Today, dear peeps, we’ll be lingering in 13th century Sweden. (Blame it on a recent road trip, which had me passing places that were once seats of power in the nascent kingdom of Sweden, now mostly are backwaters . . .) Now, the reason why this story caught my eye was because of a name: …
The abducted bride – the story of Ingrid Svantepolksdotter Read More »
In Sweden, Kristian II of Denmark has the not-so-flattering epithet ”the tyrant”. After all, it was because of his duplicity that the streets of Stockholm ran red with blood one cold November night in 1520 as one after another of the Swedish nobles who’d fought against Danish dominion were summarily executed. In Denmark, obviously, he …
When Isabella of Austria became Elisabeth of Denmark – the story of a young queen Read More »
Sometimes, I start out by researching one person and end up fascinated by another. In this particular case, I wanted to know more about Hans II, King of Denmark and Norway (“And Sweden!” he adds, but as he was only king here for like three years, I see that as more of a parenthesis) This …
Ms Ironbeard, King Hans and the failure of a royal marriage Read More »
Sometimes, hubby and I spend several hours over the weekend solving crosswords. He is much better at it than I am, mainly because there are so many words/clues that only exist in the rarefied world of crossworders (is that even a word?) and he has been solving crosswords for yonks. Today, one of the clues …
I have previously written about Eleanor of Castile, but in that post I focussed on the children she birthed. And lost. She lost most of them, unfortunate woman that she was. This post is about her last few years—mainly because that’s where I’ve been spending time with her, as my latest novel is set 1287-1290, …
A slow march into permanent night – of a queen’s death Read More »
Some weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of reading Cathie Dunne’s book about Poppa of Bayeux and her hubby Hrolfr, a.k.a. Rollo (To us Swedes, he is Gånge-Rolf, so named because he was so big and strong no horse could carry him, hence he had to walk. Gånge means walker) Anyway: I realised I …
When Poppa met Rollo – Cathie Dunne gives us an insight into 9th century politics Read More »
In 1214, Berengaria of Portugal married Valdemar II, king of Denmark. How on earth would a medieval Portuguese princess and a Danish king meet, you might ask, but there was an indirect connection as Valdemar’s sister, Ingeborg, was unfortunate enough to marry Berengaria’s French cousin, Philippe Augustus. This is why Berengaria was in Paris, and …
Some time ago, I wrote about the misfortunes of Blanca of Navarra, a young woman who was to be betrayed by almost everyone who should have her back—including her hubby, Enrique IV of Castile. Now, as those of you who read about Blanca may remember, Enrique had their marriage annulled after 13 years, citing non-consummation …
Sometimes, those medieval kings surprise you. Take, for example Sancho IV of Castile. Now, he has a few black marks against him, principally the fact that he usurped the throne, thereby stealing the crown from his young nephew, Alfonso de la Cerda. Sancho, of course, did not feel he had a choice: Castile needed an …
For the love of his queen – how a medieval king set his wife first Read More »
In 1283, little Isabel saw the light of the day. This the latest fruit of the proud House of Ivrea was the first of seven siblings. At the time of her birth, her daddy, the future Sancho IV, was at loggerheads with his daddy, Alfonso X. Why? Because Sancho wanted to become king once Alfonso …
From queen to duchess – the life of a medieval princess Read More »
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