Blanche of Namur (Swedish and Norwegian: ''Blanka''; 1320–1363) was

Queen of Norway The list of Norwegian monarchs ( no, kongerekken or ''kongerekka'') begins in 872: the traditional dating of the Battle of Hafrsfjord, after which victorious King Harald Fairhair merged several petty kingdoms into that of his father. Named after ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

as the wife of King Magnus VII / IV.

Background

Blanche was the eldest daughter of

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I o ...

Marquis of Namur Namur ( nl, Namen) was a county of the Carolingian and later Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, a region in northwestern Europe. Its territories largely correspond with the present-day Belgian arrondissement Namur plus the northwestern part ...

and Marie of Artois. On her father's side, she was a member of the powerful

House of Dampierre The House of Dampierre played an important role during the Middle Ages. Named after Dampierre, in the Champagne region, where members first became prominent, members of the family were later Count of Flanders, Count of Nevers, Counts and Dukes ...

, being a grandchild of Count

Guy of Flanders Guy of Dampierre (french: Gui de Dampierre; nl, Gwijde van Dampierre) ( – 7 March 1305, Compiègne) was the Count of Flanders (1251–1305) and Marquis of Namur (1264–1305). He was a prisoner of the French when his Flemings defeated th ...

. On her mother's side Blanche was related to the French royal house, as her mother was a daughter of

Philip of Artois Philip of Artois (November 1269 – 11 September 1298) was the son of Robert II of Artois, Count of Artois, and Amicie de Courtenay. He was the Lord of Conches, Nonancourt, and Domfront. He married Blanche of Brittany, daughter of John II, ...

, a patrilineal great-grandson of

Louis VIII of France Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

, and thus a member of a junior line of the

House of Capet The House of Capet (french: Maison capétienne) or the Direct Capetians (''Capétiens directs''), also called the House of France (''la maison de France''), or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most s ...

Marriage

It is unknown why a marriage was arranged between the king of Sweden and Norway and a member of the House of

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

. In June 1334 king Magnus travelled from Norway to Namur to propose. They were engaged in Namur and Magnus returned to Sweden in the fall of 1334. Blanche left Namur in the fall of 1335 and the wedding took place in October or early November 1335, possibly at

Bohus Castle Bohus Fortress (also known as ''Baahus'' or ''Båhus'', originally: ''Bágahús'') lies along the old Norwegian–Swedish border in Kungälv, Bohuslän, Sweden, north east from Hisingen where the Göta river splits into two branches ( north o ...

. As a wedding gift Blanche received the province of Tunsberg in Norway and

Lödöse Lödöse (), also known as Gamla Lödöse is a locality situated in Lilla Edet Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It is situated 40 kilometers northeast of Gothenburg and is considered the precursor to modern-day Gothenburg. Gamla ...

in Sweden as

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

s; Tunsberg was exchanged in 1353 to

Bohus Bohus Fortress (also known as ''Baahus'' or ''Båhus'', originally: ''Bágahús'') lies along the old Norwegian–Swedish border in Kungälv, Bohuslän, Sweden, north east from Hisingen where the Göta river splits into two branches ( north of G ...

Marstrand Marstrand () is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,320 inhabitants in 2010. The town got its name from its location on the island of Marstrand. Despite its small population, for histori ...

, Elfsyssel,

Rånrike Ranrike (Old Norse ''Ránríki'') was the old name for a part of Viken, corresponding to southeast Norway (Oslofjord area) and the northern half of the modern Swedish (Norwegian until 1658) province of Bohuslän (roughly identical with ''Álfheimr' ...

and Borgarsyssel. Blanche's coronation took place in July 1336, possibly 22 July, in the

Great Church The term "Great Church" ( la, ecclesia magna) is used in the historiography of early Christianity to mean the period of about 180 to 313, between that of primitive Christianity and that of the legalization of the Christian religion in the Roman E ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. She was accompanied to Sweden by an entourage which included her brothers Robert and Louis, who came to be in service of her spouse: it is known that Louis remained in the king's service as late as 1354.

Queenship

After her coronation, Queen Blanche was given her own seal with the inscription: "Blanche, by the Grace of God Queen of Sweden, Norway and Scania",Biografiskt lexikon för Finland 1. Svenska tiden (2008). in which she is depicted with a crown and holding a scepter: unusually for a married woman of that period, she did not cover her hair with a veil. The queen was described as wise and as an extraordinary beauty.Blanka, urn:sbl:18364, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av S. Tunberg.), hämtad 2016-09-06. At this point, Sweden did not have an official capital, and queen Blanche accompanied the king in their travels between the royal residences. In 1345, her brothers Louis and

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

were made vassals of her spouse. Blanche and Magnus had two sons, Eric and Haakon, plus at least three daughters who died as children. In 1343, it was agreed that the two kingdoms of Sweden and Norway should again be divided, and that their eldest son Eric should inherit

and their second son Haakon

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The same year, Haakon was invested as King of Norway at the age of three. At this occasion, the members of the Norwegian council guaranteed the right of Magnus to govern Norway during the minority of Haakon and to resist all attempts from Haakons' elder brother to take over Norway: they swore their promise not only to Magnus, but also to queen Blanche. On 18 November 1343, the archbishops and bishops of Sweden swore an oath to assist queen Blanche in the case king Magnus died when prince Eric was still minor. Blanche of Sweden & Norway seal c 1350

