Ulvhild
Encyclopedia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n queen, queen consort of Sweden twice (c. 1117–25 and 1134–48) and queen consort of Denmark once (1130–34), married to King Inge II of Sweden
Inge II of Sweden
Inge the Younger was King of Sweden in 1110–1125 and the son of king Halsten and he was probably Halsten's youngest son. According to unreliable traditions Inge would have ruled together with his brother Philip Halstensson after the death of their uncle Inge the Elder:Hallstein's sons were Philip...
, King Niels of Denmark
Niels of Denmark
Niels of Denmark was King of Denmark from 1104 to 1134, following his brother Eric Evergood, and is presumed to have been the youngest son of king Sweyn II Estridson. Niels actively supported the canonization of Canute IV the Holy, and his secular rule was supported by the clergy...
and King Sverker I of Sweden
Sverker I of Sweden
Sverker I or Sverker the Elder was King of Sweden from about 1130 till his death.-Biography:Sverker was a mighty landowner from Östergötland...
. She is mentioned as a femme fatale
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
of high-medieval Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
.
Biography
Ulvhild was certainly from Norway. LegendLegend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
s (sagas) mention her as daughter of Norwegian magnate Haakon Finnsson, of the Thjotta family. It is almost certain that her mother was not queen Margaret Fredkulla
Margaret Fredkulla
Margaret Fredkulla of Sweden was a medieval Scandinavian queen, Princess of Sweden and Queen consort of Denmark and Norway, married to King Magnus III of Norway and King Niels of Denmark, and regent de facto of Denmark. She is known as Margareta Fredkulla in Sweden, Margret Fredskolla in Norway...
, and the name of her mother has not been preserved to later centuries.
Young Ulvhild was firstly married to king Inge II of Sweden
Inge II of Sweden
Inge the Younger was King of Sweden in 1110–1125 and the son of king Halsten and he was probably Halsten's youngest son. According to unreliable traditions Inge would have ruled together with his brother Philip Halstensson after the death of their uncle Inge the Elder:Hallstein's sons were Philip...
, in about 1116/17. They appear not to have had children. In 1118, she is rumoured to have made Inge poison his brother a co-regent king Philip. Legend say King Inge died of an evil drink in Vreta
Vreta
Vreta kan refer to:*A part of Häggeby och Vreta, a locality in Håbo Municipality, Sweden*A part of Ytternäs och Vreta, a locality situated in Uppsala Municipality, Sweden*A village in Kimitoön Municipality, Finland...
, allegedly poisoned by Queen Ulvhild and her alleged lover, Sverker Kolsson. This created her reputation as a dangerous woman.
After the death of king Inge, Ulvhild moved to Denmark. This was to claim asylum: she seems to have had relatives and allies in Denmark (she did not settle to Norway), whereas there were problems in Sweden. She is said to have married king Niels of Denmark
Niels of Denmark
Niels of Denmark was King of Denmark from 1104 to 1134, following his brother Eric Evergood, and is presumed to have been the youngest son of king Sweyn II Estridson. Niels actively supported the canonization of Canute IV the Holy, and his secular rule was supported by the clergy...
after the death of his first queen, Margaret Fredkulla
Margaret Fredkulla
Margaret Fredkulla of Sweden was a medieval Scandinavian queen, Princess of Sweden and Queen consort of Denmark and Norway, married to King Magnus III of Norway and King Niels of Denmark, and regent de facto of Denmark. She is known as Margareta Fredkulla in Sweden, Margret Fredskolla in Norway...
of Sweden, in 1130. After four years as queen of Denmark, Ulvhild became a widow, after which she, Queen dowager of both Sweden and Denmark, married King Sverker I of Sweden
Sverker I of Sweden
Sverker I or Sverker the Elder was King of Sweden from about 1130 till his death.-Biography:Sverker was a mighty landowner from Östergötland...
. She was to have separated from Niels and moved back to Sweden already in 1132. Some sources say that she had returned to Sweden and married Sverker already in 1130. No objections was made against the third marriage or against the legitimacy of her children, which had been taken as proof that she was not married to Niels, but only his mistress, while if she was married to him, the church would not have allowed her marriage to Sverker in 1130, when Niels was still alive. In reality, she likely married Niels in 1130, when his first wife died, and married Sverker in 1134, when Niels had died, which would meet no objection from the church.
King Sverker was said to be from a family without royal lineage. The marriage was to him a means of enhancing his legitimacy, Ulvhild having been queen of Sweden already once. Were Ulvhild - against all researched probability - a daughter of Margaret Fredkulla, herself daughter of king Inge I of Sweden, the marriage would have served Sverker yet better; Sverker seems not to have attempted to marry any known descendant of Sweden's earlier kings, he instead married two widows of such kings.
After a decade or so, queen Ulvhild died, and Sverker married secondly Rikissa of Poland
Rikissa of Poland
Richeza of Poland , was a Polish princess and member of the House of Piast, and by her three marriages Queen consort of Sweden and Princess of the Principality of Minsk ....
, widow of Magnus, king of Gothenland, Sverker's earlier rival and opponent.
Children and family
Ulvhild was married three times; to King Inge II of Sweden in ca 1120, to King Niels of Denmark in 1130, and to King Sverker I of Sweden in 1134. She had at least two surviving sons and two surviving daughters, all born of her third marriage with Sverker:- Princess Helena of SwedenHelena of SwedenHelena Sverkersdotter of Sweden, , was a medieval Swedish princess and Danish queen, Queen consort of King Canute V of Denmark.-Biography:Helena, or Elin as she was also called, was born daughter of King Sverker I of Sweden...
, (fl.FloruitFloruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1157), queen consort of Denmark, in 1156 married to king Canute V of DenmarkCanute V of DenmarkCanute 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...
, Rikissa's son. Later nun in Vreta AbbeyVreta AbbeyVreta Abbey, Swedish Vreta Kloster, in operation from the beginning of the 12th century to 1582, was the first nunnery in Sweden, initially Benedictine and later Cistercian, and one of the oldest in Scandinavia. It was located in the municipality of Linköping in Östergötland.- History :The exact...
.
- Prince Jon Sverkersson of Sweden, (d. before 1156), mentioned as jarl, but killed by peasants during last years of his father Sverker.
- King Charles VII of SwedenCharles VII of SwedenCharles "VII" also Carl , or Karl Sverkersson in Swedish , was ruler of Gothenland, and then King of Sweden from circa 1161 to 1167, when he was assassinated....
, (d.1167), who after his father's murder held (parts of) Gothenland, was possibly called jarl and certainly held as his father's heir and dynastical successor, but ultimately succeeded to the throne of Sweden after their dynasty's rival Eric IX, as king Charles VII of Sweden.
- Princess Ingegerd Sverkersdotter of Sweden, Abbess of Vreta AbbeyVreta AbbeyVreta Abbey, Swedish Vreta Kloster, in operation from the beginning of the 12th century to 1582, was the first nunnery in Sweden, initially Benedictine and later Cistercian, and one of the oldest in Scandinavia. It was located in the municipality of Linköping in Östergötland.- History :The exact...
If a descendant of king Sverker I were father of Ingrid Ylva
Ingrid Ylva
Ingrid Ylva Sunesdotter of Bjelbo , was a Swedish noblewoman, the wife of Magnus Minnesköld of Bjälbo and the mother of regent Birger Jarl...
, then it is fully possible that he was also a son of Ulvhild.