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Benedikte Sunadotter
Benedicta of Bjelbo (Swedish: ''Bengta Sunesdotter''; died 1261) was a Swedish noblewoman and a central figure in the incident known as the Maiden Abduction from Vreta, wherein she, like her mother, Princess Helen of Sweden before her, and her daughter, Ingrid Svantepolksdotter after her, was abducted from Vreta Abbey (''Vreta kloster'') by the man she later married. Her abduction was the subject of the folksong "Bridal Abduction of Young Lars" (''Junker Lars klosterrov''). Biography Benedicta was the daughter of Princess Helen and Sune Folkesson. She was the sister of Queen Catherine of Sweden. Benedicta was placed in Vreta Abbey for her education. In 1244, she was abducted by Lars Petersson, Justiciar of Östergötland, with whom she traveled to Norway. One theory is that Lars was a grandson of a king of the St. Eric dynasty and wished to unite that dynasty with Benedicta's Sverker dynasty. He may also have had designs on the throne. Benedicta lived with Lars in Norway for se ...
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Maiden Abduction From Vreta
The three abductions of maidens from the Vreta convent was a series of events that took place in Sweden in the 13th century. They became legendary and inspired many poems. Background The abduction of maidens for wives seems to have been an ancient Germanic tradition. Women's marriages were clan matters to be decided by the woman's nearest male relative, often together with tribal elders. A marriage was an alliance contract and also had many economical repercussions. A man was not allowed to marry a woman from an enemy clan unless it was to seal a treaty between the clans. On the other hand, a man might want to marry an heiress from a rival clan in order to impose his own power upon that clan. Abduction of 1210 Around 1210, Helena Sverkersdotter, the only daughter of the deposed King Sverker II, was studying at the Vreta convent when her father fell in battle. The young Sune Folkason, son of an earl who had been among Sverker's opponents in that battle and had also fallen, w ...
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Helen Of Sweden (13th Century)
Helen of Sweden ( 1190 – 1247, Swedish: ''Helena'') was a Swedish princess and daughter of King Sverker II of Sweden. She was the mother of Queen Catherine of Sweden. She was later Abbess of Vreta Abbey. Biography Helen was born in Denmark, the daughter of King Sverker II and Queen Benedicta. Her father was an exile there at that time. In 1195 or 1196, he was crowned King of Sweden. In 1208, he was deposed, and in 1210, he died in battle. Helen Sverkersdotter, the only daughter of the deposed king, was educated at Vreta Abbey at the time of her father's death. Around 1210, Helen was one of the victims of the Vreta abductions. Sune Folkesson was from one of the two dynasties that had been rivals for the Swedish throne since 1130, while Helen was from the other, the Sverker dynasty. Her relatives disapproved of the proposal of Sune Folkason, the son of an earl who had been among Sverker's opponents in the battle in which he fell. According to folklore, Sune Folkason a ...
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Ingrid Svantepolksdotter
Ingrid Svantepolksdotter (floruit 1350), was a Swedish noble and abbess. She is foremost known for being the central figure in one of the famous incidents referred to as the Maiden Abduction from Vreta, where she, like her mother before her, was abducted from Vreta Abbey by the man she later married. Later in life, she became an abbess at the very same abbey, in which position she served in 1323–1344. Ingrid was the daughter of Svantepolk of Viby and Benedicta of Bjelbo and thereby niece of Queen Catherine of Sweden. She was engaged to the Danish noble David Torstensson, but placed in the Vreta Abbey as a child to be educated prior to marriage; her sister Catherine was also placed there, but in her case to join the order. In 1287, Ingrid was abducted by the Norwegian jarl Folke Algotsson, which became the third of the famous Maiden Abductions from Vreta, the two previous having been the abductions of her mother and maternal grandmother. Folke took her to Norway, where they marrie ...
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Vreta Abbey
Vreta Abbey ( sv, 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 present-day municipality of Linköping in Östergötland. History The exact year of the foundation is not known. The abbey was founded by King Inge the Elder of Sweden and Queen Helena on the orders of Pope Paschal II, which gives a date range for the foundation: Paschal became pope in 1099; the date of Inge's death is disputed, but probably occurred around 1105 or a little later. In the following decade King Inge the Younger and Queen Ulvhild made large donations to it. The original buildings burned down in the early 13th century, but were rebuilt, and a new church was dedicated in the presence of Magnus III and Hedwig of Holstein in 1289. Vreta Abbey was a house of Benedictine nuns until 1162, when it was turned into a Cistercian nunnery. Th ...
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Catherine Of Ymseborg
Catherine Sunesdotter ( sv, Karin Sunadotter or Katarina Sunesdotter), (c. 1215 – 1252) was Queen of Sweden from 1244 to 1250 as the wife of King Eric XI of Sweden. In her later years she served as abbess of Gudhem Abbey in Falbygden. Heir of the Sverker dynasty Catherine was the eldest daughter of Helena Sverkersdotter and Sune Folkason. Catherine did not have any brothers, but a sister, Benedikte Sunesdotter of Bjelbo. Catherine's maternal grandparents were King Sverker II and Queen Benedicta. Descending from the families of Bjelbo and Sverker, she was a member of one of the Geatish clans. Catherine's father Sune Folkason was Lord of Ymseborg, lawspeaker of Västergötland, and in some literature he is referred to as Earl of the Swedish. Queen of Sweden Eric XI (1215–50) of the Eric dynasty became king in 1222 and was exiled by co-king Canute II of Sweden from 1229 to 1234. Eric returned to Sweden on Canute's death in 1234 and served as king until his own deat ...