The future saint

Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303 – 23 July 1373) born as Birgitta Birgersdotter, also Birgitta of Vadstena, or Saint Birgitta ( sv, heliga Birgitta), was a mystic and a saint, and she was also the founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after t ...

served as ''magistra'' or mistress of the robes to the queen at an unknown period, and regularly socialized with the royal couple before she left Sweden for Rome in 1349, and Bridget left descriptions of them and their court. In the will of the royal couple from 1 May 1346, they made large donations to Bridget's planned

Vadstena Abbey The Abbey Pax Mariae ( la, Monasterium sanctarum Mariæ Virgìnis et Brigidæ in Vatzstena), more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, situated on Lake Vättern in the Diocese of Linköping, Sweden, was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Orde ...

and asked to be buried there. Bridget, however, opposed to their burial in her convent, and describe the royal couple in a negative fashion. She accused queen Blanche of having been a negative influence on state affairs by discrediting capable advisers before the king; "She is a snake with the tongue of a harlot, the bile of dragons in her heart and the most bitter poison in her flesh. Therefore all her eggs became poisonous. Lucky are those who never experience their burden". Bridget expressed great dislike over the fact that the king and queen decided to live in a marriage without intercourse after the queen's 7th pregnancy; she claims that this was the reason for the king's rumored homosexuality, that queen Blanche had been responsible when Magnus made his controversial favorite Bengt Algotsson, Duke of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, and that Algotsson was the lover of them both. In the 1350s, a crisis occurred because of the

Black Death in Sweden The Black Death (Swedish: ''Digerdöden'', 'The Great Death') was present in Sweden between 1350 and 1351.Harrison, Dick, ''Stora döden: den värsta katastrof som drabbat Europa'', Ordfront, Stockholm, 2000 It was a major catastrophe which was s ...

and Norway and the failed politics in the Baltic, followed by the division of the kingdom of Sweden and Norway when their second son

Haakon VI of Norway Haakon VI of Norway ( no, Håkon, sv, Håkan; August 1340 – 11 September 1380), also known as ''Håkan Magnusson'', was King of Norway from 1343 until his death and King of Sweden between 1362 and 1364. He is sometimes known as ''Haakon Magnus ...

was declared of legal majority and free from his father's regency, resulting in the end of the united kingdoms of Sweden and Norway. In 1356, the opposition supported their eldest son

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik 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-Norse ''* ain ...

in a rebellion against his parents, resulting in a mediation where king Magnus had to make Eric his co-ruler and divide Sweden between them. During this conflict, queen Blanche seems to have supported her spouse against their son. When Eric and his spouse

Beatrice of Bavaria Beatrice of Bavaria (1344 – 25 December 1359); Swedish: ''Beatrix''; was Queen of Sweden as the consort of King Eric XII of Sweden (1339–1359) who co-ruled Sweden with his father King Magnus IV. Biography Beatrice was the daughter of the Lo ...

died in 1359, Blanche was accused of having poisoned them, accusations that are however regarded to have been but a part of the propaganda against her. It is now believed that they died from the plague. Albert Edelfelt - Queen Blanche

From 1359, she seems to have resided in Tønsberg Castle in Norway. Tønsberg was a part of her dower lands, and she ruled the area as her dower. It appears that her finances were somewhat strained during these years. On 9 April 1363, she and Magnus attended the wedding of their son Haakon with

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

, daughter of

Valdemar IV of Denmark Valdemar IV Atterdag (the epithet meaning "Return of the Day"), or Waldemar (132024 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance ...

in Copenhagen. Shortly after the wedding, Blanche fell ill and died. The cause of death and the place where she is buried are unknown.Nordberg (2001), p. 303

Issue

Eric XII of Sweden Eric XII (Swedish: ''Erik Magnusson''; 1339 – 21 June 1359) was King of Sweden and lord of Scania in 1344–1359. He was a co-ruler with his father, King Magnus IV, from 1356 until his death in 1359. Referring to Erik Magnusson as King Eric ...

# At least three daughters who died in infancy or early childhood, some buried at

Ås Abbey Ås Abbey ( da, Ås Kloster; la, Asylum) was a Cistercian monastery situated near the present village of Åskloster about 14 km north of Varberg, in Varberg Municipality. It was located near the mouth of the River Viskan into the Kattegat ...

Legacy

Queen Blanche is one of the most well-known of the Swedish/Norwegian medieval queens. Apparently, she was very politically and socially active and noticeable, not only as a queen, as many stories and songs were written about her. In Sweden, Queen Blanche is also remembered for the song: "Rida rida ranka, hästen heter Blanka" ("Ride, ride on my knee, the horse is called Blanka"), which has influenced the famous historical painting by

Albert Edelfelt Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt (21 July 1854 – 18 August 1905) was a Finnish-Swedish painter noted for his naturalistic style and Realist approach to art. He lived in the Grand Duchy of Finland and made Finnish culture visible abroad, befor ...

of her and her son Haakon. A

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

wheat beer Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German ''Weizenbier'' and Belgian ''witbier''; other types include Lambic (made with wild ye ...

produced by Brasserie du Bocq is named "Blanche de Namur" (and was named "world's best wheat beer" at the 2009 World Beer Awards).

References