Ingeborg of Denmark, Queen of France
Encyclopedia
Ingeborg ( Isambour, Ingeburge; also Ingelburge, Ingelborg, Isemburge) (1175 – 29 July 1236) was a Danish-born queen consort
of France.
She was a daughter of Valdemar I of Denmark
and Sofia of Minsk
. Her maternal grandparents were Volodar of Minsk and Richeza of Poland. Her mother was also a maternal half-sister of Canute V of Denmark
.
(d. 1190). Stephen of Tournai
described her as "very kind, young of age but old of wisdom." At the marriage, she was renamed Isambour.
On the day after his marriage to Ingeborg, King Philip changed his mind, and attempted to send her back to Denmark. Outraged, Ingeborg fled to a convent in Soissons
, from where she protested to Pope Celestine III
.
Three months after the wedding, he summoned an ecclesiastical council
in Compiègne
and had it draw a false family tree
to show that he and Ingeborg would have been related through Philip's first wife. Contemporary Canon law
stated that a man and a woman could not marry if they shared an ancestor within the last seven generations. The council
therefore declared the marriage void.
Ingeborg protested again and the Danes sent a delegation to meet Pope Celestine. They convinced him that the spurious family tree was false but the pope merely declared the divorce null and prohibited Philip from marrying again. Philip ignored the Pope's verdict.
Ingeborg spent the next 20 years in virtual imprisonment in various French castles. In one stage she spent more than a decade in the castle of Étampes
southwest of Paris. Her brother Knud VI and his advisers continually worked against the annulment. Contemporary sources also indicate that many of Philip's advisers in France supported Ingeborg.
Political reasons for this royal marriage are disputed, but Philip probably wanted to gain better relations with Denmark because the countries had been on different sides in the schism of the future succession to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire
. Possibly he also wanted more allies against the rival Angevin
dynasty. As a dowry
, he had asked the support of Danish fleet for a year and the right to any remaining claims Denmark had to the throne of England. Knud VI, Ingeborg's brother, agreed only to a dowry of 10.000 silver marks. Marriage had been negotiated through Philip's adviser Bernard of Vincennes and Guillaume, the abbot of the Danish monastery of Aebelholt.
Pope Celestine defended the Queen, but was able to do little for her. Indeed, Philip asked Pope Celestine III
for an annulment
on the grounds of non-consummation
. (Historians have presented many theories for the alleged lack of consummation from temporary impotence to bouts of sweating sickness
).Philip had not reckoned with Ingeborg, however; she insisted that the marriage had been consummated, and that she was his wife and the rightful Queen of France.
The Franco-Danish churchman William of Paris intervened in the case of Philip Augustus who was attempting to repudiate Ingeborg. The genealogy
of the Danish kings which William drew up on this occasion to disprove the alleged impediment of consanguinity
and two books of his letters, some of which deal with this affair, have come down to us.
Philip married Agnes of Merania
, a German heiress, in June 1196. However, in 1198, new Pope Innocent III
declared that this new marriage was void because the previous marriage was still valid. He ordered Philip to dismiss Agnes and take Ingeborg back. Ingeborg had written to him, stating abuse and isolation and claiming thoughts of suicide because of harsh treatment. When the king did not comply, Pope placed France under interdict in 1199 until September 1200 when Philip said he would obey. He later reneged on that promise. Agnes died the following year.
Philips response was to lock Ingeborg away in the chateau of Étampes
. Locked up in a tower, Ingeborg was a prisoner. Food was irregular and sometimes insufficient. No one was allowed to visit her, except for one occasion when two Danish chaplains were allowed to visit.http://www.corpusetampois.com/che-20-guibourge1957etampes702chateauprison.html. Philip, meanwhile, brought Agnes back, and continued to live with her, producing a second child, a son. For these offences, Philip was excommunicated in 1200, and the kingdom was placed under an interdict
.
In 1201 Philip asked the Pope to declare his children legitimate and the Pope complied to gain his political support. However, later that year Philip again asked for annulment, claiming that Ingeborg had tried to bewitch him in the wedding night and thus made him unable to consummate the marriage. So he asked for divorce on the grounds of witchcraft
. This attempt failed as well.
but because he wished to press his claims to the throne of the Kingdom of England
through his ties to the Danish crown. Later, on his deathbed he is attributed to telling his son Louis VIII
to treat her well. Later both Louis VIII and Louis IX
acknowledged Ingeborg as a legitimate queen. After this time, Ingeborg spent most of her time in a priory
of Saint-Jean-de-l’Ile, which she had founded. It was close to Corbeil
, in an island of the Essonne
. She survived her husband by more than 14 years.
