Cecilia Ulvsdotter (died 12 March 1399), was a Swedish noblewoman. She was born as the youngest child of

Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden, Bridgettines, OSsS ( – 23 July 1374), also known as Birgitta Birgersdotter and Birgitta of Vadstena (), was a Swedish Catholic Mysticism, mystic and the founder of the Bridgettines. Outside Sweden, she was also known as the ...

and Ulf Gudmarsson. In the legend of Bridget, she was born with the assistance of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. Because of this, her mother decided her for a holy life and placed her in the

Skänninge Abbey Skänninge Abbey, also known as St. Ingrid's Priory, was a convent for Dominican nuns in Skänninge in Sweden which existed from 1272 until 1544. It was founded by Ingrid of Skänninge, and as such, it was often referred to as St. Ingrid's Prior ...

as a novice. She was placed in the convent against her will and was freed by her brother Karl Ulvsson. She married either two or three times, first with an unknown man who died of poisoning during the wedding between

Haakon VI of Norway Haakon VI (; ; August 1340 – 11 September 1380) was King of Norway from 1343 until his death and King of Sweden between 1362 and 1364. He is sometimes known as ''Haakon Magnusson the Younger'' to distinguish him from his great-grandfather, Ha ...

and

Margaret I of Denmark Margaret I (; March 1353 – 28 October 1412) was Queen regnant of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (which included Finland) from the late 1380s until her death, and the founder of the Kalmar Union that joined the Scandinavian kingdoms together for ...

in 1363. At this occasion,

Magnus IV of Sweden Magnus Eriksson (April or May 1316 – 1 December 1374) was King of Sweden from 1319 to 1364, King of Norway as Magnus VII from 1319 to 1355, and ruler of Scania from 1332 to 1360. By adversaries he has been called ''Magnus Smek'' (). Medi ...

was saved from poisoning by Lars Sonesson (d. 1377), who was given Cecilia as a reward against the will of her family. As a widow, she was involved in a lawsuit about her dowry estate. In 1380, she married ''

riksråd Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish) or Rigsrådet (in Danish or English: the Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that ...

'' Bengt Filipsson (d. 1383). Twice widowed, she settled as a guest in

Vadstena Abbey 250px, Aerial view The Abbey Pax Mariae (), more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, is situated on Lake Vättern in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockholm and is a monastery of nuns within the Bridgettine Order. It was active from 134 ...

, to which she was a substantial donor, and where she died.

References

*Cecilia Ulvsdotter, urn:sbl:16523, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Ernst Nygren.), hämtad 2014-12-30

References

Further reading