Cecilia Sigurdsdatter (1155-1186) was an illegitimate daughter of king

Sigurd II of Norway Sigurd Haraldsson (; 1133 – 10 June 1155), or Sigurd II, also called Sigurd Munn, was king of Norway from 1136 to 1155. He was son of Harald IV of Norway, Harald IV Gille, king of Norway and his Mistress (lover), mistress Thora Guttormsdotter ...

and the mother of King

Inge II of Norway Inge is a given name in various Germanic language-speaking cultures. In Swedish and Norwegian, it is mostly used as a masculine, but less often also as a feminine name, sometimes as a short form of Ingeborg, while in Danish, Estonian, Frisian, G ...

. She married the Swedish

Folkvid the Lawspeaker Folkvid was the lawspeaker of Värmland during the second half of the 12th century. He was the father of Håkon Galen, an earl whose son Knut Håkonsson was a claimant for the Norwegian throne. Folkvid is only known from the '' Bagler sagas'', ...

in 1177 but abandoned him to marry the Norwegian

Birkebeiner The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar (; (nynorsk) or (bokmål)) was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla. The name has its origins in propaganda from the establ ...

Bård Guttormsson Bård Guttormsson ( – 3 April 1194) was a Norwegian Birkebeiner and a lieutenant of Sverre of Norway. Patrilineally, he was also a member of the House of Godwin. In the ''Bagler sagas'', Bård is described as very rich, witty, and quiet-na ...

in 1184 for politically motivated reasons. She is known for the lawsuits she faced to avoid having her second marriage declared void since her first spouse was still alive. Cecilia's ability to forsake her marriage to Folkvid provides important light on contemporary marriage law in Norway. Cecilia had at least two sons: with Folkvid, Haakon Galen, and

Inge Inge is a given name in various Germanic language, Germanic language-speaking cultures. In Swedish and Norwegian, it is mostly used as a masculine, but less often also as a feminine name, sometimes as a short form of Ingeborg, while in Danish, Est ...

with Bård. She died not long after Inge's birth. Haakon would later become one of Inge's rivals for the throne of Norway during the later stages of the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

period.

References

*Helle, Knut. (2009, 13. februar). Cecilia Sigurdsdatter. I Norsk biografisk leksikon. Hentet 27. august 2016 fra https://nbl.snl.no/Cecilia_Sigurdsdatter. {{authority control 1155 births 1186 deaths 12th-century Norwegian people 12th-century Norwegian women Illegitimate children of Norwegian monarchs 12th-century Swedish nobility Daughters of kings House of Gille