Sophia of Minsk or Sophia of Polotsk (died 5 May 1198) was a Danish

queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

by marriage to King

Valdemar I of Denmark Valdemar I Knudsen (14 January 1131 – 12 May 1182), also known as Valdemar the Great (), was King of Denmark from 1154 until his death in 1182. The reign of King Valdemar I saw the rise of Denmark, which reached its medieval zenith under his s ...

, and a

landgravine Landgrave (, , , ; , ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title, rank of nobility used in the Holy Roman Empire, and its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), and ' ("count palatine") are of roughly equal rank, subordinate to ' ("du ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

by marriage to

Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia Louis III, nicknamed ''Louis the Pious'' or ''Louis the Mild'' (1151/52 – 16 October 1190) was a member of the Ludowingians dynasty who ruled as Landgrave of Thuringia from 1172 until his death. Life He was the eldest son of Landgrave Loui ...

Life

Origin

Sophia was the daughter of Richeza of Poland, Dowager Queen of Sweden, from her second marriage to a man called "Valador", King in Poloni Land. The identity of her father is uncertain, it was either Volodar of Minsk or , Prince of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

and son of

Vsevolod of Pskov Vsevolod Mstislavich Monomakh (), the patron saint of the city of Pskov, ruled as Prince of Novgorod in 1117–32, Prince of Pereyaslavl (1132) and Prince of Pskov in 1137–38. Early life The eldest son of Mstislav the Great and Christi ...

. Both of them were

Rurikids The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

. The latter version would mean

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 ...

was married to his first cousin once removed, as Sophia's possible father Volodar was a nephew of Valdemar's mother

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 ...

Childhood

Sophia spent a part of her childhood in Denmark, where her mother had been married to a Danish prince in her first marriage, and returned with her daughter when her second marriage was terminated. Sophia was the half sister of

Canute V of Denmark Canute V Magnussen () ( – 9 August 1157) was a King of Denmark from 1146 to 1157, as co-regent in shifting alliances with Sweyn III and Valdemar I. Canute was killed at the so-called ''Bloodfeast of Roskilde'' in 1157. Nothing certain is know ...

, the son of her mother by her first marriage: after her half brother became king of Denmark in 1146, her mother returned to Denmark with her daughter Sophia, who thus spent part of her childhood in Denmark at the court of her half brother the king. In circa 1149, her mother married

Sverker I of Sweden Sverker the Elder (Old Swedish: ''Swærkir konongær gambli''; c. 1100 - 25 December 1156), also known as Sverker I, was King of Sweden from about 1132 until his murder. Of non-royal descent, he founded the House of Sverker, the rulers of which ...

, in her third marriage. She took her daughter with her to Sweden, where Sophia subsequently spent the rest of her childhood at the Swedish royal court.

Queen

In 1154, at the age of circa fourteen, Sophia was betrothed to Valdemar as a symbol of alliance between Sweden and Denmark: she was at this time described as a pretty girl with promise of becoming a beauty. In the marriage contract, she was secured an eighth of her half brother King Canute V's estates in Denmark. 120px, upleft, 1157

and Sophia of Minsk Sophia departed Sweden for Denmark after the conclusion of the engagement in 1154, but as she was not yet regarded old enough to marry by Nordic standards, she was sent to reside with a foster mother named Bodil until she was old enough to live with Valdemar. The wedding between Sophia and Valdemar was conducted in Viborg in 1157, three years later. Queen Sophia was described as beautiful, dominant and cruel. According to traditional myth, she murdered Valdemar's mistress Tove and injured his sister Kirsten, but this is not confirmed.Smith-Dampier, Eleanor.
Danish Ballads
', pp. 15-24 (Cambridge U. Press 1920). She was widowed in 1182.

Later life

As queen dowager, Sophia received a proposal from, and married,

in about 1184, and was escorted to the border by her son and a grand entourage. She was repudiated in 1190, and returned to Denmark.

Issue

Sophia had the following children with

: * Sophia (1159–1208), married

Siegfried III, Count of Weimar-Orlamünde Siegfried III, Count of Weimar-Orlamünde (1206) was a member of the House of Ascania and a ruling Count of Weimar-Orlamünde. He was the son of Count Herman I and his wife Irmgard. Herman I was son of Albert the Bear Count of Anhalt, Margrave ...

* King

Canute VI of Denmark Canute VI (; c. 1163 – 12 November 1202) was King of Denmark from 1182 to 1202. Contemporary sources describe Canute as an earnest, strongly religious man. Background Canute VI was the eldest son of King Valdemar I of Denmark, Valdemar I ...

(1163–1202) * Maria (born ), nun at

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 ...

(1188) * Margaret (born ), nun at

(1188) * King

Valdemar II of Denmark Valdemar II Valdemarsen (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious () and Valdemar the Conqueror, was King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. In 1207, Valdemar invaded and conquered Bishopric of L� ...

(1170–1241) *

Ingeborg Ingeborg is a Germanic feminine given name, mostly used in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, derived from Old Norse ''Ingiborg, Ingibjǫrg'', combining the theonym ''Ing'' with the element ''borg'' "stronghold, protection". Ingebjørg is the No ...

(1175–1236), married King

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...

(c.1177–1233), married William of Lüneburg *

Rikissa of Denmark Rikissa of Denmark ( Swedish: ''Rikissa Valdemarsdotter''; died 8 May 1220) was Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Erik Knutsson, and the mother of King Erik Eriksson. Early life Rikissa was a daughter of Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophia of Mi ...

(c. 1180–1220), married King

Eric X of Sweden Erik Knutsson (; – 10 April 1216), sometimes known as Eric X, was King of Sweden between 1208 and 1216. Also known as ''Erik the Survivor'' (), he was, at his accession to the throne, the only remaining son of King Knut Eriksson and his quee ...

References

*
Dansk biografisk Lexikon / XVI. Bind. Skarpenberg - Sveistrup

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sofia Of Minsk 1140s births 1198 deaths Iziaslavichi family (Polotsk) Danish royal consorts Burials at St. Bendt's Church, Ringsted People from Polotsk Landgravines of Thuringia 12th-century Danish people 12th-century Danish women 12th-century people from Kievan Rus' 12th-century women from Kievan Rus' Belarusian people of Danish descent Russian people of Danish descent Polish people of Danish descent Remarried queens consort Danish queen mothers Valdemar I of Denmark