Mechtilde of Holstein ( – 1288) was a Danish queen consort, married to King
Abel of Denmark
Abel Valdemarsen (c. 1218 – 29 June 1252) was Duke of Schleswig from 1232 to 1252 and King of Denmark from 1250 until his death in 1252. He was the son of Valdemar II by his second wife, Berengaria of Portugal, and brother to kings Eric IV an ...
and later to
Birger Jarl
Birger Jarl or Birger Magnusson (21 October 1266) was a Swedish statesman and regent, ''Swedish jarls, jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjälbo, who played a pivotal role in consolidating Sweden after the civil wars between the House of Eri ...
, Regent of Sweden.
Life
Mechtilde was born around 1218, likely in
Schauenburg Castle.
She was the daughter of
Adolf IV, Count of Schauenburg and
Heilwig of Lippe
Heilwig of Lippe, also known as ''Heilwig of Schaumburg'' ( – ) was a German noblewoman. She was countess of Holstein by marriage to Adolf IV of Holstein.
Life
She was a daughter of Lord Herman II of Lippe and his wife, Oda of Tecklenbu ...
.
Her grandfather
Adolf III had lost the
County of Holstein
Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany.
Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 811–1474), the later Duchy of H ...
to Danish King
Valdemar Sejr
Waldemar, Valdemar, Valdimar, or Woldemar is an Old High German given name. It consists of the elements ''wald-'' "power", "brightness" and ''-mar'' "fame".
The name is considered the equivalent of the Latvian name Valdemārs, the Estonian name ...
in 1203, but her father regained it during her childhood after the German nobles defeated Valdemar in the
Battle of Bornhöved in 1227. On 25 April 1237 she was married to
Duke Abel of Schleswig, King Valdemar's second eldest son, as part of a settlement between the two houses.
When Abel became
King of Denmark
The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe Is ...
in 1250, she was crowned with him in
Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
on 1 November. Abel died two years later in 1252, and was succeeded by his brother
Christopher
Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...
rather than her son
Valdemar
Waldemar, Valdemar, Valdimar, or Woldemar is an Old High German given name. It consists of the elements ''wald-'' "power", "brightness" and ''-mar'' "fame".
The name is considered the equivalent of the Latvian name Valdemārs, the Estonian name ...
, who was imprisoned by the
Archbishop of Cologne
The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...
at the time.
She successfully secured Valdemar's release from Cologne and fought for her children's inheritance in the
Duchy of Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been div ...
. In 1253, she secured Schleswig for Valdemar. After his death in 1257, she arranged for her next son,
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 ...
, to take over the Duchy in 1260.
She made a pact with
Jacob Erlandsen
Jakob Erlandsen (died 18 February 1274) was a Danish Archbishop of Lund (1254–1274) and the central character of the first great church conflict in Denmark.
History
Belonging to a wealthy magnate family ( Galen clan) that was related to Archb ...
,
archbishop of Lund
List of (arch)bishops of Lund. Until the Reformation in Denmark, Danish Reformation the centre of a great Latin (arch)bishopric, Lund has been in Sweden since the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. The Diocese of Lund is now one of thirteen in the Ch ...
, and then broke her vows from the convent by marrying the Swedish regent
Birger Jarl
Birger Jarl or Birger Magnusson (21 October 1266) was a Swedish statesman and regent, ''Swedish jarls, jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjälbo, who played a pivotal role in consolidating Sweden after the civil wars between the House of Eri ...
in 1261. Birger had been one of her late husband Abel's major antagonists who had started up a military vendetta against him which was only stopped by Abel's death. After Birger's death in 1266, Mechtilde moved to
Kiel
Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...
, yet her own grave is with Birger's in
Varnhem, Sweden.
In 1260, she had pawned the land between
Eider
The eiders () are large seaducks in the genus ''Somateria''. The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
The down feathers of eider ducks and some other ducks and geese are used to fill pillows and qu ...
and
Schlei
The Schlei (; or e.g. in: Adolph Frederik Bergsøe: ''Den danske stats statistik'', Kjøbenhavn 1844, p. 156) is a narrow inlet of the Baltic Sea in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It stretches for approximately 20 miles (32 kilometer ...
in southern Denmark to her brothers. After the deaths of her sons in 1272 and 1279, she inherited the land. Shortly before her death in 1288, she transferrred the land to her brother, Count
Gerhard Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to:
Given name
* Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate
* Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1292–1340), German prince, regent of Denmark
* Gerhard Barkhorn (1919� ...
of Holstein.
This caused much resentment in Denmark, where she was labeled the "daughter of the Devil" and accused of destroying letters from the Pope and emperor to King Valdemar.
[Mechtilde (Mathilde), Dronning, -1288]
, ''Dansk Biografisk Lexikon'', volume 11, pp. 205–206, Copenhagen 1897
Issue
Queen Mechtilde bore her first husband three sons and one daughter who reached adulthood:
*
Valdemar III
Valdemar III (1314–1364) was King of Denmark from 1326 to 1329, while he was underage; he was also Duke of Schleswig as Valdemar V in 1325–26 and from 1330 to 1364. He was a rival king set up against the unsuccessful Christopher II and was w ...
(1238–1257);
Duke of Schleswig
The following is a list of earl, jarls and dukes, who ruled over Schleswig respectively Southern Jutland (Sønderjylland).
First jarls/dukes
House of Estridsen (1080–1375)
House of Schauenburg (1325-1459)
Under domain of Oldenburg
In ...
from 1254 to 1257
*Sophie ( ), married
Bernhard I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg
Bernhard I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg (–1287) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg.
He was the second son of Henry I, Count of Anhalt (who was elevated to the rank of prince in 1218), by ...
*
Eric I (c. 1241 – 27 May 1272);
Duke of Schleswig
The following is a list of earl, jarls and dukes, who ruled over Schleswig respectively Southern Jutland (Sønderjylland).
First jarls/dukes
House of Estridsen (1080–1375)
House of Schauenburg (1325-1459)
Under domain of Oldenburg
In ...
from 1260 to 1272
*
Abel
Abel ( ''Hébel'', in pausa ''Hā́ḇel''; ''Hábel''; , ''Hābēl'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God in Judaism, God, he ...
(1252–1279); born after his father's death, held several fiefs in Southern Denmark
Abel
in ''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon
''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon'' (usually abbreviated DBL; title of first edition written ''Dansk biografisk Lexikon'') is a Danish biographical dictionary that has been published in three editions. The first edition, ''Dansk biografisk Lexikon, til ...
1. ed. (1887-1905)
*Unnamed daughter, died young
Notes
References
Primary sources
*'' Annales Stadenses'' 1237–1241, MGH SS XVI, pages 363–367
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechtilde of Holstein
1220s births
1288 deaths
Danish royal consorts
House of Schauenburg
House of Bjälbo
House of Estridsen
Burials at Varnhem Abbey
13th-century German nobility
13th-century Danish nobility
13th-century Swedish nobility
13th-century German women
13th-century Swedish women
13th-century Danish women
Remarried queens consort
Daughters of counts
Mothers of German monarchs
Abel, King of Denmark