Ingeborg of Denmark died in either 1237 or 1238 and was buried in the Church of the Order of St John in Corbeil
.
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of France.
She was a daughter of Valdemar I of Denmark
Valdemar I of Denmark
Valdemar I of Denmark , also known as Valdemar the Great, was King of Denmark from 1157 until 1182.-Biography:...
and Sofia of Minsk
Sofia of Minsk
Sophia of Minsk was a Danish mediaeval queen consort as the spouse of King Valdemar I of Denmark, and later a landgravine of Thuringia.-Biography:...
. Her maternal grandparents were Volodar of Minsk and Richeza of Poland. Her mother was also a maternal half-sister of Canute V of Denmark
Canute V of Denmark
Canute V of Denmark was a Swedish prince and King of Denmark from 1146 to 1157, as co-regent in shifting alliances with his Sweyn III and Valdemar I. Canute was killed at the so-called Bloodfeast of Roskilde in 1157. Nothing certain is known about his person and character.-Biography:Canute was...
.
Marriage
Ingeborg was married to Philip II Augustus of France on 15 August 1193 after the death of Philip's first wife Isabelle of HainautIsabelle of Hainaut
Isabella of Hainault was queen consort of France as the first wife of King Philip II of France.- Early life :...
(d. 1190). Stephen of Tournai
Stephen of Tournai
Stephen of Tournai, born in 1128 and died in 1203, was a Canon regular of Sainte-Geneviève , and Roman Catholic canonist who became bishop of Tournai in 1192.-Biography:He was born at Orléans in 1128; died at Tournai in September 1203...
described her as "very kind, young of age but old of wisdom." At the marriage, she was renamed Isambour.
On the day after his marriage to Ingeborg, King Philip changed his mind, and attempted to send her back to Denmark. Outraged, Ingeborg fled to a convent in Soissons
Soissons
Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones...
, from where she protested to Pope Celestine III
Pope Celestine III
Pope Celestine III , born Giacinto Bobone, was elected Pope on March 21, 1191, and reigned until his death. He was born into the noble Orsini family in Rome, though he was only a cardinal deacon before becoming Pope...
.
Three months after the wedding, he summoned an ecclesiastical council
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
in Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
and had it draw a false family tree
Family tree
A family tree, or pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. The more detailed family trees used in medicine, genealogy, and social work are known as genograms.-Family tree representations:...
to show that he and Ingeborg would have been related through Philip's first wife. Contemporary Canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
stated that a man and a woman could not marry if they shared an ancestor within the last seven generations. The council
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
therefore declared the marriage void.
Ingeborg protested again and the Danes sent a delegation to meet Pope Celestine. They convinced him that the spurious family tree was false but the pope merely declared the divorce null and prohibited Philip from marrying again. Philip ignored the Pope's verdict.
Ingeborg spent the next 20 years in virtual imprisonment in various French castles. In one stage she spent more than a decade in the castle of Étampes
Étampes
Étampes is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the center of Paris . Étampes is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department....
southwest of Paris. Her brother Knud VI and his advisers continually worked against the annulment. Contemporary sources also indicate that many of Philip's advisers in France supported Ingeborg.
Political reasons for this royal marriage are disputed, but Philip probably wanted to gain better relations with Denmark because the countries had been on different sides in the schism of the future succession to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. Possibly he also wanted more allies against the rival Angevin
House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet , a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the...
dynasty. As a 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...
, he had asked the support of Danish fleet for a year and the right to any remaining claims Denmark had to the throne of England. Knud VI, Ingeborg's brother, agreed only to a dowry of 10.000 silver marks. Marriage had been negotiated through Philip's adviser Bernard of Vincennes and Guillaume, the abbot of the Danish monastery of Aebelholt.
