Helena Guttormsdotter, fl 1205, was a Swedish noble and landholder, known as the royal mistress of

Valdemar II of Denmark Valdemar (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious (), was the King of Denmark (being Valdemar II) from 1202 until his death in 1241. Background He was the second son of King Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophi ...

. Helena was the daughter of the Swedish earl Guttorm jarl. She married the Danish noble

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 became the mother of lady

Ingeborg of Kalundborg Ingeborg Esbensdatter of Kalundborg (died in Slesvig 1267) was an influential Danish landlord and vassal. She was the daughter of Esbern Snare and the Swedish noble Helena Guttormsdotter, and by her mother the half sister of Canute, Duke of Eston ...

. She was widowed in 1204, and had a relationship with Valdemar II, with whom she had

Canute, Duke of Estonia Canute or Knud Valdemarsen (1207 – 1260) was an illegitimate son of King Valdemar II of Denmark, who became Duke of Revelia, Blekinge and Lolland. Canute was the son of the king by his mistress, Helena Guttormsdotter, widow of Danish nobleman ...

. The relationship was terminated when he married

Dagmar of Bohemia Dagmar of Bohemia (also known as Margaret, cz, Markéta; 1186 – 24 May 1212 in Ribe) was Queen of Denmark as the first spouse of King Valdemar II. She was the daughter of King Ottokar I of Bohemia and his first wife, Adelaide of Meissen. E ...

. Helena returned to Sweden, where she founded the chapel Vår Frus kapell in

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

. She was a landholder in Sweden, and left her estates there to her son after her death.

References

Dansk biografisk Lexikon / VII. Bind. I. Hansen - Holmsted /
12th-century Danish people 12th-century Swedish people 13th-century Danish people 13th-century Swedish people Mistresses of Danish royalty 13th-century Danish women 13th-century Swedish women 12th-century Swedish women