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Justiciar
Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term ''justiciarius'' or ''justitiarius'' ("man of justice", i.e. judge). During the Middle Ages in England, the Chief Justiciar (later known simply as the Justiciar) was roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as the monarch's chief minister. Similar positions existed in continental Europe, particularly in Norman Italy and in the Carolingian Empire. A similar office was formed in Scotland, although there were usually two or three – the Justiciar of Scotia, the Justiciar of Lothian and, in the 13th century, the Justiciar of Galloway. These offices later evolved into a national one called Lord Justice-General. The modern title is Lord President of the Court of Session. The Justiciar of Ireland was an office established during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland and was a key tool in its colonisation. Following the conquest of the Principality of Wales in the 13th century, the areas that becam ...
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Östergötland
Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, the Latinized version ''Ostrogothia'' is also used. The corresponding administrative county, Östergötland County, covers the entire province and parts of neighbouring provinces. Heraldry From 1560, Östergötland was represented with two separate coats-of-arms seals until 1884, when the current one was granted. The coat of arms is represented with a ducal coronet. Blazon: " gules a griffin with dragon wings, tail and tongue rampant or armed, beaked, langued and membered azure between four roses argent." Geography From west to east, in the middle parts, extends the Östgöta Plain (''Östgötaslätten''). It is largely agricultural. In the southern part of the province, the terrain becomes marked by the south Swedish ...
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Sverker Dynasty
The House of Sverker were a powerful political force in medieval Sweden, contesting for royal power. Their origins were in Östergötland. After the extinction of the House of Stenkil and the ascension of Sverker I of Sweden in 1130, a civil war commenced. In the beginning, there were several pretenders, of whom Sverker I emerged as victorious, for a time. The antagonists in long run were finally the House of Sverker in Östergötland and the House of Eric in Västergötland and Uppland ( Saint Eric was killed and buried in the latter province, others in the dynasty were buried in Varnhem Abbey in the former province as later also Birger Jarl was, a relative to the dynasty), which alternated on the throne for several generations, until in the 1220s the Eric dynasty got the upper hand, and the Sverker dynasty became extinct (at least in the male line). As usual in medieval succession rivalries, the outcome combined the blood of rival lines, as in 1250 Valdemar of the Folkungs ...
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Svantepolk Knutsson, Lord Of Viby
Svantepolk Knutsson (died ca. 1310) was a Swedish knight and councilor. He became a wealthy feudal lord in Östergötland. Biography His father was Knud Valdemarsen (ca. 1205-1260), Duke of Revelia, Blekinge and Lolland. His father was an illegitimate son of King Valdemar II of Denmark (1170–1241) His mother was a Pomeranian whose first name is not known, but who is indicated to have come from the ducal family of Pomerelia. The name Svantepolk may have recalled some maternal relative of Slavic princely dynasties. His brother was Eric, Duke of Halland. Svantepolk settled at Viby in Östergötland in the late-13th century. He was a knight and councilor from about 1290. His manor was located in Östra Ryd, a parish of Söderköping. He became justiciar (lagman) of Östergötland. His wife was Benedicta of Bjelbo (d. 1261), daughter of Sune Folkesson (d. 1247), grandson of earl Birger Brosa (d. 1202). Benedicta's mother was Helena Sverkersdotter, the daughter of King ...
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1261 Deaths
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. In conventions of sign where zero is considered neither positive nor negative, 1 is the first and smallest positive integer. It is also sometimes considered the first of the infinite sequence of natural numbers, followed by  2, although by other definitions 1 is the second natural number, following  0. The fundamental mathematical property of 1 is to be a multiplicative identity, meaning that any number multiplied by 1 equals the same number. Most if not all properties of 1 can be deduced from this. In advanced mathematics, a multiplicative identity is often denoted 1, even if it is not a number. 1 is by convention not considered a prime number; this was not universally accepted until the mid-20th century. Additionally, 1 is the ...
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13th-century Swedish Women
The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 ( MCCI) through December 31, 1300 ( MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern Europe. The conquests of Hulagu Khan and other Mongol invasions changed the course of the Muslim world, most notably the Siege of Baghdad (1258), the destruction of the House of Wisdom and the weakening of the Mamluks and Rums which, according to historians, caused the decline of the Islamic Golden Age. Other Muslim powers such as the Mali Empire and Delhi Sultanate conquered large parts of West Africa and the Indian subcontinent, while Buddhism witnessed a decline through the conquest led by Bakhtiyar Khilji. The Southern Song dynasty would begin the century as a prosperous kingdom but would eventually be invaded and annexed into the Yuan dynasty of the Mongols. The Kamakura Shogunate of Japan would be invaded by the Mongols. Goryeo resiste ...
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13th-century Swedish Nobility
The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 ( MCCI) through December 31, 1300 ( MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern Europe. The conquests of Hulagu Khan and other Mongol invasions changed the course of the Muslim world, most notably the Siege of Baghdad (1258), the destruction of the House of Wisdom and the weakening of the Mamluks and Rums which, according to historians, caused the decline of the Islamic Golden Age. Other Muslim powers such as the Mali Empire and Delhi Sultanate conquered large parts of West Africa and the Indian subcontinent, while Buddhism witnessed a decline through the conquest led by Bakhtiyar Khilji. The Southern Song dynasty would begin the century as a prosperous kingdom but would eventually be invaded and annexed into the Yuan dynasty of the Mongols. The Kamakura Shogunate of Japan would be invaded by the Mongols. Go ...
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