Her defense
Pope Celestine III
Pope Celestine III , born Giacinto Bobone, was elected Pope on March 21, 1191, and reigned until his death. He was born into the noble Orsini family in Rome, though he was only a cardinal deacon before becoming Pope...
for an annulment
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
on the grounds of non-consummation
Consummate
Consummation or consummation of a marriage, in many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, is the first act of sexual intercourse between two individuals, following their marriage to each other...
. (Historians have presented many theories for the alleged lack of consummation from temporary impotence to bouts of sweating sickness
Sweating sickness
Sweating sickness, also known as "English sweating sickness" or "English sweate" , was a mysterious and highly virulent disease that struck England, and later continental Europe, in a series of epidemics beginning in 1485. The last outbreak occurred in 1551, after which the disease apparently...
).Philip had not reckoned with Ingeborg, however; she insisted that the marriage had been consummated, and that she was his wife and the rightful Queen of France.
The Franco-Danish churchman William of Paris intervened in the case of Philip Augustus who was attempting to repudiate Ingeborg. The genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
of the Danish kings which William drew up on this occasion to disprove the alleged impediment of consanguinity
Consanguinity
Consanguinity refers to the property of being from the same kinship as another person. In that respect, consanguinity is the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person...
and two books of his letters, some of which deal with this affair, have come down to us.
Philip married Agnes of Merania
Agnes of Merania
Agnes Maria of Andechs-Merania , queen of France, was the daughter of Bertold IV , who was Count of Andechs, a castle and territory near Ammersee, Bavaria and from 1183 duke of Merania . Her mother was Agnes of Rochlitz...
, a German heiress, in June 1196. However, in 1198, new Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
declared that this new marriage was void because the previous marriage was still valid. He ordered Philip to dismiss Agnes and take Ingeborg back. Ingeborg had written to him, stating abuse and isolation and claiming thoughts of suicide because of harsh treatment. When the king did not comply, Pope placed France under interdict in 1199 until September 1200 when Philip said he would obey. He later reneged on that promise. Agnes died the following year.
Philips response was to lock Ingeborg away in the chateau of Étampes
Étampes
Étampes is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the center of Paris . Étampes is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department....
. Locked up in a tower, Ingeborg was a prisoner. Food was irregular and sometimes insufficient. No one was allowed to visit her, except for one occasion when two Danish chaplains were allowed to visit.http://www.corpusetampois.com/che-20-guibourge1957etampes702chateauprison.html. Philip, meanwhile, brought Agnes back, and continued to live with her, producing a second child, a son. For these offences, Philip was excommunicated in 1200, and the kingdom was placed under an interdict
Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholic canon law, an interdict is an ecclesiastical censure that excludes from certain rites of the Church individuals or groups, who nonetheless do not cease to be members of the Church.-Distinctions in canon law:...
.
In 1201 Philip asked the Pope to declare his children legitimate and the Pope complied to gain his political support. However, later that year Philip again asked for annulment, claiming that Ingeborg had tried to bewitch him in the wedding night and thus made him unable to consummate the marriage. So he asked for divorce on the grounds of witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. This attempt failed as well.
Reconciliation and later life
Philip reconciled with Ingeborg in 1213, not out of altruismAltruism
Altruism is a concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions, though the concept of 'others' toward whom concern should be directed can vary among cultures and religions. Altruism is the opposite of...
but because he wished to press his claims to the throne of the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
through his ties to the Danish crown. Later, on his deathbed he is attributed to telling his son Louis VIII
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII the Lion reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190–1226...
to treat her well. Later both Louis VIII and Louis IX
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
acknowledged Ingeborg as a legitimate queen. After this time, Ingeborg spent most of her time in a priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
of Saint-Jean-de-l’Ile, which she had founded. It was close to Corbeil
Corbeil
- Places :* Corbeil, Ontario, Canada* Corbeil-Essonnes, Essonne, France, a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris* The Corbeil Cathedral* Corbeil, Marne, France, a commune in north-eastern France...
, in an island of the Essonne
Essonne
Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...
. She survived her husband by more than 14 years.
Ingeborg of Denmark died in either 1237 or 1238 and was buried in the Church of the Order of St John in Corbeil
Corbeil
- Places :* Corbeil, Ontario, Canada* Corbeil-Essonnes, Essonne, France, a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris* The Corbeil Cathedral* Corbeil, Marne, France, a commune in north-eastern France...
.