Martha of Denmark

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Martha (Margaret) of Denmark (Swedish: Märta) (1277-1341) was a Medieval Swedish Queen known as Queen Märta (Martha) ; in Swedish spelled as "Märta". She was a politically influential queen and played a part in the Håtuna games and the Nyköping Banquet.

[edit] Biography

She was daughter of King Eric V of Denmark and Agnes of Brandenburg and sister of king Eric VI. Her father was murdered in 1286, and her mother, who was made regent, remarried in 1293. She was married to King Birger of Sweden in 1298; two years before, her brother had been married to her husband's sister, Princess Ingeborg of Sweden. The marriage was decided when she was a child, and she had in fact spent a lot of her childhood in Sweden; engaged to the Swedish crown prince as a child, she had been largely brought up at the Swedish court, by her future mother-in-law, the queen dowager Helwig of Holstein; she lived in Sweden from at least 1295.

The two children, Märta and Birger, grew up together and loved each other, and their marriage was to become a happy one, which was perhaps the reason to why she was to have a such a large influence on him. In 1298, it was decided that it was time to celebrate their formal wedding, which is described as very grand, with processions of knights, theatre played by nobles, and the title of duke given by her husband to his brother Erik. She herself asked for prisoners to be let free, which was granted, and given the city of Falköping and large territories. She was crowned in 1302.

Queen Martha had great political influence on her husband and participated in many the intrigues of his court. In 1299, she gave birth to a son, who was proclaimed heir to the throne in 1304. In 1306, however, the brothers of the king took the actual power away from the royal couple in the famous Håtuna games. Märta sent her son and heir to her brother and her husband's sister, the king and queen of Denmark.

In Swedish history, queen Märta had a bloodthirsty reputation, given to her by the chronicles Erikskrönikan; in the second of her husband's controversies with his brothers the dukes - the king and Queen had, during the first one, the Håtuna games in 1306, been captured and imprisoned by them, and forced to hand over the real power to them - the royal couple invited the dukes to great festivities, during which the dukes vere captured and imprisoned, and left to starve to death. The festivitys is described in a famous medieval song; " Everyone danced all the way from indoors to outdoors, the Queen had never looked so happy before," which was seen as a cruel sign of excitement (as she was aware of the plans on capturing them in the middle of the festivities) that she and her husband would now get their revenge. Sometimes, it is even believed, that she was the creator of the entire plan of event; she is mentioned as the creator of the Nyköping Banquet together with minister Johann Brunkow.

When her husband was deposed in 1318 and Nyköpingshus castle was taken, she fled to her brother in Denmark, were she spent the rest of her life. Her husband joined her, and she became a widow in 1321, after having witnessed her son's murder in 1320 and her brother's death in 1319. she arranged for the marriages of her daughters and spent 1326-1329 in Germany. The last years of her life was spent as a nun in the convent of Saint Peter in Naestved. She was buried in the church of Saint Bent in Ringsted.

[edit] Children

  • Prince Magnus Birgersson of Sweden (1300-1320)
  • Prince Eric Birgersson of Sweden
  • Princess Agnes Birgersdotter of Sweden
  • Princess Katarina Birgersdotter

[edit] Sources

Martha of Denmark
Born: 1277 Died: 1341
Swedish royalty
Preceded by
Helwig of Holstein
(Queen consort)		 Royal Consort of Sweden
(Queen consort)
1298 - 1318		 Succeeded by
Blanka of Namur
(Queen consort)