Dagmar of Bohemia

Dagmar of Bohemia (also known as Markéta of Bohemia; c. 1186–24 May 1212/13, Ribe) was Queen consort of Denmark as the first spouse of King Valdemar II of Denmark. She was the daughter of King Přemysl I Ottokar of Bohemia and his first wife, Adelheid of Meissen.

Family

Markéta had one brother, Vratislav, and two sisters, Božislava and Hedwig/Hedvika. Her father became the Duke of Bohemia in 1192, but in 1193 was deposed. He left Bohemia with his family then.

Adelheid with children find new home at the court of her brother and Přemysl Ottokar became mercenary of German dukes. In 1197, Ottokar became the Duke of Bohemia for the second time. He repudiated his wife and divorced Adelheid in 1199, on the grounds of consanguinity. He married Constance of Hungary later in the same year.^[1] This step, together with other maneuvers, helped him to obtain hereditary elevation of his title to king later.

Adelheid did not waive her rights. In 1205, she returned to Prague temporarily. At that time, Ottokar decided to marry their daughter, Markéta, to Valdemar II of Denmark. However, Constance gave birth to a son, later king Václav I of Bohemia, in 1205. Adelheid left Bohemia soon and died a few years later.

Queen Dagmar

Before his first marriage, Valdemar had been betrothed to Richeza of Bavaria, daughter of the Duke of Saxony. When that arrangement fell through, he married Markéta in 1205 in Lübeck. She quickly won over the hearts of the Danes. In 1209, the new queen, now named Dagmar, gave birth to son Valdemar.

Queen Dagmar died in 24 May 1212/13 while giving a birth to her second son. Old folk ballads say that on her deathbed she begged Valdemar to marry Kirsten, the daughter of Karl von Rise, and not the "beautiful flower" Berengaria of Portugal (Danish: Bengerd). In other words she predicted Berengaria's sons' fight over the throne would bring trouble to Denmark.

After Dagmar's death, in order to build good relations with Flanders, (a commercially important territory to the west of Denmark's hostile southern neighbours), Valdemar married Berengária of Portugal in 1214.

Queen Dagmar is buried in St. Bendt's Church in Ringsted, Denmark, on one side of Valdemar II, with Queen Berengaria buried on the other side of the King.

Valdemar II elevated his son with Dagmar as co-king at Schleswig in 1218. Prince Valdemar was accidentally shot while hunting at Refsnæs in 1231.

Ancestry

Gallery

References