sweden remained excluded. King Karl VII. Sverkersson ruled from 1160 to 1167. Then Cecilia's husband Knut Eriksson found this so unbearable that he decided to act. He gathered a troop of faithful and attacked with them Cecilia's uncle King Charles VII. Sverkersson on April 12, 1167 on Visingsö and killed him. To keep up appearances, he then had him dignifiedly buried in Alvastra Monastery.

Queen of Sweden

King Canute I Eriksson of Sweden, husband of Cecilia Johansdotter

This cleared the way for Knut Eriksson to take over the crown of the Kingdom of Sweden as Knut I - and as the second king of the Erkinger family - whereby Cäcilia came to the throne as his wife.

However, this rule was not undisputed either, as two princes from the Sverker family, Kol and Boleslaw - two brothers of Cecilia - revolted against the murder of their uncle, presented themselves as heirs to the throne and took control of Östergötland. At least Kol could stay there until 1173 and were then defeated by King Canute's troops in the battle of Bjälbo in Östergötland and either killed or driven out. This means that King Canute I and Cecilia do not rule over all of Sweden until 1173.

An influence of Cäcilias on the government cannot of course be proven, but one could assume a sympathy for some things. As for example with the minting of silver coins with the image of her father-in-law King Erik IX, which was arranged by her husband. in support of his veneration as a saint, in the building of numerous churches in Sweden or in the construction of the first castle on the island of Stockholm in 1187. Kalmar Castle also dates back to its time. The presence of the skalds Hallbjörn Hali and Thorstein Thorbjarnarsson shows that art and poetry also played a role at the court of Cäcilias.

At least one specific incident from her life is documented. Accordingly, the queen fell so seriously ill in 1190 that one generally expected her death. Faced with this danger, she made a vow that if God would grant her the cure from this disease, she would enter a monastery after her recovery. In fact, she later recovered and got better. However, she did not want to go to the monastery, which her husband, King Canute I, also opposed. It was therefore a letter to Pope Clement III. (Paolo Scolari) (1187 to 1191) asking for her vow to be revoked so that she could continue her duties as queen and wife.

nun

The matter was delayed by the death of the Pope, so that the answer only from the next Pope, Cölestin III. (Giacinto Bobone (Orsini)) (1191-1198). In his letter from 1193, however, he refused to consent to the cancellation of the vow and obliged Cecilia to keep it. Queen Cäcilia therefore reluctantly entered a monastery around 1193. Presumably this is the Vreta monastery (today in the municipality of Linköping in the province of Östergötland , where only the monastery church is still standing), which was founded by King Inge I around 1100 as the first monastery in Sweden and which is already hers Aunt Helena Sverkerdotter - Princess of Sweden and widowed Queen of Denmark - had entered.

An important question that Cäcilia must have been concerned with to the end was the successor to the Swedish throne of her son Erik X. Knutsson . In this regard, there was an attempt to secure this line of succession through a letter from the king to the pope, as it were religiously. These efforts were successful as the Pope blessed this succession. In the meantime, however, the political situation in Sweden had changed, as the successor of the king had to be determined by election.

The pendulum swung again in the other direction, as the successor to King Canute I of the Erik family in 1196, not Cäcilia's son Erik X Knutsson - who was then only 16 years old - but Sverker II Karlsson from the Sverker family was elected king. This was a son of King Charles VII Sverkersson and thus a first cousin of Cäcilia.

Cecilia last appeared in a document in 1193 in the Pope's letter and died at an unknown time. It is therefore uncertain whether she lived to see her son being preferred to her cousin.

Marriage and offspring

Cecilia married Knut I. Eriksson (* before 1150, † 1195/96), King of Sweden (1167–1195 / 96) , around 1160 .

  • Jon Knutsson, († November 15, 1205 in the battle of Älgarås (in the north of Västergötland ) against the Sverker family)
  • Knut Knutsson († November 15, 1205 in the Battle of Älgarås)
  • Joar Knutsson († November 15, 1205 in the Battle of Älgarås)
  • Sigrid (Katharina) Knutsdotter, uncertain name and uncertain marriage to Jarl Knut Birgersson or to Magnus Broka , whom some also see as their son.
  • Erik X. Knutsson (* around 1180, † April 10, 1216), King of Sweden 1208–1216, ∞ around 1210 Rikissa of Denmark (* 1174; † 1220), a daughter of Waldemar I of Denmark (1157–1182) . With his posthumous son Erik XI. Eriksson "Läspe" (the Lispelende), King of Sweden (1224–1250), the Eriks family died out in the male line.

See also

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Lars O. Lagerqvist: Sverige och dess regenter under 1,000 år . Albert Bonniers Förlag, 1982, ISBN 91-0-075007-7 (Swedish).
  2. ^ Adolf Schück: Från Viby till Bjälbo. (PDF; 3.8 MB) In: Forn Vännen, Journal of Swedish Antiquarian Research. P. 199 , accessed February 24, 2015 (Swedish).
  3. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke : European family tables . Verlag JA Stargardt, Marburg 1984, New Series, Volume II, Plate 105
  4. ↑ Adolf Schück: op. Cit. Page 197
  5. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke op. Cit. Plate 115
  6. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke op. Cit. Plate 100
  7. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke op. Cit. Plate 116
  8. ^ Hans Gillingstam: "Karl Sverkersson" in Svensk Biografisk Lexikon.
  9. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke: op. Cit. Plate 115.
  10. ↑ Adolf Schück: Från Viby till Bjälbo, study i Sveriges historia under 100-talets senare half . (PDF) In: Fornvännen , 1951, p. 197
  11. ↑ Lars O. Lagerqvist: Sveriges Regent. Från forntid till nutid . Norsteds Förlag, Stockholm 1996, ISBN 91-1-963882-5 , p. 59
  12. ↑ Wiki article Knut I (Sweden)
  13. ↑ Wiki article in English "Canute I of Sweden"
  14. ↑ Folk Cities . In: Theodor Westrin (Ed.): Nordisk familjebok konversationslexikon och realencyklopedi . 2nd Edition. tape 8 : Feiss-Fruktmögel . Nordisk familjeboks förlag, Stockholm 1908, Sp. 792 (Swedish, runeberg.org ).
  15. ↑ Detlev Schwennicke: op. Cit. Plate 115
personal data
SURNAME Cecilia Johansdotter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Queen of Sweden
DATE OF BIRTH around 1145
DATE OF DEATH after 1193