Ingeborg of Norway
Encyclopedia
Ingeborg of Norway was a Norwegian and by marriage Swedish princess and royal duchess with a position in the regency governments in Norway (1319–27) and Sweden (1319–26). In 1318-1319 she was Sweden's first de facto
female ruler and her position subsequently equalled that of an undeclared queen mother
for over 40 years. In 1319-1326, she was Sweden's first de jure
female regent.
from his marriage with Euphemia of Rügen
. As a child, she was first betrothed to Magnus Birgerson, the son and designated heir of King Birger I of Sweden. Soon afterwards the engagement was however broken for altered political reasons, and in 1305 she was betrothed to Eric, Duke of Södermanland
, a younger brother of king Birger of Sweden, thus uncle of her first betrothed. In 1312, Ingeborg and Eric were formally married in a double wedding in Oslo; at the same time, her cousin Ingeborg Eriksdottir of Norway
, married Eric's brother duke Valdemar Magnusson. At her wedding, her mother queen Euphemia had published the recently-translated (by her command) famous poems, the Euphemia songs. The couple had two children before Duke Eric was murdered.
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.
upon her father's death, in rights devolved from her. Ingeborg was recognized as formal regent of her son in Norway.
Soon, the Swedish nobility elected young Magnus king of Sweden
after deposing Birger, and Ingeborg was made nominal regent of Sweden and given a seat and vote in the Swedish government and the title: Ingeborg, by the Grace of God, daughter of Haakon, Duchess in the Kingdom of Sweden. Duchess Ingeborg held her own court at her residence in Varberg
.
The exact position of Ingeborg in the regency council is hard to define properly due to the documentation. Mats Kettilumndsson, her ally, presided over the Swedish regency council "alongside" the two "Duchesses Ingeborg"; Ingeborg Håkansdotter and her cousin and sister-in-law Ingeborg Eriksdottir. 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 the independent reigning 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.
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. Canute Porse had been one of the supporters of her spouse and was appointed governor of Varberg. Ingeborg surrounded herself with young foreign men, thought to affect her politics, of which Canute was the most known. 12 April 1321, the Swedish council, after receiving complaints from the Norwegian council regarding a rumour of crimes and disturbances in Ingeborg's lands made by foreigners, told the Norwegian council to advise Ingeborg to listen more to the advice of the old experienced men in the councils rather than to young unexperienced foreign men; a law was created which banned foreigners in the Swedish council.
Scania
a part of her possessions. In 1321, Ingeborg arranged a marriage with her daughter Euphemia and Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg. The marriage was arranged with the terms that Mecklenburg, Saxony, Holstein, Rendsburg and Schleswig would assist Ingeborg in the conquest of Scania. This was approved by the council of Norway but not Sweden. To finance the invasion, Ingeborg took a loan from Stralsund with free trade in Sweden and Norway as security. When Ingeborg's forces under command of Canute invaded Scania in 1322-23, Mecklenburg betrayed her to Denmark and the alliance was broken.
20 February 1323, also 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, Ingeborgs power was limited to what was approved by votes in the councils, which in practice had deposed her. 14 February 1326, in exchange for having her debts paid, Ingeborg gave up several fiefs and was forced to send Canute in to 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 peace treaty between Norway and Sönderjylland 14 June 1327.
Ingeborg married her lover Canute Porse (d. 1330), a noble from less than royal circles, in 1327. While Canute was allowed to become Duke of Halland and holder of Ingeborg's inherited estates, her marriage was another reason why Swedes, and also increasingly Norwegians, did not allow Ingeborg to use her governmental power in these kingdoms. The year of her marriage, Ingeborg was stripped from her power also in the Norwegian regency council.
. 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, Rudolph of Saxony and Henry of Holstein with her own fleet to the coronation of her son and daughter-in-law 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. Not much is known of this conflict, but king Magnus sealed the peace by telling Valdemar to keep the promise he had made to Ingeborg in the peace treathy. In 1350, she inherited the title and position of Duke of Halland from her younger son.
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
.
:
2nd marriage with Canute Porse, Duke of Halland and Estonia
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
female ruler and her position subsequently equalled that of an undeclared queen mother
Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
for over 40 years. In 1319-1326, she was Sweden's first de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
female regent.
Background
Ingeborg was born as the only legitimate daughter of King Haakon V of NorwayHaakon V of Norway
Haakon V Magnusson was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319.-Biography:Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, King of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg of Denmark. Haakon was descended from king Saint Olav and is considered to have been the last Norwegian king in the Fairhair...
from his marriage with Euphemia of Rügen
Eufemia of Rügen
Euphemia Güntersdotter of Rügen was the Queen consort of Norway as the spouse of Haakon V of Norway...
. As a child, she was first betrothed to Magnus Birgerson, the son and designated heir of King Birger I of Sweden. Soon afterwards the engagement was however broken for altered political reasons, and in 1305 she was betrothed to Eric, Duke of Södermanland
Eric, Duke of Södermanland
Eric Magnusson was a Swedish prince, Duke of Svealand, Södermanland, Dalsland, Västergötland, Värmland and North Halland and heir to the throne of Sweden. He was the father of King Magnus who became king of both Norway and Sweden.-Background:...
, a younger brother of king Birger of Sweden, thus uncle of her first betrothed. In 1312, Ingeborg and Eric were formally married in a double wedding in Oslo; at the same time, her cousin Ingeborg Eriksdottir of Norway
Ingeborg Eriksdottir of Norway
Ingeborg Eriksdottir of Norway was a medieval Norwegian princess and by marriage a Swedish princess, Duchess of Uppland, Öland and Finland, with a seat in the regency government of her nephew, Magnus IV of Sweden.-Family:Ingeborg was the daughter of King Eric II of Norway and Isabel Bruce...
