Helena (wife of Inge the Elder): Difference between revisions
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{{dablink|"Elin" is also a [[Sindarin]] name for the [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]] of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s legendarium.}} |
{{dablink|"Elin" is also a [[Sindarin]] name for the [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]] of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s legendarium.}} |
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Queen '''Helena''' |
Queen '''Helena''' or '''Elin''', also known as '''''Maer''''', '''''Mär''''' or '''''Mö''''' (Old Norse; "Maiden") (born in the [[11th-century]] - dead after 1105), was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] [[queen consort]], spouse of King [[Inge I of Sweden]] and sister of King [[Blot-Sweyn]] of Sweden. |
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== Biography == |
== Biography == |
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Revision as of 11:38, 10 April 2009
Queen Helena or Elin, also known as Maer, Mär or Mö (Old Norse; "Maiden") (born in the 11th-century - dead after 1105), was a Swedish queen consort, spouse of King Inge I of Sweden and sister of King Blot-Sweyn of Sweden.
Biography
The background of Queen Helena is uncertain. She is believed to have been from Östergötland. King Inge, who was King of Sweden and parts of Sweden several times, is famous for being the king who defeated the pagans in the religious wars who took place in Sweden between 1022 and 1088 and abolished freedom of religion, requiring everyone to profess the Christian faith. His greatest opponent and enemy in this fight was the pagan king Blot-Sweyn.
King Inge was said to have married Blot-Sweyn's sister Maer, or Mö; in official sources referred to as Queen Helena. It is sometimes suggested, that she was of Greek or Russian origin, but this is not confirmed, nor is it likely. The marriage between king Inge and the sister of Blot-Sweyn is well pointed out in history, where Sweyn is always talked about as being the brother-in-law of Inge. The pouse of Inge is also said to have been of the old Swedish royal family, a sideline of the dynasty Ynglingaätten. Because of this, it is therefore sometimes believed that he was married two times.
However, "Maer" is not an actual name, it is simply an old Nordic word for "Maiden". The other spellig of the name, "Mö", is still well known as an old-fashioned word for "Maiden" or "Virgin". "Helena" is the usual Latin spelling of the Swedish name Elin. This can be assumed to be the same person; the maiden Elin, to Christian foreigners spelled as Helena in Latin, sister to the Pagan king Blot-Sweyn.
The genealogy of the old Viking families is very hard to follow, in spite of the many songs which describe them, but as sister of Blot-Sweyn, she could have been a daughter of Prince Ingvar Vittfarne of Sweden, son of King Emund the Old of Sweden, and thereby cousin of her spouse King Inge. The marriage was likely arranged for political reasons, to unite the Pagan and Christian fractions.
Not many things are known about this queen, but she was most likely a Pagan like her brother at the time of her marriage, and convinced, willingly or by force, to submit to the Christian faith and convert; she may have received the name Helena by her christening, as her daughters also were given Christian names from Europe. It is not known which side she favoured between the Pagans and Christians. Perhaps she mourned her brothers' and the paganism's death in 1087-1088, but to the end of her life she was, or gave the impression to be a Christian; after the defeat of the pagans, she founded Sweden's first nunnery, the Benedictine Vreta Abbey, between 1090 and 1100. The convent was given twenty estates in Östergötland upon its foundation, estates believed to have been the queen's; possibly as a dowry, or as her inheritance after her brother Sweyn. After the death of her spouse in c. 1105, Queen dowager Helena enterred the Vreta Abbey as a nun.
Queen Helena or Elin has in history long been confused with Saint Helena of Skövde (d.1135), who lived in Sweden during the same period. This is, however, a misconseption which nowadays have no support by historians.
Children
- Kristina, married Grand Duke Mstislav I of Kiev,[1] and ancestress of several Kievan and Novgorod princes.[citation needed]
- Ragnvald, who died before his father and who was father of Ingrid, who first was married to the Danish prince Eric Skatelar, and later to the Norwegian king Harald Gille.[1] She was the mother of pretender (and alleged murderer) Magnus Henriksson.[citation needed]
- Margaret Fredkulla, married (1) Magnus Barefoot, king of Norway, and later king Niels of Denmark;[1] through her second marriage, she was the mother of King Magnus the Strong of Västergötland and claimant of Denmark.[citation needed]
- Katarina, married a Danish "Son of King", Björn Ironside Haraldsson,[1] with whom she had a daughter Christina Bjornsdatter who married the future Eric IX of Sweden.[citation needed]
See also
References and litterature
- Svensk Uppslagsbok, 1947 års Utgåva.(Swedish dictionary, 1947 edition) (In Swedish)
- Lars O. Lagerqvist (1982). "Sverige och dess regenter under 1.000 år",("Sweden and its rulers during 1000 years") (in Swedish). Albert Bonniers Förlag AB. ISBN 91-0-075007-7.
- Sven Rosborn (In Swedish): När hände vad i Nordens historia (When did what happen in the historiy of the Nordic countries) (1997)