Ingegerd (or ''Ingegärd'') Birgersdotter ( – 7 April after 1210, possibly 1230) was

Queen of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Ins ...

as the second wife of King Sverker II. Ingegerd was born into one of Sweden's most powerful

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

families, the Bjälbo family, as the child of the powerful Jarl

Birger Brosa Birger Brosa (Old Norse: ''Birgir Brósa''; died 9 January 1202) was the Swedish jarls, jarl of Sweden from 1174 to 1202. Biography He was a son of Bengt Snivil and a member of the powerful House of Bjälbo. In medieval texts, he is either cal ...

and the

Queen Dowager A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is cle ...

Brigida Haraldsdotter Bridget Haraldsdotter, also Brigida () (c. 1131 – c. 1208) was Queen of Sweden as the spouse of King Magnus Henriksen. Brigida Haraldsdotter was the illegitimate daughter of King Harald IV of Norway. Her mother is unknown, but she was pos ...

; her mother was the child of King

Harald Gille Harald Gille (, c. 1102 − 14 December 1136), also known as Harald IV, was king of Norway from 1130 until his death. His byname Gille is probably . Background Harald was born ca. 1102 in Ireland or the Hebrides, more likely the former. Accord ...

of Norway and had, in her first marriage, herself been the Queen of Sweden in 1160–1161.Hans Gillingstam, "Ingegerd", ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'', https://sok.riksarkivet.se/Sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=11953

Life as queen

In c. 1200, she was married to King Sverker after the death of his first consort

Benedicta Benedicta may refer to: People * Benedicta Henrietta of the Palatinate (1652–1730), a German princess * Benedicta Ajudua (born 1980), Nigerian sprinter * Caterina Benedicta Grazianini (1685–1715), composer * Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, r ...

, and became Queen of Sweden directly upon her marriage. Through her connections, she was to play an important part in her husband's politics. In 1202, her father died, and queen Ingegerd and her husband proclaimed their one-year-old son Prince Johan as the heir and head of the Bjälbo clan through her, with the title

jarl Jarl was a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages. The institution evolved over time and varied by region. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", specifically one appointed to rule a territory in a king's stea ...

. It appears that this move estranged the Bjälbo clan from Sverker's court. The sons of the previous king Canute I fled to Norway in 1204, returning in the next year with Norwegian backing. Three of the sons were killed at the

Battle of Älgarås A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

while the fourth,

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

escaped. These bloody events seem to have set Ingegerd's relatives on Eric's side, as seen from events in the next years. Whatever attempts Ingegerd may have done to act as mediator between the king and her family failed to reconcile them. Sverker and Eric met at the

Battle of Lena The Battle of Lena occurred on 31 January 1208 and probably took place near :sv:Kungslena, Kungslena, in the Tidaholm Municipality in Västergötland, Sweden. It was an important battle between the Danish-backed King Sverker II of Sweden and Prin ...

in 1208 where her brother Knut Jarl was killed on Eric's side, possibly together with her uncle

Magnus Minniskiöld Magnus Minniskiöld (also spelled Minnisköld or Minnesköld, circa 1175—1208?) was a medieval Swedish magnate from the House of Bjälbo. He is best known as the father of the renowned statesman Birger Jarl, and the ancestor of the later Swedi ...

. However, Eric won and was established as king. Two years later, in 1210, her husband tried to regain the throne but was killed at the

Battle of Gestilren The Battle of Gestilren took place on July 17, 1210. The battle was fought between the exiled King of Sweden Sverker and the ruling King Eric X. Sverker had been beaten in the previous Battle of Lena, but returned with new forces. Sverker was ho ...

. Folke Jarl, probably another of her brothers, was slain on Eric's side.

After Gestilren

The later life of queen Ingegerd is not known, nor is the year of her death. In 1216, her son Johan was made king, but the sources do not mention anything about his mother. Historians suggest that she spent her later life with her brother Magnus, in

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

, or in some other part of Denmark. It has been suggested that she may have survived until c. 1230. The sources for Ingegerd's history are limited to a few references in Norse sources. The lack of chronological precision has caused an alternative interpretation of the order of Sverker II's marriages. Thus Ingegerd might have been the first queen in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. After her death, Sverker would have married

Benedicta Ebbesdotter of Hvide Benedicta Hvide also called ''Benedicta Ebbesdotter'' (c. 1165 or 1170 – c. 1199 or 1200) was Queen of Sweden as the first wife of king Sverker II. She belonged to the House of Hvide of Denmark and in Sweden was often called ''Queen Bengta''. ...

, whose father Ebbe Sunesen, a brother of Archbishop Andreas Sunesen in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

, supported Sverker in the disastrous Battle of Lena.H. Toll, "Konung Sverker den andres drottningar", ''Fornvännen'', 1920.

Children

John I of Sweden Johan Sverkersson ( – 10 March 1222), also known as John I, was King of Sweden from 1216 until his death in 1222. He was the last king from the House of Sverker, leaving no heirs. During his reign, an expedition was launched from Sweden against ...

, (1201?–1222), king 1216–1222.

Life as queen

After Gestilren

Children

References

Further reading