Blanka of Namur
Encyclopedia
Blanche of Namur was queen-consort 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....

 and Norway
Norway
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...

, as the spouse of King Magnus Eriksson
Magnus IV of Sweden
Magnus Eriksson as Magnus IV was king of Sweden , including Finland, as Magnus VII King of Norway , including Iceland and Greenland, and also ruled Scania . He has also vindictively been called Magnus Smek...

. She was the eldest daughter of John I
John I, Marquis of Namur
John I of Namur was the ruler of Namur from 1305 to 1330. He was a member of the house of Dampierre, the son of Guy of Dampierre, Count of Flanders and Marquis of Namur, and his second wife Isabelle of Luxembourg...

, Marquis of Namur
Marquis of Namur
Namur was a county of the Carolingian and later Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries. Its territories largely correspond with the present-day Belgian arrondissement Namur plus the northwestern part of the arrondissement Dinant....

 and Marie of Artois.

Marriage

It is unknown how it came that the king of Sweden and Norway married a woman from Namur
Namur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....

. In June 1334 he travelled from Norway to Namur to propose. In Namur they got engaged and Magnus returned to Sweden in the fall of 1334. Blanche left Namur in the fall of 1335 and the wedding took place in October or early November 1335, possibly at Bohus castle. As a wedding gift Blanche received the province of Tunsberg
Tønsberg
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around north-east of Sandefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg....

 in Norway and Lödöse in Sweden as fiefs; Tunsberg was exchanged in 1353 to Bohus, Marstrand
Marstrand
Marstrand is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,432 inhabitants in 2005. It has held city privileges since 1200. The most striking feature about Marstrand is the 17th century fortress Carlsten, named after King Carl X Gustav of Sweden. The...

, Elvyssel, Ranerike and Borgsyssel. Blanche's coronation took place in July 1336, possibly 22 July, in the Great Church
Storkyrkan
Sankt Nikolai kyrka , most commonly known as Storkyrkan and Stockholms domkyrka , is the oldest church in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is an important example of Swedish Brick Gothic...

 in Stockholm.

They had two sons, Eric and Haakon, plus at least three daughters who died as children (some buried at Ås Abbey
Ås Abbey
Ås Abbey was a Cistercian monastery situated near the mouth of the River Viskan into the Kattegat in Halland, formerly part of Denmark but now in Sweden, near the present hamlet of Åskloster about 14 km north of Varberg, in Varberg Municipality....

). It was agreed that Eric should inherit 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....

 and Haakon Norway
Norway
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...

. When Haakon became Haakon VI of Norway
Haakon VI of Norway
Haakon VI of Norway was King of Norway from 1343 until his death and King of Sweden from 1362 until 1364, when he was deposed by Albert of Mecklenburg in Sweden.-Background:...

 in 1355, Eric
Eric XII of Sweden
Eric "XII" of Sweden was a rival king of Sweden of his father Magnus IV from 1356 to his death in 1359. He was married to Beatrix of Bavaria, daughter of Louis IV of Bavaria....

 rebelled against his father and was elevated to co-ruler of Sweden.

Her husband was rumored to be homosexual; he had an official favorite, Bengt Algotsson, Duke of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 - although their relationship have never confirmed to be sexual - but she seems to have had a good relationship with him, and exerted political influence. In 1345, her brothers Louis and Robert were made vassals to her spouse. On her seal, she is called "Queen of Sweden, Norway and Scania"; she is not wearing a veil on the seal which was unusual for married women in this age.

Her political influence made her controversial and exposed to much criticism and slander. In 1359 she was accused by people of having poisoned her daughter-in-law, Beatrice of Bavaria, and her own son, the co-ruler, King Eric; on his deathbed, her son said, that the same person who gave him life, had now taken it from him - it is possible that he himself believed that he was poisoned by her, but there is no proof that this happened. Historians now believe that both her son and her daughter-in-law died of the plague. She was disliked, as was her husband, by Saint Birgitta, who accused her of being unfaithful; Bengt Algotsson was pointed out as the lover of both the king and the queen.

Last years

She spent her last years, from 1359 until her death, at the Tønsberg Castle
Tønsberg Fortress
Tønsberg Fortress was a medieval fortress, located in Tønsberg, Norway which was defended by the fortress for over 300 years.-History:...

 in Norway and ruled the south-east of this country. It seems she spent her last years in economic difficulties. On 9 April 1363, her son Haakon married Margaret
Margaret I of Denmark
Margaret I was Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and founder of the Kalmar Union, which united the Scandinavian countries for over a century. Although she acted as queen regnant, the laws of contemporary Danish succession denied her formal queenship. Her title in Denmark was derived from her...

, daughter of Valdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark or Waldemar ; , was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375.-Ascension to the throne:...

. Shortly after the wedding Blanche fell ill and died. The cause of death and the place where she is buried is unknown.

Legacy

Queen Blanche is one of the most known of Swedish/Norwegian medieval queens. Apparently, she was very politically and socially active and noticeable as a person and not only as a queen, as many stories and songs were written about her.

In Sweden, Queen Blanche is also remembered for the song: "Rida rida ranka, hästen heter Blanka" ("Ride ride ranka, the name of the horse is Blanka"), which can be seen at the famous historical painting by Edelfeldt of her and her son, where it is illustrated.

Ancestors

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