Mechtilde af Holsten

• Preferred Name: Mechtilde af Holsten^{[1] [2]}
  
• Gender: F
  
• Burial: 1288 in Varnhem Abbey, Varnhem, Västergötland, Sweden at LATI: N8.3846 LONG: E3.6553 with note: As written in the Sources tagged
  
• FSID: L583-2TB
  
• Birth: ABT 1220 in Holsten, Germany at LATI: N4 LONG: E0.1 with note: As written in the Sources tagged
  
• Death: 1288 in Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany at LATI: N4.3219 LONG: E0.1342 with note: As written in the Sources tagged
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Mechtilde of Holstein or Matilda (1220 or 1225 – 1288 in Kiel) was a Danish queen consort, married to King Abel of Denmark and later to Birger Jarl, Regent of Sweden.
  
  Mechtilde was the daughter of Adolf IV, Count of Holstein, and Heilwig of Lippe. On 25 April 1237 she was married to Abel of Denmark in Schleswig. The marriage was arranged to form a tie between Holstein and Sønderjylland. In 1239, Abel became the guardian of her minor brothers.
  
  When Abel became king in 1250, she was crowned with him in Roskilde on 1 November. When Abel died in 1252, he was succeeded by his brother rather than her son Valdemar, who was imprisoned at Cologne at the time, and she was forced to leave Denmark and enter a convent.
  
  She managed to get her son Valdemar released from the captivity of the Archbishop of Cologne and fought for the inheritance of her children in the Duchy of Schleswig. In 1253, she secured the Duchy of Sønderjylland for her son Valdemar.
  
  In 1260, her son Valdemar died, and she secured the Duchy for her next son, Erik. The same year, however, she pawned the areas Eider and Schlei in southern Denmark to her brothers.
  
  She made a pact with Jacob Erlandsen, archbishop of Lund, and then broke her vows from the convent by marrying the Swedish regent Birger Jarl 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, yet her own grave is with Birger's in Varnhem, Sweden.
  
  In 1288, shortly before her death, she gave up Eider and Schlei to her brothers. She was unpopular in Denmark, where she was called the "daughter of the Devil" and accused of destroying letters from the Pope and emperor to King Valdemar II.
  
  Issue:
  Queen Mechtilde bore her first husband three sons and a daughter:
  
  Valdemar III (1238–1257); Duke of Schleswig 1254–1257
  Sophie (born 1240, date of death unknown)
  Eric I (c. 1241 – 27 May 1272); Duke of Schleswig 1260–1272
  Abel (1252–1279)

• m. 1261

• m. 25 APR 1237 in Holsten, Germany

1. Sophie Of Denmark, b. 1240 in Roskilde, Denmark     d. AFT 1284 in Sweden

1. Title: en.Wikipedia Matilda of Holstein
   Author: Matilda of Holstein Queen consort of Denmark Tenure 1250–1252 Coronation 1 November 1250 Born 1220/25 Died 1288 Kiel Burial Varnhem Abbey Spouse Abel of Denmark Birger Jarl Issue Valdemar III, Duke of Schleswig Sophia, Princess of Anhalt-Bernburg Eric I, Duke of Schleswig Abel, Lord of Langeland House Schauenburg Father Adolf IV, Count of Holstein Mother Heilwig of Lippe Religion Roman Catholicism
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_of_Holstein;
   Note: Matilda of Holstein or Mechthild (1220 or 1225 – 1288 in Kiel) was a Danish queen consort, married to King Abel of Denmark and later to Birger Jarl, Regent of Sweden. Life: Matilda was the daughter of Adolf IV, Count of Holstein, and Heilwig of Lippe. On 25 April 1237 she was married to Abel of Denmark in Schleswig. The marriage was arranged to form a tie between Holstein and Sønderjylland. In 1239, Abel became the guardian of her minor brothers. When Abel became king in 1250, she was crowned with him in Roskilde on 1 November. When Abel died in 1252, he was succeeded by his brother rather than her son Valdemar, who was imprisoned at Cologne at the time, and she was forced to leave Denmark and enter a convent. She managed to get her son Valdemar released from the captivity of the Archbishop of Cologne and fought for the inheritance of her children in the Duchy of Schleswig. In 1253, she secured the Duchy of Sønderjylland for her son Valdemar.[1] In 1260, her son Valdemar died, and she secured the Duchy for her next son, Erik. The same year, however, she pawned the areas Eider and Schlei in southern Denmark to her brothers. She made a pact with Jacob Erlandsen, archbishop of Lund, and then broke her vows from the convent by marrying the Swedish regent Birger Jarl 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.[2] After Birger's death in 1266, Matilda moved to Kiel, yet her own grave is with Birger's in Varnhem, Sweden. In 1288, shortly before her death, she gave up Eider and Schlei to her brothers. She was unpopular in Denmark, where she was called the "daughter of the Devil"[3] and accused of destroying letters from the Pope and emperor to King Valdemar II.[4] Issue: Queen Matilda bore her first husband three sons and a daughter: Valdemar III (1238–1257); Duke of Schleswig 1254–1257 Sophie (born 1240, date of death unknown) Eric I (c. 1241 – 27 May 1272); Duke of Schleswig 1260–1272 Abel (1252–1279) References: 1. Dansk Biografisk Leksikon 2. Dr. Ulf Sundberg in Medeltidens svenska krig ISBN 9189660110 pp. 78–79 3. Dansk Biografisk Leksikon 4. Dansk Biografisk Leksikon This page was last edited on 29 July 2020, at 12:36 (UTC).
   