, married Eric's brother duke Valdemar Magnusson. At her wedding, her mother queen Euphemia had published the recently-translated (by her command) famous poems, the Euphemia songs. The couple had two children before Duke Eric was murdered.
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 KalmarKalmar
Kalmar is a city in Småland in the south-east of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 62,767 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 233,776 inhabitants .From the thirteenth to the...
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 Magnus VII of Norway, at the age of 3, was proclaimed king of NorwayNorway
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...
upon her father's death, in rights devolved from her. Ingeborg was recognized as formal regent of her son in Norway.
Soon, the Swedish nobility elected young Magnus king of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
after deposing Birger, and Ingeborg was made nominal regent of Sweden and given a seat and vote in the Swedish government and the title: Ingeborg, by the Grace of God, daughter of Haakon, Duchess in the Kingdom of Sweden. Duchess Ingeborg held her own court at her residence in Varberg
Varberg
Varberg is a locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden with 26,041 inhabitants in 2005.Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their 'typical west coast' sandy beaches. In Varberg the coast changes from wide sandy beaches to rocky terrain that continues north into...
.
The exact position of Ingeborg in the regency council is hard to define properly due to the documentation. Mats Kettilumndsson, her ally, presided over the Swedish regency council "alongside" the two "Duchesses Ingeborg"; Ingeborg Håkansdotter and her cousin and sister-in-law Ingeborg Eriksdottir. 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 the independent reigning 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.
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. Canute Porse had been one of the supporters of her spouse and was appointed governor of Varberg. Ingeborg surrounded herself with young foreign men, thought to affect her politics, of which Canute was the most known. 12 April 1321, the Swedish council, after receiving complaints from the Norwegian council regarding a rumour of crimes and disturbances in Ingeborg's lands made by foreigners, told the Norwegian council to advise Ingeborg to listen more to the advice of the old experienced men in the councils rather than to young unexperienced foreign men; a law was created which banned foreigners in the Swedish council.
The Scania affair
Ingeborg and Canute had the ambition to make the then DanishDenmark
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...
Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
a part of her possessions. In 1321, Ingeborg arranged a marriage with her daughter Euphemia and Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg. The marriage was arranged with the terms that Mecklenburg, Saxony, Holstein, Rendsburg and Schleswig would assist Ingeborg in the conquest of Scania. This was approved by the council of Norway but not Sweden. To finance the invasion, Ingeborg took a loan from Stralsund with free trade in Sweden and Norway as security. When Ingeborg's forces under command of Canute invaded Scania in 1322-23, Mecklenburg betrayed her to Denmark and the alliance was broken.
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 hereby be accepted without the approval from the entire council, and all agreements made with her by individual councillors was hereby annulled. In 1323, Ingeborg was forced to accept the terms and give up several of her strategical castles and fiefs.20 February 1323, also 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, Ingeborgs power was limited to what was approved by votes in the councils, which in practice had deposed her. 14 February 1326, in exchange for having her debts paid, Ingeborg gave up several fiefs and was forced to send Canute in to 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 peace treaty between Norway and Sönderjylland 14 June 1327.
Ingeborg married her lover Canute Porse (d. 1330), a noble from less than royal circles, in 1327. While Canute was allowed to become Duke of Halland and holder of Ingeborg's inherited estates, her marriage was another reason why Swedes, and also increasingly Norwegians, did not allow Ingeborg to use her governmental power in these kingdoms. The year of her marriage, Ingeborg was stripped from her power also in the Norwegian regency council.
Later life
Her husband was made Duke of Estonia in 1329. In 1330, she became a widow. Her younger sons became dukes of Halland. Her eldest son became an adult in 1332, and the same year, Ingeborg secured the (temporary) Swedish superiority over ScaniaScania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
. 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, Rudolph of Saxony and Henry of Holstein with her own fleet to the coronation of her son and daughter-in-law 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. Not much is known of this conflict, but king Magnus sealed the peace by telling Valdemar to keep the promise he had made to Ingeborg in the peace treathy. In 1350, she inherited the title and position of Duke of Halland from her younger son.
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
Kristin Lavransdatter
Kristin Lavransdatter is the common name for a trilogy of historical novels written by Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset. The individual novels are Kransen , first published in 1920, Husfrue , published in 1921, and Korset , published in 1922...
by Sigrid Undset
Sigrid Undset
Sigrid Undset was a Norwegian novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.-Biography:Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924, she converted to Catholicism and became a lay Dominican...
.
Children and family
1st marriage with Eric of Sweden, Duke of SödermanlandEric, Duke of Södermanland
Eric Magnusson was a Swedish prince, Duke of Svealand, Södermanland, Dalsland, Västergötland, Värmland and North Halland and heir to the throne of Sweden. He was the father of King Magnus who became king of both Norway and Sweden.-Background:...
:
- Magnus VII of Norway (1316–74)
- Euphemia of SwedenEuphemia of SwedenEufemia Ericsdotter of Sweden was a Swedish princess, spouse of Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg, Duchess Consort of Mecklenburg, heiress of Sweden and of Norway, mother of king Albert of Sweden.- Biography :Her father was Eric of Sweden Eufemia Ericsdotter of Sweden (1317–1370) was a Swedish...
, duchess of Mecklenburg (1317-c 1370)
2nd marriage with Canute Porse, Duke of Halland and Estonia
- Haakon, Duke of Halland, died 1350
- Canute, Duke of Halland, died 1350