Cecilia Knudsdatter of Danmark (born 1081/85 – after 7 January 1131), was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

, daughter of

Canute IV of Denmark Canute IV ( – 10 July 1086), later known as Canute the Holy ( da, Knud IV den Hellige) or Saint Canute (''Sankt Knud''), was King of Denmark from 1080 until 1086. Canute was an ambitious king who sought to strengthen the Danish monarchy ...

and

Adela of Flanders Adela of Flanders (also Ala and Alana in southern Italian sources) (c. 1064 – April 1115), was Queen consort of Denmark by marriage to King Canute IV and duchess of Apulia by marriage to Duke Roger Borsa, and then regent of Apulia from 1111 to ...

. At the deposition and murder of her father in 1086, her mother left

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and returned to

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

with her son

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, while Cecilia and her sister

Ingegerd Ingegerd (Old Norse ''Ingigerðr, Ingigærðr'') is a Scandinavian feminine given name, from the theonym ''Ing'' combined with the element ''garðr '' "enclosure, protection". The name Inger is a short form. In Finnish the equivalence of Ingegerd ...

followed their paternal uncle

Eric I of Denmark Eric I ( – 10 July 1103), also known as Eric the Good ( da, Erik Ejegod), was King of Denmark following his brother Olaf I of Denmark, Olaf I Hunger in 1095. He was a son of Sweyn II of Denmark, Sweyn II. His mother's identity is unknown. He ...

and aunt

Boedil Thurgotsdatter Boedil (Bodil) Thurgotsdatter (died 1103) was a Danish queen, queen consort of King Eric I of Denmark. Biography Boedil was the daughter of the Danish Earl Thurgot Fagerskind and Thorgunna and the sister of Svend Thrugotsen. Her grandfather, ca ...

, who became their

foster parent Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family memb ...

s, to

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 ...

. Eric and Boedil returned to Denmark when Eric rescinded to the throne in 1095. Both sisters married

Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility ( sv, Adeln eller Ridderskapet och Adeln) has historically been a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term ...

. Cecilia married Earl Eric. She later returned to Denmark, where her spouse was made jarl of Falster, and the couple settled at Haraldsted at

Ringsted Ringsted is a city located centrally in the Danish island of Zealand. It is the seat of a municipality of the same name. Ringsted is situated approximately 60 km from Copenhagen. Tourism and transport Ringsted is one of Denmark's busiest ...

. The couple had two sons: Knud and Carl,

Duke of Halland This lists those feudal magnates (counts, dukes, and other sort of princes) who have held Halland (''Hallandia'') as fief, or its southern or northern part, as a substantive title. Earl in Halland * Charles Eriksen, maternal grandson of Canute IV ...

. She also possibly had a daughter

Inger Eriksdotter Inger Eriksdotter (ca. 1100–1157) was the wife of Asser Rig, tribal chief of Zealand (Sjælland) in today's Denmark. Inger's father is said to have been Earl Eric. Her mother was Princess Cecilia Knutsdatter (daughter of Canute IV of Denmark ...

, who married

Asser Rig Asser Rig – a.k.a. ''Asser Rig Skjalmsen Hvide'' – (c. 1078–1151) was a jarl and chieftain from Zealand, Denmark, a son of Skjalm Hvide (before 1045 – c. 1113) and ''Signe Asbjørnsdatter'' (c. 1050 – c. 1096). Asser's siblings were (c ...

, a

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

of the

Hvide Hvide (English: ''Whites'') was a medieval Danish clan, and afterwards in early modern era a Danish noble surname of presumably one surviving branch of leaders of that clan. Before the 16th century it was not used as a surname. It signified t ...

clan from Fjenneslev on

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

, and was the mother of

Esbern Snare Esbern Snare, also known as Esbern the Resolute, (1127–1204) was a '' høvding'', or chieftain, royal chancellor and crusader. His family were members of the powerful Hvide clan. In 1192, during the Crusades and after the fall of Jerusalem, he ...

and

Absalon Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund List of (arch)bishops of Lund. Until the Danish Reformation the centre of a gr ...

. In 1131,

Canute Lavard Canute Lavard ( Danish: Knud Lavard; cognate with English Lord) (12 March 1096 – 7 January 1131) was a Danish prince. Later he was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a German vassal, a position ...

visited her. She suspected that he would be murdered and tried to convince him not to go to his meeting with Magnus, where he was to be killed, but he disregarded her advice.

References

Sources

*
Dansk biografisk Lexikon / IV. Bind. Clemens - EyndenCecilia, urn:sbl:16520, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Nat. Beckman.), hämtad 2015-02-14.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caecilia Knudsdatter 1080s births Danish princesses 11th-century Swedish people Year of death unknown 11th-century Danish women 11th-century Danish people 12th-century Danish women 12th-century Danish people 11th-century Swedish women 12th-century Swedish women 12th-century Swedish people Daughters of kings