2. Title: da.Wikipedia Mechtilde af Holsten
   Author: Mechtilde af Holsten Født Grevskabet Holsten Død 1288 Kiel Gravsted Varnhems Kloster Far Adolf 4. af Holsten Mor Helvig af Lippe Søskende Gerhard 1. af Holsten, Johan 1. af Holsten Ægtefæller Abel af Danmark (1237/1237-1252), Birger Jarl (1261/1261-1266) Børn Abel Abelsøn, Erik 1. af Slesvig, Valdemar 3. af Slesvig, Sophie Abelsdatter af Danmark Uddannelse og virke Beskæftigelse Gemalinde Arbejdssted Danmark
   Publication: Name: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechtilde_af_Holsten;
   Note: Mechtilde af Holsten (født ca. 1220, død 1288) var en dansk dronning. Liv og gerning: Mechtilde var datter af grev Adolf 4. af Holsten og blev i 1237 gift med Valdemar Sejrs søn Abel, der var hertug i Sønderjylland.[1] Herved knyttedes Abel nøje til den holstenske greveslægt og blev formynder for sine unge svogre, da grev Adolf gik i kloster. Da Abel blev konge, kronedes Mechtilde sammen med ham den 1. november 1250, men da Christoffer efter Abels død overtog kronen, måtte hun forlade Danmark og udholde en hård kamp for at bevare hertugdømmet i Sønderjylland for sin slægt. Under denne kamp sluttede hun sig til kongens værste fjende Jakob Erlandsen. Den 12. maj 1260 pantsatte Mechtilde sammen med sine sønner Erik og Abel Abelsen landet mellem Ejderen og Slien (Stapelholm, Fræslet, Svansen og Krongodset Jernved) til sine brødre, Johan 1. af Holsten og Gerhard 1. af Holsten[2][3] samt yderligere fæstningen Rendsborg, som hun havde modtaget som medgift[4], og hendes virksomhed dannede i det hele grundlaget for Holstens stadig voksende indflydelse i Sønderjylland, hvorfor hun også var forhadt af danskerne, som Rydårbogen bevidner. Et led i Mechtildes politiske bestræbelser var også hendes giftermål med Sveriges rigsstyrer Birger Jarl i 1261. Efter dennes død 1266 levede Mechtilde i Holsten. Børn: Valdemar 3. Abelsøn –1257; hertug i Sønderjylland Erik 1. ca. 1241–1272; hertug i Sønderjylland Sofia Abelsdatter af Danmark ca. 1240–1284 Abel Abelssøn 1252–1279 Noter: 1. Albrectsen, s. 24 2. Albrectsen, s. 45, 217 3. Diplomatarium Danicum. Række 2, Bind 1: 1250–1265. Munksgaard, København 1938, Nr. 316. 4. Horst Windmann: Schleswig als Territorium. Grundzüge der Verfassungsentwicklung im Herzogtum Schleswig von den Anfängen bis zum Aussterben des Abelschen Hauses 1375 (= Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte Schleswig-Holsteins. Bd. 30, ISSN 0173-0940). Wachholtz, Neumünster 1954, S. 172 (Zugleich: Kiel, Universität, Dissertation, 1952). Litteratur: Esben Albrectsen: Herredømmet over Sønderjylland 1375-1404; København 1981; ISBN 87-87462-18-4 Eksterne henvisninger Jørgen Olrik: "Mechtilde" i Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon, 2. udgave, bind XVI; s. 821 Kr. Erslev: "Mechtilde" i Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, Bind XI (1897), s. 205-206 Denne side blev senest ændret den 26. september 2019 kl. 23:42.