Malmfred of Kiev (between 1095 and 1102 – died after 1137) was a Norwegian and Danish queen consort, wife first to King

Sigurd I of Norway Sigurd the Crusader (; ; 1089 – 26 March 1130), also known as Sigurd Magnusson and Sigurd I, was King of Norway from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his half-brother Eystein I of Norway, Øystein (until Øystein died in 1123), has been ...

and second to king

Eric II of Denmark Eric II the Memorable (; – 18 September 1137) was king of Denmark between 1134 and 1137. Eric was an illegitimate son of Eric I of Denmark, who ruled Denmark from 1095 to 1103. Eric the Memorable rebelled against his uncle Niels of Denmark, and ...

Life

Malmfred was born to Grand Prince

Mstislav I of Kiev Mstislav I Vladimirovich Monomakh (; Christian name: ''Fedor''; February 1076 – 14 April 1132), also known as Mstislav the Great, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1125 until his death in 1132. After his death, the state began to quickly disin ...

and Princess

Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden Christina Ingesdotter ( Swedish: ''Kristina''; 11th century – 18 January 1122) was a Swedish princess and a princess consort of Veliky Novgorod, Rostov and Belgorod, by marriage to Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev. Life Christina was the daught ...

, paternal granddaughter of

Gytha of Wessex Gytha of Wessex ( – 1098 or 1107; ) was one of several daughters of Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, and his consort, Edith the Fair. Through marriage to Vladimir II Monomakh, Gytha became the princess of Smolensk (1073 ...

and maternal granddaughter of King Inge the Elder of Sweden. She was born between 1095 and 1102.

Snorre Sturlasson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

called her ''Malmfred Haraldsdotter of Holmgard'', which was a Norwegian version of her name. Her sister,

Ingeborg of Kiev Ingeborg Mstislavna of Kiev ( fl. 1137) was a Ruthenian princess, married to the Danish prince Canute Lavard of Jutland. She was the daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev and Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden and was in about 1117 married to ...

, was married to the Danish prince

Canute Lavard Saint Knud, also known as Canute Lavard ( Danish: Knud Lavard; cognate with English Lord; 12 March 1096 – 7 January 1131) was a Danish prince. Later he was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a ...

. Malmfred was married to Sigurd between 1116 and 1120. She had a daughter,

Kristin Sigurdsdatter Kristin Sigurdsdatter (ca. 1125–1178) was a Norwegian princess and mother of King Magnus V of Norway. Kristin was a daughter of King Sigurd I of Norway and Malmfred of Kiev. She married Erling Skakke (''Erling Ormsson Skakke''), a Norwegian ...

, mother of king

Magnus V of Norway Magnus Erlingsson (, 1156 – 15 June 1184), also known as Magnus V, was a king of Norway during the civil war era in Norway. He helped to establish primogeniture in royal succession in Norway. King Magnus was killed in the Battle of Fimreite in ...

. Tradition says that the marriage was unhappy. Her husband repudiated her in 1128 and remarried Cecilia. In 1130, her ex-husband's illegitimate son became king, and she left for Denmark, where she married

Erik Emune Eric II the Memorable (; – 18 September 1137) was king of Denmark between 1134 and 1137. Eric was an illegitimate son of Eric I of Denmark, who ruled Denmark from 1095 to 1103. Eric the Memorable rebelled against his uncle Niels of Denmark, and ...

. In 1131, she arranged the marriage between her former stepson

Magnus IV of Norway Magnus Sigurdsson ( – 12 November 1139), also known as Magnus the Blind and Magnus IV, was King of Norway from 1130 to 1135 and again from 1137 to 1139. His period as king marked the beginning of the civil war era in Norway, which lasted until ...

and her sister's daughter,

Christine of Denmark Christina Knutsdatter of Denmark, in Norway known as ''Kristin Knutsdotter'', (c. 1118–1139) was a Danish princess who became Queen of Norway as the spouse of King Magnus IV ''the Blind'' of Norway. Christina was born to Canute Lavard and Ing ...

; they were married in 1133. Christine's husband, King Magnus, supported the struggle of Malmfrid, Erik and Christine's father, Canute, against King

Niels of Denmark Niels ( – 25 June 1134) was the King of Denmark from 1104 to 1134. Niels succeeded his brother Eric Evergood and is presumed to have been the youngest son of King Sweyn II Estridson. King Niels actively supported the canonization of Canute ...

. In 1133, Erik and Malmfrid fled Denmark for Norway and the protection of Magnus. Afterward, Queen Christine, however, found out that Magnus had plans to betray them, she warned them. Erik and Malmfrid then allied themselves with the rival of King Magnus, King Harald IV Gille of Norway. King Magnus then separated from Queen Christine. In 1134, Eric became king, and she queen, of Denmark. She had no more children. In 1137, her second husband, Eric, was murdered at the

thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

in south

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. Malmfred was not mentioned after this date.

References

Bibliography

* "''The Large Danish Encyclopedia''" (1998 edition) * Norwegian Wikipedia :no:Malmfrid Mstislavsdatter * Store norske leksikon * Norsk biografisk leksikon * Edvard Bull. »Magnus Blinde» I: ''Norsk biografisk leksikon'', 1. utg. Bd 9. 1938 * Nils Petter Thuesen. »Magnus 4 Sigurdsson Blinde» I: ''Norsk biografisk leksikon'', 2. utg. Bd 6. 2003. * Knut Helle. ''Aschehougs Norgeshistorie. Bd 3. Under kirke og kongemakt''. 1995 {{DEFAULTSORT:Malmfred Norwegian royal consorts Danish royal consorts Monomakhovichi family 1100s births 1140s deaths Daughters of Grand Princes of Kiev 12th-century people from Kievan Rus' 12th-century women from Kievan Rus' 12th-century Norwegian people 12th-century Norwegian women 12th-century Danish people 12th-century Danish women