Cecilia Johansdotter
Cecilia Johansdotter of Sweden, (d. after 1190), was a Swedish queen, Queen Consort of king Canute I of Sweden and mother of King Eric X of Sweden.
Despite the fact that she was queen for over twenty years, the queen consort of King Canute is one of the most unknown of Swedish queens. Neither her name, her parents or her birth and death years are confirmed. Some sources guess that she was the daughter of Prince John (Johan) Sverkersson of Sweden (d. 1150), son of King Sverker I of Sweden (d. 1156). The name Cecilia is not entirely confirmed. She was to have been married to Canute about the year 1160. In 1167, seven years later, her husband became King and she was made Queen of Sweden.
There is only one story that truly mentions the queen in more detail. In 1190, the queen was taken ill. It was a grave illness, and people worried that she would die. To avoid death, the queen promised on her sick bed, that if God would spare her life, she would enter a convent after her recovery to show her gratitude. Eventually, she recovered form her sickness completely. But she did not wish to become a nun, nor did her husband whish her to be, and they sent an appeal to the Pope in Rome to ask if the she could be released from her promise and continue her marital obligations. The Pope answered that the queen should honour her promise to God, and Queen Cecilia was forced to abandon her throne and enter a convent. This letter is also dated to 1193. The year of her death is unknown.
Queen Cecilia Johansdotter is used as a character in a book by author Jan Guillou in 1998, where she was used to create the fictional queen Cecilia Blanka.
Children and family
- Eric X of Sweden, (d. 1216), King of Sweden 1208-1216.
References
- Lars O. Lagerqvist (1982). "Sverige och dess regenter under 1.000 år",("Sweden and it's regents under a 1000 years") (in Swedish). Albert Bonniers Förlag AB. ISBN 91-0-075007-7.
- Åke Ohlmarks, "Alla Sveriges drottningar".
- Herman Lindqvist, "Historien om alla Sveriges drottningar".